Published: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Series: Bone Grace #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 480 (Hardcover)
My Rating: 4.0/5.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Bone Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Criers’ one true love.
Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s also destined to love.
Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined—in life and in death.
Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Criers’ work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions—and their matriarch—to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die.
I was entirely suckered in to this book by that gorgeous Charlie Bowater cover. I really just can’t resist her cover art. I mean, the synopsis sounded pretty good, but ultimately this is another easy on the eyes and brain YA fantasy book. It has many of the usual tropes – love triangle (or perhaps quadrangle), sort of a chosen one thing… you can get the picture.
We’re first introduced to Ailesse and Sabine as they go on a hunt for Ailesse’s last magical bone so that she might become an official Bone Crier, or one who guides the spirits of the dead into the afterlife. Ailesse is the matriarch’s daughter and has bones of powerful animals that grant her specific abilities like extra strength, keen sight, and so forth. Sabine is her best friend, though she doesn’t feel that the life she’s preparing for is her calling. She loathes to kill the animals and has only acquired one of the three bones she’s required and it was a measly little salamander that she still felt awful about killing. Despite their clear differences, these two are fast friends and when Ailesse gains her third bone, they go to the bridge where Ailesse will lure her amoure. She will either kill her amoure outright or live with him for a year and possibly bear a girl child, who will then join the family trade. Bastien is our other main character and he’s been determined to kill a Bone Crier since one lured his father to his death many years prior. He’s sort of teamed up with a brother and sister who’s father suffered a similar fate and they’ve been waiting to kill one of the beautiful women in white for quite some time.
As you may have predicted, this is where our characters converge. Bastien tries to kill Ailesse but ends up capturing her instead. Sabine escapes and informs the coven and then tries to rescue her. Things don’t work out and the story really begins to pick up pace. Ailesse and Bastien sort of end up falling in love, despite how much Bastien should hate her. Utterly predictable YA drivel. I ATE IT UP.
This book was difficult to put down and while so much of it was predictable, I fell in love with the setting and Sabine’s personal journey to save Ailesse. She was by far my favorite character and grows so much during the course of the story. She kills the rest of her animals so that she might have enough skill and strength to find her best friend and save her. I loved the setting, which seemed to be inspired by France and the lady in white legend. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining book that had some rather unsurprising YA elements. It’s on the better end of the genre spectrum and it’s likely that I’ll read the sequel just for resolution.
Powder & Page 