Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley, and I am choosing to leave an honest review. Thank you so much NetGalley and Laura!

The Sins on Their Bones is a story about loss, grief, family, love, and healing. Former Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo, Dimitri Alexeyev, is in exile after losing a civil war to his usurper of a husband, Alexey Balakin. To take back the throne, Dimitri, his spymaster, Vasily Solokov, and his court must find information about how to kill Alexey. Why can't they just kill Alexey as of now? Well, Alexey died, resurrected himself, and now has an immortal body.

Dimitri at the beginning of this book is a broken mess. He can't bring himself to hate his husband, even after all Alexey had done to Dimitri. Dimitri also feels guilty, as if it's his fault that he lost the throne. Dimitri's growth throughout this novel was astounding, and I loved seeing Dimitri heal with the help of his friends and Vasily. Vasily's perspective allowed us readers to have an "outsider" perspective of the relationship between Dimitri and Alexey. Seeing Vasily's feelings for Dimitri, and his reasons for his feelings, were heartwarming. I loved seeing Vasily's competent, sensitive, and loving sides in his spy job. Speaking of Alexey we get his perspective. Diving into the perspective of an abuser, was a daring choice that I believe paid off. While Alexey's perspective is suspect, people like him unfortunately exist, and I am ultimately glad that us readers got to dive into his head.

I love how the author, Laura R. Samotin, made both a Jewish-normative and queernormative world. While many real-life horrors were depicted, I believe that it's important for people to be able to see themselves in books without needing to deal with the horrors faced in our society. Additionally, the magic and religion depicted in this book strengthened the worldbuilding of Novo-Svitsevo. I almost wish that Novo-Svitsevo were real just to hang out with Dimitri, Vasily, and Dimitri's court.

Ultimately, I loved this book, and I can't wait for the sequel! Go read this novel and support a debut author!

Note: please check the CWs of this book. They can be found on Laura R. Samotin's website.

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

The Sins on Their Bones, by Laura R. Samoan, is a dark fantasy romance about the differences between love and obsession. After his ex-husband, Alexey Balakin, betrays and ousts him for the throne of Novo-Svitsevo, former Tzar Dimitri Alexeyev now spends his days drinking and drowning in his regrets. To save Novo-Svitsevo from the corrupt ruler, Dimitri’s spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, hatches a plan that will bring himself closer to Alexey’s court, if only to try and find a way to destroy the man before he destroys Dimitri and the rest of the country. After spending more time hating himself for putting Vasily in danger, Dimitri decides to follow Vasily’s plan to remove Alexey once and for all, despite his heart breaking at the seams.

I loved the conflicts that Alexey and Dimitri go through. They show the painful truth that even though you may love each other and want to be together, it’s not enough. Alexey has a lot of ambition that overpowers his fondness for Dimitri. True, he’ll hold room for Dimitri in his heart, but he still replaced him with Ivan. He still forced his will onto Dimitri and perverted his own soul for the sake of power. Meanwhile, Dimitri has given Alexey numerous chances and was prepared to submit until life happened before suddenly finding himself on the throne. Anyone can see how much they love each other, but at the end of the day, Alexey cannot get out of his own way, and that’s why he lost Dimitri in the end. True, Vasily might not be the dark, brooding love interest we want him to end up with, but he’s miles better than Alexey. That said, I wished Samoan could make the relationship between these two more intriguing. When it came to Vasily and Alexey, to me, it felt more like puppy dog love rather than genuine, mature affection. It was almost like Dimitri settled, but that’s just me.

The Holy Science Alexey wholeheartedly gives himself to reminds me of Christian nationalism, and not in a good way. Many churches in the South had been swept up by proclamations of having their own country and kicking out those who disagreed with them; a theocracy of sorts. The fact that Alexey thinks he’s talking to God painfully reflects the hypocrisy the government is going through now. True, it might be a pseudo-fantastical world filled with (enviably) easy access to angels and demons. However, the sentiment is still the same.

Despite all the wonderful, political and religious mayhem these characters are going through, the world around them seems strangely empty. To me, this book is a sequel rather than a stand-alone; I would’ve liked to know more about Alexey and Dimitri’s relationship before Alexey became lost in power. I’d like to know what Vasily saw in Dimitri before all this happened, and not just see small snippets here and there. And while the relationship between Dimitri and Vasily was sweet, I can’t help but feel like it was a bit forced. I hate to say it, but I think that these two need to suffer a bit more before finally going through with the relationship.

This is a beautiful, horrific romance that would’ve blown my mind away had the world and relationships been more fleshed out. As such, I'm giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

4.25 stars

Oh, my heart. The Sins on Their Bones is a heartbreaking, beautiful, dark fantasy full of political intrigue, found family, trauma, love, and religion & mysticism.

Dmitri Alexeyev, the former Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo, is in hiding after the loss of a civil war which saw to Dmitri's husband, Alexey Balakin, becoming Tzar. Alexey died and was resurrected as an immortal being using the Holy Science (a distortion of the Ludayzist religion), and now Alexey is a threat to Novo-Svitsevo and the surrounding lands. As Tzar, Alexey claims he is guided by the voice of G-d, and he plans to use the Holy Science to summon a demon army to obtain ultimate power. The story centers around Dmitri and what's left of his court plotting to remove Alexey from power, while also trying to come to terms with the trauma they've faced and learning that love and joy can be felt again, even after the worst pain.

I loved this book for many reasons, but I was particularly drawn to the inspiration Samotin took from Judaism in developing the Ludayzist religion. I had a deep connection with the religious aspects of the story, which, honestly, I was not expecting because while I was raised Jewish, I am no longer practicing. But the beauty (and horror) that Samotin weaves into the story through religion (and the perversion thereof) was incredible, and I found myself crying on multiple occasions.

My largest issue with TSoTB was that I felt I was missing *something*. Perhaps some more overall backstory? Or more time with other characters? I feel that there was a rich trove of stories that wasn't fully uncovered, and I just wanted more.

I saw another review liken TSoTB to both Shadow and Bone (a much darker version thereof) and Fullmetal Alchemist, and I could not describe the vibes more perfectly. I would recommend this book, but for the love of all that is good in the world: look at the content warnings before you pick this up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Canada for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Sins on Their Bones is an atmospheric debut romantasy, set in a world inspired by 19th century Russia with mythology based on Jewish folklore.

The Sins on Their Bones is a great fantasy story: Samotin captures the dark, grimy atmosphere of a post-war fantastic Russia, the zealotry and blindness of devout religious leaders who become power hungry, the corruption in the name of becoming a messianic figure, the horrors of war (physical and mental), the mysticism, the alien, immense powers who influence the world.

Alexey is a horrific villain who truly believes he is a saviour, a manipulator blinded by his ego, which blinds him to be manipulated himself. He is a fascinating figure to hate (even with the eye-rolling obedience/domination fetish) for the way he treated Dima and the delusion that his "greater goals" were justification enough for everything.

Dima is a man who when his blind love led him to be abused and utterly betrayed, got destroyed into a million pieces and gave up. He is a sad and frustrating character for a big part of the book, until the point where with the aid of his court he gradually finds the strength to fight back. He goes through hell physically as well - the story has brutal scenes. It's Russia-inspired after all.

Vasya is the one with a purpose, which made him a more interesting character. Despite his own demons, he is very strong willed and stubborn, and will never give up the quest for what he wants. He is the POV which moves the story the most. The rest of Dima's court add a found family vibe in some chapters and are the ones who force him to keep living.

Going into the plot in more detail than the blurb would spoil elements of the worldbuilding, which is the story's highlight, so I leave it up to you. Some romantasies are worth it for the romance, this one is for the fantasy!

Which brings us to the issues: the story is really slow in its first part and takes its time to find the correct pace and move from "traumatized moping" to "let's fight back". Some reviewers were put off by it and I understand it, but I promise the 2nd part is better.

The plotline tying Alexey, Dima and Vasya, the human world with the middle world, is based on power dynamics which the author unfortunately likes representing with sexual domination/submission. This is the main reason I don't give a perfect rating: this kind of dynamic is off-putting, even if it is a metaphor or a toxic, abusive relationship. There hasn't been a single sex scene which didn't include direct or indirect submission of one to the other. Nope, this doesn't work for me. It's also part of the general weakness of the story in the romance aspect: too much smut written in a way that is the opposite of cute or hot, and melodramatic resolutions to the triangle and the internal fight of the characters.

The Sins on their Bones is an overall great debut and I will definitely read the sequel Laura Samotin has already planned!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC!

While I enjoyed the premise of this book, it fell flat for me and I unfortunately DNFd at 50%. I appreciate the opportunity to read early but I feel like this was mis-marked to me. I don't believe I am the target audience for this book and I feel like there should have been more trigger warnings for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Canada for providing the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you are here for the feels and enjoy having your heart ripped out of your chest, this book is for you.

The sins on their bones is a dark adult fantasy novel, and when I say dark, I mean it. It's a story about complex and difficult topics, but also about friendship, love and healing. It will shatter your heart and put it back together, all in the same 400 pages: this book was able to make me feel like I hadn't felt in quite a while.

Let's start with the strongest aspect of this novel: these are some of the best characters I've read about in a long while. All of them, even the secondary characters, feel like real people, with real feelings and stories, painted out in a way that makes it easy for the reader to emotionally connect with them. It's clear from the first few pages that this is a character-driven novel and it definitely works.
There are three POV's, and although Dimitri and Vasily were obviously my favourites, I still enjoyed reading Alexey's chapters. Antagonist pov's can often be a hit or miss, but in this case I think it's done very well: they provide insight about what Alexey is thinking (instead of only knowing what Dimitri and Vasily tell us about him) and they help the plot move forward.

The writing is solid, the prose not too embellished, just how I like it; I would consider it excellent for a debut novel. The first few pages are especially great at grabbing the reader's attention and mantaining it until we have gotten to know the characters a bit and have emotionally connected with them.
The worldbuilding is interesting, reminiscent of tsarist Russia and sprinkled with a religion that is (as the author herself stated) heavily inspired by Judaism. The general setting (cities, countries...) is not very detailed, but since that's not the main focus of the novel, I'm not taking points off for that.

What I'm taking points off for is, however, the plot. The first 50%, although very enjoyable and entertaining, goes basically nowhere plotwise, and even when the events do start unfolding, the storyline moves forward in a very predictable way.
Not everything is bad though: I especially appreciated how the story starts off after the war between Dimitri and Alexey and thus offers a rather unique perspective on events, very different form what we're used to reading in fantasy novels.

While I recognise it's not for everyone, I would definitely recommend this book to readers who don't shy away from darker themes and like character led narrations. Just be mindful of content warnings.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley with providing me with an early arc.

The story takes place in the aftermath of a civil war where Alexey took Dimitri’s throne who fled to the safety along with his court. It’s a slow pace of Dimitri falling and fighting his depression over the loss of his husband, Alexey, and finding a way to take back the country from the monster who stole it.

The story does well of showing Dimitri stuck deep in his depression with his found family doing their best to support him however they can. Displaying the depths of Dimitri’s love for Alexey is while also showing the truth of their relationship. Then Alexey being contrasted to Vasily who does his best to heal the control Alexey has on Dimitri.

Then the plot twist really hit me like a truck. I really didn’t expect what happened near the end. I thought that it would happen to someone else honestly.

I also really enjoyed the Jewish Folklore inspired world and how easy it was to understand it without needing a cultural background. Laura does a great job to make it accessible for everyone to read and enjoy.

Overall, I enjoyed the overflowing love the characters have for Dimitri, each other and Novo-Svitsevo. Highly recommend for any queer dark fantasy lover who are okay with dark themes.

The Sins on Their Bones is an intriguing political fantasy that explores themes of love, loss, pain and restoration through the lens of spirituality, mysticism, angels and demons. Taking from Jewish mythology, we follow Dimitri, the exiled Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo; Vasily, his loyal spymaster; and Alexey, the husband who betrayed him in body and spirit, and who now holds the throne. To take back the throne and save his country, Dimitri must figure out what evil has taken hold of Alexey and how he and his exiled court can reconcile their own previous failures to beat a seemingly unbeatable force.

This book is first and foremost about how love, family and forgiveness can overcome personal demons--and perhaps actual demons. The Sins on Their Bones is a combination of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, but for an adult audience, and with heavier content. Dimitri's exiled court provides a fully-realized found family, each character distinct and lovable in their own ways. The story is also unapologetically queer, existing in a universe where queer identities are not unusual or remarkable.

This is not a romantasy, although I've seen it spoken of as such. There is romance, but more of the book explores issues of domestic abuse and toxic relationships--too much for me to feel comfortable defining it as a fantasy where romance takes precedence. Readers should also be aware of content warnings (sexual content, graphic violence) and potential triggers (SA, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, graphic violence, body mutilation, extended descriptions of depression and anxiety). This book can get quite dark.

Occasionally, I felt that the sexual content was thrown in just to be there rather than to push the story forward, especially when we're in Alexey's point-of-view. I also felt that, at times, the author was trying to hit certain elements of tropes to satisfy what worked in other books; specifically, although I loved the found family element, it did feel forced at times, like each character was just a little too perfectly quirky.

That said, I sped through this 400+ page book. There wasn't a point where it dragged. And it ended in such a way that while you know there is more of the story to come, it could be read as a standalone, if you so choose.

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

“"If I die first," he said, beginning the toast they had said over and over since the beginning of the war.
"I'll tell you the secrets of heaven," they all echoed. A talisman against the permanence of death, against being parted forever. A reminder that, even in the afterlife, they'd claw their way back to one another.”

This book has heavy themes of abuse, narcissism, religious trauma, depression, and PTSD, so I would highly recommend checking the content warnings before reading. I thought all of these dark, heavy elements were done well, resolved in a positive light, and the characters healed in a believable way.

I really liked the relationship between the two main characters, however I wish we could’ve started the book as soon as they started going into friends with benefits territory. The only thing we got was a mention of them hooking up since the start of the war, and so there was no anticipation or build up to them getting together. Even a flashback or two would’ve helped me connect with them as friends to lovers, because it felt like the only tension we had was waiting for them to say they loved each other. This is marketed as friends to lovers, which is why I felt there was no progression of their relationship when they have already been intimate before we even meet them. We got some history and background information, but I still felt like I was missing out on a prequel to their relationship.

Read this if you liked the religious themes and imagery of The Foxglove King and the politics, war, and dark villain of Shadow and Bone. I felt like the politics were really well done. Even though it was boring at times, the grim reality and unfortunate consequences of war were still portrayed well. I just wish there was a bit less talking about it and a bit more action. I also could’ve done without so many Alexey chapters, it got so repetitive and the point would’ve gotten across with one or two chapters from his POV.

The magic system is where the author really shined for me. Necromancy, angels, demons, dream magic, and an occult library that remains a mystery every time they step into it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough of it.

Overall, this is a well written book with a lot of qualities I liked, but needed more. A prequel novella might make me like it more in the future, but as a standalone, this book is 3 stars for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for having this book listed as "Read Now" on Netgalley. I appreciate the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated reads this year!

For the first 50% or so of the book, it was rather slow. However, I feel this might have been a deliberate choice as it laid the groundwork and backstory for the events currently happening in the book. We learn more about our main characters, the side characters, and the world that the author has built. Although it was slow, I still enjoyed reading it just for the world & character building.

After the 50% mark, things started to pick up speed. This is a spoiler-free review so I won't go into what happens, but I was hooked for the final 50%! I loved the ending, and I cannot wait for the sequel already.

I do recommend checking out ALL content warnings before you read.

I highly recommend this book!

An epic high stakes dark LGBTQ romance, guaranteed to get you sweaty... from nerves! Told through multiple point of views, the reader definitely sympathizes which each character, to some degree.

Dimitri and Alexey are married, and they are the Tzars of Novo-Svitsevo, until Alexey turns evil and Dimitri is forced to go to war against his own husband. No longer truly human, Alexey is a terror as he rules and aims to take over the world, while Dimitri is grieving and plotting to take back his thrown. Vasily is a hot spy to takes everything to heart including Dimitri.

I like that Samotin was inspired by her own culture and decided to write a fantasy novel inspired by her Jewish heritage.

A lush, dark Jewish fantasy that deals with trauma very respectfully and includes a lovely romance!! I loved the story told in this and I 'll definitely be picking up more by this author

1.75 ⭐️

!!!!!MILD SPOILERS!!!!
.
.
.
.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Make sure you read all the CW for this one before you dive in.
.
.
.

This book’s worst crime is being incredibly dull. Mediocre. A snooze fest. I’ve read science fair pamphlets made by middle schoolers that were more captivating.

•Realizing that this book was supposed to be character driven made me angry. I didn’t feel anything for the characters at all. They were one way in the first 60%, another way in the next 20%, then another way for the last 20% without any real fleshing out. I think because this book promises intrigue and action in the synopsis, that’s what you expect, but you end up with these constantly flat chapters that can’t decide if they want to world build, character build, or move the plot forward, so you end up with a dreadful mashup of all three possibilities.

•I think balancing character and plot is both really easy and really hard. Once you figure it out, it’s hard to mess up. This book didn’t figure it out. I think it could have been a dynamic, clever, politically intriguing adventure with characters you can’t help but fall in love with but it wasn’t. It didn’t feel sloppy per se, just underbaked from every aspect. The magic is easily the most interesting part of this book, but the writing didn’t do it service. It didn’t feel rich. It felt like I was reading a summary in bullet point form at the end of a spell book.

•The first 70% of this book is the same three bullet points repeated over and over again. Over and over again. They weren’t mentioned once and elaborated later, they weren’t mentioned then put in parallel with themselves at a different point in the book, we didn’t get to read them as a unique, beautiful metaphor every time they were brought up. No. They were delivered with the same straightforward manner every time. At every scene. In every POV character’s head. Banging my head against the wall would’ve been just as repetitive but much less painful.

•Most of the scenes read like the kind you would write in a first draft where you aren’t sure where you would take your story. Stuff just happening because.

•Dimitri was always always sad in a way that got exhausting to read. It can be argued that that’s the point (you’re supposed to be sucked into his depression), and I see where that could have been the intention, but it I believe it wasn’t well done. Usually when a character is stuck feeling the same emotion, especially sadness, the author will try to offset it with unique metaphors and a mysterious backstory to keep you invested, but this isn’t done here. I swear the same sentences were copy pasted from the way it was hammered into my head. Even Vasily and Alexey had that same monotonous voice. Alexey was slightly more interesting but also boring. I didn’t feel like the world building and magic were done in a way that submerged me in their richness. Any interest I had was from my own brain filling in the blanks.

•The character of Vasily was incredibly confusing. His thoughts and personality didn’t make sense to me at all for what he was— a spymaster. He read more like a peasant being forced into the role of a spy. He’s not clever or charming. We’re supposed to believe he is but his dialogue doesn’t stand out at all. He just finds stuff out. By having normal conversations with people. Who just give it to him. For absolutely no reason. Maybe it’s the curls?

•If you’re going to have such a large chunk of this book lack action and intriguing politics, your characters and prose need to be more compelling. In terms of prose, either quirky or beautiful. Shadow and Bones’ prose is similarly simple, but it had the plot beats and general intrigue about the world to make up for it. The writing style didn’t have that “YA flow” nor was it sophisticated or fun in any way. The few attempts at humor fell flat for me.

•The POV switches didn’t feel coherent and didn’t add much to the story. The chapters didn’t end in a way that compelled me to keep reading. POV switching can keep readers in suspense but I didn’t find myself caring about the characters or the events of the story enough to be on the edge of my seat.

•The amount of sex scenes and physical attraction didn’t make up for the characters’ general lack of romantic chemistry. The most compelling relationship was the one we weren’t supposed to root for, which was disturbing.

What I think should have been done?
1. Dimitri should have infiltrated the court himself, under disguise using shape shifting magic he found in the library. It would have been interesting to see his POV interacting with his evil husband and his evil husband’s POV as he interacted the love of his life, unbeknownst to him. Vasily should have been a spymaster for Alexey that eventually joined Dimitri’s side (after falling in love and confronting his past). The story could have focused on the suspense of Dimitri swaying the court to his side while Alexey was none the wiser, and trying to find a way to reverse Alexey’s immortality. This idea could’ve balanced character work and plot really well.
2. Maybe the story could’ve taken place at the beginning of the civil war, before Dimitri exiled himself. I think the inner turmoil and general nature of war would’ve made up for the lack of cohesive plot.
3. Or, if we aren’t going to change the basis of the story, just have it begin earlier. Maybe with Vasily finding the ad from the palace and having an emotional send off with Dimitri and co. Have Vasily spend a longer time trying to sway Alexey over rather than Alexey being immediately convinced (that felt so so so lazy).

Overall, the writing style for this book is what made it so flat. Even if any of the ideas above were executed they would have to be written with a completely different approach to prose to sell it to me.
.
.
.
Anyway, this book seems to have found its audience so for that I’m glad. It’s not a bad book and I enjoyed what it was doing for queerness by having a queernormative world (did I use the right word?). Will I read anything else by this author? Yeah sure if the synopsis appeals to me. This is a debut after all so the only way to go is up.

Thank you to Net Galley for the arc.
I wanted to like this so badly but it just wasn’t for me. The pacing was completely off, it felt like the middle book of a trilogy. There are references to these important events that happened in the past but nothing happens in the actual book. The solution was way too fast and convenient and the last chapter makes you feel like you read the entire book for nothing. There were some pretty big plot holes or things that were not explained well, as well as some other little things that could easily be fixed in editing (like whenever there’s a scene with 2 male characters the author uses “the other man” a million times). If you’re expecting any action you’ll be disappointed. The entire book is just politics and sex. There are sex scenes back to back and they all feel the same and unnecessary. Another thing that bothered me a lot (which I think has to do with the fact that this book reads like a sequel) is that the author does a lot of telling and barely any showing. The world and the magic system had SO much potential but it’s hard to get to know it when every other scene is set in the characters’ beds. Although the characters themselves weren’t super developed, I really loved their friendship. The queer representation was also great.
If you want a dark version of Shadow and Bone with no action, a lot of politics, and a lot of sex, this is the book for you.

The Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo is violently overthrown by an indestructible man who claims to have been chosen by God Himself and brought back from the dead to serve his purpose. To make matters worse, the new Tzar is the husband of the Tzar that he displaced.

This novel follows Dimitri, the rightful ruler of this kingdom and his Spymaster, Vasily, as they attempt to regain the throne from the abusive hands of Alexey Balakin. I’m going to start with a warning that 1/3 of the chapters in this book are told from the POV of the abuser Alexey, which I found to be in bad taste. I feel like these chapters didn’t endear me at all to Alexey and that this antagonist could have been easily built up by the other two POVs of Dimitri and Vasily. As someone with personal experience of domestic violence, I have no problems with this being covered in literature, but I think platforming an abuser’s narrative is unnecessary.

I did enjoy the world-building in this dark fantasy, with the author taking inspiration from Jewish customs and folktales to create a fantastical version of an Eastern European country. The queer representation in this book was also expertly done, with a wide range of characters across the LGBT+ spectrum, where their queerness was not their only character trait. It was clear that the author had worked hard to create a fantasy setting in which queerness was just as acceptable as straightness, and I applaud her for that.

For my own tastes, there was too much sex and too little plot to make this book a worthwhile read. I know that smut is big in the BookTok community at the moment, and I’m sure this book will do incredibly well with that audience, but I found that for the first 50% of the story, I knew more about the sex lives of the characters than the actual stakes. The majority of the sex was also quite violent and very mechanistic, which made it difficult for me to read. There were also a couple of scenes that included heavy drug use which I felt didn’t really fit in with the world at all and really brought me out of it. I will say that the latter half of the book became more plot-driven and therefore more enjoyable.

I think that the book would have benefited from starting at a different place in the narrative, as it picks up in the aftermath of a brutal war, rather than in the depths of a battle. If the story had started earlier, perhaps even before Alexey’s transformation, I would have bought more into the connection between Dimitri and Alexey. The way it happened, it was difficult to see why Dimitri still held Alexey in his heart. Especially as Alexey’s only redeeming quality seemed to be that he loved Dimitri in his own strange way. The heavy use of backstory in the novel sometimes made it difficult to follow and feel genuinely immersed in the narrative, especially when this backstory didn’t really add anything new. [Mild spoiler] I was also confused at the reference at the beginning of the book to Dimitri not being able to shoot his husband on a battlefield and how he tortures himself over this throughout, because surely if Alexey is unkillable then it wouldn’t have made a difference if Dimitri shot him or not?

I do think there will be a lot of people who enjoy this book (as I can already tell from the majority of Goodreads reviews!) but unfortunately, I’m not one of them. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for allowing me to access an ARC copy.

When I began reading this novel, I began writing down every thought I had to be able to compose this review. Straight away, I adored the art at the front of the copy, thinking about how I would buy them as prints, as well as the etchings on the chapter title pages. I love that the author has chosen to add content warnings before the beginning (and on StoryGraph). This is something that is all too overlooked in media today. Upon reading the words, I straight away fell in love with the imagery used within the writing, and if this was a physical copy I'd have been marking every few pages to return to. However, my attention to detail quickly fell away as I became entirely entranced within this novel.

The plot is captivating, almost from the start. I have seen other reviews, and I can understand how it may be slower for some people, but, in my opinion, this is down to a matter of one's personal likes, rather than writing skill. I loved the fact the plot picked up from the back-end of a major tragedy - it wrote into the characterisation of Dimitri, and it provided a backdrop to build the world around. But above all, I fell in love with the characters, quickly, and there may lie bias in how well a queer-normative world was built up (to even see this representation at all!), but the introduction of a non-binary character, with neutral pronouns, so casually, just existing, was truly beautiful to read, despite the affliction the plot is built upon.

From here on I may spoil some parts of the novel. I will try to be as ambiguous as possible, but please read on with concern if the novel is unread for you.

All the reveals within this novel, every single one, struck me, such as finding out what the illustrations in the front of the novel are, and how this so subtly, but so wonderfully, revealed the relations from Vasily towards Dimitri, for example. But also finding out what Alexey has done - I don't know if I can say all of it was a shock, as you gradually learn enough of his character to predict the actions he is capable of, but it was still done so well, and with care. There lies concern writing from the point of view of a manipulator, or a villian, and particularly with one of Alexey's demise, but I think the author has done this brilliantly. Firstly, even balancing all three perspectives was seamless, and there was no hitch or break in the story telling that you can sometimes find in multiple-pov novels. But even so, reading Alexey's pov in particular, you understand his thinking, you understood his motivations, so well that it wasn't question, and yet it was still obvious that he was the villain, the manipulator (with the author even explicitly using words such as this) without ruining the character of his point of view.

Some of the moments in particular which got me, that I was present enough to stop and write down in my notes, include: the end of chapter 7, where I have written how happy I was, and how the author has already managed to create such strong connections to the characters; how i already was emotional with tears within the first one hundred pages of the book; and then a jump to the end of chapter 32, because I become so enhanced with the plot and characters, where, and i quote my own notes, 'i am screaming'; the transmission to the next chapter... it was captivating. Moreover, the overarching themes of trust and found family and belonging sung to me, I adored it.

I think the only hinderance I held throughout the plot was (extreme spoiler), in chapter 34, following Alexey and Ivan's following interactions, there is a sentence that reads on p. 336 immediately following the scene break, the illicit use of this word, made me believe Alexey had sent Ivan to his demise in a rage. Considering his character, this was entirely believable to me, and this may fully be a reflection of me finishing this novel late at night, because I went back and reread this paragraph when I realised. It did not dictate from the story, and nor did it ruin the unveiling of events in any way, but I wish to include it in an honest review for the author. Nevertheless, for a debut novel, I have fallen in love, and I truly truly look forward to (what I hope will be!) the second instalment in this series. And finally, I admired the explanation at the end, and I respect the choice to include the further reading. This book was an easy five stars, no questions asked. I have added links to where I will review the book below, in due time.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

This book was very different from what I have previously read. I don’t typically go for the ex love / new lover trope but I really enjoyed the plot and story.

Dimitri had a beautiful growth arc as he dealt with the grief of losing his husband and home. We saw him at his lowest and watched him claw his way back. The author did a really nice job with pacing where you could see the struggle. Where he didn’t really want to do things but did them in order to save his family and people.

Alexey was very much the villain. He clearly made a few mistakes on his religious path. He was very much obsessed with power but did have a weakness. It was interesting seeing how he would react to things and how he very much missed Dimitri.

Vasily was by far my favorite character. I enjoyed seeing what personas he would put on and what new information he would find.

Overall I enjoyed the world building and lore in this book. It was a refreshing fantasy read where you could feel the characters flaws and emotions.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Canada for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I went into The Sins on Their Bones not knowing much about what to expect but absolutely loving the book by like, the 20% mark.

Dimitri Alexeyev is the exiled Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo, living in hiding with his court, plotting to reclaim the throne from his sort-of ex-husband, Alexei.

Alexey Balakin has successfully claimed the throne and is busy spreading the Holy Science across the empire, a religion that allowed him to resurrect himself as an immortal and (according to him) speak to God Himself. Also, he can summon demons.

Vasily Sokolov is Dimitri’s spymaster and sort-of lover, and when presented with the opportunity to infiltrate Alexey’s court, he takes it even though it comes with great personal risk.

First and foremost, I love mess. I love when characters are messy and their choices are messy, and these characters??? They’re walking human disasters. Their interpersonal relationships are so interesting and complex and delicious, and I loved getting all of their perspectives, even when they verged on uncomfortable (maybe especially when they verged on uncomfortable). Samotin’s characters are so well written and I really liked how deep they were, especially the side characters. There was a good balance of the three POV characters and they each brought something interesting to the story. I also appreciated the queer-normative world. The atmosphere was wonderful and I enjoyed Samotin’s prose and felt that it matched the story well. I also really liked how she rendered body horror, it felt appropriately gross and visceral while not feeling tonally out of place. Samotin does a good job at depicting difficult topics with care, such as intimate partner violence and sexual abuse, and I enjoyed her explore what it means to heal and how love plays a role in it.

Plotwise, this is a character driven slow burn, and while I immensely enjoyed it, there was a time where I realized we were 30 or 40% into the novel and still not much had happened compared to where I had thought we’d be. I enjoyed the slow pace and thought that book one ended well and made sense (this is, I believe, a duology), though I do think the second half moves noticeably faster than the first (from a slow to medium pace, though, and it does feel natural). I’m definitely curious to see where the second book will go, and while I do think this can work as a standalone, I’m excited to get some other questions answered.

I absolutely recommend this and Samotin did a wonderful job crafting her world, characters, and relationships. A new favorite for me for sure.

I enjoyed the LGBT aspect of this story and think that it was done well. But, I didn’t find myself particularly connected to any character or storyline. I didn’t really get the “point” of the book, there were a lot of different things going on that didn’t feel like they worked well together.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year so I was very happy when I found it on Netgalley by accident with a Read now button, allowing me to get access to the ARC instantly

It did not disappoint. I think labeling it as romantasy or spicy is not entirely accurate. There is a romance between Dimitri and Vasily, but much of the focus in this book is on Dimitri and Alexey, who are now enemies, though still have feelings for each other, and examines the trauma Dimitri endured at Alexey's hand. The sex scenes too are more about that trauma than that they are spicy, and I think this aspect was very well done but can be hard to read for some. It personally didn't bother me. All explicit sex scenes in this book are between consensual adults, though sexual assault is hinted at.

Dimitri is a wonderful character, someone who endured something horrible and now believes it's all his fault. He believes what Alexey did is his fault, losing the war and his throne is his fault, and through that all the awful things happening in his country. At the start of the book, he is in a deep depression and not really motivated to get better because he believes he deserves it, and that makes his arc very satisfying.

A third of this book is written through Alexey's POV, which might be a controversial choice, but I think it worked well here. It pushes the story forward by giving more insight into what Alexey is actually doing, and makes the book all the more horrifying. I loved how the author delved into Alexey's mindset, he is cleary awful yet believes he's entirely justified, and approaches every relationship with a need for control, something which became harder when Dimitri was tzar while he was only the tzar's spouse. I like how we got a lot of their backstory through Alexey's POV, if anything his thoughts make it more obvious the relationship was bad than Dimitri's POV who still kind of romanticizes what they had before Alexey became a monster.

Vasily is the third POV character, and he's such a fun character and a great foil for Alexey. He has his own trauma, but seeing Dimitri blame himself for everything that went wrong helps Vasily realize his own trauma wasn't his fault, just as what happened to Dimitri wasn't his fault. He is in love with Dimitri and it isn't always easy for him, but I loved watching their romance develop, though it wasn't the biggest part of the book.

The world building was interesting and I liked the role religion played in it. I'm not super familiar with the Jewish folklore the religion is based on, but I could follow along quite well, and I liked the religious conflict between Dimitri's more traditional beliefs and Alexey's Holy Science.

Would recommend this book to people who enjoy dark fantasy and healing from trauma narratives, do be sure to mind the content warnings.