*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

What an absolute page turner!

Broken Souls and Bones by LJ Andrews is an absolute epic read! The enemies-to-lovers trope is executed flawlessly, with tension, passion, and unforgettable character development. From the start, I was pulled into a world of danger, mystery, and heart-stopping moments. The world-building is rich, and the stakes are high, making every choice feel significant.

The romance is intense and slow-burn, with incredible chemistry that kept me hooked. Watching the characters evolve from enemies to lovers was incredibly rewarding, and their connection felt real and earned. This book is a thrilling ride from start to finish, and I absolutely loved every moment of it! Absolutely recommend! 10 stars!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
* Enemies to lovers
* Morally gray
* Slow burn
* Touch her and d!e
* Found family
* Mysterious past
* Magic
* Vikings
* Disability representation - non-verbal MMC who uses sign language

I was lucky enough to receive a digital ARC of Broken Souls and Bones from LJ Andrews and Berkley Publishing Group/Ace. LJ has cemented herself as a goddess of world- and character-building with this new title. The book begins with a lot of details about the world, lore, and political dealings which can feel a little overwhelming. But as the book progresses she continually reminds the reader of the details needed in the context of the story, so you’ll never feel lost.

The characters…:chef’s kiss: There is always depth to LJ’s characters, and it’s especially evident in Broken Souls and Bones. The MMC is non-verbal, yet strong, respected, and a great communicator in his own way. The FMC stands up for the people she cares about and doesn’t bow to her fear, even when she’s uncertain of her past and the strength she may or may not possess. As always, LJ’s supporting characters are endearing, supportive, and an unexpected, rag-tag group of found family. Of course, there are twists, mysterious pasts that can’t be remembered, and traitors—all keeping us on the edge of the comfy chairs in our book-nooks.

A true enemies-to-lovers story, the MMC is steamy and the magnetic force between him and the FMC is too strong to fight. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but don’t you worry—it gets there. The MMC would delight just as much in worshipping the ground his FMC walks on as he would in tort*ring any man who dares lay a finger on her disrespectfully, just as we all demand in our favorite romantasy plots. Morally gray is INDEED my favorite color and shadow daddies are my favorite, so I’m here for it.

The book does end on a cliffy, so strap in. My only complaint is that since I was privileged enough to read this ARC before the release date, I have a painfully long wait to continue Roark and Lyra’s story in book two.

This is my first book by this author and I liked it. This is an epic fantasy with Norse mythology and I was sold with the Viking villain mmc. The world-building was done so well and it was dark and gritty and I felt like I was in the Viking world. The fmc is hiding from the king and the mmc Roark raids her village, finds her hiding her magic, and takes her to the prince. The fmc becomes the King's melder and is trying to find a way to run away and escape so she gets closer to Roak and get out information from him.

I enjoyed the mmc, he is the perfect dark and brooding mmc that I love in Romanatasies. He's a shadow daddy also so that's a plus. The romance is a slow burn, as the fmc gets to know him more she realizes that he isn't what she thought he was. It's enemies to lovers since he gave her to the king and there is some steam later in the book. I would recommend this to lovers of the reluctant allies plot trying to uncover secrets in a romantasy. Thank you Ace for this arc for an honest review.

Read if you like:
- Norse mythology romanatsy
- Vikings
- Slow burn
- Reluctant allies
- Fated mates
- Morally grey mmc
- Magic
- Forced proximity

Lyra Bien lives a quiet life, content to hide her unique magic from the power hungry king that would use her unique gift for his gain. Roark Ashwood is the silent sentry tasked to find and deliver her to the king. As their worlds collide, they find themselves torn between hatred and undeniable pull to one another that could bring a whole kingdom to it's knees. They soon realize there are forgotten secrets that could be the key to it all, but will they be discovered before it's too late?

LJ Andrews is the queen of romantasy as far as I'm concerned. She brings the characters to life in such a way that it's impossible not to visualize the story playing out like a movie. The magic system is wonderful and unique, and presented in such a way that it's engaging, yet easy to comprehend even if you're not a huge fantasy reader. As always with her stories, the found family is a huge part of the story and is so wonderfully put together. Each character has their own gifts and quirks and wins a piece of your heart before you know it. My only regret is as an ARC reader, it's just that much longer wait until I get the next book!

I was so excited to receive this ARC! LJ Andrews became one of my favorite authors this year when I read the Broken Kingdoms and Ever Seas series. Once again, LJ does dark Viking fantasy romance like no other! She has a way of completely immersing me in the world and the story; I grow to love every single character and never want it to end. Every single book is she writes is so emotional and captivating, especially this one!

Lyra and Roark might be my new favorite book couple. I seriously don’t know how LJ writes such amazing couples, but I am absolutely obsessed. Roark had me giggling and kicking my feet, and I haven’t been so absolutely in love with an MMC in a long time. He is EVERYTHING. I am also a sucker for forgotten/secret pasts 👀

The world building, plot, and writing are all amazing. As the book progressed, I realized that there was more lurking beneath the surface and a mystery was slowly unraveling. The twists took me by total surprise, and I could NOT put this book down. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and I know I’ll be chasing the feelings it gave me for awhile.

I have been a hardcore fan of LJ Andrews since almost the beginning. I started reading her Broken Kingdoms books 4 years ago and have gobbled up everything she has ever written. She has created a forever reader in me and I will stand by her books for the rest of my days.

Like her Broken Kingdoms and Ever King series, Broken Souls and Bones follows the Norse/Viking lore and history.. Andrews knows the lore well after all these books she's written and it comes across in this book as well. It follows Lyra (a melder who has been in hiding) and Roark (the Prince's Sentry and dark assassin). Lyra has a magic that is coveted by the King but despised by others (including Roark) and had been hiding in a village for decades. She is found out and brought to the King to be his melder and make his army the most powerful. In the process, she bonds with her captor (Roark) and his friends and is torn between this world and her "mirror world" where a mystery shadow has her intrigued.

The book goes from one action scene to another and I never knew exactly what to expect. Because I've read so many of LJ's other books, this book was a tiny bit predictable. HOWEVER - the twist ending of who the bad guy/gal is was SHOCKING and I did not see it coming at all. If you like interesting magic systems, Norse/Viking lore, enemes-to-lovers, and a snarky FMC, you're going to love this book. I can't believe I have to wait so long for the sequel.

Tropes:
- burn everything for her
- touch her and díe
- enemies-to-lovers
- forbidden romance
- found family
- lost memories
- cliffhanger!
- interesting magic

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley and Berkeley publishing for this digital arc from L.J Andrews book. It has been a true honor to receive this and I’m happy to give my honest review!

Everything was absolutely creative and if you love enemies to lovers and anything that has to with Viking era this book is definitely for you!
Sometimes there’s to much world-building that authors use in their book but honestly this was by far the perfect amount!

I loved the twist and turns! That is the best part of every book in my opinion.
The MMC was so feral that you will fall in love just like I did!

Just be ready for the cliff hanger it will have you wanting more!!

Again thank you thank you thank you! It has been a dream come true.

I literally slammed my kindle shut and gasped when I finished!

The world building was so wonderfully done. I felt immersed in the world of craft magic and all of the court politics. I was quick to fall in love with not only the main characters but the side characters as well. LJ Andrews is the queen of Morally Grey, Obsessive MMCs and BA, Strong-willed FMCs. Y’all are going to go feral for Roark and Lyra! I felt my heart swoon every time Roark gave us a little smirk.

I’m desperate for the next book and need to know what will happen!

Absolutely loved every aspect of this book. The magic, the angst, the betrayals. Love love love!

Lyra is probably one of my favorite FMC’s that has been created by LJ Andrew’s and how she developed Roark makes my heart so happy!

Cannot wait to see where this goes.

LJ Andrews has done it again. I could not put this book down once I started.

Her ability to build characters and build a world that you feel fully immersed in are phenomenal.

You get:

Morally grey
Slowish burn
Enemies to lovers
Touch her and 💀
Possession
Fantastic banter
Unique magic system
and so much more

I absolutely can not wait for more of this series.

Once again LJ Andrews delivers an amazing story! I am always obsessed with her books and this time it’s no different! The writing style and Viking era lore/culture were amazing and immediately drew me in. I love the Viking era so I was so excited for this book. I always love the way LJ paces and sets up her stories and this one was perfect! Throughout the book we get flashes of the past from the Raids and slowly begin to piece together what happened right with the main characters. I think this helped the story flow beautifully! But the best thing in this book has to be the very unique magic system and the characters. Main characters Roark and Lyra are honestly up there with some of my all time favorite characters! They are both so unique and I can’t wait to see what comes next for them after that ending! Roark is absolutely incredible and the relationship we begin to see grow with Lyra is amazing. They are the epitome of touch her/him and die and I love it!

This is another great slow burn enemies to lovers from LJ with a fantastic plot and world building, all things Viking, amazing characters, and a very unique magic system. I will never stop recommending LJ Andrews’ books!

Is this my favorite book by LJ? No.
HOWEVER…did LJ do it again and create incredibly unique magic & a set of characters I loved? Yes!

Once again LJ has written an incredibly unique magic system—one I hope to dive even deeper into as this story progresses.

Having a MMC who is only able to speak through sign was really powerful and different. It made everything that much more intimate and I was invested in every word he ‘said’.

The characters in this story were 10/10. Loved to love some of them and loved to hate others. It’s always such a great balance in every LJ book. I laughed, I cried, and I enjoyed the journey this story took me on. Even readers who aren’t big ‘fantasy’ fans, I think, could enjoy this.

My only critique was I usually do not enjoy ‘set up’ books (everything building for the sake of a 2nd book) and this whole story felt like a stepping stone for book #2 rather than being a solid book on its own. I still definitely enjoyed it & would absolutely recommend but I wasn’t ’locked in’ until we were already 75% of the way through. Please don’t get me wrong though, I’ll be first in line for the next part of the story 🖤

[for reference, I rated this a 4.5⭐️ on StoryGraph but Goodreads & NetGalley doesn’t do 1/2⭐️ values]

Wow, what an unexpected surprise! A
true enemies to lovers, with yearning and secrets. I could not put it down! The magic system in this is unique and refreshing, The plot was go go go and all the twists kept me on the edge of my seat! The Norse inspired story would be great for fans of A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen.

Wow, what an adventure! Absolutely devoured this new dark fantasy romance. Vikings, Enemies to Lovers, Morally Grey MMC, Fierce FMC, found family, perfect spice, touch her and you know, epic world building, in depth plot and foreshadowing, new bone magic, secrets and plots twist, and the list goes on!

LJ Andrew’s is always a must read and this beautiful addition to her books should be at the top of your TBR. LJ’s writing gives you incredible world building, well developed characters and adventure with all the romance and spice in perfect balance. The way she unfolds the story with careful writing, foreshadowing and plots keeps you flipping page after page. Just as I started putting pieces together, she flipped the script.

I CANNOT wait for the continuation of this series and see where this story leads Lyra, Roarke and the whole team. The stakes are high for these characters, and I can’t wait see where the story leads them next! Will they save the realm or watch it burn?

10 ⭐️ "Probably best. I never favored the hero in sagas." Um is this play about me??

I am not sure why the universe and Berkely blessed me enough to get this ARC but here I am, so thankful and appreciative!

Ok first of all, I need to talk a little bit about how much I love LJ Andrews work. LJ has a way of writing the same tropes over and over again, but always making them feel completely different. She immerses you in her worlds and makes you yearn for more every, single time. Broken Souls and Bones is not an exception to that, and I read this book in a 24 hours period. I need book number two right now. LJ also writes books so fast so I am praying maybe for a 2025 release for book 2? Please!?!

Broken Souls and Bones introduces you to the world of Roark and Lyra. The books beginning is a little slow to start. You know how some books are like jumping into the deep end immediately, and some are more like slowly wading into the pool. Well Broken Souls and Bones has you wade in but then lures you so fast into the deep end you might drown from excitement. By 33% into this book I could not put it down even if I wanted to.

The magic system in this book feels similar to LJs other works but also different enough that the story feels original.

LJ does a great job of writing multilayered character. She can you make you love/hate a character, especially when you are getting to know them. Lyra is a fantastic and relatable FMC. She is so bold and rightfully angry in the beginning. Watching her grow throughout the story is so enjoyable. Ro (are we all nicknaming Roark Ro or just me?) is just my type of MMC. Handsome, broody, misunderstood. The friends and family of theirs that you meet along the way are just perfect. LJ writes the best friendship and love chemistry between characters. I think Emi is my favorite. I love a blunt and direct girlie.

The end of this book had me REELING. This story drops all of these hints and details throughout to make you hypothesize what the end will be like, and somehow I guessed everything correctly but also wrong at the same time? Anyways, I will be screaming, crying, and throwing up until I get the next book.



"I have no love for melders and that will never change." Oh Ro Ro baby, ya sure about that?

A dark romantasy with sizzling tension, Vikings, twists and turns, and great banter! I couldn’t put this book down and read it whenever I got the time to! LJ Andrews does a fantastic job building this world and I was enthralled by the magic system!

This book had me hooked from the beginning, and there’s a reason I’ve read everything LJ Andrews has written, her writing style is my favorite. I loved Lyra and Roark! This book felt complex, so many twists and turns and still so many questions to be answered. I loved that this started as enemies ish to lovers, Roark is definitely swoon worthy. The magic system is very unique and I can’t wait to learn even more about the bone melders etc in the next book! If you love the bodyguard trope, slow burn, Viking vibes, and an immersive romantasy then you will love this book!
Thank you so much LJ Andrews and Penguin Random House for the ARC!

"To Those Who Won't Admit They Wish The Love Interest Was The Villian Every Time. I See You."

LJ Andrew's Fan Review: If you have read her previous books or series or really any Viking/Norse books you will like this book. It has a unique magic system and mythology. The couple in the book has chemistry right away. I was beyond thrilled to get this book! I think that's where a lot of the hype for the book is coming because the author has a huge fan base.

ARC Reader Review: This book had way more Viking/Norse lore than her previous books and made the story difficult at times for anyone who may not be familiar with the terms or culture. While the couple had great chemistry it was way drawn out until about the 60% mark. On a positive note, the book as a whole was completely hook-you-in entertaining and the ending was jaw-dropping unexpected.

Another easy five-star read by LJ Andrews! The world-building was clear, easy to follow, and perfectly aligned with the story’s pacing. It didn’t feel like a flood of background information but was seamlessly integrated into the plot and dialogue. The magic system was both unique and well-explained.

I loved Lyra and Roark, both as individuals and as a couple. LJ Andrews also excels at crafting compelling side characters—I found myself deeply invested in each of them and genuinely enjoyed their interactions with Lyra and Roark.

Overall, LJ Andrews has delivered yet another fantastic romantasy. I’ve fallen in love with Lyra and Roark and can’t wait to see what happens next!

Broken Souls and Bones is a captivating and enchanting Viking tale that transported me to a world of mythical creatures and ancient legends. The story enveloped me, immersing me in the Viking culture and lifestyle. It was as if I were watching a movie with surround sound, experiencing the story from every angle.

I gradually devoured the captivating tale of a young woman named Lyra, who led a simple life, concealing her true potential from those who sought to exploit her unique ability to use her bone melder. Against her will, Lyra was abducted by Roark and taken back to King Damir, where her fate took a dramatic turn.

Amidst the unfolding drama, the story intertwined moments of humor and unexpected twists in the relationship between Lyra and Roark. I couldn’t help but empathize with Lyra’s fear of wielding her bone melder, her lack of knowledge about its true capabilities, and her uncertainty about her potential. Regrettably, the King’s actions left her with little control over her destiny.

As the story unfolded, it became apparent that there was more to the narrative than what initially presented itself, suggesting a complex web of intrigue, treachery, and concealed truths surrounding Lyra and Roark.

What an extraordinary story that held my attention until the very end and left me yearning for more.
Thank you LJ Andrews and Berkley | Penguin Random House for this opportunity for reading this book.