It is such a pleasure to revisit The Road of Bones. To travel its road with a fresh perspective and fall in love all over again-- as if it's the first time. For it is a revelation.

The world-building that daunted me the first go around is now a warm embrace, it is an exhilarating charm. I readily hold onto its every detail, I listen up for every piece of information, collecting ravenously. I fall in deeper love with our heroine Silla and the enigmatic Bloodaxe crew.

This book should be considered a classic. I hope it is, I hope one day when people list modern classics, this gorgeous story (and its glorious sequel that is soon to be re-released under Delacorte Press!), will be firmly at the top of all mentions. That’s where I’d put them.

The Road of Bones opened my eyes to a brand new world, and I feel right at home.

A home led by whom has become one of my all-time favorite heroines, Silla. Oh dear Silla, how I adore you. My favorite part of her is her strength, but it’s not the type ever so commonly seen in fantasy. It’s not one of brawn and physical power, it’s one of brain, wit, and so much heart. I can’t express how much I NEED heroines like her. Soft, gentle, vulnerable, and oh so wholly relatable. I was glad she wasn’t a warrior, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a fighter. That doesn't mean her own unique strength isn’t as valuable as those who can wield a heavy blade or physically stand in the way of the villains. Her strength is her courage, her kindness, her wit, her will to live and never bring harm to others. She will buckle, she will fall, but she always tries her very best to get back up. And she feels so much, she wears her heart on her sleeve, and is vulnerable, is emotional, and is so utterly human.

I look at Silla’s journey in awe, I look at what’s ahead in wonder, and I look at that girl and think: she is magnificent. She defies the archetype of the common fantasy heroine and that makes her all the more unique and relatable.

Something this book achieves for me that no other book had until now, is make me love a multi-POV book! I was nervous, y’all! Could I handle more than single or dual POV? As it turns out: Heck yeah I can! In fact, I highly anticipated each POV presented as the narrative unfurled. But I played favorites, I can’t lie, I did, I did!

Silla, my girl, my number one. But her love interest— *the* love interest— slowly but surely creeps in the most tantalizing way. I don’t want to spoil this POV, but my story’s end, trust me, you’ll know. And he is such an incredible part in this story, his scenes at the end had my heart racing and I genuinely mean that literally. My heart was pounding in my ears, both times I read this. I think every time I reread the ending all my emotions will be pouring out like it’s the first time. I was just so immersed, my attention so deeply captured that it like connected into each of emotions in an explosion of fireworks. It’s so rare to find a book that pulls something so powerful out of you.

But The Road of Bones does just that.

Brava, Demi Winters, brava! To watch this journey from an indie published work to now a traditionally published book, allowing for greater audiences, has been absolutely magic.

If you love fantasy, romance, intelligent plots, excellent pacing, and a dynamic cast of characters you will come to know deeply and feel so many colliding emotions for— then pick The Road of Bones as soon as you can!

You won’t regret it— that is my promise to you! And just you wait, oh my goodness, just you wait for the new edition of Kingdom of Claw, to me— it’s the greatest sequel of all time, and I am so excited to read its new release. Let’s goooo!

Thank you so kindly to Random House and NetGalley for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THIS EPIC TALE!

A BIG thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the eARC! All thoughts and exuberance of emotion are my own!

I have already purchased the second book "Kingdom of Claw" and am just...so damn good!! I can't even tell you how much I like this series. If you like...
1. men who can be monstrous
2. women with a sassy attitude and a backbone to back it up but got there by going through horrendous strife
3. fabulous writing
4. detailed world building (although I could stand to have a bit more description here)
5. a band of fighters/warriors for hire that walk the line of morally gray, while also harboring hearts of gold
6. a secret past with power even our MC doesn't even know she has
7. Epic adventure fraught with danger, near survival, well written fighting scenes, royal intrigue, Viking shenanigans and politics, and yes...a touch of SPICE.
8. multiple POV from characters that don't make it to the end
9. the hint of love that edges towards a triangle only to leave you with aching betrayal
...and, I am sure there is more I am missing here, but am far too impatient to get this review over with so I can keep reading book 2. This is a tale you will not want to sip slowly.

Long review short, GO BUY THIS ONE and enjoy the journey! Heck just go ahead and buy book two while your there! You know you're going to read it. This is one I will definitely be requesting our cataloger to acquire for the library.

NO REGRETS!!!!

I enjoyed a lot of this, I love the premise, the found family, a lot of the characters, and the last 20% was really great.

The book was largely just too long, and it seemed to be striving for both a cozy fantasy feel and a high stakes fantasy feel. And for that reason, it reads a bit choppy, with long stretches of very slow pacing.

This had a unique world and premise and I did enjoy the characters a lot, and I also liked the slowly developed. It was very immersive and fun.

The romance didn't really work for me in this book, but I am intrigued to see where it goes in the second one, so I definitely plan to continue the series.

TW: domestic abuse (mentioned), sexual assault (attempted), violence, blood, gore, addiction, parental loss, sibling loss and probably more. Take care of yourself and read the complete list of trigger warnings on Demi Winters website.

I've been meaning to read this one for a bit now, it's been on my kindle for months! I recently saw listenwithbritt recommend it on her ig and how she squeed over Islay Jacobs narration...I was finally convinced to pick it up!

The story starts out a bit slow, FMC Silla has just taken part in a stoning in the village she lives and works in with her father. But her father has had enough of this village and it's back on the road for them. They've been roaming from town to town since Silla was 10 never truly settling down. Her father ends up getting murdered and Silla is on her own and must make it all the way north to Copa in order to find the safe house her father has arranged for her. Not only must she make it to Copa, someone is after her for reasons unknown and it seems they won't stop until they find her. To get to Copa she must travel the Road of Bones, a ruthless dangerous road...it would be nearly impossible to do so herself so she stows away on a wagon hoping to catch a ride. Little does she know she just hitched a ride with the Blood Axe Crew. Convincing them not to kill her on site is only half the battle.

Once Silla meets the Blood Axe Crew the story really gets going. The found family aspect of the story was fun and I enjoyed most of the side characters. The romance was "okay", without spoiling it I'll just say I should've known better when the main love interest was blonde. The dynamic Silla has between the two main MMCs was a bit confusing, I thought at one point one might be her long lost brother she never knew she had but it was cleared up by the end and definitely no brother vibes lol. I was gutted for Silla by the end of the book and the cliffhanger is pretty bad but there is such hope on the horizon, I can't wait for the next one!

Islay Jacobs narration was fantastic indeed. Definitely listen to this on audiobook if you get the chance, she has such a lovely voice and I really enjoyed all the pronunciations of the nordic words sprinkled through out the book.

Overall a solid romantasy with viking/nordic vibes. Lots of adventure and found family and romance, definitely pick this one up! Thank you so much to Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 **A Thrilling Adventure You Won't Want to Miss!**

Silla's journey through the Road of Bones is a gripping tale of survival and courage. From the start, she's running for her life, hunted by the Queen of Íseldur's warriors. After her father's death, Silla must brave a dangerous path full of warbands, dark creatures, and a relentless assassin to reach the safety of Kopa.

The story is packed with action and suspense, especially when Silla joins the Bloodaxe Crew and tries to win over their mysterious leader, Axe Eyes, while dodging the attention of his handsome right-hand man, the Wolf.

The tension never lets up as Silla faces one danger after another, all while being hunted by the queen's assassin. This book is a fast-paced, exciting read with strong characters and a plot that keeps you hooked until the very end. Perfect for fans of epic fantasy!

Loved this book. It had such a unique magic system. The main charters were dynamic and the story captivated you the entire time! I can't wait to see where this story goes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

DNFed at 15%. I cannot explain why I didn’t like this book. I just could not for the life of me connect to it. Maybe it’s the writing style. I’m sad because people seemed to really like and I enjoyed “A Fate Inked In Blood” (which this book was compared to). I think it had potential, but this one was not for me.

Holy smokes! I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this book for months to come! It has a little bit of everything... Viking warriors, enemies to lovers, hidden identities, found family, pretty much all of my favorite tropes. It took me a minute to get into, but once the story grabbed me, I couldn't stop until I finished it! Such a great story!

Silla and her father worship the old gods and are on the run from certain death should King Ivar find them. When their past catches up with them and Silla is forced to move on alone, she hides in the back of a wagon headed in the same direction she's headed. Little did she know, the wagon she hid in belonged to the infamous Bloodaxe Crew. She gains their trust and travels the road of bones with them. It's a long, brutal road, but there is safety at the end of it. If they ever make it that far.

"Let them think us lambs, when truly, we are wolves."

The Road of Bones has been on my TBR for a while now and as soon as I started reading it I was asking myself why it had taken me so long to get to it. This book is Viking inspired with great characters and great world building. The main character Silla was a little bland and boring at first but as she continues on her journey you see how she grows more confident in herself and learns more about who she is without the shelter of her father.

One day in a tavern Silla overhears the plans of a crew making its way in the direction of the town she’s trying to get to and decides to hide in their wagon. Upon being found she convinces them to allow her to travel with them for a while all while trying to keep her head. The crew she hitched a ride on is none other than the Bloodaxe Crew and the vicious and broody leader Axe Eyes. Now let me tell you about ol Axe Eyes, I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about him but I am a sucker for violent and broody so he won me over. The rest of the crew members each had their own skills and attitudes to bring to table and each of them one me over in time if not immediately …. Until they didn’t (but it’s fine, I'm fine, it’s all fine). On this journey the crew and Silla become close in different ways but soon secrets are revealed and betrayals set in motion.

The Road of Bones is a fast moving, violent ride that I am so glad I started and am patiently (or maybe not so) for the second book to find its way into my hands.

This book was fast paced and so fun! I love a good adventure book where there's things happening the whole time instead of only building up to one big event at the end. Silla is such a loveable character and her relationships with all the other characters is one of the highlights of the book. I love the genre bending of historical fiction and fantasy and the perfect amount of romance. This is a must read for fantasy romance lovers and I can not wait for the rest of the series!

I had such a good time reading this book a lot and didn’t want it to end! I really enjoyed:
* the unique world and magic system,
* the truly well-developed characters that make decisions the reader can understand and have great character arcs & growth,
* the perfect balance of plot and romance, and
* really satisfying plot twists.
I’ll admit it took some effort to keep up with all the characters and mysteries at first (maybe because I started with the audiobook - switching to the physical book helped), but once I was into it I didn’t want to put it down. I really enjoyed the direction the romance took, and despite all my efforts to figure out the mysteries, I was pleasantly surprised by the plot twists.

I would absolutely recommend this book to a friend.
I’ve since read book 2 and also had a great time reading it. Looking forward to the rest of this series!

I’ll also add that the comparisons to “A fate inked in blood” do not do this book justice, if only because “The road of bones” is better written and while the romance is part of the plot, it does not drive the plot nor does the plot ever feel conveniently written around the romance.

Omg I’m speechless. I completely devoured this book. I literally stayed up until 4 am reading because I just couldn’t put it down. From the very first page I was pulled into the story and became immersed in the world. The entire premise and magic system was so unique and intriguing. I can’t wait to learn more about it.

I am REELING from the ending!!! The freaking betrayal!! I wanted to chuck my book at the wall. Thank goodness Kingdom of Claw is already out or else I would lose my mind.

If you’re a romantasy lover, PLEASE read this book!!

I really enjoyed this book. It felt simultaneously well written, well plotted out, and had that electric page turning x-factor that the best romantasy books have. you really don't always get all three in this genre. Will I still be thinking about this book in a month? maybe not, but it delivered a unique plot, well fleshed out characters, and the fun makings of possibly several romances. It was a fun read, I recommend.

I loved it. I really enjoyed the storyline, I enjoyed the FMC growth, and I had a really hard time putting it down. And after that ending…. Plot twist! I cannot wait for book 2!

One of my favorite booktok-er's raved about this book, and I am glad I read it! It made me feel, it made me think, and it kept me guessing. There were actually 2 things that happened that I didn't see coming AT ALL, but instead of them feeling out of place, they were laid out so expertly. I was really impressed. Part of what brought down the star rating for me was that I didn't like the FMC for a chunk of the book, or her love interest - but after finishing the book I can see what groundwork the author was laying. I am REALLY looking forward to book 2.

"I wanted him to know--he did not break me, as that was never his choice to make. I wanted to see the moment he realized that everything he had done to me--every slap, every punch, every kick--was kindling. It built me up into a raging wildfire, and now it was time for him to burn."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Five stars is not enough. I was up until 4:30 reading this masterpiece. I am too old and have too many responsibilities to be doing that, people! But THIS BOOK made me throw caution to the wind. Vikings. Magic. Vikings. All the chemistry. Vikings. Phenomenal side characters. Did I mention the vikings? I had the great opportunity to read this as an ARC when it was initially indie and my love for it in that time has not dwindled. I share about this book (and the second one) at every opportunity and cannot wait to see what else Demi puts out.
Well done, Penguin, for seeing the brilliance that Winters is.