So nice to read Alex Bracken again!!
This wasn’t what I was expecting. In a good way! Modern world fantasy but along side the old arthurian world.
Loved the characters a lot. Single POV follows Tamsin who I liked from the start.
I was so nice to be taken by surprise several times reading this book. Normally you can see the plot twists coming but Alex had me surprised a few times! Loved it.
Can’t wait to get the next instalment!!

Thankyou to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group, Quercus Children's Books for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review!

I want to start off and say that i really do not think i am the target audience! My tastes these days much more towards adult fantasy and this in my oppinion is VERY traditional YA (and that is not a criticism, as it does the YA tropes very well!)

The story did flow very well for me and i did enjoy the magical system, but felt that it was very simplistic (and well explained). I would say its a great starter book for those wanting to branch out into the fantasy drama, but dont know where to start!

This is young adult fantasy, with an Arthurian slant.

Our female main character is a type of thief who specialises in Arthurian artifacts and is non-magical working in a sphere where everyone else has gifts.

She's driven by trying to break a cursed on her brother, which leads to her teaming up with her enemy and travelling to Avalon to find what is hopefully the item they've been searching for to answer their problems.

Only when they get there it's not what they expected and is essentially full of zombies, having also been cursed.

Can they work with the priestesses who are desperately trying to hold the tower to survive, and maybe even find what they were looking for.

This is Arthurian inspired rather than a retelling - it's set in the modern world, the Arthurian legends are real (although some of the details might have gor confused along the way). So it mostly references known characters from those stories rather than them actually featuring in the book.

This was a fast enjoyable read for me, it takes some turns that I didn't expect and I also cried!

I didn't realise that this is the first in a series - the immediate plot of this is wrapped up but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I definitely want to read book 2 to find out some of the answers!

4 stars

Tamsin and her brother, Cabell are in search of something to break her brothers curse and with a little group they set out to do that!

In this fantasy inspired by Arthurian legend you'll get:

~ A dark story that's a tad violent,
~ Found family,
~ A bit of betrayal,
~ Smidge of romance (bonus points for e2l!!),
~ Heartbreaking moments,
~ Action!

I must admit I did feel a bit lost at various points in this story and I wondered if I had missed some stuff and I also felt it was a bit too long and drawn out. But from the last 40% it kicked right off!

Wow!

Last I read from this author was The Darkest Minds trilogy, and this was so much more nuanced! You can really see the improvement in the author's work, and I loved this world.

The characters, banter, prophecies and world building were done astonishingly well. Inspired by Arthurian legend, this book was engaging and kept me entertained throughout. I loved the magic of the Hollowers and Tamsin was such a great and fierce character to follow along with.

Great plot twists and easy to follow writing that wasn't too flowery and kept me guessing! Really enjoyed this one. Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing and the characters. I was gripped by Tamsin’s story and what would happen. I loved the relationship between her and her brother Cabell for the majority of the book. I loved the two worlds of the modern world and the world of King Arthur. The intertwining of modern with folk lore/tales was great. The magic felt believable and just a thought my enjoyable read. Was frustrated with the ending as now going to have to wait till next year for the next instalment but will definitely be picking it up when it out.

This book was so tense throughout it! Also this is the second book in a short span of time that I have read with Arthurian legends being the main theme of the book and I have to say I really loved Bracken’s take on them!

I liked each character, and I found this book to be a real page turner, but I think I am missing another half of the book because of that ending!! I literally had to reread it twice, because surely there will be a book 2!? How are you putting plot twists i to the last chapter then ending it???

Having previously read Lore, I knew I was in for a wild ride, but I was blown away by Silver in the Bone.

The book follows Tamsin and her brother Cabell, as well as Emrys and Meve as they travel to the land of Avalon, where things are not as they expected. Cabell also has a curse, which Tamsin is determined to break.

This book is action packed right from the start to the end, fight scenes and tension throughout. I absolutely loved it.

I am giving Silver in the Bone 5 stars and I am impatiently awaiting book 2, because that ending had me trying to turn to another page! Alexandra Bracken is actually the queen of taking legends and lore and putting them into our world, and mixing it with old lands with badass characters.

Questo libro è stata una vera tortura. Non vedevo l'ora che finisse.
Mi era stato presentato come un libro immerso nella magia di Avalon e nel mito di re Artù...
Cosa ho dovuto leggere invece? Un libro deprimente, confuso e senza senso sugli zombie.
All'inizio poteva sembrare molto interessante, con questi personaggi, che un po' "Indiana Jones", un po' ladri di tombe vanno in giro studiando leggende e misteri alla ricerca di artefatti magici. Hanno poi una biblioteca fighissima ed esclusiva gestita da un robot.... poteva sembrare interessante no????

Ma appena hanno messo piede sull'isola (mi rifiuto di chiamare Avalon quello schifo!) tutto è stato distrutto. Zombie e una terra morta e in decomposizione è tutto quello che hanno trovato. Per praticamente un buon 80 % del libro sono rimasti rinchiusi in una torre dove si nascondevano gli ultimi sopravvissuti sull'isola tra cui alcune "sacerdotesse" che sinceramente non avevano nulla di quel titolo dato che se ne andavano in giro con spade e armature a darsele di santa ragione...
E non solo, per gran parte del libro sono stati li a discutere e a combinare nulla, tirandola lunga inutilmente.
E più il libro andava avanti più elementi inutili e confusi venivano aggiunti alla trama, per poi venir stupidamente risolti dal primo che capitava, dicendo che erano degli stupidi idioti e che avrebbero potuto parlargliene invece di fare ipotesi allarmistiche e a parer mio molto più intelligenti di come la storia si è svolta veramente.

Non parliamo poi di come ogni singolo elemento della mitologia celtica e del mito di Artù sia stato assolutamente DISSACRATO da questo libro. Se volete vedere Artù, Merlino, Morgana, Viviana e i cavalieri venir trattati come spazzatura, prego leggetelo pure.
Io sono veramente infastidita da quello che ho dovuto sopportare nel leggere questo libro.
E non solo il poco rispetto verso questo mito, ma anche per la inutile e continua aggiunta di elementi alla storia che son certa risulteranno completamente inutili.

Le uniche cose che salvo e che mi avrebbero portata a aumentare il voto a questo libro (ma dopo aver letto quella scena alla tomba di Artù ho subito cambiato idea), sono state lo stile di scrittura dell'autrice, molto spesso logorroico e decisamente troppo descrittivo, ma anche elegante e evoluto, e le scene tra Emrys e Tamsin.

Se avesse fatto diventare questo libro un fantasy romance, lo avrei probabilmente apprezzato molto di più.
Invece ha spazzato via ogni singolo personaggio maschile, facendoli diventare tutti degli stupidi, egoisti, traditori. Il libro è diventato un orribile manifesto femminista sviluppato nel modo sbagliato e peggiore.
Io non sono contro i personaggi femminili forti, ma questo è davvero assurdo e il risultato è un libro sbilanciato e pesante.
Nulla di buono riesce ai personaggi, qualsiasi cosa riescono a portare a termine, il risultato sarà sempre sbagliato o catastrofico.
E sinceramente non ho intenzione in alcun modo di leggere altrettante pagine per sperare in un lieto fine.
E quel colpo di scena finale? Ma per favore...dai...
Io gli avrei sbattuto la porta in faccia senza neanche pensarci due volte.

Grazie comunque a Netgalley per avermi permesso di leggerlo in anteprima.

---------------------------

This book was pure torture. I couldn't wait to reach the end.
It was presented to me as a book steeped in the magic of Avalon and the myth of King Arthur...
What did I have to read instead? A depressing, confusing and meaningless book about zombies.
At the beginning it might have seemed very interesting, with these characters, that looked a bit like "Indiana Jones", a bit like grave robbers going around studying legends and mysteries in search of magical artifacts. They also have a very cool and exclusive library managed by a robot .... it could have seemed interesting right????

But as soon as they set foot on the island (I refuse to call that crap Avalon!) everything was destroyed.
Zombies and a dead, decaying land is all they've found. For practically a good 80% of the book they were locked up in a tower where the last survivors on the island were hiding including some "priestesses" who honestly had nothing of that title since they went around training with swords and armor.
And not only that, for most of the book they were there arguing and doing nothing, dragging it out unnecessarily.
And the further the book went on the more useless and confusing elements were added to the plot, only to be stupidly resolved by the first one that came across, saying that they were stupid idiots and that they could have told them about it instead of making alarmist hypotheses (and in my opinion much more intelligent than how the story really took place).

Let's not talk about how every single element of Celtic mythology and the Arthurian myth has been absolutely DESECRATED by this book. If you want to see Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, Viviana and the knights being treated like trash, please read it.
I am really annoyed by what I had to endure while reading this book.
And not only the lack of respect for this myth, but also for the useless and continuous addition of elements to the story that I am sure will be completely useless.

The only things I save and that would have led me to increase the rating for this book (but after reading that scene at Arthur's tomb I immediately changed my mind), were the author's writing style, very often talkative and far too descriptive, but also elegant and evolved, and the scenes between Emrys and Tamsin.

If she had turned this book into a fantasy romance, I probably would have enjoyed it much more.
Instead she wiped out every single male character, making them all stupid, selfish, traitors. The book has become a horrible feminist manifesto developed in the wrong and worst way.
I'm not against strong female characters, but this is really absurd and the result is an unbalanced, depressing and heavy book.
Nothing good happens to the characters, whatever they manage to accomplish, the result will always be wrong or catastrophic.
And I honestly have no intention of reading as many pages to hope for a happy ending.
And that final twist? But please...come on...
I would have slammed the door in his face without even thinking twice.

Thanks anyway to Netgalley for letting me read the preview.

Being a huge fan of Arthurian lore, Silver in the Bone was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and, while as a whole I did enjoy it, this was definitely a book that could have used a massive dollop of development in a few key areas, so let's start off with what I did enjoy... namely, the characters.

Tamsin Lark is someone who has lived in the magical world her whole life, with no way to truly access it. She was never meant for this life, but after being abandoned as a child and adopted by a Hollower she, and her adopted brother Cabell, find themselves embroiled in a life of sorceresses, magical artefacts and other Hollowers who look down on them. Tamsin is someone who will do whatever it takes to ensure her brothers and her own survival, whether that means taking the more dangerous Hollower jobs that no one else wants, or having to spend her spare time reading cards for a little extra cash. She is resilient and comes across as a little hard and unforgiving, but she has spent her life being abandoned by people and now finds it hard to let anyone in lest they leave her too.

Alongside Tamsin Bracken treats us to a strong cast of well built side characters the main ones being Cabell, Tamsins step brother who has the magical sight and, apart from a curse he has to constantly control, would fit better into the Hollower life than Tamsin ever could. Emrys, a fellow Hollower and Tamsin's nemesis. He is the boy that has it all, the power, the money, the family... at least in Tamsins eyed, but Emrys carries a secret that shows his life is not all it's cracked up to be. Neve, the Sorcerers who finds herself tagging along on the gangs journey to find the ancient relic. She longs to join the ranks of the sorceresses before her and learn more of her past. All of these characters have a common thread linking them together and that is they desperately want to fit in somewhere, but for differing reasons struggle to do so.

I also enjoyed the influx of Arthurian lore we get, Bracken puts her own spin on things taking us on a slight tangent from the story we may know and love, but we still get treated to the main players, as well as some new faces that bring a new depth to the story. But, as a whole, the world building would have been so much better with a little more development. There were so many parts of this story where it seemed like things were brushed over because the assumption was the characters understood what was happening, the Lore behind an item or event, but this just left me feeling a little out of the loop in parts and I felt like the characters were always one step ahead of me and, because of that, jumping to conclusions without giving up the explanation we needed to understand what was happening.

Brackens writing style was immersive and propulsive ensuring there were few lags in the story. There were a few pacing issues, however thanks to her descriptive writing style and the fact the story is filled with tension, high octane and emotion filled scenes, plenty of twists and turns as well as some truly creepy and eerie scenes, I still felt compelled by the story and wanted to read on to find what happens next. There was an almost enemies/rivals to lovers romance arc in that I adored. Seeing these two characters, one who has seemingly closed themselves off for fear of getting hurt, and the other who practically threw themselves at the other any chance they could get lead to some emotion and humour filled scenes, and I adored seeing their relationship develop throughout the book. Coming to lean on and trust one another, even with their deepest and darkest secrets.

Despite my issues with the pacing and the world building, the ending of this book ensured I will be reaching for the next book as soon as I can get my hands on it. Bracken wrote one killer cliffhanger that was rife with emotion and I am desperate to see where the story will go next.

With magic, adventure and Arthurian Legend, Silver in the Bone has all my absolute favourite story elements and I was not disappointed.
I loved it. The plot itself was excellent, with Arthurian references peppered throughout, the characters were well-written and original, and I thought that pace of the story was great too.
The story didn't pan out the way I initially thought it would but I was still completely hooked and ended up staying up way too late to finish it because I absolutely needed to know what happened!

I really enjoyed this book, I adored that it included King Arthur and Avalon! I don't see much of it, I liked all the characters as well! The plot and story were well done and I'm super excited and desperately need book two!

A completely different take on an Arthurian-inspired tale.

Tamsin Lark never asked to be a Hollower. Raised by Nash on the outskirts of their society, with her brother Cabell, until he disappeared 7 years ago when they had to survive for themselves after the society refused to take on their care. Nash was obsessed with Arthurian legends, and sure they were true. In search of a ring which can break curses, they believe he went into Avalon and was lost, and head out to find him and the curse breaking ring they hope he possesses.

Silver in the Bone was entirely different than I expected, and very different than other Arthurian inspired stories I have read. However, I was immediately enthralled by the story and characters.

Tamsin has a hard shell she shows the world because she believes she is unlovable. Cabell is cursed and his sister has always taken care of him. When their job takes them into the path of Emrys Dye, the son of one of the richest and most infamous members of their order, Tamsin is determined to keep him outside and claim the prize for themselves, however things may not be as they appear.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the characters, although it was tough going (emotionally) towards the end. I am excited to see where the story goes from here, and can’t wait to read the sequel when it’s released.

This book has a lot of potential I just think I was not in the mood for it

I was such a huge fan of Lore and the idea of this book based on King Arthur story was so cool

I loved the characters so much and their bickering and interactions
I just think it was a little bit too much world building for myself

It was not a bad book at all
The world building was really well done, you can see the author put a lot of effort into it
I think I was more in a mood for a romance fantasy book

But I’m so excited for book 2 after that final !!!!

Well Alexandra Bracken just decided to write something entirely gut wrenching didn’t she??

Apparently she can stomp all over my heart and I’ll ask for more because here we are.

Inspired by Arthurian legend, Silver in The Bone is about about magic, mythology, found family and curses. Tamsin Lark (an anagram for Tams Larkin, which I love) is a Hollower - someone who sources aka steals magical and ancient relics - for clients. On a job for a sorceress, and looking for a way to break her brother’s curse, Tamsin finds herself in Avalon. However it is not the Avalon of legend that she was expecting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and could not put it down. It’s also been a long time since a book has had a betrayal that totally took me by surprise and actually hurt. I did not see it coming!

Needless to say, I will be buying myself a physical copy when it comes out.
Silver in The Bone will be hitting shelves on 4 April 2023.

5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a fantastic Ya fantasy book for me, it had everything I wanted. The world building was amazing and had so much detail that I felt that I could see what I was reading. Whilst the plot started off a little slow,to build the story it did definitely pick up. I did feel that there was at times points that did need better describing to help me understand.
I absolutely did not see some of the twist that happened which is what kept me reading as I wanted to know what was happening.
The story follows Tamsin who doesn’t trust easily but would do absolutely anything for her adopted brother Cabell who is one of the only people she trusts. After their adopted father Nash a Hollower goes missing looking for a relic to help cure her adopted brothers curse it leaves the two alone in the world. 6 years later Tamsin is still looking for a cure for her brothers curse and a adventure awaits on her quest to find what she needs. This book is fantasy with treasure hunters, magic and just a tiny hint of romance too.

I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait for the next book after that ending which I did not see coming!


Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 ⭐️

After reading Lore and finding it okay but a bit ~meh~, I honestly didn’t have the highest expectations for this. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m happy to say that although there’s a slowish start, I really enjoyed this!

Tamsin and her brother Cabell have been struggling to survive on the edges of the Hollowers society since the disappearance of their guardian ten years ago. While Tamsin’s a mortal with no magical powers whatsoever, Cabell has lived with a curse that she’s determined to break.

Silver in the Bone is an Arthurian inspired YA fantasy that had plenty of twists and turns. I found the world building a little bit clunky at the start, but it doesn’t take long to get sucked into the storyline. The second half of the book in particular had so much going for it, and I will be keeping a close eye out for any updates on book two!

Read this if you like:

👨‍👨‍👧‍👦Found family
🤭rival banter
🖤morally grey characters
🪄dark magic
🔮quest/mission


Thank you to NetGalley & Hachette UK for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars

This book definitely got way better in the second half, and it weirdly felt almost like a different book to the first half, or the first third at least. I really enjoyed when the action was happening in Avalon, and the Arthurian inspirations start to really come to the forefront of the story. Alexandra Bracken's writing is really easy to digest and keeps you captivated, which I have found with her other books.

However I did think that some serious worldbuilding needed to happen in the first 50 pages, because I spent those wondering what on earth was going on, what were Hollowers, what were Cunningfolk, what were Veins or All-Way Doors... there just needed to be a paragraph or two on the magic system and it would have made me enjoy the first half of the book a lot more.

I will say that if you're looking for this book to be really invested in the Arthurian side of things, it's not really that much - yes a lot of it takes place in Avalon, and King Arthur's death is used as one of the main plot devices, but it's not a retelling or really used the Arthurian mythology a whole lot, which I was expecting it to do. I'm guessing the actual mythology will become more involved with the story as the series goes on, but I would've expected more in this first book.

Tamsin, our main character, is a really interesting choice; she's pretty unlikeable for a main character, she can be quite rude and standoffish, and sometimes it was hard to be reading the whole story from her perspective. But it does lead for some interesting moments when she's being so pigheaded, and I thought it did end up adding to the story to have an unlikeable main character.

I did guess the main plot twist about halfway through, but I will admit that I was surprised by all of the plot twists that just kept coming in the final third of the book and I definitely was not expecting that ending, so I'm intrigued to find out what happens in the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children’s Group for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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, rumors 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…

Tamsin does not trust easily. In fact, the only person she truly trusts is her brother, Cabell. Their line of work as Hollowers certainly assists in making them distrustful of others as well. She’s an interesting one for sure, but I found myself very quickly liking Tamsin. She allows the past and the negative events there to influence her actions in the present, sometimes lashing out at others or being exceedingly prickly. But, as the story progresses, this seems to change and Tamsin seems to establish herself as stronger and more grounded in herself. Sure, there are moments where her cold nature comes back into the open or she’s incredibly protective, but I really liked that about her. She really goes on a journey of self-discovery and it’s one I enjoyed going on with her.
Emrys is a deceptive one, both in personality and in nature, but that makes him interesting - and rather intriguing. We gradually get to know him as the story progresses and part of me just wanted more and more of him. Emrys grows softer along the way and his interactions with Tamsin do so as well - making my heart swell. They do have rather clashing personalities but they seem to level each other out - Tamsin offering her recklessness and Emrys his collectiveness. He does keep a lot of secrets close to his chest though, some we see revealed and others we are still in the dark about. He is certainly mysterious and it’ll be interesting to see after the events at the end, where his character goes next.

When I was younger, I was a little obsessed with the tv show Merlin and wanted to know all I could about the Arthurian Legend. So, when I heard about this book, I had a feeling it would be right up my street. And boy was I right! What a treat this book is! The plot was solid and the flow fabulous, moving perfectly from one event to another, ebbing and flowing at the correct points. There was a good amount of mystery throughout the entire book which really kept my attention and had me eager to continue reading. The characters were all fleshed out and I felt as if I knew those who were only mentioned briefly to all those who featured prominently. The ending… WOW! I was not expecting that! I have so many questions and my jaw is on the floor! Well done Bracken for a wonderful story!

Overall, Silver in the Bone is a wonderfully intriguing story that has left me desperate for more!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Hachette Children’s Group for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on release day.

Alexandra Bracken is one of these auto-buy authors for me - I don’t need to know what her books are about to want to read them because so far she never let me down but when I heard she was writing a King Arthur retelling? I was so excited. And even more excited when I got approved for the eARC so thank you NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group!

However, »Silver in the Bone« sadly didn't quite live up to my expectations. They were pretty high expectations though, after enjoying her previous book »Lore« so much.

The first third of the book was a bit slow and confusing, mostly because it was not what I was expecting after reading the synopsis and I had to adjust my expectations about what this book was going to be like.

Be that as it may, after the first third? I was absolutely hooked. From one chapter to the other I was suddenly really into the story and characters and that’s probably because the setting changed and it felt like the story was finally going somewhere.

The plot was equal parts predictable and unpredictable, some of the twists I saw coming from miles away, some were actually surprising and that cliffhanger? Well done, the whole end set up the second book nicely and I know Silver in the Bone is not even out yet but I already can’t wait for the sequel.

This book was brilliant. I'm now a fan of retellings but the enemies to lovers in the synopsis convinced me and I am so glad it did! the twists, the turns, the romance, the SLOWBURN was just perfection. I'm actually kind of sad I got the arc because I have to wait even longer for the next book. but great things to those who have to wait for a very long time.