Blood, Metal, Bone follows the story of Sonara who lives as the Devil of the Deadlands after being given a second life with new abilities as she tries to uncover what happened to her brother, her search for answers lead her to Karr and they both discover what connects them together.

The book is mainly told from the perspectives of Sonara and Karr, both of their stories start of completely different and it felt like I was reading a book of two different genres – one fantasy and the other science fiction which made it hard to get into the book however the two stories do connect to each other quite early on. The plot of the book had a lot going on, it was very action packed with a lot of different elements making up the story – it was a fun and fast paced read and I liked how everything came together and the reveals in the book. I enjoyed the setting of the book and how it linked to the abilities given to the characters and the history of the planet and in general the world building was good – it was confusing and at times the book did feel very descriptive but the setting and the abilities the characters had were interesting.

I just found it hard to connect to the book because I did not care for any of the characters. Sonara was meant to be the ‘Devil’ and personally I felt like her name hyped her up and so her actual character and her actions were a let-down – she was meant to be feared and yet her character was nothing special. I also did not like the dialogue in the book, it was awkward at times and some of Sonara’s dialogue which was intended to make her look badass was cringy. The writing style was not for me, I did not like any of the characters and felt like they were a bit flat even though Sonara’s character is linked closely to emotions – I just did not connect to them. I also found that the build up to the ending and the ending itself was disappointing just because the story had so much going on and had elements that were different that the ending just felt very stereotypical and anti-climactic.

The story surrounds Sonara, a child a born to a Queen and an unknown father resulting with no love from her mother and only her brother's, the crown price, kindness in her life. Suddenly when he gets taken, her mother sentences her to die for him resulting in her coming back to life and becoming a shadowblood.

It begins with an opening chapter involving Sonara and Soahm in an almost medieval style world. The first chapter plunged straight into another individual's POV (not Sonara's as most of the book) which describes the life of Karr in space and thus incorporating sci-fi into an already high-fantasy medieval world. This transition left me utterly confused and made me double take whether I was reading the correct book due to the vast difference in the two opening chapters.

Overall, I liked the idea and the concept of the book, and think the writing style was easy to follow. However, I found the story itself confusing and at times hard to follow due to the mixture of the three genres in a peculiar way. I didn't enjoy the plot around Soahm's disappearance (though i admit, it did pull on my heart strings).

2 1/5 Stars

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me.

I'm really disappointed I didn't like this more. A sci-fi fantasy hybrid, strong world building and a brilliant premise should have lead it right up my street. However I found the pacing to off, there were sections that were hard going, slow and laborious, that I seriously considered quitting at least twice.

I stuck it out for the pay off, however I didn't really feel like it was worth it.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. It was well written and the story was a good one - I just wasn't invested in it.

The concept of this book grabbed me straight away and the mix of sci-fi and fantasy? Perfect. So much of this book was begging me to love it.

But I just...didn't.

The writing style felt so dull and the pacing was off and I struggled so hard to get into it. But since so many other people seem to love it, I can't help but wonder if it was just me?

I very much enjoyed this book once I had worked out how the two parallel stories worked and intertwined. I was confused at first but then was quickly immersed in the story. This is a grand mixture of fantasy and sci-if which works well.

Sonara is wrongly accused of murder and executed by her mother - to be returned to another life by the shadows. Karr is killed by Sonara and is returned to fight alongside her for the future of their world.

This is a fantastic story - gripping and fast paced. Thoroughly recommended.

I wanted to love it. I really did. I ended up liking it. The MC was nice, I liked the concept of what the end goal was. I lost interest half way because it got some what slow for me at one point. But picked up a few chapters later. Dont think I'd continued with this should it turn into a series.

About time, a book that doesn't lead into a trilogy or more!

Thanks you to Netgalley, publisher and author for an advanced copy of this book.

I was a bit confused by other comments saying it was sci-fi - I didn't get the sci-fi part myself and thought it more fantasy, but to each their own.

It was a really good book, good storyline and excellent characters.

4/5 from me.

Lindsay Cummings saw the individual genres of sci-fi, fantasy and medieval stylings and said why pick one? We’re having them all.

This book was a feast. In the best possible sense. I’ve read some comments via other reviewers who have acknowledged if you don’t normally read sci-fi this may not be for you.

And I completely disagree.

This book is the perfect bridge into sci-fi, especially for those who love fantasy and medieval styled books, as well as lovers of dark and light magic. Here’s why👇🏻

A large part of the books main characters are styled in a medieval regal lineage story path. Im in love with anything styled this way but this book hit different.
1. We have horses, the shadow laced magic kind.
2. We have duelling kingdoms with their own parts of hierarchy and lineage.
3. Magic. Dark magic, and light.
4. Old worldly
5. The discrimination of those without similar blood.

This is mixed greatly with the sci-fi planetary aspects!
1. Spaceships and space travel
2. Multi planetary views
3. Futuristic
4. Bounty hunters & Smuggling

The story follows the path of shadow bloods, an old magic whose presence is considered to be of a gift OR a curse, bestowed upon the dead. I will not delve into this as the history of the shadow bloods is one of the most intriguing plot aspects, but the magic within this story is gripping.

We also have the aspects of the duelling Kingdoms with in Sonara’s home planet, as well as interplanetary duelling (including earth.) This really brought to live the medieval feel, the old fighting of worlds either for power, magic or land.

‘A Child of Shadow.’

Main initial characters:
Karr & Cade : Brothers, in debt and smuggling contraband to different planets, as well as carrying out some interesting missions.

Sonara & Soahm : Brother and sister (half blood related) but Sonora is looked down upon for her father .

The main character dynamic is between Sonara & Karr, the characters who’s voices the story follows in alternating chapters.

The only reason I marked this 4 stars was due to their voices being somewhat similar in personality, and some repetition in aspects of the story. Plus a little more diversity could have been cool.

All in all, I loved this story. I’m a lover of sci-fi, magic and fantasy, so this was a bowl of joy.

However for those of you not initially interested in one of those genres, but attracted to one or more- I’d still say go for this book. I was a little bored of space related story paths recently (read way too many yikes) but this was the tug I needed to enjoy it again.

For lovers of :

Aurora Rising
The Lady’s Guid to Petticoats and Piracy
Serpant & Dove
The Fifth Season

I am not a big sci-fi fan, but I was excited for this book! All in all, it wasn’t the best book I’ve read, but I’m also not well-versed in the genre. For a beginner in sci-fi like me, this is probably one you want to wait on, but if you’re a seasoned sci-fi reader I think this will please you very much. I thought it was objectively incredibly well written, but I just don’t follow sci-fi books very well. I struggle with sci-fi elements because it’s difficult for me to picture a futuristic version of this world, so I wasn’t really “comfortable” with the setting, if that makes sense. Specifically in this book, we don’t see much new technology, but instead we see people ride horses on newly discovered planets ruled by kings and queens, which especially threw me for a loop because it wasn’t what I expected in a sci-fi (as in I thought it was a fantasy until about 10% of the way through). In my opinion, this was more of a plot-based book; while it had a variety of characters working together, their development wasn’t front and center, so I didn’t connect with them and, in turn, with the story. I really didn’t *love* our main characters for this reason and just wanted to learn more about them and see them spend more time with each other. Like I said, this is objectively a great sci-fi and was very well-written, but I just think I needed more experience with the genre before reading this one.

This is the first book by Lindsey Cummings that I have read and I was intrigued by the synopsis and cover. I was not disappointed at all.
I love a strong female protagonist who is unapologetically a bitch ready to kill anyone who gets in her way, doing what she needs to survive. Sonara ticked all those boxes for me. Although I felt the first part was slightly on the slow side the world building and writing throughout was very well done. The pacing really started to pick up from the second part and from there I couldn’t put it down.
I became so invested in the plot and the characters within the story, it was very easy to lose myself in the group of misfits that come together in this book (another trope that I can’t get enough of). This was a perfect mix of fantasy and sci-fi with amazing relationships between the characters. The book didn't have a romantic relationship take centre stage over the main plot and it was refreshing to see friendship and family bonds at the forefront of a fantasy novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it an invigorating and original read that left me hoping for more and sad to say goodbye to the characters on the last page.

Amazing fantasy book.

I'm not a fantasy reader myself but I really enjoyed this. I'm glad I got to be a part of the cover reveal and received this arc

I have the pleasure of working with HarperCollins on announcing the title of this secret novel so thank you to the HC team for involving me and for sending me an early copy of the book!

I'm a huge fan of Lindsay's previous novels and knew I'd fall in love with this book and I definitely did. The world is so well-written, it really drew me in and enveloped me in a wonderful way that made me feel like a part of the story. The characters were so likeable and I found myself really enjoying both perspectives which I don't usually did. The plot twists along the way also really threw me and I did not see them coming at all.

I highly recommend this if you're a fan of Lindsay's other novels and also a fan of the Throne of Glass series!