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The Shaman's Bones
Fierce animal gods, omens in the stars, and a quest to find a very special set of bones.
When Yolenda is made an ambassador in her caravan of migratory farmers, adventuring far and wide to grow specialty crops, it's a dream come true—until a trade in a village on the equator goes terribly wrong. The skies foretell trouble, the spirit animals are angry, and shadow monsters prowl the night. Worst of all, Yolenda is supposed to fix everything. To do so, she'll need the bones to summon the greatest spirit animal of all.
Yolenda isn't alone. She has the help of a resentful young man whose life she has ruined, a gorgeous bone collector obsessed with corpses, a nanny-turned-sleuth, and a very attractive blasphemer who hates the spirits even more than Yolenda does.
She'd rather be alone. Or stealing glances at the broad-shouldered, brown-eyed blasphemer.
No, she'd rather be alone. Maybe.
Like every standalone novel in the Migratory Farmers series, The Shaman's Bones promises a new adventure, magic, and a happily-ever-after ending. Perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan's The Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Rebecca Ross's A River Enchanted, and cozy fantasies.
Migratory Farmers Series Suggested Reading Order
The Shaman’s Bones (Book 1)
The Stitching Guild’s Candidate (standalone story)
Stitching Power (Book 2 coming 2024)
The Aluminum Ziggurat (Book 3 coming 2025)
When Yolenda is made an ambassador in her caravan of migratory farmers, adventuring far and wide to grow specialty crops, it's a dream come true—until a trade in a village on the equator goes terribly wrong. The skies foretell trouble, the spirit animals are angry, and shadow monsters prowl the night. Worst of all, Yolenda is supposed to fix everything. To do so, she'll need the bones to summon the greatest spirit animal of all.
Yolenda isn't alone. She has the help of a resentful young man whose life she has ruined, a gorgeous bone collector obsessed with corpses, a nanny-turned-sleuth, and a very attractive blasphemer who hates the spirits even more than Yolenda does.
She'd rather be alone. Or stealing glances at the broad-shouldered, brown-eyed blasphemer.
No, she'd rather be alone. Maybe.
Like every standalone novel in the Migratory Farmers series, The Shaman's Bones promises a new adventure, magic, and a happily-ever-after ending. Perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan's The Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Rebecca Ross's A River Enchanted, and cozy fantasies.
Migratory Farmers Series Suggested Reading Order
The Shaman’s Bones (Book 1)
The Stitching Guild’s Candidate (standalone story)
Stitching Power (Book 2 coming 2024)
The Aluminum Ziggurat (Book 3 coming 2025)
- GenresFantasy
429 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 8, 2024
6 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 26, 2025
4+++⭐ for this one! One + for the incredible world building, which is the part I liked the most (it gave me serious Horizon Zero Dawn vibes); one + for the original storyline, and one + for the likeable characters.
Just shy of a 4.5 rating for me! It didn't make it there because I found the story a little disjointed and hard to follow at times, particularly when the characters were split between locations. Plus, I found the ending rushed, and it was a pity!
I would classify this book as upper YA, though the themes addressed in it are deep and non-stereotyped. I particularly enjoyed how realistically the clash between different culture was depicted.
The book was more on the cozy side for me: it didn't miss action and high stakes, but most conflicts got resolved in a matter of a chapter or two (with exception of the main storyline, of course).
Some mentions of honour:
♥️ The migratory farmers, and the reasons they have to be so, is sheer genius.
♥️The spirit animals and the shamanic magic!
♥️I loved the premise of Inona's character.
♥️Seno's character and his back story.
Overall, it was an incredibly original and well written book, and I warmly recommend it, particularly if you are looking for something different than the usual mainstream titles!
Just shy of a 4.5 rating for me! It didn't make it there because I found the story a little disjointed and hard to follow at times, particularly when the characters were split between locations. Plus, I found the ending rushed, and it was a pity!
I would classify this book as upper YA, though the themes addressed in it are deep and non-stereotyped. I particularly enjoyed how realistically the clash between different culture was depicted.
The book was more on the cozy side for me: it didn't miss action and high stakes, but most conflicts got resolved in a matter of a chapter or two (with exception of the main storyline, of course).
Some mentions of honour:
♥️ The migratory farmers, and the reasons they have to be so, is sheer genius.
♥️The spirit animals and the shamanic magic!
♥️I loved the premise of Inona's character.
♥️Seno's character and his back story.
Overall, it was an incredibly original and well written book, and I warmly recommend it, particularly if you are looking for something different than the usual mainstream titles!
December 26, 2024
Let me start by saying that this is not my typical genre, but I know the author and was interested to see what the book was like.
First things first: the design. From the cover to the images that accompany each chapter heading and the scene breaks, the design of the book was very well thought out and beautifully done. Transparent images would’ve been a nice touch, but that’s a minor thing. There were also some small formatting things that stuck out to me (the tab indents, a few errors with “smart quotes” throughout) but they didn’t take away from the story.
I could tell the author was passionate about her story, which I always love to see shine through when reading a book. There was a lot of lore and worldbuilding, which was overwhelming at times, but I am the type of person who always wants more lore when I’m invested in a story. There were a lot of characters, and sometimes it was hard for me to keep track of who was who, who had what job, etc. but that might just be from the times I was reading it intermittently on my phone during my breaks at work.
The pacing was excellent, for the most part–sometimes worldbuilding slowed it down, but not often. Cuts between different characters/groups of characters flowed nicely. I think there was only one point where I tried to peek ahead because I wanted an update about a character we hadn’t heard from in a while and wanted to make sure they survived.
(spoiler below)
The ending, I felt, wrapped things up nicely, but I would’ve liked some more insight into the characters’ decisions to stay in Durikos and not travel. It is said that they had some long talks about it, but those happened “offscreen” so to speak and left me confused about why they settled on staying. I have some educated guesses, but there had to be room for a couple more pages detailing those long talks.
Overall, definitely one of the better independently-published books I’ve read, and worth stepping outside my usual genres.
First things first: the design. From the cover to the images that accompany each chapter heading and the scene breaks, the design of the book was very well thought out and beautifully done. Transparent images would’ve been a nice touch, but that’s a minor thing. There were also some small formatting things that stuck out to me (the tab indents, a few errors with “smart quotes” throughout) but they didn’t take away from the story.
I could tell the author was passionate about her story, which I always love to see shine through when reading a book. There was a lot of lore and worldbuilding, which was overwhelming at times, but I am the type of person who always wants more lore when I’m invested in a story. There were a lot of characters, and sometimes it was hard for me to keep track of who was who, who had what job, etc. but that might just be from the times I was reading it intermittently on my phone during my breaks at work.
The pacing was excellent, for the most part–sometimes worldbuilding slowed it down, but not often. Cuts between different characters/groups of characters flowed nicely. I think there was only one point where I tried to peek ahead because I wanted an update about a character we hadn’t heard from in a while and wanted to make sure they survived.
(spoiler below)
The ending, I felt, wrapped things up nicely, but I would’ve liked some more insight into the characters’ decisions to stay in Durikos and not travel. It is said that they had some long talks about it, but those happened “offscreen” so to speak and left me confused about why they settled on staying. I have some educated guesses, but there had to be room for a couple more pages detailing those long talks.
Overall, definitely one of the better independently-published books I’ve read, and worth stepping outside my usual genres.
March 9, 2024
I was sent a preview of this book, read it, and I LOVED it! In The Shaman's Bones, the characters were captivating, making me anticipate each chapter where the idiosyncrasies, antics, and comic behavior of these people comes out. There were SURPRISES around every corner, unlike the novels where you can correctly guess exactly what is coming next. I felt for the human drama that unfolds: husbands and wives, misunderstood mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, all trying to find peace in their world. And what a world it is. And then there is the drama created by the shadow monsters and trying to bring safely to the world again. Migratory Farmers, what a NOVEL IDEA! Will there be a follow up book? I hope so.
March 7, 2024
A promising start to a fun series!
The world of Shaman's Bones is unique, unlike anything I've read before. The characters are lots of fun, and the shadow monsters are intense. Hunter's descriptions are clear and vivid without dragging on too long. Every chapter has at least one wonderful gem of humor. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next for these characters. I'm trying not to post anything about the story to avoid spoilers. The conflicts all of the characters are thrown into are very compelling.
The world of Shaman's Bones is unique, unlike anything I've read before. The characters are lots of fun, and the shadow monsters are intense. Hunter's descriptions are clear and vivid without dragging on too long. Every chapter has at least one wonderful gem of humor. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next for these characters. I'm trying not to post anything about the story to avoid spoilers. The conflicts all of the characters are thrown into are very compelling.
April 1, 2024
so interesting!
This book is so good! It has adventure vibes and I really enjoyed the world building. The intense scenes didn’t feel rushed, and I truly never knew what was going to happen next. I enjoyed it. I could have totally seen this book being 700 pages or more if the author put a little more detail into all the specific scenes. I wanted a little more details but I still really enjoyed the book.
This book is so good! It has adventure vibes and I really enjoyed the world building. The intense scenes didn’t feel rushed, and I truly never knew what was going to happen next. I enjoyed it. I could have totally seen this book being 700 pages or more if the author put a little more detail into all the specific scenes. I wanted a little more details but I still really enjoyed the book.
March 8, 2024
Yolenda is a migrant farmer who travels with the caravan that her mother leads.
One day when approaching a village they have not traded with in some time, they face an unexpected danger. Other events lead then lead to their being banished from this village.
What I liked most about this book was learning about how the Shaman functions and calls spirits to protect the village.
One day when approaching a village they have not traded with in some time, they face an unexpected danger. Other events lead then lead to their being banished from this village.
What I liked most about this book was learning about how the Shaman functions and calls spirits to protect the village.
March 7, 2024
I really liked how Hunter weaved the different characters together. For me, it is always fun to read a book that I know is a fantasy, but there are enough realistic details to make you think something like this could possibly happen. A great story I highly recommend. I hope she creates more in the future just like it!
March 9, 2024
This was a beautiful story full of spirit animals and shadow beasts, magic and romance on a complex and detailed world that brought the characters and settings to vivid life.
March 8, 2024
I received an Advance Reader Copy of The Shaman’s Bones and am providing an honest review. Fascinating read! This book is a page turner with its exciting storyline and plot twists. Strong female lead character is a spunky, self-conscious young adult who has to prove to others, but more importantly to herself, that she is worthy of the power bestowed upon her unexpectedly. Join her and her ragtag companions as they try to protect their coveted home from soul-sucking creatures that appear after dark.
March 7, 2024
Characters are entrancing, with just enough humor, and "I can relate to that" emotions. Short chapters made for easy time commitment. Hard to put down, with a nice combination of "just like earth" with "magic and other-world" characters, critters, and environment. A little hard to 'keep-straight' all the 'created' names in the early chapters, but it worked out as it went.
March 6, 2024
Excellent world building, an exciting adventure with twists and turns that keep you reading because you can't get enough. This story was definitely captivating in all the good ways!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews