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lisavdheijden 's review for:
Bone Crier's Moon
by Kathryn Purdie
I was supposed to love [b:Bone Crier's Moon|46249012|Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)|Kathryn Purdie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560367799l/46249012._SY75_.jpg|56180448]. The premise sounded fascinating: A book about magical women who have to sacrifice their soulmate to fulfill their sacred duty, enemies-to-lovers-romance, and a revenge plot. Furthermore, the cover of the book is stunning. Counting all these elements together, this book was right up my alley. However, the book fell short in execution. I was left disappointed and without a connection to the story or characters.
Bone Criers Moon started off strong. The plot captured me from the first chapter because it already established the conflict in the story: What an honourable sacrifice is for one person, is murder for the other. Slowly an elaborate plot is developed with multiple plotlines and multiple perspectives. I loved how the plotlines were connected but also stood on their own. The ending tied the plotlines nicely together in an explosive scene and ended in a cliff-hanger. Unfortunately, the plot also felt chaotic. There was a lot of repetition of scenes and locations, which made it feel as if no progression was made. It made the story drag . Continuing, the layers that were added to the plot were unlogic to me. There was no development towards them and I did not understand their function. Furthermore, the enemies-to-lovers romance felt flat. The love interests had no chemistry and there was no romantic development. They went from hate to love too suddenly for me to be invested in the relationship. This all resulted in a dragging middle part of the story and me being underwhelmed by the plot.
The characters of the [b:Bone Crier's Moon|46249012|Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)|Kathryn Purdie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560367799l/46249012._SY75_.jpg|56180448] were the main reason I was not invested in the story. The main characters, Ailesse and Bastien, were one dimensional . They had few interests and motivations and the ones they had were related to the plot. Furthermore, their growth was forced and not related to events or dialogue. Therefore, I felt disconnected from them. Some of the side characters were unnecessary hateful and difficult. This significantly lowered my enjoyment of the story. Continuing, the actions of the main ‘villain’ made no sense to me. The only character I enjoyed was Sabine because of her character growth and her ideals. Lastly, there was barely any dialogue that supported relationship developments. Conversations were either practical or served a plot point.
The author has an easy, appealing writing style. It is a descriptive writing style, so it was easy to visualise the setting and characters. Furthermore, the author did a great job of creating different atmospheres for different locations. The story is told from three perspectives: Ailesse, Bastien, and Sabine. Well, I enjoyed reading from multiple perspectives, the voice of the narration was not distinctive enough to differentiate between the three narrators.
The world-building was my favourite aspect of the story. The author created a world full of magic, mythology, and relics. The world is inspired by an existing myth of the Dame Blanches and was original as well as intricate . I loved that the Leurres (Bone Criers) had a purpose in the balance in the world and how their powers are dependent on their exposure to moonlight. It was interesting to read about a magic system where magical people are not invincible. It was clear from the usage of French words that the world was supposed to be set in a French-inspired country. I wish the author added more French influences except for the French words.
In conclusion, Bone Criers Moon had a lot of potential. While the world-building was original and fascinating, the plot and characters let the story down. If the plot and characters were developed more, this would have been an amazing book.
Rating breakdown:
• Plot: 2/5
• Characters: 3/5
• Writing: 3/5
• Worldbuilding: 4/5
• Enjoyment: 3/5
Bone Criers Moon started off strong. The plot captured me from the first chapter because it already established the conflict in the story: What an honourable sacrifice is for one person, is murder for the other. Slowly an elaborate plot is developed with multiple plotlines and multiple perspectives. I loved how the plotlines were connected but also stood on their own. The ending tied the plotlines nicely together in an explosive scene and ended in a cliff-hanger. Unfortunately, the plot also felt chaotic. There was a lot of repetition of scenes and locations, which made it feel as if no progression was made. It made the story drag . Continuing, the layers that were added to the plot were unlogic to me. There was no development towards them and I did not understand their function. Furthermore, the enemies-to-lovers romance felt flat. The love interests had no chemistry and there was no romantic development. They went from hate to love too suddenly for me to be invested in the relationship. This all resulted in a dragging middle part of the story and me being underwhelmed by the plot.
The characters of the [b:Bone Crier's Moon|46249012|Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)|Kathryn Purdie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560367799l/46249012._SY75_.jpg|56180448] were the main reason I was not invested in the story. The main characters, Ailesse and Bastien, were one dimensional . They had few interests and motivations and the ones they had were related to the plot. Furthermore, their growth was forced and not related to events or dialogue. Therefore, I felt disconnected from them. Some of the side characters were unnecessary hateful and difficult. This significantly lowered my enjoyment of the story. Continuing, the actions of the main ‘villain’ made no sense to me. The only character I enjoyed was Sabine because of her character growth and her ideals. Lastly, there was barely any dialogue that supported relationship developments. Conversations were either practical or served a plot point.
The author has an easy, appealing writing style. It is a descriptive writing style, so it was easy to visualise the setting and characters. Furthermore, the author did a great job of creating different atmospheres for different locations. The story is told from three perspectives: Ailesse, Bastien, and Sabine. Well, I enjoyed reading from multiple perspectives, the voice of the narration was not distinctive enough to differentiate between the three narrators.
The world-building was my favourite aspect of the story. The author created a world full of magic, mythology, and relics. The world is inspired by an existing myth of the Dame Blanches and was original as well as intricate . I loved that the Leurres (Bone Criers) had a purpose in the balance in the world and how their powers are dependent on their exposure to moonlight. It was interesting to read about a magic system where magical people are not invincible. It was clear from the usage of French words that the world was supposed to be set in a French-inspired country. I wish the author added more French influences except for the French words.
In conclusion, Bone Criers Moon had a lot of potential. While the world-building was original and fascinating, the plot and characters let the story down. If the plot and characters were developed more, this would have been an amazing book.
Rating breakdown:
• Plot: 2/5
• Characters: 3/5
• Writing: 3/5
• Worldbuilding: 4/5
• Enjoyment: 3/5