Scan barcode
islesbiyana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
stardustandrockets's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Death of parent
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Spidersthenovelmaura's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
On the other hand, I loved the treasure hunting, the puzzles, and the ruins filled with traps and secrets! These were featured more heavily at the beginning of the story, but I also enjoyed the action scenes that were sprinkled throughout. Fi's brains and Shane's brawn were the perfect pairing and it was nice to see them get closer as their journey progressed. I also liked how Vedder dealt with the actual ramifications of a kingdom being put to sleep for 100 years, something that the original fairy tale glosses over. Personally, I don't think I'll pick up the sequel, but I understand why this book is a hit with fans of Indiana Jones, retellings, and sapphic representation.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence
jenna36's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
orchidd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Grief
bookcrushin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
CW: eight-legged creatures & silk/webs
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
In this genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Fi is looking for a way to stop her own curse when she stumbles finger-first into the curse placed upon Briar Rose and the kingdom of Andarr. With the help of her treasure-hunting partner, Shane, they must traverse the woods and break the curse to wake the prince and free the kingdom.
I loved this book! I was immediately hooked by the dual-POVs of Fi and Shane and how they interacted with each other. The book starts head-first in the mystery of why Fi is cursed and why Shane is no longer at home. They make such good partners and Shane is such a BA axe-wielding sapphic I am seriously in love with her.
I love the addition of Briar Rose. I also think that this book was really clever to handle the intrinsic issues of consent in the tale of Sleeping Beauty--i.e., a sleeping person cannot consent to a kiss--by allowing Briar's sleeping form to magically project and talk to Fi.
This book is so adventurous and high stakes! The witch hunters are wild and I love the witch Red and how she interacts with Shane. I also really love Shane and Fi's backstories and everything that we learn about them as we go. I really can't wait for the sequel!
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence
sarahmreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you know me, you know I'm not the biggest fan of retellings. But oh my god, this is probably one of the best retellings I have ever read.
This world is packed full of amazing worldbuilding. Although there is no map, I could easily picture each of the kingdoms and their histories. It really helped immerse the reader in the world itself. Also, the magic system is extremely well done! I'm always a sucker for a good retelling, and this one takes the mark. There are different orders of magic, mediums for which spells are done, different languages for each order, affinities... it's endless but also easily packed into this story. It's done in such a way that once you get a basic understanding of one thing, the author easily is able to build upon the next layer until at the end you understand almost everything about magic by the end of the book. It was beautifully crafted and I can't wait to see what is done in the sequel.
Now let's talk characters. I absolutely loved every single character in this story. Fi was the smart, loveable character who felt outcasted as a kid and didn't know who she could trust because of her ex. I related to her in a lot of ways because of that, and Fi also became a symbol of "I recognize I'm not a people person and that's okay," and it shows in how she interacts with Shane. Now SHANE oh my god. She is the snarky, lesbian hero that I've wanted for so long in a story and she's done so extremely well. She ends up being more than just her humor and has a complex backstory to boot. I liked Briar, besides the fact that he's the typical charming prince who somehow makes his way into the main character's heart. I just wish he was a bit more than just his past and his purpose as the love interest, and I hope we see that in the following books. And Red... she could kill me in a heartbeat and I would thank her.
In terms of plot and narrative, it was done so beautifully. The story really felt like I was smack in the center of a fantasy Indiana Jones story. Everything was so cinematic in its description and I immediately fell in love with Vedder's style of writing. As a result, the story went very fast paced for me. I will say that I did predict one element of the ending, given the setup, but I'm very curious as to where the sequel will go with that plot twist. I will also say I was slightly disappointed going into this, because I thought Fi and Shane would be each other's love interests, especially since the majority of their story is told in their points of view. However, I did like the very obvious queer representation in this story, as well as the way it tackles trauma and toxic relationships.
The Bone Spindle is THE book you have to pick up at the beginning of the new year. With fast-paced action and plot, lovable characters, and a beautiful twist on a classic fairytale, this is a retelling you won't want to put down.
I received a copy of this book as an e-arc from both Penguin Teen as well as NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Drowning