Book Review: Broken Souls and Bones

Genre: Romantasy

Length: 476 pages

Broken Souls and Bones is the first traditionally published book by indie author LJ Andrews. Her other series, The Ever Seas, is also being traditionally republished this year! If you’ve been here before, you might already know that I LOVE LJ Andrews’ books. Her worlds are elaborate and immersive and her characters are all so unique and believable. I am always surprised by the way all of her characters feel like individuals with real personalities, when they could so easily feel like copy and pasted, generic characters.

However, her work might not be for everyone. LJ Andrews writes dark, romantasy for adults. What does this mean? It means her work often touches on subject matter that could be traumatic for some readers. Because of this she provides a list of trigger warnings at the beginning of her works, so that you may determine for yourself if each book is a good match for you. It also means that there is adult content in the book- not suitable for all ages.

Broken Souls and Bones is part one of a planned duology. Part two is releasing next spring. However, that does not necessarily mean it will be the end of the story or the end of books set in this world. LJ Andrews loves to expand worlds and create more stories that focus on side characters. She loves interconnected series, so there is every possibility that the story could continue past the conclusion of this duology. As it is, she has already announced a novella releasing this December that will focus on the backstory of this books main mail character (MMC).

“Lyra Bien intended to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of the magic-obsessed king in the fortress of Stonegate. Until Roark Ashwood—the prince’s silent guard and rumored killer for the crown—invades her village and uncovers the truth behind the silver scars in her eyes. To save her best friend from death, she’s forced to reveal her abilities, and is immediately claimed by the crown as the next melder.

To be the King’s melder is to be revered and feared in equal measures, but above all it is a slow death sentence. Lyra is determined to find a way to free herself and her friends from bondage. But first she must get more information from the silent, brooding sentry who first took her captive: Roark.

As Lyra gets closer to Roark, she soon learns he’s nothing like she assumed—and in fact everything she needs. The more they work as allies, the harder it becomes to ignore the growing passion between them. After a sinister truth is revealed, Roark and Lyra must choose to stand against all they know, or accept their dark destiny.”

I really enjoyed this book. It fit the genre well, but didn’t feel like I’ve read this story a ton of times (which is starting to happen more and more). It was definitely it’s own story and did not remind me of anything else I’ve read before. The story is set in a fictional world- Stigandr. The world is heavily based on Viking and Nors culture and mythology. Because of this it is very violent, dark, and may be too gruesome for some readers. The magic system in this story is very interesting and focus on elements of the body- bone, soul, and blood.

This is definitely the world-building/set-up book which I always have a lot of fun with, but may not be for you. We learn a lot about the magic system and political problems within this story. However, it does also focus quite a bit on the romance.

Broken Souls and Bones intrigued me from the very first page. I immediately wanted to know more and understand what was happening. Who is Lyra? Why is she hiding? Why does the king want her? And of course what the heck happened in that prologue?! The action in the first few chapters had me on the edge of my seat which is extremely rare in the first book of a series.

What I found most interesting about this book was the sign language representation. Roark, our main male character, cannot speak verbally and must use sign language and other physical gestures to communicate. This was done very well and added a lot to the story and overall plot. This could have easily been a random characteristic chosen for the character, but instead fit the character and story very nicely.

This book is full of mystery and twists. It is interesting and will definitely keep you guessing. The plot twists are huge and quite possibly devastating, but don’t come out of no where. We’ve all read a book or two where it feels like the plot twist was completely random- this is not that book.

Viking/ Nors culture

Gruesome magic system

Political intrigue

Mysterious past

Hidden identity

Sign language representation

Tension

Yes! This book has several spicy scenes that I will list here. Whether you want to skip over them or bookmark them, I’m not here to judge.

Chapter 37

Chapter 42

Chapter 44

These chapters are explicit, however, there are other chapters with tons of tension and flirting.

If you liked this book and are not ready to move on, check out these other Vikings-inspired romantic fantasy books.

The Road of Bones by Demi Winters

The Broken Kingdoms by LJ Andrews

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen