Review: Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I did opt to listen to the final production audiobook via my library.  This is a bit on the longer side, the print book is just under 500 pages and the audiobook comes in just under 18 hours.  Sophie Amoss did a great job with the narration.  She tried to give each character a unique voice so you can tell who is who when there is dialogue and she also did a good job conveying emotion throughout the book.

This is the first book in a new YA fantasy focusing on Aurthurian legend and lore.  I'm a sucker for anything related to King Arthur and Avalon and the many people and places often mentioned in the stories so this was a fun read.  This follows Tamsin as she quests to find a lost ring that will hopefully cure her brother from a curse he's be plagued with all his life.  She is also searching for her guardian who abandoned them years ago searching for the very same ring.  There is a catch though, Tamsin unlike the other members of her order doesn't have magic and she isn't the only one searching for the ring.  To have the best chance at finding the ring Tamsin will have to team up with unlikely allies to save her beloved brother and herself.  In doing so she finds herself breaking down her carefully crafted walls in order to save her new team and a dying world.

This is a solid first book.  It does leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I kept expecting that so I can't say I'm too surprised by the ending.  The book ends with alot of unanswered questions, but it does set us up nicely for book two.  I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and I'm anxious to find out what happens next.  I really loved all of the lore and legend that Bracken wove into the story.  There are alot of characters to keep track of and quite a few different plotlines to keep straight.  This is complex and is action packed; the fight scenes do get a little dark and gory.  There is some character development happening, but we are still missing alot of the backstory on many of the characters.  I suspect we will get to know more about Tamsin's origins as well as the other characters in the next book.  We see the most growth from Tamsin, which makese sense as she is the main character and she really makes alot of growth trusting the people around her and beginning to care about others.  The world building was really well done.  Bracken did a great job crafting a fantasy world that I don't want to spoil.

I found parts of this to be fairly predictable but it didn't make it any less enjoyable.  Part of the reason I enjoy YA fantasy is because it is fun and I know what to expect.  The tropes are familiar and I keep coming back for more.  I think they really work well here and I can't wait to find out what happens next.  This is a fun new take on the legend of Avalon and King Arthur and I'm looking forward to getting  my hands on book 2.

View all my reviews