I really enjoyed this one! A viking romance that's fresh and different. I loved Silla and her development over time. I really enjoyed the way we moved through her backstory and all the reveals at the end were wild.

I've already read the second book and while I didn't like it as much as I liked the first, I'm still very excited for the rest of this series. I can't wait to see where it goes.

4.5 rounded up to 5

Silla Nordvig is running for her life. She and her father have been in hiding for years and are trying to get to a safe haven when they are found out. Her father is killed by the Queen' warriors, but she esacpes. Now she and she is all alone and thousands of miles from her destination at the other end of the deadly Road of Bones. Silla stows away in a wagon belonging to the Bloodaxe Crew. But has she found a way to Kopa or only a more dangerous problem?

Read if you like:
-Vikings
-Mercenaries
-Found Family
-Secrets
-Magic
-Fantasy with a side of romance

I couldn't put this book down. It's a long book, yet it didn't read like one. The pacing was great; I never felt like I was slogging through a bunch of filler to get to the good parts. The characters were so alone that they jumped right off the page. The romance was there, but subtle. The fantasy was the focus of this romantasy. I loved Silla. She was easily my favorite character. I loved watching her grow throughout the book and I'm excited to see what comes next for her and the Bloodaxe Crew.

This is a must read for any romantasy lover.

This book was heavy in viking fantasy! It was definitely a fun read!!

I will say I couldn’t decide who was the real love interest for most of the book, but there was not really a love triangle either. Until I reached the last half of the book and realized what the author had set up for us!! All was not what it seemed 🤯

Found family! I adore this found family and all of their unique personalities really shine through the writing!

This book is pretty long and there were a few parts that I found to be a bit on the slower side but towards the end of the book it really picks up speed!!

Thank you to Random House Ballantine for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Road of Bones is a recognizable fantasy romance that will feel comfortable to readers of the romantasy genre. The writing is easily readable, but the central conflict felt very low-stakes which made the book feel slower in pacing to me. The ending was quick but the lead up took a bit too long for me. Silla, the main character, is not the smartest, but I appreciated some of the ways her character develops throughout the novel. I always like stories about characters who realize that their life is built upon lies from their loved ones.

The romance in this story uses a trope that I have read before but always makes me smile. If you like the ACOTAR series, you might know what I am talking about. I like it when the first love interest gets exposed to be the bad person I suspected him to be. However, I didn't feel like the second love interest made too much sense. Hopefully book two will give the relation the opportunity to flourish.

If you liked A Fate Inked in Blood and Dance of Thieves, you want to check this book out. While this wasn't my cup of tea, I have friends I will definitely recommend this to.

Thank you so much Demi Winters, Penguin Random House, and Random House Publishing for the eARC of The Road of Bones. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re a fan of Viking inspired romantasy, secret identities, complicated family dynamics, characters on the run, and a bit of magic, please do yourself a favor and add The Road of Bones to your tbr right now! Seriously, this book is so beautifully written that I could hardly put it down. 📖

The Road of Bones follows FMC, Silla, as she attempts to complete a perilous quest by traveling a deadly highway known for its fierce magical creatures, dense forests, and a notorious murderer. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, Silla must constantly be on the lookout for a relentless assassin that will stop at nothing to thwart her plans. 👀

One of my favorite parts about The Road of Bones was the found family Silla literally snuck her way into on the treacherous route. I loved that although each member was rough around the edges, they still took Silla in as one of their own. The friendships, and romance, that naturally occurred within the group as the plot unfolded compelled me to keep turning pages to see what would happen next.

Oh, and that ending! I thought I had it all figured out, but I was shocked by the revelations at the conclusion of the story. Author Demi Winters, set things up perfectly for a sequel I know many of us will be impatiently waiting for!

In the pages, you will find:

💪A strong FMC on the run
🤝Found family
🔪An assassin on the hunt
🤫Secret identities
❤️Romance
🦌Ruthless magical creatures
🪢 Complicated family dynamics
🪄Magic
🛣️A brutal road
📖An ending that will weave you begging for more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Thanks to Delacorte Press for the gifted copy of this book!

Fantasy reading level: Easy to Intermediate (long, lots of characters, easy world/magic system)
Representation: addiction, physical disability (side character with prosthesis)

About the book: Silla Nordvig is on the run, hunted by the queen of Íseldur. She embarks on a journey on the Road of Bones - a thousand-mile stretch with warbands, monsters, and murderers, and soon runs into a supply wagon belonging to the Bloodaxe Crew. She lies to win them over and hopefully gain safer passage to Kopa, but a lot can happen on the way.

My review: This reminded me of Danielle Jensen's writing in BRIDGE KINGDOM and A FATE INKED IN BLOOD, with some similarities to Sarah J. Maas' THRONE OF GLASS series as well. I really enjoyed the Viking mercenary crew and forbidden romance elements, along with the twin sister storyline that came into play more toward the end. There was just something about this that didn't *totally* work for me to make it a book I was head over heels about, but I can't put my finger on it. The length or pacing maybe? It was a really solid storyline, so I will probably continue the series and see how book two works for me!

This was incredible and criminally underrated. The audiobook was *chefs kiss* - the narrator did an outstanding job with this. Silla’s world is turned upside down when her father is murdered and she quickly realizes that everything she thought she knew of herself and her world was wrong. She is forced on the run from merciless enemies, following the Road of Bones alone, and stumbles upon a group named the Bloodaxe Crew, each one trained to kill. Despite it all, Silla’s optimistic and stubborn attitude persists. She is forced to keep many secrets and plays a very dangerous game doing so. I don’t want to give anything away but I highly recommend this story: tension, battle, found family, banter, enemies to lovers.

Really a 4.5/5, but you can't give half ratings!

This story was wonderfully unique. I was impressed with the magic system and specifically how magic was used/abused in this world. I also found the interpersonal relationship(s) to be especially profound. The behavior of the love interest(s) is an important conversation for people to have and when these types of conversations are render on page, people experiencing them can feel seen. I am absolutely going to read book two in this series!

The Road of Bones did a fantastic job of stepping you into a different world without throwing too much information at you at once. Its set in a norse-inspired world we follow Silla through a journey of discovery. While during the first novel, it's not clear exactly where they are headed, this story had a lot of group on a quest vibes.

I love that Silla isn't out for glory or to be a warrior. She wants a normal, comfortable life, even if that's not what's being handed to her. She's strong, but isn't a warrior. There's nothing wrong with a woman wanting to be a warrior, but its nice to see the portrayal of a strong woman who doesn't necessarily want to fight.

All of the characters were fun to learn about and multi-dimensional which really adds depth to the story.

You can also see the hints of magic in this world being interesting, but there's a lot more we can still learn.

This is written in multiple POV and there were time's when I wasn't sure who was talking until I'd read for a bit.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I read it when it was indie published and am so thankful I got to read the ARC of the trad published version! This book drew me in from the very beginning and I love the viking inspired fantasy romance. The names, dialogue, settings and descriptions all felt very immersive and accurate to the intended setting.

The Road of Bones follows Silla, a girl of unknown background who is on the run from the Queen of Iseldur. When her father is murdered, she sets off on "The Road of Bones" to find a safe house that her dad told her to go to. On the way, Silla meets the Bloodaxe crew and hitches a ride with them. Lots of things happen (action, fights, romance, etc) and there were a couple twists I did NOT see coming! An amazing debut.

Giving this a 4.75 ⭐️
I have always been a complete sucker for found family and when you throw in a grumpy leader - well, let’s just say I was hooked.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with a Viking romance (and adventure!) but the imagery, dialogue, and action were (I felt) all well done and descriptive enough to bring me into the world along with Silla, Jonas, Rey and the rest of the crew. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised that I was even drawn in during the fight scenes - which normally I would glaze over until the fighting had ebbed.

Whilst there were some obvious plot lines, I completely do not care because I just had a whole lot of fun completely demolishing this book. The banter and love between the crew was *chefs kiss*. Bring on book 2!

(Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC) Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me at 20%. Romantasy is such a hit or miss genre and this one was a miss for me.
Silla is the usual barely legal, overpowered and destitute girl in some far off village when something happens to endanger her safety and she must make a run for it. Who I presume to be the love interest was introduced fairly quickly he’s gruff and tough with daddy issues. Shocking news.

If you enjoy Netflix’s Vikings and romantasy tropes, you should pick this up.

I already know this story is going big big. I can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks. I didn't guess a single twist. Wonderful debut. Can't wait to see what else this author does.

The Road of Bones
Demi Winters
Rating: 5 Stars
✅ Viking inspired
✅ Magical Powers
✅ Intriguing Romance
✅ Deadly and Vicious Mercenary Crew
✅ Solid Worldbuilding
This book was unexpectedly SO good. I was in a weird mood when I started reading the book, so it took me a minute to get into it, but after a couple of chapters I could not take my eyes off the page.
The world-building was phenomenal. We are quickly introduced to a ruthless world that is extremely cruel to those with magic. I appreciate that Demi Winters does not hold back, and she makes the book appropriately dark at times.
This book focused primarily on Silla's POV. It did include multiple POVs, something I generally don’t love, but it actually didn’t bother me in this book because they were all tied together well into one cohesive story. I loved Silla as the main character. She was the perfect balance of strength and spirit. I appreciate that she wasn’t instantly some badass fighter, but someone forced to grow throughout the story. She is a fighter, but she also is a bubbly, optimistic young woman who has a soft heart. I appreciate that Demi Moore created this great balance of creating a strong character who also has a softer feminine side. The Viking-inspired world is unique and refreshing because I have not read any Viking-inspired fantasy books except for Danielle Jenson’s A Fate Inked In Blood (which I also highly recommend).
The Bloodaxe Crew is so fun, and I love seeing the dynamics of a crew of dangerous mercenaries and misfits. The Crew was developed well, and I felt like each character had a purpose and was developed well. I liked that Rey, the leader of the Crew, was highly suspicious of Silla and did not just let her in.
Demi Moore also handled complex topics like addiction, grief, and romance in a mature and intriguing way. The romance was particularly unexpected, and I loved all of the tension as it developed. I have lots of hopes for the direction it will go in the next book in the series, and the ending left me with lots of questions.
I will definitely keep an eye out for more books by Demi Winters. I am SO happy that the next book is already out because I absolutely can’t wait to read it.

I’m a sucker for viking stories, so I knew this one was going to be right up my alley. This is the type of story that will immediately draw you in. The author writes in such a way that you feel immersed in the story. The world building is well done, and Winters introduces readers to some very unique creatures. Winters tells this story through multiple POVs. While I normally find myself preferring certain POVs over others, I found all of them to be interesting and engaging. Each POV pulled back layers while providing richness and depth to the overall story. I really enjoyed Silla as a main character. She shows so much growth and change throughout the book. One of my favorite tropes is found family, so I especially loved Silla finding her place amongst the mercenaries. There was also delicious banter woven into the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and I’m excited to see where Winters takes readers in book 2.

I've been really enjoying fantasy books with a Norse/Viking background lately, and the Road of Bones was no different. I'm giving it 3.75 stars as a review, primarily because I felt that it was too long and was trying to accomplish far too many things - both on a plot and writing style side. Overall though, I enjoyed many of the individual elements of the book, especially the twist in our love story. Reading from different perspectives was certainly a mind-bend in this case. Great fall/winter read that feels both cozy at times and super suspenseful at others.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the world created, I loved that it was not quite our world, but a fantastical one, and that this was explored bit by bit through new pieces of information gleaned every chapter.

The characters were excellent, and I loved getting the occasional POV from almost every major character, to get a sense of their motivations and beliefs, especially motivations that Silla, the main character, wouldn't herself be aware of.

Silla was a great main character, I loved learning more about her as the book went on, and I loved how she grew as a character.

I can't wait to explore this world further in a future book 2!

What a great debut and fantastic start to a new fantasy romance series from Demi Winters! Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading. Winters introduces us to a badass cast of characters in a unique and brutal Viking-inspired world where magic is outlawed and dangerous creatures like vampire deer exist. A great read for fans of found family and road trip storylines. Told through multiple POVs, Silla's story captivated me from the start. The Road of Bones had the perfect combination of action and romance and was full of plot twists, secrets, and lies. I cannot wait to read book 2!

A woman on the run. A crew of Viking mercenaries. A forbidden romance. And the secret that threatens to ruin them all.

Holy plot twists.
Every time I thought I had something figured out, a new secret would drop or a new betrayal would occur and all the stakes would change. It kept me on my toes the whole book and with the way the story ended, I think there’s plenty more to come.

BUT I had a bad feeling about a certain someone and was ✨selfishly✨ happy that my instincts were right.

The multiple povs are more fluid than most other stories but it’s never confusing. It definitely gave the story a unique feel and I enjoyed getting into more of the characters heads. And it’s impossible not to fall in love with the Blood Axe Crew - even their extremely grumpy leader.

This story is just starting and I can’t wait to start Kingdom of Claw - and hopefully get some more answers.
And some revenge.
Cause my girl Silla has been through it. Like, THROUGH it. And I’d like a front row seat when she makes things right 🙌🏼

Tropes include:
•Enemies to lovers
•Found family
•Hidden identity
•Secrets / Betrayals
•Norse mythology

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. DNF. I will not be finishing this book. It was not catching my attention. I’m only reading and reviewing so that it doesn’t hurt my back ratio and because it makes me..