Week 11 Review: Bonesmith

From Goodreads:

Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Ready your blade. Defeat the undead.

In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked.

Determined to reclaim her family's respect, Wren gets her chance when a House of Gold prince is kidnapped and taken beyond the Wall. To prove she has what it takes to be a valkyr, Wren vows to cross the Breach and rescue the prince. But to do so, she's forced into an uneasy alliance with one of the kidnappers—a fierce ironsmith called Julian from the exiled House of Iron, the very people who caused the Breach in the first place…and the House of Bone's sworn enemy.

As they travel, Wren and Julian spend as much time fighting each other as they do the undead, but when they discover there's more behind the kidnapping than either of them knew, they'll need to work together to combat the real danger: a dark alliance that is brewing between the living and the undead.

My Review:
I loved reading this book! I love her writing, but this is the start of a new series. But the synopsis sounded really great, and oh, it was, I had such a great time reading this book! Wren was such a fantastic character, she's a rebel, she's a wild child, a thrill seeker. 

I did have a bit of disjointed time reading this book. I was reading it one day, had to go run errands, and got a flat tire, on a highway, going up a hill. So that was stressful, plus it was really cold, so my plans changed, and I put this book down, and then picked it back later. So that wasn't the best, but it got me through the beginning with the unfairness of what she went through! 

This world with various types of smiths, from Bonesmiths to Goldsmiths and Ironsmiths, was so interesting! And the history, with the Breach, and the Uprising, with the Ironsmith's Citadel being within the confines of the Border Wall, and the rebelling the Ironsmiths did against the crown. Events that only happened a generation ago, that her father and uncle fought in, when her uncle was killed.

There was a lot of political goings on in this book, what with the kidnapping of a prince. That Wren has to work with Julian, who was part of the group of the kidnappers, it's an interesting situation. I loved watching them on this quest, and how things end, well, I need to know what's going to happen next! 

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait for the sequel! 

Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Series: House of the Dead #1 
Read: March 11th, 2023
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Expected Publication: July 25th 2023

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars