Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Silver in the Bone

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

20 reviews

shadowspinner's review

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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frantically's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

It is the year of our lady, 2023, and after having read 300+ YA books over the years I just have high expectations okay — give me creativity! Give me new plot twists! Give me female main characters I can actually like reading about not! Not whatever this was.

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oscarewilde's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

When it takes 300 pages for me to become even vaguely interested in the plot or characters it’s really not a good sign.

Unsure where to begin with this review, as I found so many aspects of this book enormously frustrating. Spoiler alert for the whole thing, as I’m just talking about the issues I had with the characters/plot/writing:

My god the lack of explanation for the magic system and the world building! The librarian, as an example, was so confusing, and it took until around the fourth mention until we find out it’s a mechanical person and not a human/ghost/monster/animal. Author needs to keep in mind that we cannot see what’s going on inside her head, we need subtitles 😭 Still have no clue on the differences between sorceresses, cunningfolk, and druids, or how the magical system (if there is one) actually works.
Tamsin is not a good protagonist, she has a wealth of abandonment issues that are touched on but never fully addressed, and they also don’t seem to impact her actions in any meaningful way. How does she feel about Nash? Who knows! Her opinion on him seems to change with the wind. She’s also unbearably stubborn and cynical, which is fair enough in doses, but when she lashes out unnecessarily and without cause at the other characters constantly, it becomes very grating. She’s not pleasant (and not even unpleasant in a deliciously villainous way) she’s just annoying and mean.
Neve was an infinitely more interesting character than Tamsin, yet we still knew nothing about her besides the fact she’s kind and quirky.
Tamsin caring about Cabell isn’t enough to make him interesting or the reader invested in what happens to him. This isn’t a kid, it’s a grown ass man, stop babying him when you’re the one with the clear emotional issues!
Also, I had such a problem with trying to age these characters in my head as they were barely described before moving swiftly on with the plot. I’m still in the dark as to how old any of these characters were even after having read the entire book.
The last 70 or so pages are such an enormous departure from the rest of the story,
the ensuing violence and death is so wildly unnecessary.
The aforementioned violence would’ve been more impactful if I’d been able to identify the knights via more than just ‘doctor’, ‘cook’, or ‘gardener’, they weren’t fleshed out in the slightest so their primary occupations/hobbies had to be used as distinguishing features.
Realistically, Cabell had to survive the massacre to provide motivation for Tamsin, otherwise what reason would she have to continue fighting? It seems beyond the realm of possibility that a group of characters having witnessed such traumatising events just hours prior would be able to go on to defeat the villain, but obviously they will 😐 The whole setup for saving the world from the apocalypse means the book finished on one of my most loathed fantasy tropes, ‘magic in the modern human world’ which was the final nail in the coffin of my not reading the sequel.
Tamsin never using the sword (that only lit up with magic flames for her!!!) and instead letting Emrys use it whilst wielding an axe against monsters who were afraid of fire was bafflingly stupid on every occasion it occurred. It was obviously for a ‘reveal’ re the sword but was so mind bogglingly idiotic at the time it did not make the payoff worth it.
You’re telling me a kitten could hide from the Children/Death King but a wily and intelligent small child couldn’t? Alright. Tbf if the kitten died I would’ve stopped reading instantly.
The extra quarter star is for Emrys dipping at the end, it was so unexpected it actually made me laugh out loud. If we had literally the smallest glimpse into the motivations of the characters then maybe this decision would’ve felt more meaningful?
Calling this Arthurian was a real stretch. I was so excited to read it as it’s something I would’ve picked up had I not received it in a Fairyloot monthly box anyway. Ended up being very disappointed in it though, and almost DNF on multiple occasions throughout. Only finished as I was reading along with my friend who wanted to discuss the ending 🫡

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paigeinabook's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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leedolee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book actually ripped my heart out.

And I loved every second of it.

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the_b00kreader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Heartbreaking. Soul-crushing. Full of twists and turns.
That's all I can say about this book....

I stayed up until 2am to finish this book....2 AM! And I do not regret it.
This book was great, like really great. I loved it! I loved Bracken's writing style and found it helped to keep this story more captivating.

The tension was high throughout this entire book but towards the end, around the last nine chapters, the tension sky-rocketed and everything I thought I knew was no more. Plot twists and turns, one after the other, emotional damage was done.
(I mean my pillow....full of tears)

Tamsin, the main character, was certainly an interesting character to read about. She had quite an issue with trust (relatable) and had difficulty letting people in (also relatable). Her development throughout this book was very well written and she certainly grew on me.

Another thing about this book was that you could tell Bracken did plenty of research on the Arthurian legends that fed into the plot line.

But, after that ending....I'm going to need the next book ASAP. I have so many questions!!

I honestly cannot recommend this book enough. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do so! I loved it!!

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Choose me, because I choose you.”

Silver in the Bone follows Tamsin who lives in a world of magic based on Arthurian legend. She sets out on a journey to retrieve a magical object that will help break her brother’s curse. This journey takes her to places she’s never been before and tests her sense of trust and loyalty.

I loved this book so much. This world pulled me in immediately. I really liked the characters and their relationships. I liked how vulnerable the main character got and the friendships she developed. The author did an amazing job of creating this magical world with high stakes and betrayals. The middle was a little slow for me, but the beginning and end were so action packed and intriguing and I learned to love these characters along the way. Overall, I loved this and I can’t wait for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book!

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bookishflower's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

14/15+

Thank you BKMRK for sending me an arc!

Okay, I have no idea how to review this spoiler-free, but I will try my best!

I’ve had a complicated relationship with Alexandra Bracken’s writing in the past, where I’ve enjoyed the premise but something fell flat, but this lived up to my expectations and more.

The atmosphere and world building was beautiful, haunting and unique- especially impressive given the abundance of Arthurian inspired media. (I’m a BBC Merlin girl, I love it all).

Tamsin was wonderfully fascinating, flawed and determined. I’d actually love to see her explore a darker side of herself in the next book, it would make a really interesting dynamic with *redacted*. I’d also like to see more hollower heists…

Emrys is joining the lovable-bastards-with-secret-hearts-of-gold club. (Very catchy, I know).

The found family provided the relief necessary among the surprisingly dark world of Avalon. There were a lot of side characters that blurred together and got confusing after a while, but the story mostly focused on the main 8 (give or take) characters so this wasn’t too much of a concern.

The characterisation, plot, pacing, and world building were all amazing. Definitely recommend and after that ending I’ll be needed the sequel as soon as possible!

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elizajaquays's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Silver in the Bone!

It took me a while to find my pace with this book. The opening scene threw you right into the midst of things with no idea what was going on and a lot of terminology you had to quickly figure out. I feel like this was something the author did in Lore as well, so if you struggled with it there, be aware going into this!

There is a time skip after the opening scene and I feel like the pacing of information to answers works a lot better as we get further into the story.

Tamsin Lark is surly and has a chip on her shoulder the size of Avalon. She trusts no one and lashes out at anyone who tries to get close to her. She is exactly the type of character I love to read about, so this worked really well for me!

The last 10% of the the book was just one jaw-dropping reveal after another and I am so excited for the next book. (If Alexandra Bracken wants to send me each chapter as she finishes it, I would be over the moon)

Because of the slower start, I rated this 4.25 out of 5 stars.

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uranaishi's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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