Reviews

A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford

em_currie's review against another edition

3.0

Okay, first of all, I did NOT know this was going to have smut when I picked it up. I'm not complaining, but I was caught unawares.
Secondly, I REALLY liked this book. I was roped in by the promise of LGBTQ+ characters and romance and not only did it deliver but it went above and beyond what I was expecting. We've got found family trope, we've got soul mates, we've got casual introductions to every member of the LGBTQ+ alphabet and more. It's delightful and hopeful and gave a satisfying ending while still giving the promise of more (which is especially good since I didn't realize this book only came out a month ago and now I have to wait for the next one).
Very fun, easy read while still talking about hard things.

delvie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I usually go in blind with my reading picks, and I wouldn't reccomend that experience for this one because Mulford doesn't do a lot of imagery or micro world building to set the scene, and I thought the cover depicted an eastern style dragon rather than a river wolf. It made for a confusing experience. Moving on. 

This book acts a sequel/continuation of the sleeping beauty myth with the added gimmick of wolf shifters/fated mates, and it's as messy as it sounds. The main character is not like other girls, and there's a plot reason for it, but it's undercut by the main character's sister that is like other girls getting damsel-ed REAL quick. 

A.K. Mulford seems really pulled towards the found family trope, but the ratio of plot to characterization in this book is the inverse of what it needs to be to make that believable. I hardly know anything about these side characters, and you'll find that it doesn't matter much anyways. No pay off for you. 

I was pretty uncomfortable with how this book treated its sapphic characters, despite other queer rep being front and center. That being said, I don't see many books with gender fluid characters being front and center, so if that's the vibe you're looking for, look no further. 

There was so much cock-blocking in this book a la high school musical, that by the time the spice was allowed to happen, I was over it already, and nothing about it sold me on it. It didn't help that the voice actor they chose didn't sell the MMC well. 

Overall, it was fine. I could go either way towards picking up the sequel or leaving it forever.

kittybeemartin's review

Oh this book is not good. I DNFed it at 45% because I just couldn't take it anymore. I tried to push through because I requested the ARC for the second book but I have reached my limit. The MCs are in love before the story even starts and that just doesn't work for me. And the MMC is just trash. 

I'm all for a good nickname, but IT SHOULD NOT BE SAID MORE OFTEN THEN YOU'D SAY HER NAME! Like seriously, this guy said "Little Fox" almost every. single. line. 

caith's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

xoxo_jasmyn's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective 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

_emaliemoore's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

kkastrup2's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

whiskedawayreads's review

adventurous dark 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

4.5

It was a struggle to get started with the book, not that it was necessarily slow. But there was a lot of history to explain and world building to do. However, this picked up around 100 pages in. I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of characters, and felt that the characters were well developed. I’m looking forward to learning more about some of the side characters, as well as more of the world they live in. The plot was engaging, and it was hard to set the book down at times. There were some interesting twists as well. It did feel like the book wrapped up quickly, more quickly than I had anticipated.

joey_m's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

2.0

miss_courtney's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0