Avalon and the mortal world have merged with the release of Lord Death. Tamsin and her gathering of misfits, those that haven't betrayed her are tasked with finding a way to return Lord Death to his realm and save what remains of the worlds, all while still reeling with grief and the loss of the Avalon they once knew.
Huge thanks to Knopf for Young Readers and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.
There is something about fantasy books that revisit old myths and fairytales but turn them into something more. We got that from Alexandra Bracken with Lore (which I loved), and I received Silver in the Bone from FairyLoot but since the second book in the duology wasn't released yet, I waited to read it. When I was approved for the ARC of The Mirror of Beasts, I knew the time had come.
Silver in the Bone, I am fairly certain will be my favorite read of the year. I know, I know, I have said that before but authors keep writing kick ass books and I can't help but enjoy them. Silver in the Bone was mind blowingly good. I am pretty sure that I experienced every emotion imaginable while reading it. I have never had a book hit me with so many reveals and twists that I had absolutely no clue were coming. And then there was the ending 😱 My eyes were bulging out of my head by the time I finished reading and it is one that I will reread over and over to get to live with the characters again.
Going into The Mirror of Beasts, I was a bit reticent. When the first book is that good you worry that the books following won't be able to live up to what the author started. I mean, it's Alexandra Bracken so I shouldn't have worried, but alas, I did. Because of this, it kept me from enjoying the start of the story, honestly I think I was also still reeling from the emotions of the previous book as well. When you go from an insanely good read like that right into another of the same genre, you should always have a palette cleanser. Something to help bring you back to an even keel, I usually will read a light and fluffy romance but forgot this time and it definitely impacted the experience for me.
You've become the map of my life. There will never be any adventure worth having, any prize worth finding, that's greater than you.
In Silver in the Bone we viewed the world and events solely through Tamsin's eyes. In The Mirror of Beasts we get little snippets here and there from both Cabell and Emrys. I really liked this aspect of the book. It gave new insight into both boys and the motives behind the choices they made in both books.
Can we get some love for these stunning sprayed edges on the Fairyloot editions!
While SITB was more character focused, TMOB had a high fantasy feel to it as it pivoted and the quest made up the bulk of the book. I appreciated the lengths that Alexandra went to create this very elaborate magic system that intertwined with the tales of Arthur, Camelot, and the Lady of the Lake. As I said before, I relish in the worlds of reimagining and revisiting.
The only fault for me with this book is that it did stray from the character centric adventure of the first book. While yes, we did get more of each of the characters and their backstories, it didn't feel as authentic as in Silver in the Bone. Everything was wrapped up nice and tidy, and I kind of wish it wasn't. I think one of the reasons SITB resonated was because of all of the emotion and turmoil, it like life, wasn't pretty. All in all a fantastic duology that I will absolutely be reading again. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Silver in the Bone and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for Mirror of the Beasts.
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