*4.75 stars*

This book has left my jaw on the FLOOR. The characters are AMAZING, so deep and imperfect and obsessed, and the plotlines are insane to me. I have been on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The premise on which the plot is built is already so interesting, but the fact that we keep getting more and more angles to this story, every character is involved in its own way (which sounds weird to say but I mean that everyone is closely entwined with it and has been for years without the others knowing) and that makes it so interesting to me. It's filled with action, but not in a way where it's constant battles and war, more like a kind of politics-reminding action (except there's no politics and I'm just trying to explain how GOOD this is) It kind of gave me "The Familiar" vibes in the best of ways (and not only because they're both of spanish inspiration, I swear).

Overall I'm VERY glad this is a duology and will be found biting my nails off waiting for the second one!!!

I thought the premise of this book was fantastic although I feel it needs a glossary or some brief summary as it got quite confusing at times it jumps around a lot, I'm disappointed as I know this is my type of book, I found myself not wanting to pick it back up and it took me a while to read, it was a bit of a slog, like I said maybe a glossary or a brief summary at the beginning would of helped!

3.5/5

Mistress of Bones is an impressive debut that blends gothic fantasy, swashbuckling adventure, and intricate world-building. The story follows Azul, a necromancer trying to bring her sister back to life, while navigating court politics and being hunted by a servant of Death.

Azul is a standout protagonist—strong-willed, resourceful, and determined, making her easy to root for. The world-building is exceptional, especially the unique bone magic system, and the prose is sharp, complementing the action with precision, particularly in the rapier duels. The world feels both fantastical and grounded, drawing the reader in with every page.

While the wide cast of characters enriches the story, it occasionally distracts from the main plot, and the flashbacks can slow the pacing at times. However, these are minor issues in an otherwise thrilling and well-crafted narrative.

In all, Mistress of Bones is a captivating fantasy debut with rich world-building, strong characters, and unexpected twists. A must-read for fans of immersive fantasy and complex protagonists.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

I wish someone had told me, going into this book, how long winded it would be. I was expecting something gripping, perhaps even chilling, as the rest of these winter months float by-- something eerie and hopeful and kindling. I don't think I really got anything out of it. The problem is the beginning of the book is so heavy handed with it's info-dumping, and barely any of it is utilized throughout the plot. I found myself often lost and struggling with multiple perspectives, jumping around, and context told-and-n0t-shown.

That being said, this is very reminiscent of Kerri Maniscalco's Hunting Prince Dracula-- the characters are collaborators, forced business partners, more than they are anything else and put themselves to the task of uncovering secrets left and right. And I loved Kerri's books, but this had a lot of the same issues: the glittering Court of Cienpuentes was more of a gothic backdrop we hardly see. Lots of people are /from/ there, lots of traveling /to/ there, but not enough of actually being there.

On the plus side, however, one of my favorite tropes: *He* definitely falls first, which was delightful, but under utilized.
In all, I was really underwhelmed. It's not *bad*, just not for me.

I'm sorry but I've tried very hard to get into this book a multitude of times but it was so slow paced and there was nothing that really hooked me into the story for me to complete this... It's sadly a DNF and I would have refrained from giving a star rating but I can't submit a review without one so unfortunately it's a 1 star for me...

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review!

There's a lot of info dumping on the world building that made it hard to get into. At 2% we're hearing about all the different cities in this story, leaders of said cities, and their trade. Even though I keep a log of every character and city while I read, the start of this book made me VERY confused and frustrated.

When I first met Azul, I didn't understand what she felt after her sister dissolved into dust--I didn't feel any urgency through the character to get her sister back. The writing fell flat to me, but beautiful at the same time if that makes sense (??????). The author obviously knows how to use words to create a compelling sentence, but again, the characters emotions fell very flat.

The time skips and POV changes made me confused as well. I didn't feel like the characters had their own distinct voice and had to go back to see who I was reading about.

The story in itself is very original, which was what drew me to request this book in the first place. I had high hopes for this, but unfortunately wasn't for me! I hope this book will reach its target audience :).

This book was frustrating because on one hand, it was incredibly confusing to follow, with the timeline jumps and the many characters, but on the other hand, the characters are compelling and interesting, and all their different motivations and desires are so layered and complex. I almost think there are too many characters in this book, though, and not enough time is dedicated to helping the reader understand and remember who they are, which again, in conjunction with the timeline differences, makes this book difficult to follow. That all being said, something I think is done really well in this book is Azul's adherence to her quest to resurrect her sister. It's a front-facing goal for her throughout the whole story, but it's never pushed too hard or too unnaturally. Likewise, I think the book did a good job of keeping the plot interesting--the parts of it I could follow, anyways--and there was always another twist with every chapter that kept me guessing.

Thank you for giving me the chance to eARC this book.

The gorgeous cover caught my attention and the description of the story had me incredibly interested. I loved the idea, however, ereading this was incredibly difficult.

There's a lot of jumping that's happening and it does cause confusion, as many others have stated. I feel like I will enjoy this book a lot more once I can keep a dedicated notebook, highlight sections, and tab pages to know where to bounce back to for references to things.

I am going to leave my feelings here. I want to give this book a fair reread once I have it and I will update my review from there. I do absolutely love the concept, I enjoyed the characters. I just really think this is one book that is going to require a traditional read.

This book left me so confused from the many characters to the timeline jumping. I was very bored for the majority of the book because I didn't know what was going on. Towards the end stuff started piecing together somewhat but all I really understood is she was a giver of life and her step brother was trying to build a God from humans by raising dead. I just didn't enjoy this read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC! Unfortunately this one is a DNF... I was interested in this book from the beautiful cover (I mean seriously, can we take a moment for how gorgeous it is!!) and its synopsis, but ultimately I felt disorientated with time jumps and various character POVs. The concept is really neat, but I kept putting it down without the urge to venture back between the pages.

Maria Z. Medina’s Mistress of Bones is a breathtaking fantasy debut filled with necromantic magic, high-stakes adventure, and tragic romance. Azul del Arroyo’s quest to reclaim her sister’s bones is both heart-wrenching and thrilling, made even more intense by her dangerous entanglement with Death’s enigmatic Emissary.

With rich worldbuilding, a compelling heroine, and a plot that blends myth, intrigue, and fate-defying determination, this novel is impossible to put down. Perfect for fans of dark fantasy and star-crossed romance, Mistress of Bones is an unforgettable start to a promising duology!

It was a dnf for now unfortunately. I don’t particularly blame the book and will be giving it another shot but for now it was a no.

Honestly made it 30% and just couldn’t keep going, thank you to NetGalley for this arc however the time skips and the character changing povs had me confused. I had to go back multiple times to reread certain parts to make sure I understood it correctly. Really wanted to love this and I just think it’s meh, might go come back and read it again once it’s published.

Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina is a well-crafted fantasy novel with a richly built world and complex characters. The protagonist’s connection to the dead and her internal struggles are intriguing, and the plot offers plenty of twists and action. While I personally wasn’t fully drawn into the story, the book delivers a compelling narrative with strong themes of power, sacrifice, and identity. Medina’s writing is vivid, and the character development is solid. Overall, it’s a good book, even though it didn’t completely resonate with me. Fans of dark fantasy will likely enjoy it.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. The multiple POVs threw me off and it was hard for me to connect to any characters. My brain couldn’t keep up with the world and the information given to me.

Thank you to NET GALLEY and the publisher, this is my honest review
DNF at 45%
I wanted to love this however I found myself getting confused with time jumps and character changes. I felt like I was constantly going back and checking what I’ve read.
I found it hard to relate with the characters because of the confusing jumps.

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

Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina is a powerful and gripping tale that immerses you in a world filled with magic, mystery, and complex characters. The story is rich with detail, and the author has crafted an intricate world that feels both real and magical. The protagonist is strong and multi-dimensional, facing challenges that go far beyond just survival—it's about personal growth, resilience, and discovering hidden truths. The plot is full of unexpected twists that kept me turning pages, and I loved how each chapter unraveled more layers of the world Medina created. This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys a deep, thought-provoking fantasy that’s full of surprises. Mistress of Bones is a standout novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading.

this world is so unique and bizarre. literally building cities ON the bones of gods is such an interesting concept, one which i haven’t seen before. those bones are also keeping them from falling into a void so 🤗 double cool.

as someone who struggles a bit when a story has a lot of characters, this was a tough one for me. i was a little lost with both the wide cast of characters and the time jumps. it was difficult to feel any connection to these characters. i was intrigued enough to keep reading, though, and i’m glad i stuck it out. there’s some really decent plot twists here.

while being marketed as a romantasy, it leans more on the fantasy side with the romance being a subplot. i’m sure this is why i didn’t vibe with the story. i went into with the wrong expectations.

really interesting premise and a cool world. unfortunately didn’t work for me. :)

thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and authors for this ARC. Sadly, this is a DNF for me at 56%. I have to call it quits.

The description for this reminded me of one of my favourite reads so I couldn’t pass it up.

I was left feeling rather underwhelmed by this read. I think the beginning of this book wasn’t gripping enough, especially considering the promise the premise held. I kept putting the book down to scroll on my phone - which is never a good sign for me. It missed the mark on the emotional aspect of it all.
The thing I struggled with the most was the back & forth between past & present. Especially the multiple ; days earlier chapters. I think it would’ve been easier to demonstrate relationships before everything unraveled. This would’ve built the emotional attachment to characters as well as hit the mark surrounding the aspect of deaths. I think that when someone dies right at the beginning of the book, it doesn’t serve to try to convince the readers to be sad about it afterwards.

I wasn’t fond of the main characters. Azul was 19 but acted like a 13yo. I liked Nereida and the secrecy surrounding her character but we didn’t see her enough. I think this book also had too many POVs and that didn’t work well to fluff the characters personalities. Especially since the beginning wasn’t strong enough to carry this many POVs. Even with the multiple back & forth chapters - I found it hard to root for the main FMC. I didn’t feel any attachment to these characters and this made the plot kind of unappealing to me.

I wish I had enjoyed this more than I did, but reading is subjective and I hope others enjoy this book.

A rich, unique world with a massive cast of great characters. Gothic Fantasy with a capital F—at so many points this felt like adult high fantasy rather than romantasy. A necromancer trying to bring back her sister gets co-opted into court politics while being hunted by a servant of Death. This is advertised as a swashbuckler and you know what? It really is, and good. I felt like I was watching a Three Musketeers movie but with resurrection.

It’s kind of shocking this book does so much so well. It has the opposite problem every other YA novel on offer these days has, where this story is actually adults, acting like adults, dealing with adult problems in adult ways. So refreshing. The wide cast is both a strength and a weakness: the world has so much life and the side characters are given so much due, and sometimes this pulls attention away from the main plot/couple in ways that aren’t technically wrong but do stall the action a bit. That and the flashbacks (god, the flashbacks) can make this a challenge to follow at times.

But mostly this is nitpicking. So little is technically wrong with this story that it makes the parts it handles with less grace more frustrating. Amazing world, great prose, and so many interesting characters. Read it for the swashbuckling and the bizarre world; stay for the plot twists, which actually floored me.