A River of Golden Bones

"A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford is the first book in the Golden Court series that is a retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty.<br/><br/>Calla and Briar are twins from a royal wolf-shifter family who have been in hiding since birth to avoid the evil sorceress who murdered their family and destroyed their kingdom. Calla especially has been hidden from most people as her sister's shadow which helps keep her safe but also makes her non-existent.  A long-awaited plan comes together with Briar betrothed to Prince Grae in order to unite their kingdoms and reclaim the throne.  He is also Calla's long-time close friend and one of the few who knows her real identity.<br/><br/>When the evil sorceress is alerted, she comes back on the night of Briar's wedding to cause more havoc by putting Briar to sleep so she is not a threat to take the throne.  Although she is unaware that Briar has a twin sister who is also a threat which allows Calla to secretly go on a journey to find a way to save her sister and reclaim their kingdom.  During this adventure, she meets a musical troupe along the way and learns that family doesn't always come from blood, but it can also be found as well as learning more about her own identity.. This tale has magic, action, wolf shifters, and spice.<br/><br/>This is the first book I’ve read by this author, so I was blind to how their writing was or the expectations in the story.  I am extremely picky when it comes to choosing books to read but this one stood out to me which is why I inquired about interest in the ARC.  It does have a little bit of a sleeping beauty element to it, but of course, it’s more than that. It has fated mates, messy politics, and LGBTQ+ representation.<br/><br/>I am not a fan of instant love in books.  Yes, it's fantasy and magical but I like to see a bit of flirting and growth that builds into a relationship which didn't happen with the love interests.  Perhaps in the other books, there will be more growth that will make up for that. It's just nice to see the hints of a spark with a growing relationship and a bit of a slow burn leading to love.  It was a bit predictable but that didn't make me dislike the story.  Overall a really fun start to this trilogy and I look forward to seeing how this story unfolds. <br/><br/><br/>Thank you to NetGalley for granting me a free eARC of this book in return for an honest review.<br/>This book is expected to come out in December 2023 and I think those who love Fantasy romance will enjoy this story."

"This was a good romantasy book. I enjoyed the fact that this was different from the usual fae/ vampire romantasy's that are very popular. This has wolf shifters, and it was refreshing to read. This book follows the main character Calla who was born into a royal family, but her parents were killed, and their kingdom was taken over by a sorceress. Calla has a twin sister who has been promised to be a queen, while Calla has trained to be a protector and is hidden as no one knows that she's royal. <br/><br/>I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and descriptions in this, It wasn't hard to understand what was happening. The pacing was also good for the most part, and I was invested and wanted to know what was happening. The middle pacing was a little slow but still flowed well with the story. The characters were really well done, I loved the queer and gender representation and how normalized it is in this world. The romance was spicy, and I don't see a lot of friends-to-lovers trope in fantasy romance, so I liked that aspect. The plot was one of my favorite things, so much, action, political intrigue, adventure, romance, and overall compelling story. The book ended well, and I'm waiting to see what comes next. <br/><br/>Read for: <br/>- Fated mates<br/>- Queer characters<br/>- Wolf shifters<br/>- Political intrigue <br/>- Sleeping beauty retelling <br/>- Strong main character <br/>- Spicy scenes"