Bone Crier's Moon - Review

Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, # 1)

By: Kathryn Purdie

Publication: March 10th 2020 by HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen

480 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Bone ​Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Criers’ one true love.

Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s also destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined—in life and in death.

Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Criers’ work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions—and their matriarch—to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die.

I finished Bone Crier's Moon 5* days ago. And I've read two other books since finishing and before writing my review. I hate it when I allow myself to do that. The book just isn't as fresh in my mind as I prefer for writing a review. That being said, I'll try to do my best with this review.

You know the saying "don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, that's exactly what I did. Before picking it up to read, I'd seen several people rave about the cover. The cover pulled me in, but I was also put off by it too. The characters are compelling and fierce-looking, but it's illustrated and not a photograph of actual people. And so even though I know this isn't exactly true, this is the process that my brain went through: illustrated cover = self-publication; self-publication = less polished; less polished = waste of time. So even though all of that is a bunch of bologna, it pushed me to go ahead and start this book to find out. I've found that if I wait on a book like this until too close to the publication date, then I can lose my interest.

Initially, things were moving slowly. Once Ailesse was kidnapped I felt more invested. Ailesse was difficult to relate to until that moment. Before that she was too untouchable. Her abilities, her strength. She almost considered herself invincible. But being stripped of her grace bones and kidnapped humbled her.

Sabine wasn't as interesting to me to read as Ailesse. That's probably because she didn't have a romance brewing, which isn't her fault. I loved how loyal she was to her best friend. She would truly do anything to help Ailesse. Top best friend material.

Bastien grew on me as well. His struggle for revenge. I certainly understand why he felt the way that he did, but it's hard to imagine that his plan could really have been successful in solving any of his problems. I enjoyed his slow warming to Ailesse.

There was a twist at the end that wasn't a huge surprise to me. It caused the book to end in a bit of a cliffhanger, but honestly, I don't think it had the desired effect for me. Instead of creating a thirst for the next book, it kind of made me less interested in continuing the series. Time will tell if I'll pick book 2 up or not.

Bone Crier's Moon was a more enjoyable reading experience than I worried it would be. I wanted to keep reading it when I needed to put it down. I read it in an entire day. Yet, now that I've finished it and I look back on it, I'm not as impressed as I was in the moment if that makes sense. The world-building was interesting and a new concept for me, yet it didn't blow me away completely. Pros and cons, I suppose. Bone Crier's Moon gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read Bone Crier's Moon? What did you think? Let me know!

*I finished reading this book in August 2019. Review was written 5 days after finishing the book, but I waited to post it until closer to the publication date.