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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
It was good! Unfortunately unless you already have some basic knowledge of Norse politics or mythology you will struggle to understand some of the concepts mentioned in here. The world building was a bit confusing, but it was really unique.
It had a slowww start, I did not start getting interesting until the 40% mark and even then, I did not get overly invested in the plot.
The characters were great and I ADORED Thane!!!! Strong Dorian Havilliard vibes from him.
It had a slowww start, I did not start getting interesting until the 40% mark and even then, I did not get overly invested in the plot.
The characters were great and I ADORED Thane!!!! Strong Dorian Havilliard vibes from him.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I truly enjoy LJ Andrew’s’ stories! Broken Souls and Bones was an easy to read adventure, with just the right combination of my favorite tropes.
The setting was very clearly Nordic, from the imagery used to describe the places, to the descriptions of the legends of this world.
The characters were just likable! Lyra was a strong FMC whose growth felt realistic - even when she didn’t know her own strength, she was fearless. Roark….omg what a unique character (in many ways 👀) and though I guessed at some of his realities by the end, I still am excited to see how he develops in the next book(s). The found family that we get a dip-your-toe-in with had just the right amount of banter.
After reading the number of Romantasy/fantasy books I have, there are certain plotting points that you pick up on, but that does not make them any less entertaining or satisfying, because every writer shapes them differently - so, while I may have guessed a few plot paths along the way, I love how LJ shapes them.
The magic system, in this case the crafting, was so interesting a pretty unique, particularly bone crafting and melding. The imagery you get when LJ writes about what Lyra sees while crafting is so beautiful.
The setting was very clearly Nordic, from the imagery used to describe the places, to the descriptions of the legends of this world.
The characters were just likable! Lyra was a strong FMC whose growth felt realistic - even when she didn’t know her own strength, she was fearless. Roark….omg what a unique character (in many ways 👀) and though I guessed at some of his realities by the end, I still am excited to see how he develops in the next book(s). The found family that we get a dip-your-toe-in with had just the right amount of banter.
After reading the number of Romantasy/fantasy books I have, there are certain plotting points that you pick up on, but that does not make them any less entertaining or satisfying, because every writer shapes them differently - so, while I may have guessed a few plot paths along the way, I love how LJ shapes them.
The magic system, in this case the crafting, was so interesting a pretty unique, particularly bone crafting and melding. The imagery you get when LJ writes about what Lyra sees while crafting is so beautiful.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
SUMMARY:
Lyra Bien intended to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of the magic-obsessed king in the fortress of Stonegate. Until Roark Ashwood, the prince’s silent guard and rumored killer for the crown, invades her village and uncovers the truth behind the silver scars in her eyes. To save her best friend from death, she’s forced to reveal her abilities, and is immediately claimed by the crown as the next melder. To be the King’s melder is to be revered and feared in equal measures, but above all it is a slow death sentence. Lyra is determined to find a way to free herself and her friends from bondage. But first she must get more information from the silent, brooding sentry who first took her captive: Roark. As Lyra gets closer to Roark, she soon learns he’s nothing like she assumed, and in fact everything she needs. The more they work as allies, the harder it becomes to ignore the growing passion between them. After a sinister truth is revealed, Roark and Lyra must choose to stand against all they know, or accept their dark destiny.
REVIEW:
Broken Souls and Bones is the first book in LJ Andrews' romantasy Stonegate series and my first book by her that I've read. The release of this book had been all over my TikTok FYP that I bought it as soon as it released and read it as soon as I could. I love the Norse mythology and Vikings so I knew this was going to be a good book since it was also a romantasy. Lyra has been hiding all her life from the people who wanted to use her melding abilities for greed and power until Roark Ashwood the silent guard and rumored killer for the crown invades her village and uncovers the silver scars in her eyes. Lyra suffers much on her journey to the King of Stonegate with her foster brother and friends that get taken as they are bone melders that the King adds to his collection. When Lyra caught Roark in disguise going through her fruits and she started throwing plumbs at him to scare him off was the moment everything changed for both of them for better or worse.
It was an intense moment when Lyra and Roark finally gave into their feelings for each other and spent the night together even though it was possible things would not end well for either of them. When Lyra was taken to see the Queen by Baldur I knew something was wrong so it was such a surprising moment to find out that the supposedly dead melder Fadey had taken the features and life of the real Baldur in order to murder the king so he could take Lyra's powerful melding power to find the Wanderer's soul bones for himself. The most shocking moment was finding out that Roarke is the younger Dravenmoor prince and Skul Drek. Lyra finally gets the answers she is looking for as she falls in love with Roarke who though at first hated her ended up falling in love as they find out their souls are bound to one another. LJ Andrews delivered an excitingly new page-turning romantasy that had me captivated from the first page. I savored every chapter until the end that left me craving more of Lyra Roark.
Lyra Bien intended to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of the magic-obsessed king in the fortress of Stonegate. Until Roark Ashwood, the prince’s silent guard and rumored killer for the crown, invades her village and uncovers the truth behind the silver scars in her eyes. To save her best friend from death, she’s forced to reveal her abilities, and is immediately claimed by the crown as the next melder. To be the King’s melder is to be revered and feared in equal measures, but above all it is a slow death sentence. Lyra is determined to find a way to free herself and her friends from bondage. But first she must get more information from the silent, brooding sentry who first took her captive: Roark. As Lyra gets closer to Roark, she soon learns he’s nothing like she assumed, and in fact everything she needs. The more they work as allies, the harder it becomes to ignore the growing passion between them. After a sinister truth is revealed, Roark and Lyra must choose to stand against all they know, or accept their dark destiny.
REVIEW:
Broken Souls and Bones is the first book in LJ Andrews' romantasy Stonegate series and my first book by her that I've read. The release of this book had been all over my TikTok FYP that I bought it as soon as it released and read it as soon as I could. I love the Norse mythology and Vikings so I knew this was going to be a good book since it was also a romantasy. Lyra has been hiding all her life from the people who wanted to use her melding abilities for greed and power until Roark Ashwood the silent guard and rumored killer for the crown invades her village and uncovers the silver scars in her eyes. Lyra suffers much on her journey to the King of Stonegate with her foster brother and friends that get taken as they are bone melders that the King adds to his collection. When Lyra caught Roark in disguise going through her fruits and she started throwing plumbs at him to scare him off was the moment everything changed for both of them for better or worse.
It was an intense moment when Lyra and Roark finally gave into their feelings for each other and spent the night together even though it was possible things would not end well for either of them. When Lyra was taken to see the Queen by Baldur I knew something was wrong so it was such a surprising moment to find out that the supposedly dead melder Fadey had taken the features and life of the real Baldur in order to murder the king so he could take Lyra's powerful melding power to find the Wanderer's soul bones for himself. The most shocking moment was finding out that Roarke is the younger Dravenmoor prince and Skul Drek. Lyra finally gets the answers she is looking for as she falls in love with Roarke who though at first hated her ended up falling in love as they find out their souls are bound to one another. LJ Andrews delivered an excitingly new page-turning romantasy that had me captivated from the first page. I savored every chapter until the end that left me craving more of Lyra Roark.
This book quickly drew me in. I loved the dual pov and our heroine. The magic system was easy to follow. Total great read for romtantasy lovers.
dark
mysterious
slow-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
I love LJ Andrews, this newest series is no different.
Great world building, interesting magic, tension and a little spice. I did guess one of the twists but not the one at the very end. I can't wait for the next one!?
Great world building, interesting magic, tension and a little spice. I did guess one of the twists but not the one at the very end. I can't wait for the next one!?
These two…. I really like these two. Their attraction to each other really pissed them off and they didn’t hold back in their animosity. And LJ does enemies to lovers banter so so well.
I loved the introduction into a new Viking-esk world with original magic based on souls and bones and blood. Felt like there is a lot of room to explore more characters and plot lines. And I REALLY need some of the friend group to get their own stories and books because they are so much fun.
Roark is quiet and broody and VERY protective over Lyra. He’s not supposed to like her or feel anything for her and that makes him very mad. (Much to our delight!) His story is slow to unravel and he gets more and more swoony as he develops.
Lyra is confused most of the time (just like I was) but has a fierce sense of loyalty to those she loves and feels like she needs to protect. Shes willing to work for what she wants and doesn’t sit on the sidelines if there are threats.
The spice is slow to develop but once it does it’s intense partly because Roark can only talk with his hands so there is a lot of um… physical communication. I can’t wait to see how they develop in the next book!
I loved the introduction into a new Viking-esk world with original magic based on souls and bones and blood. Felt like there is a lot of room to explore more characters and plot lines. And I REALLY need some of the friend group to get their own stories and books because they are so much fun.
Roark is quiet and broody and VERY protective over Lyra. He’s not supposed to like her or feel anything for her and that makes him very mad. (Much to our delight!) His story is slow to unravel and he gets more and more swoony as he develops.
Lyra is confused most of the time (just like I was) but has a fierce sense of loyalty to those she loves and feels like she needs to protect. Shes willing to work for what she wants and doesn’t sit on the sidelines if there are threats.
The spice is slow to develop but once it does it’s intense partly because Roark can only talk with his hands so there is a lot of um… physical communication. I can’t wait to see how they develop in the next book!
I really enjoyed this book! The world-building was good and I connected well with the MC’s. The plot was interesting and fun to read, and I didn’t see any of the twists coming, so that was cool! I also liked how the ending has set up for a second book. The writing was really easy to get through and I thought this book contained the perfect amount of romance.
The only flaw is that I got a bit confused with some parts of the plot sometimes. It could have been because I don’t read much fantasy so sometimes it felt a little heavy, but it was still a very good read and I would definitely like to read the second when it’s here!
The only flaw is that I got a bit confused with some parts of the plot sometimes. It could have been because I don’t read much fantasy so sometimes it felt a little heavy, but it was still a very good read and I would definitely like to read the second when it’s here!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
No