Back of Book: 

A series opener inspired by Arthurian legend and fueled by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!

Tamsin Lark didn’t ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring.

As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .

Book Number: One 

Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Seemingly unbreakable curses abound, relics are rife to be stolen, and the truth behind Avalon is to be revealed in this twisty Arthurian fantasy by none other than one of my favorite authors, Alexandra Bracken. 

Tamsin Lark was born without a trace of magic inside of her into a world that is thriving with it. Her guardian, Nash, was a Hollower, a person who hunts and sells magic relics, so she is too. When Nash vanishes one day without a trace, she is forced to continue on his line of work with only her brother, Cabell, to assist her. After a chance encounter with her rival, Emrys Dye, leads her to discovering a magical ring that might be the only hope of breaking the curse that has plagued her brother for as long as they can remember, Tamsin is desperate to get her hands on it. But Tamsin and Emyrs aren't the only one's after the ring. Other Hollower's start to pursue the rumors that the ring might be in Avalon, leaving Tamsin no choice but to accept Emyrs help to stay one step ahead of the other relic hunters. But when they finally make it to the mysterious Avalon, they could never have predicted the dark predicament that they find themselves in. . .

When I say that this book was amazing, this is an understatement. I know that many people complain about the length of Bracken's books, but I eat up every single page and get frustrated every time I have to put her massive tomes down and pursue another aspect of life. "Silver in the Bone" was no exception and may be my favorite of her books to date. It is so full of surprising twists, complex character development, and dark fantasy vibes that are paired perfectly with Arthurian folklore. 

The romance in this one is also superb. It is such a slowburn, which is understandable due to the length of the book. Tamsin and Emyrs banter is hilarious to read and I loved their chemistry from the very beginning. Some of the early moments with them were great including when he nursed her back to health and the classic "there's only one horse" moment. I love how stubborn Tamsin is and how charming Emyrs is; they really make for quite the pairing. The moments they shared in part three were magnificent, and the scene they shared has to be one of my all time favorites when it comes to the big romantic reveal. I can't wait to see how their relationship evolves in the sequel. 

Since I've alluded to the ending, I have to take a moment to say how shocked and devastated I was by literally everything that happened in part three. Everything was so unexpected and I didn't want to face the possibility that much of it was actually happening. I was literally devastated by the events that occurred after the group returned to the tower and everything that happened after that was truly a wild ride. I'm not going into detail, because spoilers, but dang, I was not ready for the ending of this. And yes, it does end on a cliffhanger. Luckily, I restrained myself from waiting to read "Silver" right when it came out, and I can advance to the sequel immediately. 

I just want to take a moment to shout out the way that Bracken dealt with Avalon. Everyone knows some aspect of King Arthur's story, and I think it was neat how she brought character's from our modern world to the Otherworld of Avalon. It made for an interesting juxtaposition and kept me very intrigued to see in which ways the two worlds were going to collide. I also love the Nine of Avalon and the strong relations they have to one another, the kingdom of Avalon, and King Arthur himself. The themes of sisterhood and loyalty in this book are very important, and the Nine did a great job of introducing this early on in the story. The amount of backstabbing that happens is also insane, and I literally saw none of them coming. 

Overall, "Silver in the Bone" is one of the best books I've read in a long while and I seriously can't wait to dive headfirst into the sequel. I'm digging the characters, the complex magical worlds, and the unexpected twists and turns. I love Alexandra Bracken as an author and her work only seems to be getting better and better. Now, on to "The Mirror of Beasts!" 

Back of Book: 

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death's plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror's strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly. This riveting conclusion to the Silver in the Bone duology will hold you in its thrall until the very last page.

Book Number: Two (Last Book) 

Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

An exhilarating dark fantasy featuring four young women fighting against Lord Death himself that draws from Arthurian legend and Welsh folklore.

After accidentally bringing the Kingdom of Avalon back to the modern world, Tamsin and her companions must fight Lord Death before he releases his dark plans across all of the Earth. Tamsin has heard of a legendary Mirror of Beasts that is rumored to be able to contain anything within it's glass. With little to go on and a tight deadline, Tamsin sets off in search of the Mirror of Beasts in the hopes that she can stop Lord Death before it's too late. Unfortunately, she'll have to confront many aspects of her dark and mysterious past along the way.

I have to start out this review by saying that I haven't been this emotionally destroyed by a book in a very long time. It had me sobbing over all the tragic events, laughing out loud over Tamsin and Emrys' banter, gasping in surprise due to all the twists and turns, swooning over Emrys' charm, and completely heartbroken due to all the torment that Tamsin and her companions undergo throughout these two books. These books really touched me and my heart couldn't help but go out to all the characters and all of the suffering that they underwent.

I really enjoyed reading Tamsin and Emrys' journey to romance in this one. Some serious stuff went down at the end of "Silver in the Bone" and it totally makes sense that Tamsin has severe trust issues. I felt that their journey to get back together was very realistic, especially due to the things they had to go through and admit to one another for their relationship to have any time to grow. I literally love Emrys so much, and I think I have to add him to my list of favorite book boyfriends. He has went through so much pain and suffering throughout his life, and yet he still manages to be charismatic, funny, and optimistic. Tamsin has also went through hell, so it was very touching to see them support each other through all the things they were currently going through, as well as helping each other with the demons of their past. The moments that mirrored the stepping stones of their relationship in the first book were also super cute, especially when they ended up staying the night alone together in an abandoned house much similar to the cave incident in the first one.

The lore in this book was extremely complicated, yet Bracken left us so many clues in book one. I was shocked to learn what many of them meant, including Nash's coin, Tamsin's curse, and Neve's mysterious light magic. I didn't see much of the magical events coming, yet they all made one hundred percent sense with the lore that Bracken laid down earlier in the first book. King Arthur's tales are full of magical women that live in lakes, mystical swords, unconquerable creatures, and the likes, so it was really awesome to see many of these things reflected in this series in Bracken's own unique way.

Before I wrap this up, I really want to comment on how much I love all the characters in this story. They are all complex people with their own motives, ideals, and personal demons. They all seemed very realistic and Bracken managed to make me care about every one of them by humanizing them. Almost the entire cast of characters make mistakes and do things that can be seen as negative, which just adds to their authenticity. My heart especially goes out to Tamsin, Emrys, Cabell, Olwen, Cait, Neve, and Nash. They are such a strong main cast of characters and I feel that my thoughts will return to these characters time and time again for the foreseeable future. The themes of sisterhood and siblingly struggles were also so beautiful and I owe most of this to the wonderful way that these characters were crafted.

Overall, I was blown away by "The Mirror of Beasts" and managed to eat up this massive tome in just two days. I love the characters, the magical world, and the intensity of the writing. I am so glad that Bracken never seems to disappoint when it comes to her work and that with every book of hers that I read, I manage to walk away with a ton of new friends. The "Silver in the Bone" series is by far one of my best reads of the year and I won't soon be forgetting about them. I am seriously stoked to see what Ms. Bracken writes next; you can bet that I'll be reading it no matter what it is!