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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
I don’t even know where to begin with this book—except to say that I absolutely loved it. I was completely obsessed, flying through it in just a couple of days (which is impressive for me as a slow reader). From start to finish, it had me hooked.
The characters were phenomenal—Skul Drek, in particular, stood out as a fantastic and memorable character. I could go on forever about how much I enjoyed this story and how excited I am to see what’s next for these incredible characters.
The book itself was an easy read, but in the best way possible. The alternating points of view between Roark and Lyra kept things fresh and engaging, and every single page captivated me until the very end.
This story felt completely unique, and if you don’t read it, you’re seriously missing out. I haven’t felt this passionate about a book since I first read The Lord of the Rings, and that’s saying something. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and at its heart, it really was a wickedly romantic Viking tale that I won’t soon forget.
The characters were phenomenal—Skul Drek, in particular, stood out as a fantastic and memorable character. I could go on forever about how much I enjoyed this story and how excited I am to see what’s next for these incredible characters.
The book itself was an easy read, but in the best way possible. The alternating points of view between Roark and Lyra kept things fresh and engaging, and every single page captivated me until the very end.
This story felt completely unique, and if you don’t read it, you’re seriously missing out. I haven’t felt this passionate about a book since I first read The Lord of the Rings, and that’s saying something. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and at its heart, it really was a wickedly romantic Viking tale that I won’t soon forget.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
insta love for both weird mmcs. feels not fully fleshed out. ignores side characters. no likey
This book really said “here’s 100 people, many kingdoms, a hidden magical girl, and a silent murder machine” and expected me to keep up. I tried. I got lost. I kept going anyway
Lyra is the melder. That means she works with soul bones.. It’s a rare craft, super dangerous, and now the first female melder in 500 winters is here, hiding from a king and giving us serious main character stress. She also has glowing silver scars in her eyes that she hides using clothing dye. Don’t ask. I still don’t understand it.
Roark, the male lead, is called the Death Bringer. That’s not dramatic at all. He communicates using sign language, has a tragic past, and starts claiming Lyra with these signature three tap gestures that had me blushing on her behalf. Protective from the first scene even though he’s supposed to hate her? Suspicious. Intense. Fully working for me.
Early on, I suspected a love triangle was brewing. There’s this terrifying assassin called Skul Drek and for a while I thought Lyra was going to be caught between him and Roark. Plot twist: they are the same person. Roark is the assassin. I gasped. I stared at the page. I reevaluated my entire life.
And then. And THEN. We find out Roark is also royalty. Not just any man in black he’s a prince. You’re telling me I’ve been drooling over this man for 400 pages and now you add surprise royalty to the list? Wild.
There’s also Kael, Lyra’s best friend, who is actually very sweet and not involved in any romantic subplot. Bless him for being the only one who says anything with clarity. He sees Roark being unhinged and just shrugs and goes “He’s in love with you, obviously.” Iconic.
Did I know what was going on at all times? Absolutely not.
Did I pause during the “on your knees” scene to recover? Yes.
Did the pacing crawl in places and drown me in lore? It did.
But Roark? Roark made every second worth it.
Four stars. No notes. Except maybe fewer names, fewer kingdoms, and more of Roark saying everything without speaking at all.
Unique magic system that was a bit confusing at first. Great build to the romance and the plot.
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.