Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for the ARC I received.

Wow I really enjoyed reading this. It's definitely a darker book so be sure to check the trigger warnings the author provides (those are shared on their IG from what I remember).

The book starts off pretty bleak. We have one of our main characters (who I consider THE main character although we do have three characters getting pretty much equal "screentime"), Dimitri or Dima, a year out from a civil war/coup where he lost control of his country to his husband. Damn if that wouldn't mess up someone's head a bit so as you can imagine, Dimitri isn't in a great place mentally in the beginning of the book. But he is surrounded by his small circle of friends and family as they try to regroup and figure out their next steps to stopping Alexey (this is the "ex" husband). As such the book starts off a little slower, plot wise. The plot definitely picks up at about the halfway point, but ultimately, my favorite part about this book is the characters, their relationships, and their growth so while the plot might not be super fast paced initially, I enjoyed every page I read.

Speaking of the characters, I really loved so many of them. The author does an amazing job of crafting a beautiful little found family of interesting and diverse characters that all have each other's backs (my favorite of the side characters was Annika but honestly, they all rocked). I even found myself loving characters (or things since some weren't quite human) that weren't even in the book for very long. And there were characters I really didn't like but were very interesting to read about. In particular, one third of this book is from the POV of Alexey. He sucks, I hate him, but my gosh were his chapters so interesting. I really appreciated getting to see his mindset and I think the book really wouldn't have worked well without it.

The other POV characters were Dimitri and Vasily and I loved them both so much. My favorite was definitely Dimitri, I was always so excited when I got to his POV. His growth throughout this book was a joy to see and I'm really excited to see how that continues in the next book.

Ultimately, I want to make this a spoiler-free review so without going into further detail and accidentally spoiling anything I will just summarize the key things about the book that I liked (and if they are things you like then you should give the book a try):
- Found family
- Character focused plot
- Lovers to Enemies
- Friends to Lovers
- Angels and Demons
- Queer normative world
- Multi POV (including the antagonist POV)

All-in-all I would give this book I think 4.5/5 stars but Netgalley doesn't allow half stars, so I've rounded up. I also could see my personal star rating going up depending on how much this book ends up sticking with me now that I've finished it, but we'll just have to wait and see for that. I am very excited for the next book and thankful I got to read the ARC before publication!

3.75 stars!

Thank you to Laura R. Samotin and Random House for an ARC in exchange for my full, honest review.

This Jewish folkore-inspired dark fantasy debut has a lot going for it but I think it's also one of those books that may only work for certain readers. I enjoyed the fantasy elements and characters in this book, really the kind of stuff you can sink your teeth into. Each of the three POVs has a lot of value in the book and I didn't find myself annoyed to get to a certain POV (even if Alexey's is a little more difficult to enjoy than the others). Sexual trauma and abuse were handled very well in my opinion on Dimitri's part, but Vasily's experience really fell to the wayside and was hardly touched on.

My main gripe with this book is the pacing. Overall, I would say it's a pretty slow-paced book, but at crucial moments it speeds up to an almost distracting degree. When you've just read 100+ pages of planning and small actions and then a pivotal, action-packed moment passes in literally a page, it's a little hard to internalize the events. This might just be a problem for me, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's something other reviewers picked up on.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed to the extent that I thought this could be a 4+ star read, but the pacing really shows in the end and the rush to tied everything up threw me off, especially because this book isn't particularly short. Fantasy standalones are really hard to write, and I think this is really excellent for a debut. I know a lot of people have enjoyed this book and I think this has potential to be five stars for another reader, so definitely give it a try. However, if you're struggling part way through, I'm not sure that the latter half of the book will redeem it for you.

Happy reading!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Canada for an ARC of this book.

Set in an Eastern European nation, presumably in the second half of the 19th century—time and place are ambiguous—this novel draws from Russian history and Jewish folklore to weave a story both imagined and with a nod to history and myth. There is an intriguing triple POV that presents the experiences of Alexey, the reigning Tsar as the story begins, Dimitri, his estranged husband whom he, in fact, dethroned and replaced, and faithful aid Vasily, who, caught between these two and the sides they represent, has good reason to fear for his life. In fact, every character in this story does.

As a tale of court intrigue, the (often misused) powers of religion, clashing ideologies, and power struggles both personal and political, this novel fulfils its promise. The author’s foreword indicates that she wants to present a spectrum of sexualities without associated guilt, which is commendable, though certainly not part of any historic reality of the time.

Also commendable about her foreword is that she makes a clear statement about the potential triggers that readers will find in the novel’s pages, listing those she sees as most troubling.

Here’s the problem for me. Trigger warnings are just that, warnings. Many, like me, know what they don’t like to read, but it’s not as though authors can be expected to provide a list of pages, especially because they are individualized and often highly subjective. One of my worst is any character so much as thinking bad thoughts about an animal. Others might think, awful, but not nightmare-inducing. Much of what goes down in this story is, for me, the stuff of nightmares. The main characters and all the many side characters are fundamentally nasty. It’s hard to see why their views on religion and politics are so oppositional, since it’s all about who has the power to do the greatest harm. The folklore elements are quickly lost. The sex, frankly, is also sickening because it may well be consensual but that’s also often obscured. The violence is gory; the sex is frequently violent. The main characters are all traumatized but I can’t work up any compassion for them

In the end, if I rated this elegantly written and intelligently researched novel solely on the basis of my visceral dislike, and the fact that I made myself finish it, it would rank very low. But I don’t feel that’s fair to the author or other readers. I suspect response will be polarized, and I can see how some might well be completely captivated. Some aspects of plot and character development could be better, but in terms of style and structure, there is much to admire. I just didn’t enjoy it.

I had the hardest time reading this off the netgalley shelf app. And couldn't get the pdf to work. So as much as I was enjoying this book I wasn't liking the set up so I gave up.

So when this comes out I really want to give it another go because it sounded so good from I was reading. And can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

I enjoyed what I read of this enough that I will be buying it when it comes out, but didn't love it enough to feel compelled to try to force myself to try read any further in PDF (why oh WHY do publishers not offer .epub/Kindle options on all digital ARCs in this, the year 2023)? The comps do seem well chosen, though, so I'm excited to see if the rest holds up so that I can recommend it to fans of those authors and other queer historical fantasy such as Freya Marske, S.T. Gibson, etc. Three stars as a placeholder.

Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. Although i enjoyed the writing, I simply couldn't get into it. This one is definitely not a romantasy, but a dark fantasy, and personally I have a hard time with this genre depending on the different subject matters. I'm convinced this will be a great 5stars for some, simply not for me,

I found the setting and story interesting. The plot did lull at points but overall it was a solid plot. The representation I felt was also done well. The characters felt a bit one dimensional at times. I would be interested in reading more of what the author comes out with in the future.

I want to like this book so much, but the truth is I only finished it out of sheer stubbornness (and maybe a sliver of hope that it will get better.)

This is a story of a tsar who gets overthrown by his own husband - even though his husband loves him so much - and has to go into hiding. His husband is a fan of black magic that goes against the tsar's religion, so he has to try and fight back - even though he also loves his husband so much. To this end, his spymaster, who is head over heels in love with him will find journey back to the palace alone under a disguise and try to find a way to kill the usurper - whom he hates so much he can't go one second without thinking about a thousand ways to kill him.

Let me talk about the things I like about this book first. It has a very beautiful prose. This is the book's main strength. It's very flowery and poetic. It's clear that the author puts in a lot of work into researching and crafting the Russian-inspired settings. And I can feel that the author really cares about the themes discussed in the book, like the struggle to love yourself after getting gaslighted for so long, finding a family that you belong, and overcoming your traumas. I can feel the beating heart through the letters of this book, and I really appreciate that.

Now, my problem, though, is that I didn't enjoy the story. And when I say it's my problem, I mean it's a matter of preferences. And there are two layers to this. Firstly, at the idea level, no one is competent at their jobs. Or if they're supposed to be, then I'm not convinced. It's awkward to be in the head of a spy who is constantly struggling to not be overwhelmed by his emotion and maintain his disguise. It's also hard to root for a man to reclaim his throne when you're not convinced he would make a good king. Like, he literally balks at making any decisions. Now, I know there's a point about anxiety and depression that come from domestic abuse, physically, emotionally, and sexually. As a person, he's a kind person who deserves all the nice and pretty things in the world. I root for him to heal, to take his time, to be surrounded by people he love and not have to stress about how his abusive husband is going to destroy the world. As a king, though, being nice is just not enough - I don't really trust the country in his hands.

The other level of my problem is how the idea is told. The story alternates between 3 POVs: the tsar, the usurper husband, and the spymaster. From the beginning, in each and every chapter, these characters never hold back on pouring all their thoughts and emotions onto the pages. This means, that, one, all their incompetency and foil are exposed to the readers very early on; and two, from the beginning, I know who they are. Maybe not all their histories exactly, but more than enough to predict what they're going to do in any situations. And then, the next time the character's chapter comes around, they are still wallowing in their emotions! Nothing happens until about 40% into the book because every chapter consists of a short dialogue that leads nowhere plus an endless turmoil of repetitive emotions. This style of writing makes me numb because when you start at maximum emotion - the grief, the anger, the fear, the yearning, and the yearning, and more yearning - there is just nowhere else to go. Not for the enmity nor the romance. So, the only thing left to keep me going was the plot which progresses at a snail pace and only picks up around the 70% mark, at which point the story does become significantly more entertaining.

I would still recommend this book if you're someone who enjoy characters with overflowing emotions and beautiful writing. I would also recommend it if you're looking books that explore the themes that I said I appreciated above. But if you're looking for court intrigue, complex schemes, or nuanced characters, I don't think you'll get that from here.

**Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for e-ARC**

3.5/5

I'm a bit torn here, unsure how to rate the read. Because of that uncertainty, I will rate at the higher end.
I really wanted to love that story, expecting to like it, really. Unfortunately, it fell a bit short for me. The writing is alright, didn't really convey anything special ; the characters are a little too one dimensional for my taste, to define by a certain aspect of their position and history, but overall, it works for the story ; the plot is quite simple, nothing to say there. The worldbuilding was nice, mostly because of the Jewish inspiration, since the political aspect is maybe more common for someone reading fantasy. The magic and creatures were enough to stand out though ! Having the three POVs, including the villain's one was great too ! Adding a interesting perspective, more purshase and a bit of unsettling ideas. The layers of trauma, love and relationships were pretty well manage, not deep for me (but that might be an issue on my part, not being in the right headspace to enjoy a story conyeyed that way, with a kind of syrupy sense).
My biggest issue was how I couldn't seem to grasp at the characters' emotions, making it less interesting to follow their story. It ay be "me" issue here, I don't know. Some of the sexe scenes felt a bit uncalled for but didn't really bothered me.
Overall an enjoyable read, though a bit below my expectations. I think overall the author managed to fulfilled her wishes with this story, and I liked the hours spend between the book's page, so I will read the following book.

Wasn't aware of this title not having a kindle version. Reading on my phone device is just not a fun experience so I had to DNF at 10%. This is a temporary review and will update once there's a kindle version.

This book was a delicious, dark read. I thought how the story begins with the main character and his court already in exile was an interesting place to start the story. At first i would have thought the story would start before Alexey's transformation and betrayal, but i think flashing back to that part of the story gave the character development more depth.

At first I almost felt a little bit bad for Alexey and thought that in his mind, he was justified in is actions and missed Dmitri. As the story goes on his abusive nature becomes more clear through flashbacks of his treatment of Dmitri and his repeated abusive behaviour towards Ivan.

The pacing in the beginning to be on the slow side and then the ending felt rushed.

The author's note explains how the author wanted to create a world where queerness is normative where "sexual orientation wasn't a source of trauma or an obstacle for characters". I can appreciate the sentiment and had no problem accepting a world where the tzar can be married to another ma. It's great to see that type of world betrayed more often in fantasy or even historical worlds. I do feel that some of the reveal of the sexualities and gender identities of the side characters didn't feel natural and felt a bit like ticking boxes on a diversity requirement. Particularly the reveal that one character is asexual/aromantic by walking in on two characters having sex and quipping that she "has no interest in such activities". Dmitri's court comes across as a little underdeveloped, so to insert this awkward conversation in the middle of a sex scene doesn't feel natural. Perhaps an asexual reader will feel differently from me and will welcome the representation.

Overall, i thought the story was a mesmerizing look at recovering from an abusive relationship and dealing with conflicting emotions of loving and missing someone who was horrible to you. I really loved the relationship between Vasily and Dmitri and LOVED Vasily's letter to Dmitri near the end of the book.

I also adored the inclusion of Jewish folklore and culture in a fantasy world. So many fantasy books include gaelic or christian elements so it was refreshing to have a world with so much jewish language and customs, and to have it be the dominant religion.

Unable to read due to NO kindle format available.
I suggest that before making this available on here to get a kindle copy ready to go as a lot of use use this format and a ready to use asap

Thank you to the publisher for approving my request, unfortunately I'm unable to read this in the pdf format on my kindle and have been unable to transfer it to another format. If a kindle version becomes available I will read and review then.

Dnd‘ed at 58% (page 228) (Maybe 2 stars)

For the first 30 pages I was sure this would be a glorious 5-star read. I was drawn in completely by the beautiful language and the atmosphere, this fantasified ancient Russia (withs bit of Jewish mythology thrown in) and Dimitri‘s brokenhearted suffering.

And I didn‘t mind the first three sex scenes.

And then … nothing happened.

The Good:

- The language and the world captivate you from page one. I had very high hopes.
- The premise and the mix of ideas! Never read something like it and again, had high hopes.
- Dimitri‘s suffering and the beginning has your heartbreaking and the way his friends treat him, beautiful.
- The interactions between him and his court were fun and light-hearted. You saw how much they cared for him. Love (in all direction) was very well shown.
- The queerness of them all. One (?) straight main character in sight

The Bad:

- It could have been so action-packed and fast and oh so good! Instead I got a snail-paces plot (with the 50%-„climax“ (pun intended) should have happened at 25%) sprinkled in between sex scenes.
- the sex scenes: I get that they show the characteristics of the two main characters, (A. dominant and powerhungry, D. looking for comfort), but there could have been other ways additional to showing them fucking every 5 pages! It got boring really fast. Especially if you got two following scenes being sex scenes and no plot movement. Major yawn.
- Too much talking and strategising, no doing. And if you tell me the action part starts at 60% in - that‘s to late!
- Too much „showing“ sithout showing anything: The two parties almost never left their homes and still I have no good visual of the places. It all was all glossed over quickly without feeling quick. The experiments could have been shown better! The demons, the country, the palace! Focus more on action than on whining and planning. (Although drunk Dimitri at the start was fun.)

All in all I am very dissapointed and am glad I dnf‘ed it, albeit late. Thanks to netgalley for the arc, but that was a miss for me.

This one is really hard to get through due to theme and very intense writing style. We have a triple POV from three really broken men. One the abuser, one the traumatized victim, one the man in between who is trying to do right.
All set in a Eastern Europe setting, which I really love. At a post-war time where things are bleak.
And in a society where sexual orientation is not the source of trauma, but is just what it is.
We're deep in the feelings of Alexey, Vasily and especially Dimitri. And I can just advise you to read the trigger warnings, because there's abuse and PTSD on so many levels. What the book does, it does really well, trying to mend what is broken, but never neglecting the scars. However, sometimes it's hard not to throw the book against the wall just because it's so sad and moving and heart-breaking. If you stick with it though, you might find a masterpiece in the narration.
I won't even say much about the plot, because first you'll have to decide if you want to get through this book or not.
That said, it's difficult to rate it. As stated, what it does it does incredibly well. I'm gonna land on 4/5 stars. This is less a statement of the quality of the book, but of my relationship with it.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for the eARC!

#SinsOnTheirBones #Netgalley #bookstagram

I want to first say thank you so much to netgalley, for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had really wanted to push myself to read this book. However, as much as I lived for Alexey's Rasputin vibes, I found Dimitri and his courts dynamic to almost be hard to understand. After making it about 50% of the way through the book, I ended up DNFing it. Personally, I felt that it was continuing on and on without any major plot points up until about the 40% mark.

To others this is completely fine. They enjoy the descriptive and flushed out background and story building. I just personally struggled to stay focused on it.

I would recommend that anyone who would be interested in reading this book to first explore the trigger warnings associated, as they may not be for everyone. After that I would suggest a better pacing. Overall the story was well put together, I just struggled to stay engaged with the characters.

The Sins on Their Bones was a lovely read if you enjoy jewish folklore, fantasy, lgbt+ and mental health representation.
The story shows 3 POVs, Dimitri, Alexey, and Vasily. Dimitri is left broken, a shell of who he used to be after war and heartbreak. Alexey is the new ruler of the Empire, cold, Ruthless, and thrives off the fear of his people. Vasily is an anonymous spy master, pledged to work for Dimitri so he can get his Empire back and rule once again.
Overall I thought it was a great story, the author handled tough subjects well and made it appropriate still for late teens/ YA readers who enjoy fade to black scenes. Would i read it again? Probably not, but if the author came out with more I would definitely read those as well.

Unfortunately not in a format I can read or review, I tried on different apps but iPad won’t let me, sorry, I look forward to reading this on publication day

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sins on Their Bones is a captivating queer dark fantasy of a reimagined 19th century Eastern Europe steeped in Jewish folklore. Make sure you check the trigger warnings; it contains difficult subjects and one of the three POVs is actually the main villain and abuser so be wary!

Samotin weaves an intimate tale about love; the healing and the destructive, about belonging and grief and trauma. I really enjoyed her writing and worldbuilding. She introduces an incredible cast of characters, all distinct and well fleshed out. I loved Dimitri and Vasily’s POVs, their romance and healing journey.

Overall, really enjoyed it! I was captivated from start to finish and look forward to more from this author!

(Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing this EArc)

This book is amazing! It's so easy to suggest it to people who loved Shadow and Bone. The beginning of the book is so strong, and captured my attention immediately! A beautiful found family story, against a backdrop of civil war.

I loved flipping between POV in this book, and all of them were enjoyable and added to the story.

I was about 30 pages into the galley when I stopped to preorder it. I was so impressed!