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A review by rgisreading
Bone Crier's Moon by Kathryn Purdie
1.0
This book was honestly disappointing. I went in with a lot of expectations but found it to feel like it was for a much younger reader group. It felt like it was marketed towards middle grade instead of teens, and the only thing that made it a teen book was the frequency of violence and one slight innuendo.
One of the biggest subplots is the romance between Bastien and Ailesse, which is not at all satisfying. In fact, their love doesn't even begin to appear until over half way into the book. I was hoping this book would be a slowburn/enemies to lovers, but there was no slowburn to be found, it was like a hint of a flame that immediately sputtered out.
Also, I'm incredibly frustrated with the character of the matrone being evil and the subplot of Sabine being Ailesse's half-sister. It all feels too corny to be real, like a lazy attempt at a subplot. This book had good bones, and could have been so good but it just missed the mark entirely.
The only thing that redeemed it for me was the worldbuilding and magic system. Ailesse and Sabine's convictions and personal assessments of Bone Crier's was an interesting way to flesh out their own character arcs, and evoke thinking in the audience. This story was founded on a truly interesting concept, but could have been executed so much better. It only really picked up at the end so now I feel obligated to read the sequel.
One of the biggest subplots is the romance between Bastien and Ailesse, which is not at all satisfying. In fact, their love doesn't even begin to appear until over half way into the book. I was hoping this book would be a slowburn/enemies to lovers, but there was no slowburn to be found, it was like a hint of a flame that immediately sputtered out.
Also, I'm incredibly frustrated with the character of the matrone being evil and the subplot of Sabine being Ailesse's half-sister. It all feels too corny to be real, like a lazy attempt at a subplot. This book had good bones, and could have been so good but it just missed the mark entirely.
The only thing that redeemed it for me was the worldbuilding and magic system. Ailesse and Sabine's convictions and personal assessments of Bone Crier's was an interesting way to flesh out their own character arcs, and evoke thinking in the audience. This story was founded on a truly interesting concept, but could have been executed so much better. It only really picked up at the end so now I feel obligated to read the sequel.