story craft

Reasons to Love 

– mythology
– religious undertones
– wrestles with tough questions
– enemies to lovers
– strong friendships 
– complex family dynamics
– sisters’ bond

Bone Crier’s Moon (Book 1)

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cautions: no spice, just a few sweet kisses; no foul language; lots of fighting, blood sacrifice, and murder.

Format: Paperback

Genre: YA fantasy 

Review: This was a sweet story about the bond between two friends who are as close as sisters and come from a fierce family of Luresses (called Bone Criers by the locals)—women chosen by Tyrus (the god of the underworld) and Elara (the goddess of paradise) to ferry souls from the earth through the Gates of the Beyond either to the underworld (for chained souls) or paradise (for unchained souls. In this creative tale, we follow Luresses Sabine and Ailesse on a path to figuring out that all is not as it seems—or even right—with their way of life. They’re no longer blind to its lies and downfalls, even if they don’t know how to change it. But we also follow Bastien, Jules, and Marcel—three friends bound by the common grief of losing their fathers to the Bone Criers. They’ll do anything they can to seek revenge, but when they get close, they start to see that maybe revenge isn’t at all what they need. These two storylines combine into pure magic to weave a compelling tale of loss and grief and growing up and learning to think on your own.

Bone Crier’s Dawn (Book 2)

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Cautions: no spice, just a few sweet kisses; no foul language; lots of fighting, blood sacrifice, and murder.

Format: Audiobook (through the Libby app)

Genre: YA fantasy 

Review: While I favored Bone Crier’s Moon out of the two, I loved seeing Sabine’s growth in this book. The last focused more on Ailesse’s changes and growth, but I have to say I Sabine became my favorite character in this book, even though it wasn’t my favorite of the two. I got lost in the names and details and types of moons a bit in this book and wanted it to move a little faster, but overall, it was an enjoyable conclusion to the series. I’m glad I stuck around for the ending too—it was breathtaking and so, so good.