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Darling Readers, this month has been a gift with not one but TWO Advanced Review Copies of titles by authors we have loved on the blog. Alexandra Bracken is a New York Times bestselling author and Heart.Wants.Books. Reviewed her latest release Lore back in May 2021. It’s been almost two years since Bracken has brought another book baby into the world and Silver In The Bone is another Young Adult Fantasy novel that pulls from legend, and will be published on April 4, 2023! Instead of modern demigod families fighting over magic imbued artifacts, Silver in the Bone brings a whole new magical system to light. That magic was used to hide the isle of Avalon, the burial place of King Arthur of Camelot, and the Priestesses oathed to protect the Goddess’s home and foster the magic of the little folk. Bracken is a master of YA Fantasy, giving us a well-paced adventure, solid character development, and a mix of characters. She lives and writes full time from her birthplace of Phoenix, Arizona, with her dog Tennyson. (I might just have to go find myself a local bookstore when I go to Arizona in May and hope for a ninja signed copy!)
When we meet Tamsin Lark and her brother Cabell, they’re with their adopted father, Nash, on a job to find magical artifacts. They are what are called Hallowers, those who can sense and see magic in our world, and most have one magical gift that gives them certain skills. Cabell is an Expeller, able to redirect curses from one source into another – very useful when they’re thieving for artifacts where the (previous) owners protected them with spells. Tamsin, however, isn’t able to see the magic around them which leaves her vulnerable. Cabell has a curse which turns him into a wolf-like monster when experiencing heavy emotions – the term werewolf is not used. All of this exposition in the prologue is helpful because by the end of it, Nash has left his two foster children alone in the world with only enough skill to keep them alive and on the path of magical thievery until we meet them again seven years later.
I love Arthurian Tradition, and this new take brings me back to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon in the way Avalon is shrouded from the world by magical mist and the priestesses of the goddess work their magic to protect the island from those who would use the powers and artifacts for evil. However, unlike the decades long tale from Zimmer Bradley, besides the prologue, Bracken’s tale occurs over the span of about a month. I AM SO READY for book two in this series because of that ending. I am giving Silver in the Bone a solid 4 stars. All the recommendations, but I probably won’t need a full re-read before book two.
~Ashley
Welcome back to readerly confessions! I don’t always pre-order the books we receive in ARC form, but sometimes I do. I don’t even always purchase them, just usually. I’m seriously considering pre-ordering Silver In The Bone because 1. I love a book map, 2. there was no map in the ARC, and 3. this one looks gorgeous. Yes, always check to see if there are boni for pre-ordering a book! I can’t say I was robbed because the ARC was free in exchange for my opinions (Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s, Knopf Books for Young Readers, as always, all opinions are my own), but I might need that map! I also wouldn’t be sad to receive a signed, personalized physical copy. Yup, the romance is minimal enough that it can hang on my shelves where there’s a chance my elementary aged readers might pick it up. We’ll see what I decide, between now and April 3, but it’s highly likely, and Ashley just might join me when she learns about this!
Now, about Silver in the Bone, which Ashley gorgeously set up. Bracken is a stunning voice in YA fantasy because she takes a familiar mythology, packages it in a new, inventive way, and adds in fantastic, dimensional characters, picturesque writing, and amazing adventures! This is true for both of her books we’ve read and now I’m trying to figure out how we can binge her backlist while also rereading all of Maas by January, and it’s just a lot of amazing, sleep-reducing pages. #ReaderlyProblems
My favorite part about Silver in the Bone wasn’t the amazing writing, which was full of lush descriptions and snappy dialogue, it was the characters. Tamsin is our lead, and she is supported by a dimensional ensemble, many of which also have their own stuff to work through, whether they know it or not. While we only see Tamsin’s perspective, the development of the ensemble is also present and included, which makes the story feel all that much more engaging. I’m not just invested in Tamsin, I also want to know what happens next with our whole cast in book two, and beyond. There was a great adventure (more than one actually), in book one, and the set up for book two is solid! It’s going to be a really fun ride and I can’t wait to revisit these characters and see what else Bracken has in store for them.
I’m giving Silver in the Bone a solid four stars. It’s well-plotted, gorgeously written, and fantastically creative while rooted in things familiar too. It’s complex, but approachable, and the pacing is superb! I almost want to give Bracken a season pass, but I need to know what else she’s got in store for Tamsin and company before that.
What’s a book that led you to grant the author a season pass?
~Nikki
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