Ｔｉｔｌｅ： Bone Crier’s Dawn
Ａｕｔｈｏｒ： Kathryn Purdie
Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ： Book 2
Ｒａｔｉｎｇ： ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
＊Ｎｏｔｅ： You can find the review for Book 1 here.
Love is a matter of life and death.
Bone Criers have been ferrying the dead into the afterlife for centuries, a dangerous duty only possible with the powers they gain from sacrificing their amourés the men destined to love them and die. But Bone Criers Ailesse and Sabine—along with Ailesse’s love, Bastien—are working to chart their own course and rewrite the rules of the afterlife. If they don’t break the soul between Ailesse and her amouré, she could die—just as Bastien’s father did.
Sabine struggles to maintain her authority as matrone of her famille—the role always destined for her sister—even as she fights to control the violent jackal power within her.
Bastien is faced with a new dilemma as the spirits of the Underworld threaten the souls of his friends—and his father.
Ailesse attempts to resist her mother’s siren song as she’s drawn into her own version of the Underworld. How will she save her friends once she’s cut off from their world?
This pulse-pounding follow-up to Bone Crier’s Moon is a story of love, sisterhood, and determination as three friends find the courage and power to shatter the boundary between the living and the dead.
“Their peace is my peace, and it satisfies far deeper than revenge.”
This is the exciting conclusion to the Bone Grace duology! Ailesse, Sabine, and Bastien are working together now to break Ailesse’s soul bond. Meanwhile, Sabine struggles with controlling her jackal grace and leading the famille as acting matrone until Ailesse returns. They’ll have to stand together if they have any hope of stopping Ailesse’s mother and changing their destinies.
Things felt like they moved faster in this book than in the last. Part of it was that we got more action earlier in the book (both with their attempts to rescue Ailesse and the spirits running around unchecked in the kingdom).
I also liked seeing Sabine’s character development. In the last book, she was driven by her desire to save Ailesse. We get to see her grow strong as a result, but in this book, her character faces new challenges. Sabine struggles to compromise her loyalty to her sister (and helping Ailesse fulfill her dream of leading the famille) with her own desire to lead. It made Sabine feel less like a sidekick and more like her own person.
At the same time, Ailesse started to question the traditions she’d grown up with and really think about what she wanted. It was a slow process, but I loved seeing her grow into her own.
The romance was still a big part of the story, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as before. I didn’t enjoy how easily Ailesse seemed to fall in and out of love with her amoure (it was more like an infatuation, but still). I thought she was kind of unfair to Bastien after everything and really missed their banter. Although I have to say that the twist with her amoure was interesting.
What I didn’t necessarily enjoy was how the plot relied heavily on Ailesse and Sabine’s miscommunication. Specifically, the one point where Ailesse royally fucked up by choosing to trust the wrong person who she had already been warned about multiple times. It’s like all her common sense went out the window and she was dumbed down. I really wish things had played out differently, but it was what it was.
The twist with Ailesse following her decision was interesting though and it kept me hooked. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was cool to find out more about the world-building. Overall, I think this book could have been a little better, but it definitely had a lot of great things going for it. This was a great duology you should consider checking out, especially if you’re a fan of sisterly/best friend relationships.
Stellar Kitten Book Reviews 