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A review by mcdermottcecelia
Blood, Metal, Bone by Lindsay Cummings
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Blood Metal Bone by Lindsay Cummings is a new SFF release that follows Sonara and Karr as their paths intersect on Sonara's quest for justice after her brother was taken by a spacecraft ten years prior. This book combines science fiction and fantasy elements, features multiple points of view, and details a three-part story in which Sonara must use the magical abilities she despises to figure out what happened to her brother all those years ago. While the description focuses mostly on Sonara, Karr is a major character in this story arc, and his storyline is what brings the science fiction elements to what would otherwise be a fantasy-only novel.
Unfortunately, this book was pretty disappointing to me. I read my first Lindsay Cummings book while I was in middle school, so I was excited to see this title (and cover) for a new release. The description really drew me in, and I love reading fantasy novels about young women learning how to use magical powers to disrupt the political norms of their fantasy realms. It seemed really promising, but it ended up falling short of my expectations. I felt the pacing felt slow despite being a very quick read, and it was really difficult to connect with the characters. The main characters felt a little flat and driven by only one or two elements of their personality instead of having a more complex character development arc that would really urge the reader to push forward through this book. A lot of the twists and turns were very predictable, and it felt like each chapter tried to end on a cliffhanger but ended up being overdone. On a personal preference note, I generally prefer when paragraphs and chapters are a bit longer in fantasy books, as I appreciate the world-building that that style provides in a way that was lacking in Blood Metal Bone. Ultimately, I think this novel just tried to do a little too much and may have been better off broken into multiple books so that each event could be better detailed and developed. I'm not sure how much agency authors have in writing the book description, but I also would recommend updating it to give a better preview of the science fiction elements (or Karr's storyline more generally) featured in this book. If this wasn't for a review, I likely would've DNF'ed this book. It ultimately just isn't my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360/HQ Young Adult for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. (Please note the digital version is already published, and this digital ARC review precedes the paperback release in May).
Unfortunately, this book was pretty disappointing to me. I read my first Lindsay Cummings book while I was in middle school, so I was excited to see this title (and cover) for a new release. The description really drew me in, and I love reading fantasy novels about young women learning how to use magical powers to disrupt the political norms of their fantasy realms. It seemed really promising, but it ended up falling short of my expectations. I felt the pacing felt slow despite being a very quick read, and it was really difficult to connect with the characters. The main characters felt a little flat and driven by only one or two elements of their personality instead of having a more complex character development arc that would really urge the reader to push forward through this book. A lot of the twists and turns were very predictable, and it felt like each chapter tried to end on a cliffhanger but ended up being overdone. On a personal preference note, I generally prefer when paragraphs and chapters are a bit longer in fantasy books, as I appreciate the world-building that that style provides in a way that was lacking in Blood Metal Bone. Ultimately, I think this novel just tried to do a little too much and may have been better off broken into multiple books so that each event could be better detailed and developed. I'm not sure how much agency authors have in writing the book description, but I also would recommend updating it to give a better preview of the science fiction elements (or Karr's storyline more generally) featured in this book. If this wasn't for a review, I likely would've DNF'ed this book. It ultimately just isn't my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360/HQ Young Adult for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. (Please note the digital version is already published, and this digital ARC review precedes the paperback release in May).