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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
I was sent an e-ARC of this novel by the author in exchange for an honest review.
OF BLOOD, BONES AND TRUTH is the first instalment in a new urban fantasy series, the debut novel by T. M. Ledvina.
The author has created, within the span of four hundred pages, a fascinating and rich blend of beautiful and intricate world-building, stunning writing and a whole host of lovable characters. I fell for so many of these characters, but mostly Kellan, one of the point-of-view characters in OBBT. I absolutely loved learning about him, his career, his background, his past, his insecurities and flaws.
One of Ledvina's strongest points in writing has to be their characterisation. Something I love in books is whenever the internal turmoil of the protagonists (or even the side characters) fuse with the themes of the book but are still, in their own way, personal to the characters themselves. Ledvina does this in a remarkable way, exhibiting Kellan's past and depth to us without oversaturating it amidst the plot.
The plot, by the way, is dark as it is magical. This world is teeming with demons, angels and all other kinds of supernatural creatures. Urban fantasy novels set in a secondary fantasy world isn't new, but Ledvina's use of originality and creativity makes for a stunning world. It feels so lived-in, which is exactly what you want when you're starting the first page of a fantasy book. You want to be drawn into a world of possibility and mystery, even if you may not know the mere basics. But neither the characters or the author guides your hand on this journey. You discover it for yourself as our main characters unravel the conspiracy lying within Spiral City.
I want to give a shoutout to my girl Vaida, because I am completely obsessed with her. Honestly, if we get a Vaida novella or a whole spin-off series, I wouldn't be upset. I must just love the serious workaholics with a heart of gold hidden behind all the stone, but I do love Vaida. Her character was so interesting to me, and while I understand that this story mainly focuses on our boys Cassian and Kellan, I want to know more about her. However, since this IS a series, I'll be waiting (im)patiently to find out more.
Before I end this review, I'd just like to touch on the world-building. The lore in this book is so detailed, so complex but so rewarding once all of the pieces click together. And what's even better is there are so many mysteries left to untangle. I won't give much away, but when the answers in this book get revealed, be prepared for more. I feel like this series is just going to get crazier.
Thank you so, so much to Ledvina for sending me an e-ARC (love you, Tia!). I cannot wait to read more of her work. <3
OF BLOOD, BONES AND TRUTH is the first instalment in a new urban fantasy series, the debut novel by T. M. Ledvina.
The author has created, within the span of four hundred pages, a fascinating and rich blend of beautiful and intricate world-building, stunning writing and a whole host of lovable characters. I fell for so many of these characters, but mostly Kellan, one of the point-of-view characters in OBBT. I absolutely loved learning about him, his career, his background, his past, his insecurities and flaws.
One of Ledvina's strongest points in writing has to be their characterisation. Something I love in books is whenever the internal turmoil of the protagonists (or even the side characters) fuse with the themes of the book but are still, in their own way, personal to the characters themselves. Ledvina does this in a remarkable way, exhibiting Kellan's past and depth to us without oversaturating it amidst the plot.
The plot, by the way, is dark as it is magical. This world is teeming with demons, angels and all other kinds of supernatural creatures. Urban fantasy novels set in a secondary fantasy world isn't new, but Ledvina's use of originality and creativity makes for a stunning world. It feels so lived-in, which is exactly what you want when you're starting the first page of a fantasy book. You want to be drawn into a world of possibility and mystery, even if you may not know the mere basics. But neither the characters or the author guides your hand on this journey. You discover it for yourself as our main characters unravel the conspiracy lying within Spiral City.
I want to give a shoutout to my girl Vaida, because I am completely obsessed with her. Honestly, if we get a Vaida novella or a whole spin-off series, I wouldn't be upset. I must just love the serious workaholics with a heart of gold hidden behind all the stone, but I do love Vaida. Her character was so interesting to me, and while I understand that this story mainly focuses on our boys Cassian and Kellan, I want to know more about her. However, since this IS a series, I'll be waiting (im)patiently to find out more.
Before I end this review, I'd just like to touch on the world-building. The lore in this book is so detailed, so complex but so rewarding once all of the pieces click together. And what's even better is there are so many mysteries left to untangle. I won't give much away, but when the answers in this book get revealed, be prepared for more. I feel like this series is just going to get crazier.
Thank you so, so much to Ledvina for sending me an e-ARC (love you, Tia!). I cannot wait to read more of her work. <3
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
A big thank you to the awesome author for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!! I’m so grateful I got to read this 😊
I literally JUST finished this book and my head is spinning, I don’t even know where to begin with this review. The ending really sneaks up on you and I was not ready!
After following the author on Instagram, I started seeing posts about this book being urban high fantasy vibes meets murder mystery and I was like SIGN ME UP. And I’m happy to say this book did not disappoint. It’s literally Crescent City, but with a demon murder mystery thrown in and I was 100% here for it.
First of all, this universe was so flipping fleshed out. The book opens with pages (yes pages as in MULTIPLE) of guides about this world and how it’s structured. A character guide, government guide, pronunciation guide, etc and I could have CRIED I was so grateful. I was able to bookmark them and refer back anytime I was confused and it was so nice!! CAN WE NORMALIZE THIS PLEASE?!?!
But I have to say, my favorite part of this book was the characters. I just… UGH. Kellen and Cassian are such smol cinnamon rolls, I loved them so much. I want to give them a hug. I also really fell hard for Pontius and their little friend group. Watching everyone become friends was so wholesome and I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY 😭 Also need to take a quick sec to declare my undying love for my girl Vaida who is the most awesome badass queen EVER. I LOVE HER.
I did end up taking off a star because the mystery part of this book fell a little flat for me. I was able to guess the bad buy pretty quickly, which took the wind out of my sails a little while I was reading. Maybe that’s just a me thing, but I still had a ton of fun getting to know these characters and this new universe.
FINAL WORD
“Life comes with suffering, Private, but even so, we experience these things because we are alive. Isn’t that wonderful?”
I had such a great time reading this! The world-building of this novel is so awesomely fleshed out and I officially have a new fictional friend group to obsess over. I can’t wait to continue this series in the future!
I literally JUST finished this book and my head is spinning, I don’t even know where to begin with this review. The ending really sneaks up on you and I was not ready!
After following the author on Instagram, I started seeing posts about this book being urban high fantasy vibes meets murder mystery and I was like SIGN ME UP. And I’m happy to say this book did not disappoint. It’s literally Crescent City, but with a demon murder mystery thrown in and I was 100% here for it.
First of all, this universe was so flipping fleshed out. The book opens with pages (yes pages as in MULTIPLE) of guides about this world and how it’s structured. A character guide, government guide, pronunciation guide, etc and I could have CRIED I was so grateful. I was able to bookmark them and refer back anytime I was confused and it was so nice!! CAN WE NORMALIZE THIS PLEASE?!?!
But I have to say, my favorite part of this book was the characters. I just… UGH. Kellen and Cassian are such smol cinnamon rolls, I loved them so much. I want to give them a hug. I also really fell hard for Pontius and their little friend group. Watching everyone become friends was so wholesome and I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY 😭 Also need to take a quick sec to declare my undying love for my girl Vaida who is the most awesome badass queen EVER. I LOVE HER.
I did end up taking off a star because the mystery part of this book fell a little flat for me. I was able to guess the bad buy pretty quickly, which took the wind out of my sails a little while I was reading. Maybe that’s just a me thing, but I still had a ton of fun getting to know these characters and this new universe.
FINAL WORD
“Life comes with suffering, Private, but even so, we experience these things because we are alive. Isn’t that wonderful?”
I had such a great time reading this! The world-building of this novel is so awesomely fleshed out and I officially have a new fictional friend group to obsess over. I can’t wait to continue this series in the future!
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"A longing for a life he'd never even had. Was it possible to miss something he'd never experienced before?"
Today I’m back with my review of OF BLOOD, BONES, AND TRUTH🙌. It is a cyberfantasy novel that follows an indentured assassin Kellan as he tries to solve a brutal string of murders in a futuristic city-state. The author was kind enough to send me an ARC and I can’t thank her enough !!😭 The good news is that it's available for pre-order now, online, wherever books are sold and it’s releasing very soon on April 4, 2023!!!
Fae creatures and others isn't new but I could tell right from the beginning with the extensive reading guide (which I really appreciated btw) that there was a real effort to create a whole new urban fantasy world, and I hope we get to explore it even more in the next books. I was most pleasantly surprised by the writing style: it was very pleasant and so easy to read, I also felt like the author relied heavily on sensory elements which made it very immersive and I could really picture the cyber futuristic city with its towering skyscrapers and neon vibes.
Character-wise, she served us with two soft boys🥺 Cassian was definitely my favourite, he is so precious I can’t🤍, but it was easy to relate to both, and I have to say her characters felt so human??? I can't even explain but this book was just emotionally charged and had a very incisive writing, when they hurt it hurt too basically lol🫠. I also didn't expect the romance to be such an important part of the story right away? I didn't mind it at all though😌and it wasn't heavy heavy, it’s the kind of romance that lies in subtle touches and stolen glances and smiles and omg that first kiss scene?? So good!!!
I have to say though that I wasn’t as smitten by the other secondary characters as I thought I would be. I did enjoy the dynamics between the different characters but, and I don’t know if it’s because we didn’t get their povs🤔, Selly, Pontius, Vaida (such a girlboss), and the others really felt, well, secondary to me…
I did feel like some stuff got solved or revealed a bit too easily and quickly but I get that it was necessary for the plot and there is still so much we don't know and things to be explained, especially with how the book ends??? Heartbreaking and promising at the same time, the author clearly knew what she was doing tehe🫣👌.
Side note and I’m gonna try to be vague on this but the “villain” here is a real piece of work and a psychopath but also low-key cool and charismatic??😅😂
All in all, I really had a great time with this story and these characters, it was a solid first book in a series and I can't wait to see what's next on this new journey! 🙌 Thank you again to the author!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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:
Yes
Of Blood, Bones, and Truth is an absolutely fantastic debut from T.M. Ledvina, masterfully weaving the soft touches of a tentative new love against a backdrop of classism, magic, and mystery.
It's hard to not immediately fall in love with the characters and setting Ledvina created for this story. Roles and rules are out the window, leaving a futuristic city scape where even those trained to destroy can be soft and celestial beings share the page with elves, shapeshifters, and demons.
I adored the main characters in this story. Both Kellan and Cassian find themselves destined for a path that their ancestors set out for them, neither in control of how they dirty their hands next. Despite these similarities, Ledvina crafted vastly different characters in terms of both personality and drive. They are an alpha and omega, cut from opposite ends of the same, beautiful cloth.
Of course, as easy as it is to immediately love Cassian and Kellan, it is just as easy to despise the villains that Ledvina created. Shrouded in mystery, the man readers get to know as Shadow has sinister motives which only intensify as the book goes on. Sometimes calculating, sometimes annoyingly disruptive, Shadow sure knows how to ruin things for Kellan and Cassian. Though, as proof of just how well Ledvina wrote these characters, I do truly wish to know more about the villain: his motivations and reasons for doing what he did, his past, his possibilities for redemption.
Of Blood, Bones, and Truth is far more than a one-dimensional MM romance. By crafting a world where love is love no matter the gender, Ledvina was able to add so many layers to the story beyond the validity of Cassian and Kellan's romance. Just some of the constraints Ledvina touches on include the inescapable constructs of race and class, the rigidity of societal expectations, and the hopelessness of living when someone else dictates your life. While readers can purely enjoy the surface-level plot, watching Cassian and Kellan find each other and slowly fall in love, there is certainly a whole lot more to dissect in Ledvina's debut.
This story will definitely stay with readers long after the final page has been read, leaving us all clamoring for the next book in Cassian and Kellan's story.
*A huge thank you to T.M. Ledvina for sharing an early copy of her book. All opinions are my own.*
It's hard to not immediately fall in love with the characters and setting Ledvina created for this story. Roles and rules are out the window, leaving a futuristic city scape where even those trained to destroy can be soft and celestial beings share the page with elves, shapeshifters, and demons.
I adored the main characters in this story. Both Kellan and Cassian find themselves destined for a path that their ancestors set out for them, neither in control of how they dirty their hands next. Despite these similarities, Ledvina crafted vastly different characters in terms of both personality and drive. They are an alpha and omega, cut from opposite ends of the same, beautiful cloth.
Of course, as easy as it is to immediately love Cassian and Kellan, it is just as easy to despise the villains that Ledvina created. Shrouded in mystery, the man readers get to know as Shadow has sinister motives which only intensify as the book goes on. Sometimes calculating, sometimes annoyingly disruptive, Shadow sure knows how to ruin things for Kellan and Cassian. Though, as proof of just how well Ledvina wrote these characters, I do truly wish to know more about the villain: his motivations and reasons for doing what he did, his past, his possibilities for redemption.
Of Blood, Bones, and Truth is far more than a one-dimensional MM romance. By crafting a world where love is love no matter the gender, Ledvina was able to add so many layers to the story beyond the validity of Cassian and Kellan's romance. Just some of the constraints Ledvina touches on include the inescapable constructs of race and class, the rigidity of societal expectations, and the hopelessness of living when someone else dictates your life. While readers can purely enjoy the surface-level plot, watching Cassian and Kellan find each other and slowly fall in love, there is certainly a whole lot more to dissect in Ledvina's debut.
This story will definitely stay with readers long after the final page has been read, leaving us all clamoring for the next book in Cassian and Kellan's story.
*A huge thank you to T.M. Ledvina for sharing an early copy of her book. All opinions are my own.*
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
This is such an amazing debut!!
The characters (main or side) are all so beautifully developed and fleshed out that readers get a great sense of who everyone is without the plot being bogged down with too much exposition. Ledvina absolutely shows and doesn’t tell, which makes everything about the story compelling, interesting, and engaging. I rooted so much for everyone.
The villains and the mystery were also so well organized and crafted. Not even halfway through I wanted the next book, and this one isn’t even out yet. It was just so easy to get into, and I absolutely need to know what happens next. Several characters already have intriguing potential plot lines, but new characters are adding fascinating new threads that I’m excited to see pan out.
The best part of this was the actual slow burn. The characters’ relationships were intense in all the best ways without relying on smut, and I loved that. Absolutely recommend it!!
The characters (main or side) are all so beautifully developed and fleshed out that readers get a great sense of who everyone is without the plot being bogged down with too much exposition. Ledvina absolutely shows and doesn’t tell, which makes everything about the story compelling, interesting, and engaging. I rooted so much for everyone.
The villains and the mystery were also so well organized and crafted. Not even halfway through I wanted the next book, and this one isn’t even out yet. It was just so easy to get into, and I absolutely need to know what happens next. Several characters already have intriguing potential plot lines, but new characters are adding fascinating new threads that I’m excited to see pan out.
The best part of this was the actual slow burn. The characters’ relationships were intense in all the best ways without relying on smut, and I loved that. Absolutely recommend it!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“Life comes with suffering, Private, but even so, we experience these things because we are alive. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Where do I even start with this little gem of a book? Tia has done such an amazing job of crafting a world and characters that feel beautifully real and fleshed out, and combined with a murder mystery at the heart of it, it combines into a truly enjoyable experience. Cassian and Kellan are my actual heart, but all of the characters are special and wonderful in their own way, each different and flawed and lovely in their own ways. Except for the villain of the story – fuck the Shadow. He knows what he did. And SO DO YOU, TIA. This is my second time reading this book so I knew that ending was coming, and it STILL broke me. Book 2 can absolutely not come soon enough!
Before the story even starts, this book is full of details about the world, allowing you as much or as little worldbuilding as you could desire before jumping in. As a fantasy reader who always appreciates a well-thought-out world, I absolutely loved getting to see just how much thought Tia has obviously put into the creation of this world, making the setting itself its own character rather than a flimsy backdrop. Also, I really appreciated the list of trigger warnings at the very beginning, I honestly think more authors should make a point to offer them.
If you love:
Ø Queernorm world
Ø Women in STEM
Ø Incredibly detailed worldbuilding
Ø Modern fantasy world
Ø Forced proximity
Ø The softest, most precious of bois who are also assassins
Then you will LOVE this book. Releasing on April 4, 2023, OBBT is available for preorder now! Go check it out, you won’t regret it!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
Of Blood, Bones, and Truth ARC review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book!!!! THIS BOOK! I adored the world building, the characters, the story and the plot twists, all the mysteries I was desperately trying to solve. I came up with so many theories during my reading and half of them got debunked but I got some things right 😂 I felt like I was solving the murder mystery with the boys.
Speaking of the boys, Kellan and Cassian are my ride or die, they're just so *squishes their cheeks*. I was so emotionally invested in seeing their friendship and relationship blossom, it all just felt right, and I always crave a good slow burn romance 😂 Besides not trusting half the cast at first - I'm so sorry Ponty - Vaida was the character I related to the most and I can't believe how much I ended up loving her and her sassy remarks. Tarin.... you know what you did Tia, I won't say more about him 🥲 The Villain is also finally someone who's just, you know, bad, an asshole if you will 😂 I love a Villain who I can hate because they're just irredeemable. But yeah, he can rot in hell.
The world building is phenomenal! I love seeing authors give so much love and attention to the world of their story 🥹 As someone who tends to have a movie going on inside their head whenever I'm reading something and imagining the scenes, it definitely made my time reading this book even better! The plot is on ANOTHER level and I stand by this forever, the fact that I even got to read this magic of a story is unreal to me.
I'm definitely gushing and I have a LOT more to say but I'm running out of space and this review is a mess like my emotional state after finishing the book 😂
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book!!!! THIS BOOK! I adored the world building, the characters, the story and the plot twists, all the mysteries I was desperately trying to solve. I came up with so many theories during my reading and half of them got debunked but I got some things right 😂 I felt like I was solving the murder mystery with the boys.
Speaking of the boys, Kellan and Cassian are my ride or die, they're just so *squishes their cheeks*. I was so emotionally invested in seeing their friendship and relationship blossom, it all just felt right, and I always crave a good slow burn romance 😂 Besides not trusting half the cast at first - I'm so sorry Ponty - Vaida was the character I related to the most and I can't believe how much I ended up loving her and her sassy remarks. Tarin.... you know what you did Tia, I won't say more about him 🥲 The Villain is also finally someone who's just, you know, bad, an asshole if you will 😂 I love a Villain who I can hate because they're just irredeemable. But yeah, he can rot in hell.
The world building is phenomenal! I love seeing authors give so much love and attention to the world of their story 🥹 As someone who tends to have a movie going on inside their head whenever I'm reading something and imagining the scenes, it definitely made my time reading this book even better! The plot is on ANOTHER level and I stand by this forever, the fact that I even got to read this magic of a story is unreal to me.
I'm definitely gushing and I have a LOT more to say but I'm running out of space and this review is a mess like my emotional state after finishing the book 😂
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
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:
Complicated
Of Blood Bones And Truth- @tiamae.books
"ᴾʳᵒᶠⁱᵗᵃᵇⁱˡⁱᵗʸ ᵃˢⁱᵈᵉ, ⁱᵗ ʷⁱˡˡ ᵇᵉ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵒᵘʳ ᶜᵒᵐᵖᵃⁿʸ ᵗᵒ ᵉˣᵖᵃⁿᵈ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ᵉⁿᵈᵉᵃᵛᵒʳˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ˢᵃᵛᵉˢ ˡⁱᵛᵉˢ ʳᵃᵗʰᵉʳ ᵗʰᵃⁿ ᵉⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉᵐ"
First of all thank you so much to Tia for this ARC! I am so pleased and honoured to be on your street team and to be a part of this book. You have done such an incredible job and you deserve so much praise for this!
I want to start by saying this is one of the most well polished and well written ARCS I have ever read. From start to finish it flowed perfectly and was just a joy to read.
I also loved how Tia started out the book with a character guide, map, pronunciation guide and a whole insight about the world including its politics and the hierarchy of each Leogionair. It really helped me to understand how integral each person was to the story and why they were important. It also shows Tia has thought hard about this world, not just the characters we read about, but background characters who aren't mentioned as such. This is a world with such depth and understanding it more from the beginning was amazing.
The writing style is beautiful. I was captured from the first chapter and Cassian and Kellan stole my hearts (the softest Bois 🥺). Their chemistry is beautifully written, believable and you feel every ounce of their affection towards eachother. If you're looking for a spicy book-look elsewhere. This book is not about that at all and instead you receive this beautiful and luscious and real relationship blossoming. This is an occasion I think spice would have ruined the book for me so I was so thankful it was left out.
Be warned - the last 30% of this book had me panic stricken and I had a pit in my stomach, knowing I was about to be left on THE WORST cliffhanger ever and oh my days.... I am now in pain from that ending 😭
Such a highly emotional book that had me encaptured and wanting more, especially after that epilogue 😱
Highly recommend this book for EVERYONE.
LGBTQ+ inclusive
Women in STEM
Demons
Elves
Soft Bois 🥺
A beautifully written and describes world you can't help but get infatuated with.
"ᴾʳᵒᶠⁱᵗᵃᵇⁱˡⁱᵗʸ ᵃˢⁱᵈᵉ, ⁱᵗ ʷⁱˡˡ ᵇᵉ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵒᵘʳ ᶜᵒᵐᵖᵃⁿʸ ᵗᵒ ᵉˣᵖᵃⁿᵈ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ᵉⁿᵈᵉᵃᵛᵒʳˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ˢᵃᵛᵉˢ ˡⁱᵛᵉˢ ʳᵃᵗʰᵉʳ ᵗʰᵃⁿ ᵉⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉᵐ"
First of all thank you so much to Tia for this ARC! I am so pleased and honoured to be on your street team and to be a part of this book. You have done such an incredible job and you deserve so much praise for this!
I want to start by saying this is one of the most well polished and well written ARCS I have ever read. From start to finish it flowed perfectly and was just a joy to read.
I also loved how Tia started out the book with a character guide, map, pronunciation guide and a whole insight about the world including its politics and the hierarchy of each Leogionair. It really helped me to understand how integral each person was to the story and why they were important. It also shows Tia has thought hard about this world, not just the characters we read about, but background characters who aren't mentioned as such. This is a world with such depth and understanding it more from the beginning was amazing.
The writing style is beautiful. I was captured from the first chapter and Cassian and Kellan stole my hearts (the softest Bois 🥺). Their chemistry is beautifully written, believable and you feel every ounce of their affection towards eachother. If you're looking for a spicy book-look elsewhere. This book is not about that at all and instead you receive this beautiful and luscious and real relationship blossoming. This is an occasion I think spice would have ruined the book for me so I was so thankful it was left out.
Be warned - the last 30% of this book had me panic stricken and I had a pit in my stomach, knowing I was about to be left on THE WORST cliffhanger ever and oh my days.... I am now in pain from that ending 😭
Such a highly emotional book that had me encaptured and wanting more, especially after that epilogue 😱
Highly recommend this book for EVERYONE.
LGBTQ+ inclusive
Women in STEM
Demons
Elves
Soft Bois 🥺
A beautifully written and describes world you can't help but get infatuated with.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
I want to start off with the worst part of this story, which is that it ended. I don't mean the ending, no, I mean that it ended. I have never wanted a book to continue more in my life than I have reading Of Blood, Bones, and Truth.
A book set in a queernormative world, diverse cast, and fantasy elements is not the only things the author brings with this book. I got an Advanced Reader Copy and sped read it. Each chapter, page, paragraph, word, will keep you gripped. Sitting on the edge of your seat. Just when you think something will happen, it won't, but it'll be replaced with something much more magical.
A villain that is hard for me to love is a well written villain. Every single character in this story is, by far, the most well written group I have ever seen. Each character has their own unique voice and personality that come across each and every time.
I highly recommend everyone read this book, this book made me love to read. I saw everything clear as day, as if it were a movie. Spectacular, gripping, and emotional.
A book set in a queernormative world, diverse cast, and fantasy elements is not the only things the author brings with this book. I got an Advanced Reader Copy and sped read it. Each chapter, page, paragraph, word, will keep you gripped. Sitting on the edge of your seat. Just when you think something will happen, it won't, but it'll be replaced with something much more magical.
A villain that is hard for me to love is a well written villain. Every single character in this story is, by far, the most well written group I have ever seen. Each character has their own unique voice and personality that come across each and every time.
I highly recommend everyone read this book, this book made me love to read. I saw everything clear as day, as if it were a movie. Spectacular, gripping, and emotional.
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
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:
Yes
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of Of Blood, Bones, and Truth from the author and I devoured this book. I read 70% of it in one sitting and it was absolutely incredible!
These characters had my heart from the moment they came on to the page. All of them, even the side characters, just had so much depth and so much past trauma that I want to know more about. I just wanted to protect them and not let them get hurt, but alas they got hurt. My absolute favorite was Vaida, don’t tell Kellan and Cassian, though there wasn’t much of her in this book, I just really loved her personality and can’t wait to see more of her.
This world and magic system was so wonderful. All the different technology and the different supernaturals just enhanced the story even more and were so cool. I enjoyed how the world building was gradual and not all dumped on you at once. I really enjoyed the dark aspect of it, especially towards the end. The creepy part of it fit so well into the story and had me at the edge of my seat. It was gross at times and so dark and I loved it.
My boys Kellan and Cassian will now forever have my heart. They’ve been through so much and have just had such a hard time, but they keep going. Even when it looks like there isn’t a future of freedom and togetherness, they continue to fight for their world and for each other. Though they didn’t admit their feelings for a while, it was the perfect build up full of so much angst.
All lovers of sci-fi fantasy will enjoy Of Blood, Bones, and Truth. Even if sci-fi isn’t normally you’re thing, I recommend giving OBBT a shot. It’s not a super complicated world and the magic system is easy to understand. It’s full of badass characters, cinnamon roll bois, and angsty mm romance. Add OBBT to your tbr immediately, or better yet, order it now!