A review by fae_princess_in_space
The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

Goshhhh this one was so so good. I knew it would be a ‘me book’ when I saw the author describing it as ‘Six of Crows meets Captive Prince’ and boy oh boy it did not disappoint. This book was a book about healing from trauma, particularly traumatic relationships, and doing what is right, even if it rips your own heart out in the process. It was dark, gory in places and the characters were all so well written and broken in so many different ways. The storyline at times reminded me of a Wes Anderson movie, with the snowy, freezing yet beautiful setting, as we flick from Dimitri, to Alexey to Vasily’s POVs. 

Dimitri is the rightful Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo (an Eastern-European inspired fictional nation), however he is on the run after losing a brutal and bloody war to his husband, Alexey. Tired of living in his royal husband’s shadow, Alexey has used a form of dark magic dubbed ‘The Holy Science’ to return from the dead and forge himself into an immortal, unkillable being, determined to take over the nation and rule everything, no matter the cost. Dimitri, with his cadre of 4 loyal friends, including spymaster Vasily, has to work out how to infiltrate Alexey’s court and put a stop to the bloodshed and madness. 

This book was beautifully written; I was completely immersed in the warring nation of Novo-Svitsevo and I absolutely loved Dimitri’s found family; his court of 4 loyal friends who would to anything to protect him. I also enjoyed the magic system, a dark mix of demons and angels, sacrifices and vows. I felt so many emotions reading this and I just loved all the characters; there were points when I wept 😭

Read The Sins On Their Bones for:
✨ Lovers to enemies & Friends to lovers
✨ Chosen found family 
✨ Royals at war, court politics 
✨ Dark, demon-infested magic
✨ Bleak gothic setting
✨ Healing from trauma (whilst sustaining even more trauma) 👀
✨ LGBT+ rep inc gay, bi, lesbian, asexual, aromantic, non-binary 

It’s really hard to really sum up how much I adored this book in a single review! There is definitely going to be a second book (2025 release) as although this ends on a HFN and you can happily read it as a standalone, there is definitely still a lot of threat out there and I for one am excited to see where the next phase of the story goes! 

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