One of my favorite reads of the year

"Daughter of the Bone Forest" by Jasmine Skye is a captivating five-star read. While the beginning is a bit slow due to world-building, it still gives the reader a cozy feeling since we're getting the backstory of her grandparents. I really enjoyed the unique magic system of witches and their bonded familiars which set the stage for an enchanting story. The Sapphic narrative adds depth, and Rosie's character growth is both extremely relatable and well-executed. Skye seamlessly blends fantasy and character-driven storytelling, making this book a must-read for those who enjoy fantasy, intricate magic systems and sapphic romances. Highly recommended for its rich narrative and compelling characters.

Thank you to Macmillain Audio and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

This was such a fresh trip down a familiar memory lane, and I loved every second of it! It felt like you were right back in the midst of a magical boarding school, but the whole world was so unique that every second was new and exciting. I loved the depth that the worldbuilding goes into and the ways that the familiars are woven into it to make such a vivid picture of everything. Combine that with all the intrigue and secrets that grip you from the start, and I didn't want to put the book down!

I really admire Rosy and her strength, which she finds in herself in so many different ways. This truly is a story of her discovering herself along with her world and learning to love who she is, and I really connected with her on that level. Her romance is so sweet and there was never a moment where it felt like she was giving up a part of herself for it, and I really appreciated that.

I cannot wait to see where this series goes, I know that it's going to be spectacular!

This was captivating and immersive. I felt like I was living in this world with these characters, feeling what they felt. The audiobook was so well done. Everything felt real and immediate and intense. In fact, it was hard to transition to thinking about anything else once it was finished.

The characters were wonderful and I really liked all of them. The witch academy was really cool and it was easy to get lost in the story and feel like a student there.

The romance was minimal and kind of one sided, with Rosie in denial the whole time, but I feel like it will be further explored in future books.

The plot was fascinating and I want to know more about the bone magic and the bone familiars. It all felt very real and natural, as did the other types of magic. Bone magic was the focus though and got a lot more screentime.

It was all just ominous and creepy enough to be enticing without getting too gorey or creepy. The feeling that the country is teetering on the brink of war, and the promise of war that hangs over Shaw's head also help create tension and urgency in the story.

The ending is quite a cliffhanger, teasing the reader with only the first half of an important revelation, and leaves me desperately wanting to know what happens next. I will definitely be seeking out the sequel as soon as it is available.

The narrator did a fabulous job with the audiobook and really brought all the characters to life. I forgot that it was one person reading the story and really believed in all the various characters. I will definitely listen to more audiobooks she narrates.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy of the audiobook for review.

The Daughter of the Bone Forest was the perfect Sapphic YA Fantasy! This book was something I didn't know I needed.

This story follows Rosy, a bone shifter who is forced to attend a prestigious school for witches after saving the princess and her friend's life. Little did Rosey know she would be facing her hatred for what happened to her grandma and feelings for someone she blames.

This story was too good not to adore! I loved how the author created a queernormative world while utilizing the found family trope in this story. I also thoroughly enjoyed the witches, shapeshifting, and the concept of the magic school. I found the bond between witches and familiars to be a great concept. I loved how the author made the familiars shapeshifters and showed the bond via relationships. The additions of the sentient forest and the dynamics explored throughout the novel made it hard to stop reading.

The romance between Rosy and Shaw was the perfect push and pull. Rosy’s passion and care and Shaw’s fascinating personality made this twisty story such a treat!

 Their relationship was also delightful because of the hierarchy aspect, with Rosy being a farm girl and Shaw, an heir; it was nice to see how they worked and broke the stigma and how Rosy handled her past conflict with the kings family.

The narrators for this story were lovely! I enjoyed listening to the narrators; they brought the characters to life and hooked me as a listener. I also found that they were easy to understand, which added to the story’s presentation!



Thank you to the publisher and Jasmine Skye for the advance listener copy.

The world building was fantastic. The cover gave such a young, almost middle grade vibe and this book definitely didn’t feel too young. A solid high school YA.

Rosy is a Bone Familiar/Shifter who doesnt trust the royalty because her grandmother thinks she and her husband were targeted by the king. Rosy’s grandfather died a mysterious death and grandmother is confined to the forest. Rosy goes to the magic school to try and help her grandmother, but things get complicated by political intrigue.

The magic system is soooo amazing and I absolutely was addicted to this book.

Note: This book is a Queer normative world with wide range of gender expressions. Also there are many healthy, queer relationships.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.75/5

Daughter of the Bone Forest was the addictive, sapphic romantasy I’ve yearned for!

I ADORE this story. The queernormative world and found family in this story were welcoming, and the witches, shapeshifting, and magic school were wildly entertaining. I loved the romance between Rosy and Shaw; the diverse, queer characters; and the fascinating aspects of the magic school. Rosy’s passion and care and Shaw’s fascinating personality made this twisty story such a treat! The sentient forest and interesting dynamics explored throughout also made for delightful additions. Though some parts of the story felt a tad forced, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and eagerly await the sequel!

The narrators for this story were lovely! Rosy’s narrator was my favorite, but Shaw’s also did an excellent job. They were easy to understand and added a delightful effect to the story’s presentation!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC

⭐️=2.5 | 😘=1.5 | 🤬=1 | ⚔️=4.25 | 14/15+

summary: magic school for teenagers with witches and familiars (people who can turn into animals). our FMC is secretly a wolf transformation girlie but hides that and transforms into like horses and otters and is basically forced to go to the magic school because she wants to find a cure for her grandmother and also she’s sort of fake dating the literal princess?? but it’s like for a political alliance also??

thoughts: “horse girl” is used as an insult multiple times which i absolutely support. so funny.

growing older as a twenty-something year old teenage girl is realizing, with increasing dismay, that you are no longer the target audience for every variety of young adult fantasy novel. this is the case here. i think the last time I read a YA fantasy taking place in a school and actually took it seriously was A Deadly Education , but that’s not a regular school by any stretch of the imagination; there are no “first i went to this class with this professor and then this class with this professor” sequences there, but there absolutely are in Daughter of the Bone Forest, which is fine (i guess), just extremely juvenile; given that this is literally a book for children, that’s fine, again, but the unserious middle grade vibes of it all is contrasted with them supposedly being seniors about to graduate(????) and fake dating (but like for magic powers and political advantage?? i sort of don’t get it) and someone straight up getting their hand cut off, which is just a strange, messy juxtaposition. i didn’t hate this (i think) i am just nowhere near the target audience and also i was kind of forcing myself to finish it and constantly increasing the audiobook speed so i could get to more anticipated TBR reads, which is never a good sign.

anyway. some things i liked:
- queernormative! that’s cool!! so much LGBTQ+ representation of all kinds everywhere!
- resolution with MC’s family trauma was pretty good
- um

What I loved
1. Multi Pov stories are always fun for me and this one is no exception I love how the perspectives offered and the switches between them help with the pacing of story delivery.
2.Complex but delightfully approachable multi level story telling.
3. Magic School :)
4. Sapphic Rep
What didn't work for me as well
1. Some questionable pacing in the first fourth of the book
Who I would recommend this title for
Readers and listeners who enjoy stories with a voice similar to naomi novick's spinning silver will have a good time with this story.

This is beautifully written with a very good slow burn romance contrasted with a lot of pathos. Yes, we have the 'school of magic' clichés with the usual bullies, found allies, and sinister underbelly from the adults. But at the same time, the amount of nuances and intelligence in the story and heroine more than transcend the nitpicks. Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a decent job with the story.

Story: Rosamund is a true daughter of the enchanted forest in which she lives and helps her parents breed magical horses. But the outside world is gearing for war and it will affect her family in ways she knows may be devastating. When the tyrant king's daughter appears in her village, she knows it does not bode well. Soon enough, she finds herself whisked off to Witch Hall - a school for those with magic (witches and shapechangers). Rosey is a shapechanger - and a very gifted one. Princess Shaw is a witch. Rosey wants nothing to do with Shaw's coming war and is at the school only for access to resources to help her shapeshifting grandmother from going feral. But Shaw need's Rosey's abilities if their kingdom is to survive. And both will have to work together if Rosey is to survive the school long enough to achieve her goals.

It is really difficult to create a good synopsis of this story: not because it is overly complicated but because it is impossible in a few words to convey the layers in the storytelling. I especially appreciated that both lead characters (there are two POVs, Rosey and Shaw, but for the most part Rosey is the lead) approached situations with intelligence and thoughtfulness. There are no 'too stupid to live' characters that act impulsively and stupidly just to push a plot point. All the characters are nuanced with none being too good or too bad.

The story takes place in a magical school with a well defined magic system. The side characters are interesting and the LGBTQ aspects are thoroughly integrated and don't feel like the point of the story (or overshadow it). There is a large cast of them, friends of both main characters, yet I never found any to be too similar. I especially liked the slow burn romance of Rosey and Shaw since both women have different ambitions and outlooks yet are strong, independent, and caring.

The story flows smoothly and there is plenty of action, mystery, and magic. As noted, there were some cliches that were a bit annoying: helping a bullied kid, one-upping a school bully, jealous admirer, cruel teachers, etc. But they did not spoil the book for me.

The audio narration is decent. The narrator did not have a large range of tones so it could be hard at times to differentiate characters or feel that the intonation 'felt' like that character. But it wasn't terrible, either, and so this is a book that works both for the written and the audio versions.

In all, highly recommended. A book I enjoyed greatly and look forward to the next book in the duology. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

“Love has no timeline; it can take years, or it can take seconds.”

“Daughter of the Bone Forest,” by Jasmine Skye

Rosy is a bone familiar, a shifter who can turn into animals with bones. She has hidden her powers her entire life so as not to be put into the Witch King’s army. When Princess Shaw visits her town Rosy has the choice of saving her and exposing her powers or not getting involved. But not getting involved is not something she would ever do. The princess repays her life debt by enrolling Rosy into the magic school, to learn control over her gifts and Rosy complies so she can find a cure for her grandmothers’ illness.

I loved this book so much. It is transgender friendly and liberal in the world building and beliefs. I cried so much at the end of the book. Despite being sad it is YA, so it was about hopefulness, coming-of-age, and learning morals. The characters were interesting and relatable, even when the main character acted spoiled. I really cannot wait to read book 2 of the series. I listened to the audiobook version, and I liked the narrator’s voice and the pacing. 5 out of 5 stars.

-Shifter
-Magic
-F/F
-Royalty

Thank you for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️s

I received this book as an audiobook ARC and I’m so glad I was given the opportunity. Rosy is a familiar that is keeping a secret while also trying to save her grandmother and do right by her family. The amount of representation in this book is amazing! There are so many authors out there that are trying to have representation in their books but it sometimes feels forced or like a representation check mark they are trying to cross. That was far from the case with this book. The whole world was built on representation or all kinds and shows that not every story has to have a heterosexual white couple as the main characters. That representation shouldn’t be forced and should just be something natural, not something we ask for.

And the Magic system!? It’s so interesting and based on nature. It was truly beautiful. The world building and descriptions of characters were detailed without it feeling like it was dragging. I definitely can’t wait for the next book!

Absolutely stunned, beautifully written and narrated! I loved it from start to finish! I adored the unique magic system between the witches and familiars (bone, flower, ice & glass). Queer normative society. Magical college. The characters were very well written and well rounded. The world building was perfect, enough to get the mental picture but not so much that the book was consumed by descriptions. The story was addicting, gripping, emotional, maddening and best of all NOT predictable. Every time I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen I was wrong. There was love interest, but it didn’t consume the whole story. No spice, not even closed door. And how dare you end it like that! Ahhhhh! Have to know what happens next!

My unhinged first thoughts: I adored this book and I NEED the sequel posthaste!!

I am a sucker for a magical school, and this did not disappoint. The witch/familiar structure and their designations added a layer of depth that made the story especially compelling. I particularly enjoyed that world building was so strong, yet it never felt overly dense. Bonus points for the forbidden/enemies to lovers romance being so full of tension and resistance.

Both Lindsey Dorcus and Jeremy Carlisle Parker did such an amazing job with their narration and added so much emotion to the story. Perfect voice casting!

A well deserved 5 stars and an immediate entry into my favorites of the year shelf. Highly recommend!!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I loved the audiobook. The narrators were perfect.

What a great YA fantasy! I loved the protagonist, Rosy - she is perfectly flawed and easy to root for, with a masterful character arc. I loved the magic system; it has familiar elements while feeling unique and fresh as well. The bone magic was incredibly interesting, and Skye manages to make shapeshifting (not my cup of tea usually) something I loved to read about.

I loved the queernormative world and the all of the representation that felt easy and natural. Rosy and Shaw's romance is definitely a slower burn, and at first, I wasn't convinced. But as Rosy grew to trust Shaw, I grew to believe in their romance more and more. The side characters were also well developed and added to the richness of the worldbuilding that Skye created.

My only gripe was how trope-y the book was, but that is expected nowadays with YA fantasy. Overall, I liked it a lot and will look forward to the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I think some people out there will really enjoy this book, but boy howdy, it was NOT for me. The description sounded really fun. What's not to love about a bone forest, sapphic romance, and magic schools?

Unfortunately, all of this fell so flat for me for a few reasons:
1. The writing style: the writing style felt very clichéd to me. The whole "the wolf in my heart howled" and basically all the talk about the animals in Rosamunde's heart just killed me. The language also felt way too modern for what was supposedly a medieval-ish time period.

2. The heteronormativity of the main ship in a book marketed as queer-normative: YIKES. It truly felt like a slap in the face to my lesbian self to have Shaw so clearly be masculine-coded and take the lead on EVERYTHING and to have Rosamunde be very much the feminine-coded one. For all the other likable queer characters in very queer relationships, the main ship felt like a copy/paste of a stereotypical hetero romance but just with the MMC's pronouns switched. It made me so frustrated!

3. AND FINALLY, THE MOST EGREGIOUS REASON: THE TROPEY-NESS OF IT ALL!! Maybe it's on me for not looking up a tropes list of this book before starting it. But god, this was just a heavy-handed trope cocktail that was so hard to wade through in order to get to some good bits. For those who wish to know, such tropes include:
-fake dating
-fated mates/bonding (also wayyyy feels like this world low-key punishes single people, like bonding is the end all be all? Super irritating as well)
-enemies to lovers
-"I'm not like other girls"
-Hella miscommunication
-school bullying
I honestly probably missed some. One or two of these wouldn't be so bad, but all of them? I truly almost turned off the audiobook in chapter one.

I find the idea of the bone forest very intriguing, and that is the ONLY reason this book is getting 2 stars instead of 1. The audiobook narration was also very nice. I will definitely not be reading the next book because getting through this one was such a pain. But again, I do think there are some folks out there that will eat this UP.

Publish Date: Feb 27, 2024

I know it the start of 2024 but this is top 5 favorite book of the year. This is definitely set up book for what to come, but it was so good. If you love to actually be in a magical school this is for you. It not so much you get bored, but enough of daily life. The magic system is interesting. The characters all had my heart.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

- I was not expecting to enjoy this one, but I got so wrapped up in the world that I didn't want to put it down!
- The narration was great, and I was really able to sink into the story.
- The world-building has many familiar aspects (shifters, the connection to Beltane/Samhain, the witch/familiar dynamic, a magical school, etc), but so much of it felt so unique. The description of the different kinds of animals was so imaginative that I'd love to read a whole book just on nature in this universe!
- The shifter dynamics and magic system were so interesting, especially the way the voices of the different animals were described!
- The conversation around war was so nuanced, and seeing that develop throughout the story was incredibly engaging.
- I loved how queer-normative this universe was! From sapphic main characters to a variety of background characters with different gender and sexual orientations, this book did a great job of exploring what that would look like in day-to-day life.
- I loved the magical school setting so much! The classes were so interesting, and the way the plot moved during the time at school made it so easy to get absorbed into.
- That cliffhanger is rough! I need book two now!

Daughter of the bone forest
Jasmine Skye
5 Stars
Holy crow where do I begin?
I have not been this obsessed with a YA book since I read A Sorcery of Thorns. This book had an absolute grip on me over the last two days. Our MC was perfectly flawed but not completely insufferable- The Magic and bonding system was fascinating and even the side characters had their own believable character arcs and complexities. I don't think an Audiobook has ever made me cry until this one. I love this so much I preordered the hardcover because I cannot wait to reread it and book two simply cannot come fast enough.


Also Posted on my Goodreads and Instagram.

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
The Daughter of the Bone Forest was a a really strong book 1 in a series I knew nothing about going into. It’s got compelling characters, a very interesting magic system, political intrigue, all wrapped up in an easily accessible and immersive world. You won’t find dry world building here, it was all interwoven into the story in a way that didn’t have my mind wandering or speeding the book up to get through it. I really adored this book and can’t wait for the rest of the series.
4.5⭐️ rounded up to 5⭐️

The fantasy in this book was simply beautiful. I loved the narrator how she really annunciated the words perfectly, and allowed you the reader to become immersed into this world. The representation in this book was fantastic, and I really applaud the author for making such a beautiful and incredible story.