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!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

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.

Burning Glass - Review

Burning Glass (Burning Glass, # 1)

By: Kathryn Purdie

Expected Publication: March 1st 2016 by HarperCollins

512 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Sonya was born with the rare gift to feel what those around her feel—both physically and emotionally—a gift she’s kept hidden from the empire for seventeen long years. After a reckless mistake wipes out all the other girls with similar abilities, Sonya is hauled off to the palace and forced to serve the emperor as his sovereign Auraseer.

Tasked with sensing the intentions of would-be assassins, Sonya is under constant pressure to protect the emperor. One mistake, one small failure, will cost her own life and the lives of the few people left in the world who still trust her.

But Sonya’s power is untamed and reckless, her feelings easily usurped, and she sometimes can’t decipher when other people’s impulses end and her own begin. In a palace full of warring emotions and looming darkness, Sonya fears that the biggest danger to the empire may be herself.

As she struggles to wrangle her abilities, Sonya seeks refuge in her tenuous alliances with the volatile Emperor Valko and his idealistic younger brother, Anton, the crown prince. But when threats of revolution pit the two brothers against each other, Sonya must choose which brother to trust—and which to betray.

BURNING GLASS is debut author Kathryn Purdie’s stunning tale of dangerous magic, heart-rending romance, and the hard-won courage it takes to let go.

Sigh. Such high hopes. First off, I have no idea why this book is titled Burning Glass. I hate when that happens. I mean maybe I missed something, but I don't think so. Maybe that will be revealed as the series continues. Speaking of series, I'm not sure why this needs to be a series as things wrapped up pretty nicely I think. Anyway, let's get into it.

I really struggled with Sonya. She is so easily overcome by the feelings and emotions of others. I mean that's part of the whole conflict of this book, but it didn't endear her to me. While at the convent, Sonya is supposed to be learning how to tame and harness her abilities. I'm not sure if Sonya wasn't interested in doing so because she was just more interested in other things or if it was because she never expected to end up needing to use her abilities in the way that she does. Either way, I think she should have known that allowing other's emotions to overcome her would be extremely dangerous. Yet she never really showed any interest while at the convent to learn how to control herself. That coupled with what felt like some inconsistencies surrounding her ability made this book a little harder for me to get into and read than I would have liked.

Ever since trilogies such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, I've noticed that so many books/series start off with this alternate world or culture and before the end of the book/series the characters are trying desperately to transform their world into something very similar to ours. This is often in the form of corrupt government and equal rights. Why can't these books just have different cultures and different governments without it turning into the same as we have? I don't read about kingdoms and emperors to read about them turning into a government for the people by the people.

The romance was hard to connect to as well. I don't know if that stemmed from my struggles with Sonya herself or if the relationship just wasn't what it should have been. I didn't feel anything, and apathy is the last thing I want to feel toward the romance in my books. I want to feel all the feels. And Burning Glass left me a little cold.

Burning Glass was just okay for me. I didn't connect to the main character or the romance. And I found myself annoyed with the political aspects of the book. I'm giving Burning Glass 2.5 Stars. Have you read Burning Glass? What did you think? Let me know!