Trigger warnings for this book! Spousal abuse, SA, Explicit content, drug and alcohol use, the list goes on. This book was just not my cup of tea at all!I DNF this book as it was just too heavy for me. Maybe I am just not cut out to be a fan of dark queer fantasy. There is so much gratuitous sex in this book and it was very repetitive! I'm no prude but it was just too much. It was boring and the characters did not have any redeemable qualities. Sorry for such a negative review but i honestly found it awful. There is a lot of Mysticism, folklore and mythology which is what drew me to the book however not an enjoyable read for me.

The Sins on Their Bones is one of those books that lingers in your mind long after you finish. I was initially drawn in by the premise—a queer fantasy inspired by Jewish folklore—but what truly captivated me was the depth of emotion, the rich character work, and the beautifully intricate storytelling. Told through three perspectives, this book explores love, betrayal, faith, and power. I was especially invested in Dimitri and Vasily, whose arcs pulled at my heart. The world-building is immersive, the magic feels weighty and real, and the stakes are high from beginning to end.

**Review of *A Darker Mischief* by Derek Milman**

*A Darker Mischief* is a gripping and twisted ride that blends dark magic, forbidden love, and intense political drama. The story follows Dimitri, the fallen Tzar, who’s been exiled after losing a civil war to his estranged husband, Alexey. But Alexey isn’t just any man—he’s now immortal, controlling dark magic, and calling himself a god. It’s up to Dimitri and his loyal spymaster, Vasily, to take him down.

The world-building is fascinating, with a cool mix of folklore and magic that feels both haunting and thrilling. The demons and magic Alexey controls add a creepy, high-stakes element to the story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. But what really makes this story stand out is the emotional conflict—Dimitri still loves Alexey, despite everything, and his struggle to reconcile that love with his desire to save his country is heartbreaking.

Vasily, the spymaster, is another highlight. He’s smart, resourceful, and loyal to Dimitri, but there’s an undeniable connection between them that makes their relationship all the more complicated. The tension between them and their moral dilemmas makes for a really emotional, intense read.

If you love stories with rich world-building, complicated characters, and a queer romance that pulls at your heartstrings, *A Darker Mischief* is totally worth the read. It's a dark, emotional, and action-packed journey that’ll leave you wanting more.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

The Sins on Their Bones is a gripping and haunting tale that expertly weaves together mystery, dark secrets, and intense character dynamics. The central plot is engrossing, filled with twists and emotional depth that kept me hooked from start to finish. The protagonist’s internal struggle and personal journey are both compelling and relatable, making it easy to get emotionally invested in their story.

The writing is atmospheric, drawing you into a world full of tension and suspense. There’s a raw, almost unsettling quality to the narrative that makes the stakes feel incredibly high, and the way the book explores themes of guilt, redemption, and consequence adds a powerful layer to the plot.

Overall, The Sins on Their Bones is a well-executed, thought-provoking read that offers a mix of thriller and emotional drama. It’s a dark, absorbing story that sticks with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

Loved this book. Super unique and intriguing. I just heard there will be a 2nd book and cannot wait to read it. Thank you for the opportunity to read this

This book was brutal and visceral, and while I hoped it would be a new favorite, it ended up being too much for me personally. However, I still intend to recommend it to people who are looking for brutal queer historical fantasy, and I hope to read more from Laura Samotin in the future.

The lore, the lore, the lore!!!!! What a story. The world building in this was top notch and super interesting. The characters were brilliant and the relationships throughout this book were so fascinating and heart wrenching. This book was a sucker punch of emotion and even in its darkest moments, it finds a light. This broke my heart into a thousand pieces and slowly put it back together. By the end, I was sad to say goodbye to these characters and this engaging story. Laura Samotin has gained a new loyal reader out of me!

This was grim dark fantasy done well! I really enjoyed it. There are many gothic elements to the story as well which I appreciated. I’ve never read anything like this before. The plot was intriguing, and the characters are what really sold this to me — they kept my interest until the very end! There’s a lot of exploration on important topics like grief, and the relationship between the main characters was so toxic and complex it had me HOOKED. This story had so many heart wrenching moments, I truly adored it. Highly recommend!

I absolutely loved this book! It's a dark fantasy with gothic elements, and I really liked the overall plot, it was intriguing and kept my interest throughout the whole book.
The most amazing thing to me was how the author was able to transcribe the raw emotions of the main characters. There was a lot of grief and pain, and I could feel it all alongside the characters. The relationship between Dimitri and Alexey was complicated. Even though, there is clearly a bad guy in this story, Alexey's actions cannot completely erase the love that Dimitri had for him, and he had to navigate the guilt of still loving the man who destroyed his life, while grieving the loss of his relationship and his home.
And then there's Vasily, whom Dimitri uses as a band-aid to his pain but doesn't care because he is so down bad for his Dima. I liked him a lot, and I liked his part in this story as a spy infiltrating Alexey's court.
The whole cast of characters was amazing, really. I enjoyed everything about this book and can't wait to see where this going!

Some interesting worldbuilding but did not really buy the central characters or central relationships. Feels a little underdone.

Im a huge fan of dark grim fantasy so that definitely was a plus, as well as queer normative worlds. However, when a book is advertised as a romantasy, the romance is the main portion of the book, the fantasy is underlying concepts or interwined with the romance. I found the lore to be amazing and interesting but the romance between the two characters felt really flat to me. And I struggled alot with the book because of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

The absolute ANGST of this book. That's it. That's the review.

But seriously, I am an angst lover, and this hit all the right places. I love the way these characters show love for one another in the most painful of ways. Not only does this book show the beauty of love, but it also shows corrupted love and its dangers, and it does an amazing job of doing so.

The setting is an amazing one for this book, with vibes of Shadow and Bone/Six of Crows while giving a story full of loyalty, longing, pain, and power. It studies what power will do to the soul and how it can override everything - except love.

This is a book where you need to go in without any expectations, just let the story take you with it as it wills.

If you like Russian fantasy, queer longing, and all the angst possible, get your hands on this book.

DNF'd at 43%

I loved the idea of this book so much: the setting of 19th century Eastern Europe is one of my favourites to explore; and the themes of vengeance and good taking down evil called to me. It wasn't long until I was drawn in by these damaged, realistically flawed characters.

I truly did appreciate the character development here. Dimitri tugged on my heart strings with his story. To see someone so broken by the abuses and betrayal of their spouse is heart-wrenching. I do feel like this is one of the best books I've read that best highlights the range of emotions of survivors of domestic abuse go through when they leave the relationship. You really did feel every inch of his pain as he tries to navigate his new reality.

Rightfully so, having Dimitri be the lead focus of the narration makes this book hard to read at times simply because he is in a dark place. It can be hard as a reader to be in the place with the characters and that was part of my struggle with this book. The prose flows nicely and it is an easy book to read and navigate -- so it isn't the writing. But I craved more from the dramatic plot to provide that shift in the narration to give my mind a break from Dimitri's dark place.

So in the end, it was really the pacing and my expectations for what this plotline would be (more espionage and politics than character focused) that lead me to DNF it just shy of the halfway mark.

this is a well written book but i was bored most of the time. the characters were interesting but after a while i was sick of being in the head of an abuser

i just wasn't getting through this one unfortunately! i'd still like to read it one day, but today is not that day. overall, i found the approx. 60% i read to be well-written but a little clunky in places.

I promise I tried to like this book.
It's entirely possible that it's just a "me thing" bc plenty of people seem tonhave enjoyed it.
I started with the eARC but just wasnt vibing with it so I put it down for MONTHS. I recently picked up the audiobook to read in tandem with eARC in hopes that it would bring more life to the tale. It in fact, did not.
All I can really say is that I was just BORED. Nothing grabbed me. Most everything was fine. Just fine. The writing, the plot, the characters. All fine. Nothing stood out. But bc I had to force my way through this, I started to hate read it after a while. And really there's nothing actually wrong with the story.
That settles it...
It's me, I'm the problem.

Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Random House Canada | Random House Canada for the eARC!

After reading “The Sins on Their Bones” and giving myself some time to digest the book it seems like I’m still at a loss for words. Considering the heavy topics this story explored and how dark and twisted it turned out to be this shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. If you ask me Laura R. Samotin did something not many authors are able to pull off. She wrote a book that’s not only set in a Jewish folklore-inspired queernormative world but also one that features three different POVS. And she gave all those characters such a unique voice that it was extremely easy to keep them apart. No matter if it was Dimitri, Vasily or Alexey, each and every single one of them had their own agenda and tried to push it forward.

Still, if you’re expecting something fast paced now, you’ll be disappointed. “The Sins on Their Bones” is a very character driven story that used every tool available in order to create a lush and credible setting. There’s a very strong religious element that runs through the entire storyline and the topic of abuse and how it affects the people who suffered from it is always in the forefront as well. All of the characters are morally grey and they all did things they aren’t proud of. It’s a pretty complex world with multi-layered characters that are all forced to play the parts they’ve been given. Like a chess game, that’s working its way towards the grande finale.

What the book truly lives from are the different kinds of love that are visible in every line of the story, though. And I’m not just talking about queer love here. I’m talking about the toxic, destructive, manipulative kind of love that rips you apart, the wholesome and nourishing sort we all crave for, as well as the love that comes from having supportive friends that stick with you through thick and thin. Samotin didn’t just cover the entire bandwidth of human emotions and relationships, she also dove into the abyss of human nature and gave this book an unexpected psychological depth that’s not easy to match. The story raises the century old question of what is wrong and what is right and confronts the reader with what happens if both sides think that the other side is in the wrong.
Hearts and bones are quite literally broken in order to find the truth, but in the end, as is the essence of war, no side ever truly wins. And for that alone I love what Laura R. Samotin did with this story!

“The Sins on Their Bones” is a book about love and loss, about grief and guilt, about the darkness within and the light of hope that always finds its way in. It’s a study of human nature, a story about the resilience of humankind and what we’re able to endure. But most of all it’s a story about faith, the belief that no matter how dark it gets, there are people who love us, there’s a higher power that guides us and when confronted with our sins, there’s always hope for change and amendment. 4,5 stars rounded up to 5.

This one was not as much of a hit for me as I expected. Unfortunately it felt like we started half way through the book with the back and forth of the past events. And I understand that was meant to be like that, but it just didn’t work right for me. The pacing of this book was a little bit lacking and when it felt like nothing was happening there was just a sex scene to fill the gaps. I haven’t quite decided if I want to continue the series yet.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

The Sins on Their Bones, by Laura R. Samotin
★☆☆☆☆
416 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV
Content Warning: SEE REVIEW FOR FULL LIST



DNFd at 13%

I really wanted to like this one. From the cover to the blurb to the interior, everything held such promise. And all the rave reviews were from authors on my TBR list. It had so much promise, but unfortunately it just didn't go anywhere interesting.

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First off, I was really disappointed in the "note to readers". If you're going to take time to make a note for triggers, then make it complete. Sadly, this one only lists a few triggers - not even the most triggering - then cops out with "my author website contains additional information and resources". Except, trigger warnings are not "additional information". Why not just include them?
I gave the author the benefit of the doubt, hoping the website triggers would be spoilery, in terms of "skim this page/chapter to avoid xy content". But that wasn't the case. In fact, the website just listed more triggers, so to provide future readers will full disclosure and the opportunity to know whether this book is for them, I'm listing ALL of the triggers (mine and the authors) here:

TRIGGERS:
* explicit, on page spousal abuse & domestic violence in both victim and perpetrator pov
* mental health issues: ptsd, anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse as self-medication
* past child sexual abuse by a relative
* gore
* possession
* desecration of a corpse
* experimentation of unwilling prisoner
* off page mentions of battlefield
* off page mentions of rape and child abuse during war
* explicit drug use
* religious persecution
* self harm (stubbing out a cigarette on his hand)
* threatening to torture children
* capture, imprisonment and torture of nobles/Dimitri's allies

Personally, if I'd known about these triggers in advance, I wouldn't have requested the book. There's actually little I hate more than reading abuse in the perpetrators POV and had I been aware this was a factor in this book I would have saved myself and the author the hassle of requesting this book only to DNF it. Without full disclosure of triggers, readers can't make informed decisions about what books are safe to read, and it is one of my biggest pet peeves when they're not listed appropriately. The fact the author tells you to visit their website doesn't count. It's phrased so ambiguously that you don't know it means there are more triggers listed on the website.

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Okay, with that out of the way, let's tackle the book itself.
The presentation is gorgeous. The book starts with two playing cards of the Joker and the King, which are stunning and each chapter heading is a gothic architecture header. It's really pretty.
Unfortunately that's where my enjoyment ends.

The chapter list says there are 3 main povs: Dimitri, Alexey and Vasily, then an additional pov at the end for Zemonyii.
I didn't get far enough to find out who Zemonyii is, but even after I knew I wasn't going to finish, I continue until I'd read at least one pov for each character. Sadly none of them impressed me.

Dimitri is the previous Tsar, currently in self exile after being betrayed and beaten in a civil war by his husband, Alexey. He's depressed, bitter and full of self-loathing, consumed with grief. He's lost his power, his position as Tsar, his purpose and his husband, and he's been forced to flee and hide.
Alexey is Dimitri's husband who manipulated him into a civil war. There's hints that he's possessed by something inhuman, but I didn't read far enough to find out what. He revels in his power, arrogant and unfeeling, and looks down on everyone like they're insignificant.
Vasily is Dimitri's spymaster and friend. I don't know anything else about him because that seems to be the totality of his personality. There are hints that he and Dimitri have been intimate, but it felt very vague and nothing beyond a suggestion, almost like it was a duty or a way of helping Dimitri through his grief.

Personally, I didn't like or feel attached to any of them. They all felt vaguely one-dimensional: the victim, the villain and the spy.
I'm not sure if I was ever supposed to like Alexey or not, but that became impossible when we were told that he's using Dimitri's - his husband's - half brother as a substitute lover, and that the brother is infatuated with Alexey. It felt really unnecessary as a plot point, but maybe it's important later? Who knows.

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Overall, I just felt bored while reading. We knew enough of how depressed Dimitri was, how evil Alexey was, within the first chapter, so other than seeing Vasily spying - which was also uneventful and could have been cut - I don't see why it had to take 13% to get to the events mentioned in the blurb.
Everyone went on and on about how much they love their country and they'll do anything to protect it but none of them have done anything useful in the last year, and Dimitri is so delicate that Vasily doesn't give him too much bad news at once. They're so afraid that he'll kill himself that they cause unnecessary delays in taking action. It made no sense to me.
There's a very strong Russian influence but either I just didn't see/understand the Jewish folklore connection or maybe it didn't come until later, but I never saw it.
A book that was much clearer with the concept was A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft.