Reviews

A Ferry of Bones & Gold by Hailey Turner

angelatte's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5

soily26's review against another edition

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4.0

The worldbuilding in this was tough. For about 70% I had no idea what was going on and just kept waiting for it to make sense. I can't say that I fully understand the world but I have a good enough grasp to keep going. 

Something about Patrick made me unable to put this book down even when I was struggling to understand I really enjoyed it. 

Realised when I finished it there was an index of characters and terms at the back of the book, really wish this had been at the front because it would have been handy while I was reading haha.

heabooknerd's review against another edition

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5.0

New favorite alert! A FERRY OF BONES & GOLD pulled me in from the start with tons of action, magic filled battles, supernatural creatures galore, and a very sexy romance. I fell hard for Patrick and Jono and I was barely halfway through and I'd already downloaded the entire rest of the series because I knew that I would need more. Supernatural Operations Agent Patrick Collins is sent to New York City to investigate a string of ritualistic killings and soon finds himself tangled up with the local werecreature pack, and one werewolf in particular, the charming and sexy Jonothon de Vere. But these killings are not something new and Patrick recognizes the Dominion Sect's signature and to make matters worse, the immortal gods have come calling for Patrick's soul debt.

There was so much to love in this book and Hailey Turner has created a really interesting setting of the modern world filled with magic, vampires, shifters, and even Greek gods and goddesses. There's so much complexity and intricacy in the world building. I'll be honest, there were a few times when I wasn't totally sure what was going on BUT that was before I discovered the Index in the back of the book and that really helped. So you're welcome. It's a lot of information to take in and the writing is fairly dense in description, but for me it totally worked.

This was mostly told from Patrick's POV but there's a few chapters from Jono's POV as well. Both are such awesome characters and I especially loved how badass Patrick was. His life has been anything but easy and as each small piece of his history is revealed, my heart broke more and more for him. But at his core Patrick is a fighter, no matter how much it hurts, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect the world from the Dominion Sect. Jono too has struggled, adrift with no pack and not allowed to form his own. Together these two lost souls find comfort in each other and I can't wait to follow their relationship through the series.

Content Warning: gore, violence, human sacrifice

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Favorite Quotes:

“I’ve spent the past thirteen years without a pack. No one is taking you away from me,” Jono growled.

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Jono would fight for Patrick, and he knew Patrick would do the same for him. It might not be love, but loyalty and affection were still powerful in their own right.

jankben's review against another edition

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To many people, convoluted plot, anagrams for government agencies. Couldn't keep track, got bored.

mamabears_fabulous_book_finds's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow

Just...wow. Talk about an amazing ride to be on. These characters grab you by the throat and don't let go. Fast paced, extremely intricate, amazing world building, and the romance is wonderful, as well. All around, my first five star read of the year

mdee's review against another edition

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4.0

4.25 stars

the_otaku_bibliophile's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75⭐️

barometz's review against another edition

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2.0

I think this was a combination of "it's me" and "it's the book" on this one.

Like other people have pointed out, I think this could have used a more aggressive editor to cut out some of the repetitive details and purple prose, and to help space out the infodumping. But I also think that this could easily have been separated into two books that were the second and third in a series--where the first book was about the event that is repeatedly alluded to, but not explained until very late in the story. There are too many characters and too many three-letter agencies that the book doesn't really take time to explore or develop, and I think it would have benefited from breaking it up. It very clearly feels like it's trying to build a world to put other stories in, but it's just too much all at once without a lot of detail, unfortunately. There's also a good 15% of the book after the final conflict that just doesn't really feel like it belongs; the energy is gone and I only even skimmed through at all because another review mentioned that something important got revealed at the 89% mark.

On the "it's me" side of things, I definitely thought there was going to be more murder investigation (main characters kind of just show up on the scene and go "yep, it's demons") and more romance (couple kinda just sticks together because the plot demands it and fall in love after everything is over). It really felt like it was fantasy first, and drama and romance second, which isn't really what I expected or wanted and I think that did a lot to sour the experience for me.

There was nothing wrong with the premise here, but the execution just didn't work for me.

jagiaquinto's review against another edition

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3.0

Ok first I want to say that I love love love the creative liberties Hailey took with her world building. There is so much there that is fascinating and intriguing that I kept asking questions about stuff. The problem is that certain information was drilled into the reader on every page (I. E. How damaged Patrick's soul is or his debt to the gods) it was so repetitive and took far too long to get through. Also I felt that vital information was left until the last quarter of the book. Every bit of action was also broken up by extremely long internal monologs and it just broke the tension I was feeling in the fight scenes. But I like jono, Patrick is an acquired taste that I didn't like until the very last chapter when he wasn't being the no feelings detective with resting bitch face. Personal opinion on that one. I might read the second one but I'm on the fence.

shini22's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

5.0