Review: Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

[Spoiler-Free] Even after having some time to process, I still find myself struggling to believe that I didn't just read two completely different books bound into the same cover.

'Silver in the Bone' ticks many of the boxes that comprise the makings of an amazing fantasy series (at least, from my view): mythology, magic, slow burn enemies-to-lovers, found family, suspense...add on an absolutely jaw-dropping cliffhanger of an ending, and I know I'll be picking up the second installment when it's released. However, all of this doesn't really seem to show up until the second half of the book.

Truthfully, I found it quite difficult to make it through the first half. The pace felt agonizingly slow at times, interspersed with rapid-fire bouts of heavy world-building and little time to process / integrate the new vocabulary before moving on. Despite this, the characters and world initially seemed a bit flat, and it wasn't until about 250 pages in that I finally developed that classic "just one more chapter" feeling.

I do look forward to seeing how the story develops, and hope that the slower first half of 'Silver in the Bone' laid all the groundwork for the sequel(s) to be page-turning and action-packed!