📕 Title: Broken Souls and Bones
✏️ Author: LJ Andrews
📖 Genre: NA Romantasy
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

BOOK BLURB

Lyra Bien has hidden her Bone Melder abilities to avoid being claimed by the crown, but a betrayal leads to her discovery by the king’s sentry, Roark. When Lyra is forced to reveal her dark magic to save her best friend’s life, she is immediately taken to Stonegate fortress to serve as the king’s new melder. Desperate to free herself and her friends, Lyra must ally with Roark, the very man who took her captive.

REVIEW

This Viking inspired, dual POV romantasy had me in a chokehold! The magic system and world building was fantastic, especially the lore behind the source of their powers. The political intrigue is strong and the exploration of Lyra’s abilities as a melder had me fully invested in this story.

Lyra quickly endeared herself to me; she cares strongly about her adoptive family, she has positive relationships with people in her community including with other women, and she’s willing to stand up for others even if it means putting herself at risk. She’s a very likeable character and her decisions throughout the story feel logical.

Roark is mute and uses sign language to communicate. He is a bit of an outsider, not because of his disability, but because of his Draven blood. His motivations are complex and his reputation precedes him, yet there is a softness to him underneath.

Their romance was well paced and took the time to flesh out the tension between Lyra and Roark before their romantic feelings began to kindle. Roark’s assignment to act as her bodyguard provides a forced proximity aspect that I loved, and his use of signs to communicate adds a physicality that is so sexy. I liked that he is protective of Lyra but not overly possessive.

The supporting characters are well fleshed out, each with interesting backgrounds and personalities of their own. There are multiple women characters and I especially loved Emi.

I loved this book and I’m so excited for the sequel! Thank you to the Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for the digital copy.