Silla thought she knew her father, but as he lay dying she discovers that she is not his daughter and that the Queen is after her. All she knows is that she must make it to Kopa to find out more. The Road of Bones to get to Kopa is a dangerous journey and Silla doesn't know if she will make it alone. When she sneaks into a wagon headed North on the road and gets caught by the band of warriors, Silla will have to convince the hard eyed warrior and his handsome right hand man to let her travel with the group. Will she make it to Kopa without being caught by the Queen's people and will she make it unscathed from the two warriors in the group?

I would recommend this as a new adult novel to anyone that enjoys fantasy with romance. The story kept me engaged after a slow start and the ending left me wanting the next book in the series.

What an amazing debut!

The Road of Bones is a Viking fantasy with a loveable female lead, strong female characters, amazing fight scenes, and an incredibly interesting magic system. Oh, and also several amazing plot twists that you think you guessed but you didn't.

Winters uses vivid imagery to build Silla's world, and readers are thrown right into the action. This is a very fast paced book with several slower moments, so although the characters are always on the move, there's still plenty of details and conversations to help readers learn about the characters, their motivations, and their secrets. There are many dark moments--check the triggers warnings at the start of the book--but they make sense within the world and within the Viking culture, and there are also many lighter moments to balance, especially moments that show off Silla's kindhearted nature and her ability to bring light and joy to others. There is a strong sense of found family, but the female friendships were especially fun, and I really appreciated the wide range of female character types that were shown. Silla is not a warrior like so many FMCs who are popular today, but she is a brilliantly written woman who does learn to protect herself and has a strong sense of family and self. And there are several other female warriors who are totally badass but still have character and personality.

The romance in this book didn't go how I expected, which I really liked. I had some suspicions as I read, but I didn't see the twists coming, and I can't wait to read Kingdom of Claw to see how things play out. I also can't wait to learn more about some characters that were introduced near the end of this book and to see more development of the magic system.

The Road of Bones is a longer book, but it doesn't feel long because the action is almost non-stop, the characters are so much fun, and Silla's growth is amazing. This is a wonderful debut and a strong start to the series.

The Road of Bones: Silla finds herself on the run from the queen’s soldiers after her father is killed and secrets are revealed. To reach a safehouse she must travel the Road of Bones, a journey full of war bands and dangerous creatures. Silla sneaks onto a wagon of the Bloodaxe Crew, who have their own reasons for traveling the road. She makes herself useful to gain their protection, and gradually becomes friends and more, though her secrets hold her back.

You can expect:
Viking Romantasy
Forbidden Magic
Hidden Identities
Who Hurt You
Only One Horse
Found Family
Disability Rep
Grief and Addiction
Secrets and Betrayal
Cryptid Creatures
Norse-inspired World
Early20s MCs
Multi, 3rdP POV

I liked the romantic development, there were hints about where it was leading and I am happy with how it ended up. I figured the resolution wouldn’t come until the next book, but I’m sure there will still be more at play there. The Road of Bones wrapped up nicely, there wasn’t really a cliffhanger but definitely leaves plenty left for the series to explore. Two of five books have been released and I look forward to reading the rest!

I rated this 4.25 on Storygraph as I did really like it and see the potential of the series, but there were some awkward and slow parts in there too.

I got this audiobook on one of Audible’s two for one sales, drawn in by the Norse inspired world. Then it came up on NetGalley now that it’s being traditionally published by Dell, so thought it would be a good excuse to get an easy review, and so glad I jumped in now. It was great to tandem read to get some pronunciations and follow along. The narrator did a wide variety of voices well. Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for providing an eARC for my honest opinion.

I really liked the blurb for this book, the concept was really cool! I like the fantasy viking genre that I first found in 'A Fated inked in blood.' This is a republication and I did like the update to the cover art. Overall this is a very long book, so be ready to read. The blood axe crew is interesting group of misfits and bring the story together so well with their. I was a little iffy about the main characters Silla, she lies and gets caught on a repeated cycle way too much. I understand she is trying to get to her destination and will do anything to get there, but we need something else also. She is being chased by one of the queen's lackeys who seems to come back from death way too many times. Towards the end a love triangle starts to be apparent, and unfortunately it does not end how I want it from reading the blurb for the next book. Hopefully I will get over that and read the next book since the writing and story are pretty good. I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Demi Winters is an automatic buy author after this book! This was my first introduction into Viking romantasy and let me just say that it did not disappoint.

The book follows our FMC, Silla, as she is being hunted by Queen Signe’s warriors. But why does the queen want her??? People seem to notice her scar. This book quickly sets up a juicy plot as you uncover more of Silla’s mysterious past as she figures it out along with the reader.

As Silla is on the run she comes upon the Bloodaxe Crew. She convinces their grumpy leader to take her in. Especially with her cooking. But there is someone else in the crew who takes a special interest in her…

This book had me immediately wanting to know more and I just couldn’t put it down! It had everything I could have asked for with action, plot, mystery, and romance. You’re going to want book 2 immediately after!

I want to start by saying, thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I do not want to bash anyone who enjoyed this book but boy it was NOT for me. All the raving reviews I genuinely do not understand.

- weak FMC
- love triangle (allegedly. I did not get that far)
- Viking? romance
(the names were all so hard to pronounce I gave them different names)
- found family

I did DNF this book at about 50%.
The beginning HALF of this book was painfully slow. Not much was happening. It was multi pov chapters but never labeled. You just kinda had to read a few sentences to figure out whose pov you were actually reading.

Silla, one of the main characters, is absolutely useless, a complete mess. A damsel in distress with way too much plot armor. At least she recognizes she’s as helpful as an 8 year old. Also her eating these weird leaves throughout the book remind me of a drug addict. One of the characters literally tells her it’s poison and she continues to take them.

I have zero desire to ever pick this book up again. Maybe it will be for you, but it is not for me and that’s ok.

found this book overall very entertaining. While the pacing may feel slow at times, and some plot points a bit predictable, these are minor drawbacks compared to the overall quality of the work. It’s a strong recommendation for readers who enjoy a blend of fantasy and romance.

The first five chapters are a little wordy and overly descriptive. At times, Silla, the main character, daydreams in ways that are filled with rich analogies and similes, to the point where the main idea can get lost. It feels a bit unrealistic—no one really thinks in such elaborate metaphors in their own head. A more authentic inner dialogue might improve these scenes.

Another aspect that could use some clarification is the relationship between Silla and Rey. It's a bit confusing whether their bond is purely platonic, with Rey seeing Silla as a little sister, or if there are hints of repressed romantic feelings. If this ambiguity was intentional, it still left me uncertain, so a bit more clarity could strengthen this dynamic.

Overall, this book delivers a compelling and well-structured narrative that keeps the reader engaged. The characters are skillfully developed, with relatable and multifaceted personalities that grow throughout the story. The balance between action and introspection makes it a captivating read, and I can’t wait for book 2!

Oh this one is going to be SO big.

And it’s definitely going to be my personality for a while.

Grab your coffee and your glossary - because you’re going to need both.

The coffee because you will stay up until 3AM to keep reading.

And the book’s Glossary because Demi Winters will throw you right into a complex, twisty and utterly haunting story and trust you to do your job as a reader to keep up with the action. That’s my favorite part.

***
The details:
- The Road of Bones is one of the top Romantasy books I’ve read all year on all fronts: storyline, character work, writing style, world-building. All of it.
- It’s the first of two (and counting) books in Winters’ The Ashen Series.
- It’s recently been picked up by Random House and a gorgeous hardcover comes out November 5.

The first thing I’ll say is that this was an easy five-star, but it’s not an “easy” read. The best books never are, and I loved every second of Winters’ storytelling. It was utterly unpredictable - I never knew where this one was going, and if you’ve read enough Romantasy you know how incredible (and rare) that can be.

- Viking-inspired Romantasy: get your glossary ready
- FMC with a mysterious background, unknown even to her
- Road trip with some reluctant heroes, or honorable bandits depending on how you look at it
- Found family
- Multiple POVs
- Only one horse

To Silla: Girl, you have got to stop wandering into the woods without a blade at the ready.

To Everyone Else: You have got to run to preorder The Road of Bones (and Kingdom of Claw).

Thank you to Random House Ballentine and NetGalley for an advance ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect for fans of Sarah A. Parker and Penn Cole.

Thank you for letting me read "The Road of Bones" by Demi Winters

A little slow to begin with, I did like the play between the characters. Norse mythology, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, secrets abound.
Loved it! Cant wait to read the next

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 3 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

ೃ⁀➷ ˗ˏˋ ♡ ꒰ ʚ・୨୧ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂 ୨୧・ ɞ ꒱ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Silla Nordvig is desperate for safety after her world is upended. She will do anything to get to Kopa and follow the instructions her father left her. When she sneaks into a wagon, she has no idea that she is joining the Bloodaxe Crew who are on a separate mission.

Although Ren, the leader of the Crew, allows her to travel with them, she struggles to keep her secrets as she grows closer to the mercenaries.

ೃ⁀➷ ˗ˏˋ ♡ ꒰ ʚ・୨୧ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 ୨୧・ ɞ ꒱ ♡ ˎˊ˗

I love when I'm already planning on reading a book and a publisher picks it up and sends me a complimentary copy to review... it's like - two birds one stone lol. So, needless to say, I was super excited to jump into this one.

The story started out really strong and drew me in almost immediately, somewhere around the middle though I started to drift off and not stay as engaged. I thought the pacing slowed a little but it didn't take long to pull me back in.

Overall, I think this is a really good start to a new fantasy romance series. I think the fantasy elements are well balanced with action and romance- I just didn't stay completely captivated. I am however, looking forward to starting the next one.

ೃ⁀➷ High Fantasy
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Multiple POVs
ೃ⁀➷ Forced Proximity
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Vikings
ೃ⁀➷ Evil Queen
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Found Family
ೃ⁀➷ Intrigue and Mystery

✨ A huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the complementary advanced digital copy via NetGalley - all thoughts and opinions are my own. ✨

I loved this! Road of Bones is a Viking-inspired fantasy with romantic subplots, told from multiple POVs. The beginning felt a little slow to understand the world and all that was going on, but the rest of the book was really well-paced. I found the FMC, Silla, to be so unbearably pitiful and helpless at the start of this story, which made it super satisfying to see her growth and confidence in herself improve as the book progressed. I was silently cheering her on when she finally started to depend on herself to get out of sticky situations verses others coming to her rescue (for the most part). One of my favorite aspects of the book is the relationships she builds with the members of the Bloodaxe Crew. The author did such a good job of making this violent group of thieves lovable, I really enjoyed their camaraderie and banter. The magical element of this book is so interesting, I wish it was expanded upon more, but I suspect we'll get lots more magic in book 2. There were several twists at the end, some predictable, but one I definitely didn't see coming that had my jaw on the floor. I will definitely be continuing with book 2! Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc!

I’m torn on my rating for this book and I think I partially have BookTok to blame for that. This has been all over my FYP for the last few months and the hype around it got me excited. Romantasy Vikings, say less. However, after finishing the book I find myself a bit disappointed. The beginning and ending of the book was really good. But the rest of the book was sadly not as good.

Our FMC, Silla is quite literally at times an idiot. Like borderline insufferable idiot throughout the entire book. The amount of times I wanted to scream “the signs are right freaking there” and yet she still wasn’t grasping it. I think if Silla hadn’t been so naive I would’ve connected with her more. Thankfully the ending did redeem her a bit and I’m interested to see how she develops more in book 2

My favorite thing about this book was the found family element with the Bloodaxe Crew. Except Jonas he can get a giant middle finger for all I care. But the rest of the crew I fell in love with immediately and I want to know more about them.

Overall, even though I had some gripes I still enjoyed the story and want to continue on with the series. Definitely pick this book up and give it a chance. Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me an arc to read and review.

The last 20% is where I was hooked. I’m not sure I liked the way the love interest played out. I see how it made sense in the story but I think it could have gone in a way that it wasn’t the love interest. I liked the side characters. The FMC did have growth. Got your classic one horse scenes and learning to fight scenes which I enjoyed.
I did enjoy that there was a twist towards the end. I enjoy twists and betrayals. Thank you to the publisher for the free e-arc!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Megan Whalen, Associate Marketing Manager of Penguin Random House, for sending me this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m giving this book 3.5 stars but am rounding down to a 3. I really wanted to give it a 4 because there are some things I really enjoyed about this book, but unfortunately there are a few more things that didn’t quite work as well for me.

(There are some MAJOR spoilers below)

One of the issues I had was the pacing. This could’ve been a “me” thing. Honestly, I’ve been having trouble enjoying reading lately, and every book just takes a lot longer than I know I can read it. But, I will say, there’s a lot of traveling in this book. A lot. It is broken up by stops at towns and various things, so it’s not terrible but it did have trouble keeping my attention a lot of the time. Then, at the end of the book, the main character Silla remarks that they’ve been traveling for a month. Realistically, yeah, I can see their journey taking that long. But it felt A LOT longer than a month. So much time was spent inside the characters’ heads with a lot of repetition of the same thoughts (Silla and Jonas lusting after each other, Rey thinking he can’t trust Silla, etc etc) so the repetition didn’t help either.

I have mixed thoughts over how the characters were depicted as well. Some of them had great character development while a majority of them remained mostly flat.

The book does include different depictions of disabilities, which was cool. But while Hekla (who has a really cool metal prosthetic arm) was given a back story, Siggrun (who uses sign language) wasn’t given any characteristics other than her disability. Representation is great but not so much when the character is reduced to only their disability. So I wish the author had included more scenes of Silla interacting with Siggrun, and maybe more of her teaching Silla how to sign. (It also is a little odd that only the two women in the Blood Axe crew are the ones with disabilities while none of the men have any.)

And Gunnar and Ilias, two of them men in the crew, aren’t really given any depth either. Gunnar makes a few jokes every now and then, and so does Ilias, and that’s kind of it. (Now, Ilias does serve a different function in the book, which I saw coming twenty miles away lol, but it would’ve been nice to get to know him more because not really knowing anything about him sort of ruins the effect of what happens to him later.)

Last but not least of characters who could’ve been better: Skraeda. She has magic, which makes her wanted by the throne and in danger of being put to death. However, because her talents are rare (not to mention she’s very good at what she does), she ends up working for the Queen and using her powers to arrest people the Queen wants brought in and killed. Working for the very person who wants you dead should have added a lot of complexity to Skraeda’s character but she spends so much time in the book just chasing after Silla that she ends up sort of reduced to a mustache-twirling 2D villain. Her powers are cool but not once did I truly fear for Silla or anyone during this cat-and-mouse chase.

Skraeda and Silla are also both twins, which was supposed to be a sort of parallel to show how people in the same situation react differently, but again, because so much time is just spent on her chasing Silla, not much is done with that parallel. Her last fight with Silla was cool, only because Skraeda’s last words finally address how she truly felt working for the queen. And it was such a good line that I really wish more had been done with that/her. And the fact that she was supposed to be this cool badass female villain was lessened by the fact that she had to keep reporting to male commanders of the king’s soldiers. So she was essentially kept on a leash the whole time, which didn’t quite allow her to do as much as she could have and definitely not as much as she wanted. (Which, again, could’ve been a point the author was trying to make but I don’t think she quite made it.)

Jonas and Rey, however, had some of the best subtle character work, and I love what the author did with them. Silla and Jonas sort of have insta-lust with each other, and you think they’re going to end up with each other as Jonas starts to develop (what he thinks) are real feeling for her as they enjoy their sort of friends-with-benefits situation they have going on. But Jonas has issues stemming from childhood, and as much as he hates what his father did to his family, you realize his feelings for Silla are slowly turning into feelings of possessiveness and jealousy. He nearly kills a guy just for bumping into the two of them in a market because it shows disrespect towards them, and then later tries to beat up a guy that’s hitting on Silla despite the fact that she was showing interest in the guy too. If you’ve read ACOTAR at all, Jonas has a very Tamlin arc going on, and it’s great to see, because you think you’re supposed to be rooting for him but at the same time, you’re like, “….I don’t know that I like how Jonas is acting right now.” And then it all comes to a head at the end, and your dislike of him ends up totally justified. It was just really nice to see the love interest do bad things but stay the bad guy instead of forcing the main female character into justifying what he did simply because he’s hot or something.

Rey, also, had great development because it’s so obvious over the course of the book that he’s falling for Silla but never once does he actively think about her in a romantic way. It’s in his actions and just how he describes her in his thoughts. Towards the end of the book, he thinks to himself, “What mess was she in, this curly-haired woman whose smile was like sunlight?” To go from saying he might kill her for stowing away in his crew’s wagon to those kinds of thoughts—without the possessiveness or jealousy of Jonas to blind him—was just really well done. Jonas wants to turn Silla into the Queen for reward money as revenge for getting his brother killed; Rey wants to apologize to her for causing her distress because he’s the crew leader and thinks Ilias’ death is his fault. (I also enjoyed the parallel of both Jonas and Rey having lost their younger brothers and then the difference in how they reacted to it.)

My other big issue is with the two plot twists dropped back to back at the end of the book. I won’t spoil these twists because they’re really cool but my problem with them is that once we’re told this info, nothing more is said about it. The first twist doesn’t really need explaining because you realize there were very subtle hints along the way that sort of explain it. But the second twist?? Absolutely needed to be explained because it basically means this one character was in two places at once, and despite the fact that magic exists in this world, that’s not possible. So I know it will be explained in the sequel, but just an extra line or two would’ve gone a long way in helping that twist land.

So yeah. I liked what was done with Rey and Jonas, and even Silla got better along the way, but the pacing, not explaining some things, and lack of attention to the rest of the characters prevent me from rating this higher. I definitely want to read the sequel though. The epilogue with Saga made her sound really cool.

Jonas has long braided blonde hair?? I should have KNOWN!!! Pulling an SJM is all fine and good until i hate both of the love interests. I don’t need a fantasy to have romance but when it does i need to love the romance and in this….i didn’t in the slightest, so unfortunately this really hampered my enjoyment. This is like the opposite of enemies to lovers - it’s lovers to enemies

This follows a pretty basic fantasy romance plot - average girl that something happened to and now she’s on the run, doesn’t know what she is, meets a group of warriors who train her how to fight, slowly discovers she’s royalty/magical/etc.

I found this interesting for the first ~75% and then really started to struggle (probs because of the love triangle). The ending was filled with action and reveals but I didn’t love it as much as i wanted to

One of my favorite reads of the year!

Found Family ✅
Vikings ✅
Tall, Dark, & Handsome = A Black Man ✅
Blonde MMC ✅
Resilient FMC ✅

Some of my favorite things in one book. This story was great, touching on some hard topics. It did so well and with intention. Silla is a smart and lovable FMC who is struggling to find herself after losing her father. So, a journey ensues where we meet the rest of the cast. I love third person, so the POVs never bother me. The pace, for me, was well-paced and entertaining. This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far.


I received this as an ARC from NetGalley

This book was so much fun to read. The author really wove a lot of secret's, lies and surprises in this book. I love any book that has any type of mythology in it as well.

The Road of Bones by Demi Winters
-The Ashen Book 1-

4.5/5⭐️

Holy romantasy debut, people! Look out!

•My Thoughts•
This was fantastic! Vikings, gods, political intrigue, a fascinating world, cool magic and THE CHARACTERS! I went into this one mostly blind (like I heard Vikings and I RAN 😆) and I am so glad I did. The characters were brought to life in such a beautiful way! Our FMC, Silla had such beautiful growth and were along for the ride. There was a trope in here (not included above) that I don’t usually choose to read but, wholly moly, did it work👏🏻so👏🏻well!! This gave me just a tiny bit of the vibe from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse world but more romance and all Vikings and I LOVED it. I had a little trouble settling into the book…and I’ll absolutely admit that it’s partly my own fault - I find with fantasy, I have to read a decent beginning chunk in one sitting so I can get through the world building and immerse myself into the story and my week just didn’t allow for that. Stupid real life. BUT once I did, I was sucked in and had so much trouble putting it down. Plot and character development is equal here and it’s such a great mix!! This one is absolutely worth a read!!

Loved it!! Great fast read! Slow in the beginning but it picks up and hooks you! Would have been a 5 star if it wasn’t hard to get into at first.

I’m starting to love Viking stories. World building was necessarily slow for us to get to the full picture of the setting. I really enjoyed it.