Review – Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone, Book 1) by Alexandra Bracken (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 485 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 4, 2023
ASIN: B0BB96NX65
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Silver in the Bone series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“Born without a trace of magic, Tamsin Lark is no match for the sorceresses and Hollowers who populate the magical underground of Boston. But when the only parent she’s ever known disappears without so much as a goodbye, she has no choice but to join in their cutthroat pursuit of enchanted relics to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.
Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian found a powerful ring from Arthurian legend just before he vanished. 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. . . .”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Silver in the Bone series. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.
Thoughts: Previous to reading this book I have read many other books by Braken. I have enjoyed most of them but never really really loved them. I enjoyed “Brightly Woven”, the 1st book in The Darkest Minds series, and “Lore”; I did not enjoy the later Darkest Minds novel. So, in summary Bracken is a bit hit or miss for me…this book followed in the same vein as those. This was okay, I like the darker twist to Arthurian mythology and the relic hunting but for some reason this wasn’t the most engaging story for me.
The story follows Tamsin Lark and her brother Cabell. They are raised as Hollowers, those who populate the magical underground in the modern world and make a living hunting enchanted relics. The story starts with us hearing about an enchanted relic they need to hunt but then we are quickly transported to Avalon to hunt down a ring from Arthurian mythology. The world-building is a bit thin and I never quite understood how the whole multiple worlds thing worked.
There were things I enjoyed in the story and things I didn’t. I really loved the beginning and enjoyed the treasure hunting aspect and the curses and adventure. Unfortunately, that quickly ended up in the background for a lot of the story. We quickly moved from relic hunting to a dark and cursed Avalon where our characters get forced into helping ancient Arthurian mythology figures. I didn’t really enjoy the transition or the direction the plot took once they got to Avalon. It was like an Arthurian zombie apocalypse or something.
The characters were okay but I didn’t love them, they just felt like they were missing something. Tamsin is so focused on how “bad” she’s been that she gets in her own way. Her enemy-to-lovers, love interest isn’t much better. All of these characters are supposed to be tortured and complex but come off as a bit stiff and shallow. The romance felt awkward and Tamsin’s relationship with the others around her wasn’t much better.
I read this and finished it and even enjoyed some of it. However, it was also very easy for me to put the book down and walk away from it. The writing style didn’t really suck me in. When I was done I didn’t want to read the next book but instead thought, “okay well onto something else”. I really think this could have been an amazing book if the story had continued to focus more on relic hunting rather than Arthurian politics. The whole plunge into Arthurian mythology felt really forced.
My Summary (3.5/5): Overall I read this and it was okay, I even enjoyed some aspects of the story, but I didn’t love it. I am coming to the conclusion that Bracken just might not be an author I want to keep reading. I am always excited to read her books and end up feeling a bit disappointed afterwards. This isn’t a bad story; I really enjoyed the curse and magic and relic hunting…but it didn’t flow very well either and the characters felt awkward. I won’t be continuing with the series.
