The book is heaving on world building and establishing the magic system but the payoff is worth the wait. The ending was amazing and I cannot wait to see what the sequel brings. The charters were interesting and if you are a fan of enemies to lovers then you are going to be a fan of this book.

5 ⭐️’s because i swear LJ can do no wrong!!! the setting, the plot, the plot twists, and betrayals all had me on the edge of my seat. not to mention how roark has me in a CHOKEHOLD! his hand speak is so hot and the tap tap tap??? i will never recover!

perfect if you love
- norse mythology
- a hot broody bodyguard mmc
- found family
- 10/10 unique magic system

“You are more than the scars in your eyes.”
~~~
So right away, can’t say much cause this book isn’t out till 5/29/25; BUT!!
This…this was something else…AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!
The chemistry between the two main characters, the BANTER!!! The side characters, this type of representation (that is rarely seen in any book) all of it was an amazing trip that I want to go back too! @authorljandrews loved it! Amazing…and absolutely crave the next book…if there is another one..gods I hope so!

*quote subject to change*

Overall, I enjoyed this! LJ Andrews' doesn't miss with her stories!! I always feel so emersed in the plot and characters.
I did feel a little lost in the middle with the world building. I found myself having to read over passages to fully understand what was supposed to be going on. The magic system is really cool and a unique idea. I also enjoyed have both POVs from each character. The 2 MCs have great synergy. The slow burn was well worth the wait - 2 out of 5 spice level. The last 30% of this book is captivating.

Thank you LJ, publishers, & NetGalley for providing me this eARC. I am very thankful and appreciative.

I LOVED IT.

I was so happy to receive this ARC because I love seeing the growth in Andrew’s writing. She does Viking romantasy so well. While the magic system is nothing new, the way that Andrew’s is able to describe it, immerse us into the world, was done so well.

I love that the world building is done along the way and is not overwhelming.

GIMME MORE PLZZZZZZ

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙢 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙠. 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙥 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙥𝙨 - 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨. 𝙄𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗:
Lyra has spent her life trying to remain unnoticed, but when Roark Ashwood—the silent sentry of Stonegate—arrives in her village, her secrets are exposed.

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎:
Ya’ll, the tensionnnnnnnn!

If you’ve read LJ’s Broken Kingdoms series, a lot of what happens in this book won’t be surprising. Broken Kingdoms was hands down one of my favorite series I read last year, so needless to say I absolutely DEVOURED this one.

One of my favorite things about LJ’s writing is the unique magical systems she creates. The world building is easy enough to follow but also just so cool?! I am obsessed with the magic system in this one & I am so excited to see how she expands on it.

But truly, the thing that stands out the most in this book is the INSANE TENSION due to Roark being non-speaking & using his hands to talk. Lyra & Roark are very much enemies, & yet because he doesn’t speak he needs her looking at him to be able to understand what he’s saying. The face grabbing? The closeness? THE TAP TAP TAP?! Well done, LJ.

I’ve been a big time supporter of LJ’s books & this one is no different. Read it, then read her entire backlist. You can thank me after 😉

𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:

💙“𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩.”

💙“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚.”

💙“𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜, 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙.”

💙“𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙢𝙚, 𝙄 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.”

🦴Norse-inspired fantasy
🦴political intrigue
🦴hidden powers / identity
🦴non-speaking MMC
🦴bodyguard / forced proximity
🦴enemies to lovers / slow burn
🦴unique magic system
🦴found family

Thank you to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! All opinions are my own.

So, I’m a huge LJ Andrews fan and I’m so excited that her first traditionally published book is something new! I have adored her other books and characters, my favorite being The Broken Kingdom Series, So I was interested to see if LJ’s newest book could top that feeling for me. Plot twist: IT DID! Oh my gosh. Loved the Norse/viking vibes and folklore. And how she made someone who wasn’t able to talk communicate….it felt so refreshing to have that representation in a fantasy book. Full review to come!

Give me book TWO right now!! Andrews, we need book two immediately!! This book is wonderful. If you liked A Fate Inked in Blood then you will enjoy this one as well. The FMC and MMC are both great. The MMC is interesting as he is mute from a war injury and must use sign language (of sorts) to communicate - this adds to the tension and makes everything great.

If you enjoy viking mytholody, political games/intrigue, unique magic systems, enemies to lovers, and strong world building you have to pick this book up. So worth the read.

This book was absolutely phenomenal. It was everything I was wanting in my next Romantasy read. The Viking mythology, the unique world and magic system, the characters, the tension, the slow-burn. It was all perfection. The ending was so so good and had me in a chokehold. I couldn’t put it down until I had all the answers. I absolutely will be reading book 2. Roark and Lyra had so much tension and chemistry. I absolutely adored Roark. He is mute due to tragic circumstances as a child. But the way he is so tender and soft with his hand language one moment, and fierce and commanding in the next was soo good. His character is so complex and so well done. This book is so well written, the characters are complex, and the world building is unique and intriguing. You definitely want to snatch up this book once it is released next month.

Thank you for the free book, Ace and Berkley!

In the first book of this romantasy series, Lyra is a bone melder who is taken captive by Roark, a sentry for the king. Lyra’s abilities are revered and rare, and she is guarded by Roark so she can follow the king’s commands. Not all is as it seems, and the two are bonded in more ways than one.

Although I haven’t read as many romantasy books as some, I have been branching out lately to try more. This one was a bit more challenging for me in parts because there is quite a bit of world building. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book and the end was explosive and fast paced, but the middle was hard for me to get through at times. However, I did enjoy how the story ended and would continue reading to find out how Lyra and Roark’s story will unfold.

Broken Souls and Bones is book #1 in the new Stonegate series by author @ljandrews. The Stonegate series is planned to be a 4-book series, set in a fantastical Norse-esque world, centering around the FMC Lyra Bien, an orphan girl, who has a secret.

One day working in the Jarl’s orchards, Lyra was attacked by a hooded man. She fought him off, but the encounter left her shaken. When she returned to the village, they were surrounded by the King’s guards and one guard in particular, who many called the Sentry or Death Bringer - Roark Ashwood. In order to save her friends, Lyra was forced to reveal her rare power and was immediately taken to the king to become his next Melder.

Once taken to the Stone Palace, the king becomes enthralled with Lyra and her powers. Given her unique gifts and their value to him - as well as enemies near and far - the king assigns the Sentry to become the full-time guard of the Melder.

When you read Broken Souls and Bones, you can expect:
Romantasy
Enemies to Lovers
Sign language
Bodyguard
Silent & Broody MMC
“Chosen One” FMC
Unique magic system
Forced Proximity

Soul Bonds
Found Family
“Touch Her and Die” vibes

Like so many Romantasy stories, there was a lot of complex magic, world and character building at the beginning, but once it hit it’s stride, the story really picks up and I had a really hard time putting this book down.

Let me start with my new book boyfriend Roark…this man is so possessive and swoon-worthy without even saying a word! He was shunned by his people and lost his voice in the process, so he has to communicate with his hands. HIS HANDS! And for those who like them morally gray, Roark definitely has a dark side and can be quite brutal, especially to those who threaten to harm Lyra, but with her he is sweet and kind and best of all, he treats her like the badass queen she is!

Speaking of the badass queen herself, Lyra is an amazing FMC! She is feisty and strong and she fights for those she cares about. She always seems to get herself into the thick of it, and she won’t back down. She even saves herself a few times!

And for those who love lovable side-characters, let me introduce you to Kael and Prince Thane! Kael is Lyra’s brother from another mother and Prince Thane is besties with Roark. My SJM fans, Thane gives off major Dorian Havillard energy!

Here’s one of my favorite quotes (and a gesture Roark used often):

“Pulse racing, I touched where Ashwood held his hand, Three taps - his gesture for claiming something as his. It meant mine. A word meaning a dozen things - his to command, his to use, his to protect.”

A special thank you to NetGalley and LJ Andrews for the ARC. I feel truly blessed and I can’t wait to read what’s next in store for these characters.

DNF 60%

Loved the characters. Hated the world building.

Let's get straight to the literal bones of Broken Souls and Bones.

The characters were great--The main characters (Lyra and Roark) and secondary characters (Prince Thane and his betrothed and Lyra's BFF, Kael Darkwin). I loved them all but not even great characters could keep me invested in a story with silly world building.

Roark Ashwood was tossed out and maimed as a youngster for failing his people in Dravenmoor. Now unable to speak, he was taken in by the Kingdom of Jorvandal but the king didn't expect much from him, giving him to Prince Thane as a guard. This is the best thing to have happened as Roark and the prince are like brothers. Now that Roark is such a dangerous warrior, commanding a great deal of respect from the army, the King wants Lyra to remove bond with the prince and give one to him instead. Together Thane and Roark created their own sign language so Roark could communicate and while only a few bothered to learn more than the basics, Roark doesn't care to converse with most people anyway. I can't imagine how being unable to speak would work during a battle. He has a translator while giving orders and making rousing speeches but what about in the heat of battle? Making Roark use sign language to converse gave his character an extra depth, and it also made it easier for us to know the nature of the secondary characters simply due to whether or not they could be bothered to learn to communicate with Roark. Upon Lyra's abduction from her small town, she jumped on the booklet of hand signals because she was fascinated by it and wanted to know what Roark was saying.

Lyra Bien has a strong, intelligent personality which helped her fight the darkness that takes over most melders. Having a strong backbone also helped her stand up to Roark and the demands of the King. She was told to hide all her life since she had the gift of a melder and melders were always forced into the service of the king. Melders fuse bones of the dead onto hosts, usually strong warriors as a boost to their strength.

I got through about 60% of the story but I didn't enjoy the whole soul-bone melding thing. First of all, in order to fuse the soul-bone to your bone, Lyra has to reach your bones. Not only does she cut the skin, she has to get to your bone so that is cutting through your muscle with a regular old knife, no anesthesia, and let's hope you don't get an infection. Although an infection could be the least of your problems as the soul of the dead warrior fuses with you. Who is this guy? You don't get to choose who it is. "Is that Todd? He was an asshole. I don't want to be part-Todd forever. And he was a sucky warrior, he died during training by tripping over his own feet and falling on his own sword. Who else to you have in that bucket?" They just have a bucket of bone slivers from dead warriors, and this person's personality becomes part of yours but we aren't getting any choices or backgrounds on these people. It's not like the bucket is full of bones from their greatest warriors. I don't think I would want to risk it.

The first thing they do to make sure Lyra is the melder they have been searching for is shatters the bones of her BFF, Kael. Lyra has been hiding her whole life and doesn't even know how to meld. Thankfully, she has a natural talent for it and fixes him but what a way to earn the loyalty of your new, forced-into-service melder, making her rebuild her friend in a panic. Really?

Lyra also goes into a trace as she melds but mentally she is in a dream realm where another cloaked warrior appears (definitely not Roark) who is threatening to kill her for doing her job--which she doesn't even want to do--because she is stealing souls. So she has the King making her meld these bones onto warriors and then this guy in her dream world threatening to take a soul for each one she steals.

And as long as I am ranting, this nutty king also has his mender take a sliver of bone from each of his warriors (Each!!! How many does he have 1,000? 10,000?) and he has that sliver of bone attached to his skull as a show of loyalty, but it also seems to force that loyalty. That's 1,000 or 10,000 cuts into his head! Now what happens when that warrior dies? Does it slough off in his head? Does it hurt? Does he get a sharp pain or a headache when 100 warriors go out and die in battle?

While menders have the most coveted (only by the King) gift, there are also bone crafters, blood crafters and soul crafters. Jorvandal has bone crafters. They can make bone weapons or armor--usually out of animal bones--but they can also reach over and shatter the bones in your body. We don't even hear much about the soul or blood crafters, at least on the first 60 percent, and I am guessing they will be part of future stories as this is Book #1.

This was a tough one and what I felt was a terrible waste of characters since they were wonderful charactes but unfortunately, I am not overly excited about the world-building and the whole using soul/blood/bone magic. As much as I liked the characters, I just couldn't keep reading and I certainly wasn't going to invest the time in a whole series.

I enjoyed this book! I thought that the magic system was really interesting, and I really liked the main character as well. Lyra was a great character to follow, and I enjoyed her character development throughout the book! The romance between Lyra and Roark was well-written, if a bit too insta-lovey for me. I found some aspects of the plot a bit slow, but I overall had a great time with this book, and I am very excited to read the next book in the series, as well as LJ Andrews' other books! :)

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars

A slow start with an explosive end.

I hate to say that this one dragged for me a bit. Some of the storyline didn't seem fleshed out as much as it could have been. While the magic system was really intriguing, we didn't really learn about most of it, only specific parts, and what we did learn about still felt like some details were missing.

And I'll say some of the twists really came out of nowhere and there wasn't really anything in the book that pointed to this being the twist or anything, so I feel like it was just decided at the end that this was what she was gonna make the twist without trying to leave any breadcrumbs.

But I did like the two main characters. Roark was a little different than your usual MMC and I really enjoyed that aspect, and Lyra was pretty great as well.

But the ending was amazing. Even though some of the twists were kind of meh and some of it you could see coming a mile away, it still had me at the edge of my seat. It definitely sets up for a great sequel so can't wait for that one and what else LJ might do with this universe ❤️‍🔥

This book was absolutely phenomenal. It was everything I was wanting in my next Romantasy read. The Viking mythology, the unique world and magic system, the characters, the tension, the slow-burn. It was all perfection. The ending was so so good and had me in a chokehold. I couldn’t put it down until I had all the answers. I absolutely will be reading book 2. Roark and Lyra had so much tension and chemistry. I absolutely adored Roark. He is mute due to tragic circumstances as a child. But the way he is so tender and soft with his hand language one moment, and fierce and commanding in the next was soo good. His character is so complex and so well done. This book is so well written, the characters are complex, and the world building is unique and intriguing. You definitely want to snatch up this book once it is released next month.

Andrew’s has a way of drawing you completely into the worlds she creates and this was another perfect example of that. With a perfect blend of world building, character development and overall plot development this was a fantastic start to her newest Stonegate series.

Her characters have well fleshed out backgrounds and motives and you never know what’s going to happen next . Top off with that cliffhanger and you know the next book is going to be just as good.

🌶️🌶️/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A thousand times YES

I actually cannot form words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. VIKINGS! MAGIC! ENEMIES TO LOVERS!

This book was so much fun from start to finish. I love LJ’s writing style - I feel like I can never read fast enough.

Highly recommend for fantasy romance lovers that are looking for a new fantasy world to get lost in

This book is absolutely phenomenal. It exceeded my expectations, and that's with me going into it expecting to love it. I loved that the MMC was mute and that the FMC learned how he communicates. I loved the magic system. The relationship from start to finish pulls you in and doesn't hold back any punches. You will not be able to put this book down.

The worldbuilding and magic system are so well done. I loved the complexities of the relationships, loved the side characters, loved how they found so much strength together as a couple as their relationship grew. I was blown away by the writing and storytelling. This is a complex take on the kind of world you think you already know, but this is not just another romantasy book. This book is so much more and will stay with you long after you read its final lines.

This review took me so long to write, not because I didn't love it or was not obsessed with it (and I am definitely obsessed), but because I really struggled putting to words what this book means to me. I hope it will resonate with you as much as it has resonated and lingered with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing group for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

LJ Andrews writes a thrilling romantasy novel.
Weaving such a unique premise with a tried and true romantasy theme, we are given a new story of hidden identities, fated mates, and warring kingdoms with evil underbellies.
Broken Souls and Bones was an entertaining read that kept me intrigued till the last page. With a well developed cast of characters, Andrews only share what is needed, but holds all the cards to herself until the last quarter of the book. I would have loved a more gradual pacing of information, but I was still entrancing by the story during my read.

I really enjoyed this EXTREMELY slow burn Norse-inspired romantasy.

I was lucky enough to be gifted the eARC from Netgalley. Very thankful for the opportunity to read this before release.

This books gave me Vikings Valhalla and The Last Kingdom vibes. I could vividly see the characters.

The MMC is a whole new level of book boyfriend. Absolutely loved the sign language rep. He is broody, protective and dangerous. Just how I like them.

I highly suggest checking this out if you enjoy:
- romantasy that is a little more plot heavy
- slowest of slow burns.
- unique magic systems - blood, soul and bone magic
- Norse/viking inspired books
- found family

This is my first LJ Andrews book and I will definitely be reading more.