#silver in the bone

[jannaphia]

A private commission for the author Alexandra Bracken!

Tamsin & Emrys from her "Silver in the Bone" series ❄️

[bigdreamsandwildthings]

Fictional worlds > the real one 🖤

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

"No matter what they say, or how much people lie to themselves, people don't want the truth. They want the story already living inside them, buried deep as marrow in the bone."

- Alexandra Bracken, Silver in the Bone

[libertyreads]

April TBR 2024--

This next month is set to be full of rereads, hockey romances, and new to me books. It is also the month I'm starting a certification program so it will probably be a bit of a struggle to get through this month's TBR. I don't even remember the last time I've thought that about a month's TBR. I really hope I have as much fun with this TBR as I'm expecting to. I've really been in the mood for these rereads and these hockey romance so I'm excited to finally get to it.

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken-- This is just one of a few rereads this month. Book two in the series comes out next month. I originally read this one as an ARC so I definitely need a refresher first. Tamsin Lark is a mortal with no magical talent who was never meant to break into ancient crypts or compete with sorceresses and Cunning folk for the treasures inside. But treasure hunting is the only way she could keep herself and her brother Cabell alive following her thieving foster father's disappearance. Ten years later she's looking for a ring that is supposed to save her brother from a curse. It's based in Arthurian legend.

Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo-- Another reread before a new book in the series. I remember enjoying this one slightly less than Raven's book, but I still enjoyed meeting a new character and getting their origin story. I also felt like it addressed an issue that isn't brought up a lot: male body image issues. We see it addressed a lot in fiction for girls, but there are boys who also go through this growing up. Plus it's beast boy and lots of green animals.

The Score by Elle Kennedy-- A hockey romance! I've been so in the mood for hockey romances this year. I don't know if it's because I found a few new to me authors and bought some kindle books for Christmas or what. In this one we follow Allie Hayes who is in crisis mode. Graduation is looming and she's dealing with a broken heart thanks to the end to her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just one though because even if her future is uncertain it sure as heck doesn't include Dean. It seems like he's going to pursue her after she puts him in the friend zone following their one night stand. I love it when the guy falls first or the guy is pursuing the girl so I'm looking forward to this one.

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu-- The last of the rereads for this month. I'm so excited for the next book too. In this one we follow an international pop sensation named Winter Young who is brought into the world of spies when a major crime boss gifts his daughter a private concert with Winter for her birthday. Sydney Cossette is a member of the elite covert ops group who is forced to work alongside Winter to infiltrate the crime organization's inner circle. This was such a fun and quick read for me last year and I can't wait to go back into this world of glitz, glam, and spies.

Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen (NetGalley)-- This one just sounded so good when I saw it on NetGalley. It's unhinged women at its finest. Saffy Huntley-Oliver is an intelligent and glamorous socialite; she also happens to be a proficient serial killer. Over the course of fifteen years, she's dispatched bad men--rapist, murderers, domestic abusers. But leading a double life has left her lonely. Dating's rough when your boyfriend might turn out to be your next victim. Saffy thinks she's finally found a truly good man in Jonathan Desrosiers, a true crime podcaster. This is a feminist thriller that asks if even a serial killer can have a happily ever after. My hopes for this one? Rich people drama and some mad women.

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah F. Whitten (New Release)-- The second book in the series is finally coming out. This series starts with Lore, who has a dark power and a hidden past, as we follow her into the intrigue of the Sainted King's royal court. The king and his priest manipulate Lore and have her spy on the prince in order to determine just who is killing the villages at the edge of the kingdom. We follow on from the events of the first book in this new one.

My Lucky #13 by Piper Rayne (Kindle)-- A hockey player who is going through a scoring draught is worried he's going to get traded before the deadline if he doesn't turn it around. Following a New Year's Eve with a woman, he has a waterfall of goals and knows he has to see her again. She wants nothing to do with him and he feels his has to change her mind. A hero falls first sounding story that I'm so looking forward to. I will say that there's a very obvious hockey error in the synopsis of this one and we all know I'm a little picky about hockey details. But I'll try to keep an open mind on this one.

Just Do This One Thing For Me by Laura Zimmerman (Library)-- I'm going to pull the synopsis straight from GoodReads since it's a Mystery/Thriller and those are hard to explain at the best of times: "'Just do this one thing for me.' Drew's mother says it more often than good morning. Heidi Hill has been juggling shady side hustles for all of Drew's seventeen years, and Drew knows that 'one thing' really means all the necessary things her mother thinks are boring, including taking care of her fifteen-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother. In fact, Drew is the closest thing to a responsible adult they've ever known. When their mother disappears on the way to a New Year's Eve concert in Mexico and her schemes start unraveling, Drew is faced with a choice: Follow the rules, do the responsible thing, and walk away--alone--from her mother's mess. Or hope the weather stays cold, keep the cons going, and just maybe hold her family together."

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Silver in the Bone

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2023

Genres: fiction, fantasy, mythology, retelling, romance

Blurb: Tamsin Lark didn’t ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside...but after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herself and her brother Cabell alive. Ten years later, rumours are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them...but they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring. As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken is back with the electrifying sequel to SILVER IN THE BONE, in which fresh betrayal ignites ancient magic to wake the dead, and a cursed girl with no magic of her own must put the past to rest.

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death's plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror's strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly. This riveting conclusion to the Silver in the Bone duology will hold you in its thrall until the very last page.

Review:

The finale in the magical story filled with betrayal, ancient magic, curses, and romance. This is a sequel in the duology and picks up right where the first book left off, Tamsin is freshly betrayed by the one boy she loves and now has unleashed the Lord Death's plans onto the world. Tamsin and her friends have to find a way to stop him before it's too late and Tamsin is still trying to find a way to save her brother... who just happened to have joined Lord Death's side and left her, oh and did I mention her previously thought to have been dead father is very much alive (he resurrected) and is younger and is telling her he came back for her to break a curse that is on her??? Not to mention said boy who broke her heart and betrayed her and left her and her friends for dead in a terrifying world is now back and determined to make amends? Saving the world isn't going to be easy but dealing with feelings might be even harder. Tamsin just wants to save her friends, save her brother, and stop the evil she's unleashed... she does not want to deal with her now returned father, she definitely does not want to deal with Emrys who has returned and is sticking by her side trying to make amends, and she definitely does not want to face the fact that she still is very much in love with him. Trust is broken and mended, an adventure of a lifetime awaits, and the fate of the world rests in the hands of Tamsin and her friends. This series was an absolute blast to read, it's got a touch of Arthurian legend and a whole fresh take on the classic elements of the story. I absolutely adored the characters and the complex relationships. Seeing Tamsin grow from who she was in the first book to who she ends up being in this book was fantastic. I loved how the story wrapped up and would absolutely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Arthurian stories with a fresh take!

Release Date: July 30,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Book purchase: Amazon

Author Info: Author Website

Book Tour: TBR and Beyond

*Thanks Netgalley and TBR Beyond Tours and Random House Children's | Knopf Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review and to be part of the book tour*

[alinastarkovismycat]

me after finishing Silver in the Bone

[blurrypetals]

The Mirror of Beasts by Alexandra Bracken - blurrypetals review

originally posted aug. 2, 2024 - ★★★★★

This was such a satisfying, interesting, yet unexpected second half to the story begun in Silver in the Bone and it retroactively confirms my decision to rate that book a 5/5.

Truly, the amount of payoff here is so rewarding, and while there are some twists that I easily guessed, there were just as many turns I couldn't have possibly guessed. Sometimes I don't love twists I couldn't have possibly guessed, but I absolutely adore twists I couldn't have figured out myself but which have foundations laid within the entire story that exist in a way where I could have figured them out with the right amount of time and attention. This duology has the latter.

I loved this book's undeniable feminism, the way it embraces female friendships, the way Bracken uses the different versions of femininity each woman in this book possesses...it's incredibly well done, never feels like the cheesy Girl Power of the days of yore, rather being more Empowered Women with Legendary Swords, and it's unbelievable how good for my heart the four main women in this book and their love are.

And speaking of love, oh my god, thank you, Alex, for all things Emrys Dye. It is unbelievably refreshing to have an enemies to lovers (back to enemies before back to lovers) romance where it isn't just another villain gets the girl plotline. I love many stories where the villain gets the girl, but there are so many of them these days, it was nice to still get a good enemies to lovers plot in a fantasy novel where they were just...rivals, misunderstood. I think the world would be a better place with more characters like Emrys Dye in it, and better yet if we had more romances like the romance he and Tamsin have.

All in all, this was a fantastic time, a rewarding journey, and I couldn't be happier I got to join in on the adventure.

[unita-n]

The illustration for the cover for Silver In The Bone book jacket I made for april Owlcrate bookbox!

[elliepassmore]

Mirror of Beasts release!

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death's plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror's strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly.

Bookshop.org

Barnes & Noble

Tamsin and her friends are immediately set on a new adventure and this time it's a race against the clock. I really enjoyed seeing them quest in 'our' world and how the Avalonians had to adapt to things like cellphones and Christmas decorations. The friendship of the group also develops more and I liked seeing Tamsin come out of her shell a little to bond with the others. And of course I liked seeing how things played out with Emrys.

There are new dangers in this one, both from the Wild Hunt and from other Hollowers, and allies are found in unexpected places. I really liked Bonecutter in particular and found her to be funny. We get to see a little more of the enchantresses' side of things as well, though that doesn't always go in the group's favor. I enjoyed the new allies and enemies alike and thought they were good additions to the story.

New to Tamsin's world? Learn more with my full review of Silver in the Bone. I also have a more in-depth review of this book!

[brittanybwrites]

Watching InuYasha again after I got done with Ever After High and reading Silver in the Bone and watching this show oh no I have ideas oh no

[bookishlyvintage]

"Three magics to be feared: curses born of the wrath of gods, poisons that turn soil to Ash, and that which leaves one dark of heart and silver in the bone." x

[bigdreamsandwildthings]

Pretty stack 💞

I’m reading the Foxglove King right now and I am OBSESSED. I can’t wait to get home from work and read tonight.

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

2023 reads

[ja50nt0ddwa5h3r3]

Silver in the Bone be like (spoilers!!!)

Tamsin: Don’t leave me! Cabell: I won’t leave you sis

Later: Tamsin: Don’t leave meeeeeee Cabell: I won’t be leaving if you come with me *shrug* Tamsin: Noooo I’ll wallow alone in self pity (Neve: Tf bitch?) Cabell: Whelp. Guess I’m leaving.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED this book, but this is just kinda what it felt like ngl 😂

[i-love-deh-lets-be-friends]

Finished reading Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken and every time Nash was mentioned, I could only picture Nicholas Cage from the Sorcerer’s Apprentice