Річка золотих кісток

Golden Court #1

by A.K. Mulford, А. К. Малфорд, Катерина Корнієнко (Translator)

Близнючки Келла і Браяр все життя ховалися від могутньої чаклунки, яка зруйнувала їхнє королівство, і від людей, які не знають, що вони вовки. Кожна сестра має свою мету: Браяр — вийти заміж за принца союзної зграї і врятувати Золотий двір, а Келла — залишатися таємницею, тінню своєї сестри і запасним планом. Ніхто, окрім принца Грея — друга дитинства і нареченого Браяр, не знає, ким насправді є Келла. І лише в ту мить, коли сестри вперше виходять із укриття, зла чаклунка повертається з новим сонним прокляттям для останньої спадкоємиці Золотого двору.

Келла, змушена рятувати сестру, королівство і власну спадщину, вирушає на зустріч випробуванням, відкриваючи для себе світ, про існування якого вона навіть не підозрювала. І там, поза межами жорстокого вовчого світу, вона вперше запитує себе: ким би вона могла стати, якби наважилася на це?

До уваги: твір містить сцени смерті, втрати, жорстокості, трансфобії, місгендерингу, а також відверті сексуальні сцени, що можуть завдати дискомфорту чутливим читачам.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, LGBT, Queer, Fantasy Romance, Fiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

A. K. Mulford is a bestselling fantasy author and former wildlife biologist who swapped rehabilitating monkeys for writing novels. They/she is inspired to create diverse stories that transport readers to new realms, making them fall in love with fantasy for the first time or all over again. They now live in Australia with their husband and two young human primates, creating lovable fantasy characters and making ridiculous TikToks (@akmulfordauthor).


Get the Okrith Novellas FREE at www.akmulford.com

Reviews

[Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful journey of self-discovery and queer identity, filled with heart-stopping romance and page-turning adventure. A River of Golden Bones is a must read for fantasy and romance readers alike. I couldn’t put it down!

[A.K. Mulford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy release day!! 🩷🤍💜🖤💙

This story started with the question: What is Sleeping Beauty had a secret twin and it was their job to save the day?

This book is for you if you love:
👑 Royalty
🐺 Fated Mates
⚔️ Quests
🫂 Found Family
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQIA+ rep
🌶️ Steamy Romance

[Sara Madureira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just to be clear, the first 10 chapters made me excited for the story and I had initially thought I'd rate it 4 stars. So why the sudden drop to 1 star? Well, where do I start.
With all due respect just because a book is set in a world with different species and fancy names deemed otherworldly to our current one doesn't mean it's a fantasy book. A fantasy book needs to have worldbuilding nailed down to a tea and this doesn't. Before your read it know that is a half a romance with someone and half a romance with oneself. It felt like the author had a checklist of themes she wanted to discuss and ticked them as she went. It's a full bag of contemporary themes discussed in the world that is so fuzzily described that I can only imagine it being similar to kingdoms of the past so it makes absolute no sense to be discussing said themes in this realm. If the worldbuilding hadn't been so poor it might've been ok.
So many things were made focus that had absolutely nothing to do with the whole story and plot so I'm sorry but if you promise me a book about a world reigned by wolves that are shapeshifters and queens to a lost kingdom I couldn't care less about their personal dilema over if they feel like a girl or a boy or a sheep for all that matter. I didn't pick up this book thinking I'd have to deal with so many themes that are not relatable to the main plot of this story. It's falsely advertised in my opinion and I want my time and money back!
Sloppy characters, what a drama queen of a main character too... bloody hell I couldn't stand her by the end of it. The amount of character changes that are not justifiable or believable throughout the book are too many to cout. I don't think I'm being harsh I just think whoever decided this was a well written story deserving of publishing needs to find themselves another job or to sit down and read actual fantasy books to try and discern what is and what isn't.
Also. the ending. it would've won brownie points if it stayed by chapter 41 where something deemed life changing happens that would alter the course of the story. but guess what? it didn't stick to that, spoiler alert, it all ends well. what a boring idea.
So many things I want to say but even tho I absolutely hated every second of it I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may think this is good. Clearly a lot of people out there seem to find this worthy of their time. You do you.
I won't be reading anything this author publishes going forward. You ain't fooling me twice.
Quite possibly the worst book of the year.

[Rachael]

If she writes it, I’ll read it. 😉

[Lauren Rice · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book promised a lot and unfortunately did not deliver. I was excited to read it as the concept sounded unique and this book already had so many good reviews (most of them ARCs which probably explains a lot) but within the first few chapters I was already struggling.

The MFC is extremely unlikeable- and not in the 'I am annoying but will grow on you through the book as we journey through this together' kind of way. She had literally no personality other than punching people and being erratic for no reason at all. There is very little world building and every character was a fantasy cliché. The mean people were mean for no reason and it felt as if the author just had a checklist of every booktok trend out there to make sure she covered them all.

If I have to read one more line about how someone smells of bonfires or how someone growls with pleasure, I will scream.

Lastly, this is a YA romance with unnecessary spice in it to push it up to New Adult.

[Книжкові історії · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ідеального чоловічого головного персонажа знайдено! Повірте, всі інші книжкові грін флег чоловіки — це рівень мінімал, порівняно з Ґреєм. #прочитала

Дуже класне динамічне квір-фентезі!
Ромфентезі!
З добре написаними сценами 18+.

А ще тут головний чоловічий персонаж — (дуже багато захоплених смайликів). Авторці вдалося прописатися його водночас мужнім, сексуальним, розумним, розкрити також його глибокі травми, невпевненість та розгубленість. І головне: авторка написала персонажа, який пішов за жінкою (ідентифікація героїні на початку книжки), дав їй обирати і керувати їхнім шляхом, але при цьому не перестав бути "мужиком". Не хотілося так сильно керуватися бінарними стандартними гендерними ролями, але водночас не знаю як по іншому пояснити вам коротко.

Тому якщо шукаєте чоловічого книжкового краша, вам сюди.

До самого сюжету можна прискіпатися, але я читала і Маас, і «Четверте крило» — ця книжка точно краща, якщо зважати, що вона:

— максимально квір-френдлі,
— реально добре написаними сценами сексу (навіть якщо вони інколи здавалися трішки невчасними, але шо взяти з тих закоханих вовків),
— максимально націленою на теплі, взаємопідтримуючі стосунки як дружні, так і романтичні.

Тому якщо шукаєте щось з ромфентезі, але набридли схожі сюжети, як у Маас, або фейрі, то вам сюди.

А ще це ретелінг «Сплячої красуні», який кілька раз перевернули з ніг на голову, авторка викрутила все дуже смачно!

Читається мега швидко, герої класні, переклад прекрасний, декорації дуже цікаві, що ще треба? Йдіть читайте!

[Jeannine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got to page 130 (40%) and had to stop. The main character is supposed to be 20 years old, trained for a life at court, but they act like a juvenile. I mean, how dare my friend not publicly oppose his evil dad when doing so would probably mean he would be killed?” *stamps wolf paw*

The world building is clunky. “Tell us 20-year-olds a bedtime story, faerie godmother! Tell OUR story.”

There is no wit or charm here.

[Ali Mohebianfar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for ARC. I received my copy in exchange of an honest review.

A River of Golden Bone is the first book in The Golden Court series by A. K. Mulford. It's a Sleeping Beauty retelling set in a world that Werewolves are in charge.
Well, that was enough for me to fell in love with this book so I requested an ARC. Now let me just say: thank GOD and NetGalley and Publisher for approving my request!
Calla, the main character, is Briar's secret twin, who is the Olmdar's heir. Calla always lived in shadows and no one-not really no one though!- knows about her. But when Sawyn, a wicked sorcerer that curse Calla and Briar's mother some years before, gets back and puts the same Sleeping Curse on Briar, Calla must come out of the shadows and do the one thing that could break Briar's curse; defeating Sawyn and taking back the Olmdare's throne once again.
This book was one of the best fantasy novels with a spicy romance that I read this year.
Calla's journey for saving Briar and Golden Throne was full of excitements. And that self-discovery part was one of the best parts in this book. I liked the way that Calla met Ora, How they connected and How Ora guides Calla to self-discovery.
And about the romance! Yeah!!! I loved our main couple. They're beautiful and sexy and everything I want a main couple to be.
I liked side characters, too. Sadi, Hector, Navin, Ora, Mina and Malou and their friendships with calla. How they supported each other and how they formed a pack of Werewolves and humens to fight together for a better world besides all of their differences.
Actually, I can't remember any other Werewolf books that I liked. So I'm happy that finally we have a fantasy series that focuses on them, not Vampires and Faes and Dragons who are Over-Fucused these days!
I really need book 2 now, specially with that plot twist about Sawyn and the cliffhanger wich makes me restless for next book.
❤

[Books_and_Crafts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping wolf shifter Romantasy smothered in fated mates and a dash of sleeping beauty!

I am such a sucker for fated mates, and wolf shifters let alone a fairytale retelling! This book challenged the social norms and felt incredibly inclusive.

The golden wolf pack was wiped out by an evil sorceress who took the kingdom by force and named herself Queen. She cursed the FMCs mother, but not before she delivered a healthy baby girl and sole heir to the throne. That is, until her twin followed shortly after. Two baby girls were born that day and with their mothers dying wish, they were taken by a fairy godmother of sorts to be raised into the women they needed to become. One day they would take back their homeland and sit upon the golden throne once more.

I loved the twist on this classic story brought to a whole new level with warring kingdoms, villains on both sides and a satisfying ending that leaves more to be told without the headache of a cliffhanger!

[Zoranne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

A RIVER OF GOLDEN BONES was my first wolf-shifter romance and I really enjoyed it! I loved how A. K. Mulford explored themes of belonging and self-discovery, and queer identity through the lense of a twisted Sleepy Beauty retelling. I loved Calla as a main character and I am excited to see how her relationship with Grae develops in future books. Hopefully, we get Grae's POV woven in there!

My biggest complaint about this book was the pacing. There were long lulls between action scenes and those in-between scenes didn't keep me engaged as much as I wanted. That's just personal preference though.

I enjoyed this enough to continue on with the next books! 3.5/5 stars

[Danielle Pulliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

**𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑨 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑨. 𝑲. 𝑴𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅

Release Date: December 5, 2023

5⭐️4🌶

I absolutely fell head over heals in love with this book. As usual, I'm not even a little bit disappointed with A. K. Mulford. She DELIVERED! This spin on the Sleeping Beauty story had me eating every little crumb and then begging for more!

Calla and her twin sister, Briar, where born under a full moon to the King and Queen of the Golden Wolves. Shortly after Calla's birth, their mother died from complications, but not before she made a wish with a Fairy. Her wish was for her daughter to be taken care of until her 20th birthday, when she was to be married to the Crown Prince of the Silver Wolves.

Vellia, the Fairy who granted the wish, took this to mean both of her daughters, since the wish was made prior to Calla's birth. So, she secreted them away in a corner of the Silver Wolves forest. Never to be seen or heard from until their 20th birthday. The only Wolves that knew of their existance being the Crown Prince Grae and King of the Silver Wolves.

Calla has been in love with Grae ever since they were pups; however, he's been betrothed to her gloriously beautiful older sister Briar since before they were born.

This book is so action packed and filled with emotionally dynamic characters. I can't wait to recommend this to EVERYONE!

Themes/Tropes:
🍁Friends-to-lovers
🍁Arranged Marriage
🍁Sleeping Beauty Retelling/Spin
🍁Wolf Shifter Pack meets Princess Story
🍁Warrior Princess
🍁Hidden Princess
🍁Fairy Godmother

TW:
✨Fight Scenes
✨Big Monsters
✨Abusive Father
✨Child Abuse (past)
✨Murder

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and innovative new adult series. The first book is a retelling of the beloved fairytale Sleeping Beauty but with a refreshing twist. Instead of the expected prince charming, we have Calla, the twin sister of Briar, who is on a quest to save her sister from an internal sleep and reclaim their lost kingdom from an evil sorceress Along her path of self-discovery and retribution, she finds love and acceptance that will last a lifetime.  I'm eagerly anticipating what twists and turns this series will deliver next.

[Kalena ୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars, there were some nice themes but I didn't fully click with the story

Thank you to Harper Voyager & Avon Books for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, this cover is so gorgeous and I am feeling very thankful that I was able to have the opportunity to read this book. I hadn't received anything from Avon or Harper Voyager before this, so I was thankful to receive an arc to try out this book with. This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I was very intrigued because I have not read many retellings of this specific fairytale. There's also magic, friends to enemies to lovers, and wolves in this fantasy story.

I won't lie and say I haven't ever really been a fan of werewolves (vampire girly instead) but I was willing to give it a shot again with this book. One thing I did like about this part of the book was how tight-knit some of the clans were, and it made it interesting that betrayals were happening. However, I couldn't get behind the concept fully and there were times when it sort of weirded me out to be reading about it, however, that is a me thing and not really so much about the book itself or the story.

Sleeping Beauty is such a classic story and like I said I haven't read many retellings of it, and I enjoyed that there was a sister aspect in this. I always really enjoy when siblings are involved in a story especially when it's a good connection between siblings and they support each other. Beyond that, there were themes of 'mates' as well which can really go either way for me, but I didn't mind it that much this time.

I didn't feel lots of connection to the main characters, or any of the side characters but I did enjoy seeing how the main character grew throughout the book. They, and the representation they bring to the overall story, were well done and I enjoyed seeing them become more comfortable in themselves and have others around them accept them. The romance in this book was also fine, I didn't feel any particular way about it so I felt a little disappointed at the end.

All that being said, the magic system and story that is still being set up for the coming books seems interesting and so I am intrigued for how the story will continue.

[TW: death and murder, blood and gore, death of loved ones, knife violence, torture and child abuse, kidnapping, death in childbirth, nightmares and trauma]

[Carola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful cover… let’s keep it with that.

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A River of Golden Bones
by A.K. Mulford
The Golden Court #1
Fantasy Mature
NetGalley ARC
Pub. Date: Dec. 5, 2023
Harper Voyager
Ages: 18+

Calla and Briar are twins, born on two different days, and are hiding from the sorceress who killed their parents and took the throne on the day they were born. Their mother's dying wish was granted by a fairy, though Briar was the only child born at the time, Calla came after the wish and her mother's death.

Hidden from all except Prince Grae and his father, Briar is trained as a princess, destined to marry Prince Grae, and Calla is trained to be her sister's protector.

On their eighteenth birthday, they leave the only home they have ever known for Briar to marry the prince. But the sorceress interrupts before the vows are taken and curses Briar into sleep. To save her sister, Calla leaves to destroy the sorceress.

This story started off slow and disjointed. Things were not really explained in detail so I was not sure what really happened to their parents, who Grae was supposed to be, and why Calla and Briar were so unfeeling. It seemed as if they had no emotions whatsoever. They didn't shed many tears when they left, knowing the Fairy who raised them along with the home was going to disappear and not be seen again.

It did get a little interesting, but then flatlined and I got bored.

The blurb exaggerates the monsters and 'dangers' Calla runs into on her journey. The blurb and genre listing also fails to mention this contains porn, and that failure flushed a star away! (If it's listed as porn, I won't request it!) I understand it's a 'slow-burn-romance', but you don't need the gag-worthy detailed descriptions.

As for the next book in the series... Probably not. The story isn't bad, but it's not worth wading through the puke (porn).

2 Stars

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little late from the December 5 publication day, but this book is available now!

I’m brand new to the fantasy genre. Historically, I’ve stuck with horror and thrillers. Ever since I read Fourth Wing, I’ve been craving more like it-or better.

I’m thrilled to say that I enjoyed this novel immensely! A sleeping beauty retelling with more grit-and Wolves.

Calla and Briar are twins. They were raised by a fairy that promised their mother to keep them safe as her last dying wish. Calla and Briar’s parents were royalty. Before they died, they betrothed Briar to the prince of another kingdom to keep their bloodline alive.

The dark side of this story is that their mother was murdered on the night of their birth by an evil sorceress, determined to steal the throne. The sorceress has no idea that Calla exists. The fairy protected the secret existence of Calla and her sister, Princess Briar, from being put to death by the same hand. But now that Briar is of age to marry, Briar must walk towards the sound of wedding bells. Towards the hands of evil. On the night of the wedding, Briar is attacked by the evil sorceress and the same curse her mother wrought leaves her in a deep, everlasting sleep.

Calla steps out of the shadows determined to avenge her sister, the death of her parents, and to take over the throne to the kingdom she was meant to lead.

This novel is so entertaining, interesting, and unique! I would gladly recommend this to others searching for the same type of read I was. The world of shifting wolves and magic was thoroughly addicting.

A great thank you goes out to A.K. Mulford, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

♡ 261/ 100

Take a shot every time A.K. Mulford uses the word wanton, LOL.

A River of Golden Bones follows two twins: Calla and Briar. They are the final golden wolves in the four lands as their parents and pack were murdered by the evil sorceress on the day of their birth. Since then, they have been raised by a fairy named Vellia, who vowed to protect them until age 20 when they must be married off. However, both sisters have been raised with different roles. Briar is the beloved twin, she will be queen and has been raised to fit that position, whilst Calla's identity has been hidden and they've just been Briar's protector within the shadows. The only people who know of Calla's true identities besides her sister and Vellia are King Nero and his son who is also Calla's best friend and crush, Prince Grae. However, on the night of Briar's wedding, all goes wrong when the Moon Goddess blesses her and Calla with their fated mates, a rarity amongst the wolf shifters, and her fated mate isn't Grae, but his cousin Maev instead.

Calla, who is used to being a background character is put into the spotlight when the moon goddess reveals Calla's true mate is Prince Grae himself and now the community is wondering how royalty is ending up with what they believe to be a servant. The night is still young when the sorceress attacks and curses Briar and steals her mate so no one can wake her up with a true love's kiss, but the sorceress doesn't know there is another heir to the Olmdere golden wolf throne, and she also doesn't know that Calla will do anything to save her sister. Within these 400 pages, we are taken through an adventure across all four kingdoms of wolves: Onyx, Ice, Silver, and what once belonged to Gold wolves as Calla and her newly found pack are fighting to save her sister whilst running from the King's assassins.

That description sucked but there is literally so much that goes on within these 400 pages it is IMPOSSIBLE to summarize. Regardless this Sleeping Beauty retelling was FANTASTIC. This was also the first time I've ever read a werewolf book and I didn't hate it! I've always been more of a vampire gal, but werewolves can have there moment for now. To be honest, I didn't know this was going to be a werewolf book and then I kept seeing fated mates, litter, and pups... But as I said I didn't hate it as much as I anticipated I would.

I loved the romance between Calla and Grae in this a lot. Although it's clear both of them have so much love for each other from the beginning, the push and pull these characters go through shows their connection and makes the wait worthwhile. It did get annoying sometimes because this man was DOWN BAD, but she felt so betrayed she would be like "No, go away" but in her head, they were still so in love with him.

The found family aspect though was definitely the BEST part. Calla goes on her journey and meets these musicians who aren't like her to put it lightly and they are all such amazing characters. I feel like werewolf packs make it easy to do the found family trope, but the dynamic of all of these characters warmed my heart. I absolutely love Sadie and Hector!

One of the main standouts for me was the gender exploration and the LGBT representation. It didn't feel forced into the story at all and genuinely felt natural. Calla throughout the story is finding themself and I believe they go by she/they pronouns! Seeing people accept them for who they are made my heart so warm, but also seeing her come to terms with it was something special. I also appreciate how Calla's character had no prejudice against anyone and by the end, they're definitely one of the best people any of those kingdoms had ever seen.

My only complaint that prevents this from becoming a new favorite book is that everything wrapped up in the end too conveniently. There are these huge moments that happen, that Mulford just twists so we're not left on a cliffhanger or absolutely devastated, but I kinda would have liked the stakes. The ending was still well done, but there are around two or three things that happen towards the end that most fantasy authors would use as a huge plot device or cliffhanger, but Mulford just starts the next chapter and is like "Yeah, I won't break your heart like that".

You could also end this story just at this one book. The story arc ends here and another continues in the sequel, so if you wanted to end it here you would only miss out on the other story arc, romance, and the found family in the next book.

(A River of Golden Bones releases on December 5, 2023, from Harper Voyager, thank you!)

[Quill&Queer]

I tried this because I got it in a book box but it's not for me, I'm not into the fated mates wolf thing and the plot feels a little bit generic so I'm going to try and swap my copy for something better!

[seasalted.citrus (Topaz, Oliver) · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Update: I have changed my rating from a 2 stars to a 1.5. I dislike more things the more I think about this book😭)

Oh goodness where do I start with this one lol.

To be honest, I gathered the plot from the summary and it seemed like a couple of other books I’ve either heard about or read(mostly YA, to be honest), but with queer people! And wolf shifters. Somehow, that would fit into the retelling genre, although that’s a sort of loose descriptor for the book—probably for the best actually: not much happens in Sleeping Beauty, so as long as you have the sleeping curse and a true love’s kiss to break it, you can fill in the blanks of the plot with whatever you want. Romantasy is a genre I usually avoid, and I don’t like soulmates/Fated Mates, but I was curious about that one.

Arguably, my negative review is partially influenced by my own personal preferences. But I was still willing to go on with the book and overlook my own opinions of some of the tropes, because judging it only by that would be completely unfair.

Unfortunately, my issues are not only personal. For an adult novel, most of this felt very YA. (I get that this is most likely meant to be NA, but still.) The descriptors and the romance were very Wattpad-reminiscent, which started out hilarious but became progressively more grating. There was almost nothing left for interpretation, because Calla would say a character’s motivation for their reaction or behavior, or said character would state it themselves. If a theme was supposed to be in the text, it would be explicitly stated instead of left as subtext. The plot was very formulaic, for it being an adventure it was very slow, and none of the characters felt three-dimensional. Even Calla, who we spend the duration of the novel being inside their head.

I was anticipating Calla’s self-discovery—I knew they would eventually come out in the book as nonbinary/gender-fluid. But there’s not a proper arc for that?!?! Yes, there are crumbs leading up to that point that show they have some kind of discomfort in being called a “woman” or “girl”. Considering how that overlapped with their hate of the wolf society’s patriarchy, I assumed that part of their arc would be untangling what parts of that were them not wanting to be trapped in a lesser role as someone AFAB, and what was them not wanting to be trapped in the label of a woman. Surprisingly there was no discussion of that? I also wish them and Ora had a stronger bond. It’s clear that Ora kicked off Calla’s genderqueer awakening, but instead of it feeling like something to be discovered in the middle of a meaningful friendship, Ora felt like a character meant specifically for that plot point. Which sucks, because I latch onto gender-nonconforming characters easily and wanted to like them more over the course of the story. (And also, that part of the story was so short!)

Also, what was the reason for having a very transphobic villain lmao?!?! (Sorry to my cat, who I accidentally woke up after yelling “SHE’S A TERF?!?!” in response to my audiobook.)

Talking more about characters, the found family fell flat for me. The rest of the wolves in the main cast catch up to Calla during a point in the story where they haven’t bonded with Galen den’ Mora enough yet, so Calla’s relationships already came off as unbalanced. Grae was an…interesting love interest?!?! Conceptually, he’s not terrible, and he has a healthy relationship with Calla, but personality-wise he feels a little too “engineered to be the perfect love interest”. (Complete with the tragic backstory, and the brooding nature.) He also had the most cringy lines in the book. The romances were all very rushed, Briar and Maez’s being the biggest offender imo, but arguably Calla and Grae’s had the same vibe. At least in Grae’s case, him being a childhood friend of Calla’s gives an excuse for them being in love from the very start of the story, but their childhood bond didn’t seem very fleshed out.

(But! The highlight of the cast, imo, was Sadie. Probably biased because she has the name of my aforementioned cat, but I thought her voice in the audio fit her pretty well, and her being both kind of silly and the most ready of the characters to murder somebody made her entertaining. I wished Calla’s friendship with her had been explored more outside of their obvious thematic parallels.)

I’m gonna try to wrap up my list of grievances in this review because otherwise I would be very frustrated, the last things I’ll say is that A) I hated the worldbuilding. Yes, this was European-inspired fantasy, but there isn’t much on the differences in each wolf kingdom?!?! Besides the climate?? There were some nuggets here and there of the kingdoms visited, but not enough to stick out to me. There was a ton of infodumping on stuff like the bits and pieces of kingdom politics, which made listening to this book annoying at times. B) There was clearly meant to be sexual tension between Grae and Calla, but it was very poorly-timed, often grinding the plot to a screeching halt, or sometimes even vice-versa! They got interrupted FOUR TIMES. Literally getting their own room was not enough for most of the book lmao.

I’m keeping this at a rounded up 2 stars though, because I didn’t contemplate DNF’ing until the end. And to my dismay, my ADHD unfortunately got other plans, so it latched onto this and it was one of the only things I could think about for weeks?!?!?!?! (AROGB is an autofill option on my phone now.) Which is also why this review is so damn long.

[Hanna Norova · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5/5🐺 Мені дуже сподобалось! Прекрасне, казкове, динамічне, захопливе та чуттєве фентезі💓
Стільки яскравих образів🤌🏻 Чого тільки вартий "Гален ден мора" з його мешканцями - мандрівними музикантами🥰
Дуже сподобалася світобудова, але я не прискіпувалася, бо динаміка розвитку подій не давала звертати увагу на якісь недоліки. Отже, маємо світ, де люди віддали владу вовками (перевертням), за те що вони колись позбавили людство від чаклунів та чудовиськ. Тут у нас 4 королівства, якими правлять 4 різних зграї. Верніше, 3 і одне окуповане злою чаклункою, яка винищила всіх золотих вовків і зайняла трон. Але, виявилось, не всіх, королева перед смертю народила двох близнючок і віддала їх на виховання феї, яка сховала дівчат і ростила їх до 20-річчя (так, це відсилка до Сплячої красуні, і багато хто навіть називає "Річку" ретелінгом цієї казки).
Тут усе і починається. Після приголомшливої зв'язки, одна з близнючок, наша головна героїня Келла, відправляється у довгу путь заради звільнення свого королівства від злої чаклунки. І звісно, вона це буде робити не сама, а з цікавими персонажами) І цей шлях повернення додому виявиться також шляхом віднайдення себе.
Це також квірне фентезі, хоча квір лінія тут далеко не головна, і Келла закохана у хлопця, але цікава і важлива🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Келла мене трохи підбішувала, зате Ґрей🫠 🫶🏻
Книга моментами дуже сильно виводить на емоції, авторка ніби над нами знущається в одному питанні (хто читав, зрозуміє😁), але очікування було варте і під кінець вона нас прям щедро винагороджує🫠 Але потім знов доводить до інфаркту у фінальній битві😡
Дякую неймовірній Катерині Корнієнко за чудовий переклад👏🏻
Обов'язково читатиму далі, чекаю на наступні частини.

[amarachireads · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

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.

Read for:
- Fated mates
- Queer characters
- Wolf shifters
- Political intrigue
- Sleeping beauty retelling
- Strong main character
- Spicy scenes 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to Harper Voyager for this arc for an honest review.

[Krystle Rouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrapped my arms around his back, feeling the connection that pulled me back into myself. "It's a start."
"We don't need to fix the entire world tomorrow," Grae whispered, brushing his lips against mine. "You don't need to control every flame. Tomorrow is the spark that will set it all ablaze.

This book is a wolf-shifter romance Sleeping Beauty reimagining. I was not expecting it to be a Sleeping Beauty retelling. I go in blindly to all my books.
Overall, I thought it was good. It took me a little to get into the book. I liked the ending, but I think the evil queen’s view was perplexing. This book kept me wanting to read more and more. I can’t wait till the next book.

Tropes-

Fated Mates
Childhood friends to lovers
Slow burn
Touch her and die
One bed

I want to say thank you to Harper Voyager US and Avon books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Feyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 🌟
I just picked this up on a whim and that totally paid off. I loved the writing style and the characters were amazing as well. I love Calla and I love Ora fiercely. They are both so awesome ❤. As far as the story goes, there is something not sitting completely right with me but I can't put my finger on it yet. Goodreads tells me this is the start of a series but it felt pretty finished to me so I'll be keeping an eye out for more because I'll definetly be reading that!
And finally: This is me, takind a second to appreciate the way that queerness is built into this. ❤🌈

[BernLuvsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ a fun, romantasy take on Sleeping Beauty involving wolf shifters, a sleeping curse, twin sisters, a powerful sorceress and fated mates. It is also a journey of self discovery and queer identity.

I enjoyed this reimagined fairy tale with a focus on wolf shifters. I adored the side characters and how they supported each other. I loved the relationship between Calla and Grae and the journey they went on together to save Calla’s twin, Briar who was put under a sleeping curse.

[Coralei · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first A.K. Mulford book I have read, and I found her writing enjoyable and easy to read. One thing I enjoyed about the book was the use of werewolves as rulers over humans. It was an interesting take I haven't seen in many high-fantasy, fairytale books. Some of the book's strong points for me were its use of found family and the self-identity exploration of the main character. Some areas where I think can be improved are the pacing of the book and the romantic relationship development. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will probably pick up the next book in the series when it is available.

Thank you to the author and Zoranne for allowing me access to a free e-ARC on Fable!

[Frankie Q · Rating 1 out of 5]

This may be one of my most disappointing reads. I'm sorry in advance for the negativity.

The premise was wonderful. A gender-exploring take on Sleeping Beauty/Cinderella, wolf shifters, with an incredible amount of representation. What could go wrong?

Calla. Calla could go wrong. The main character, supposed to be 20 years old and the alleged "best ruler" for a mighty kingdom, was the most childish, juvenile, selfish, self absorbed, whiniest MC I've ever had the displeasure of reading. And the entire novel is in first person POV. I was banging my head against the table halfway through the book. Zero awareness of others. Barely a though about the family, friends, and mate that they were supposedly fighting for, other than the odd self-serving realization that cropped up here and there. So many "rules for thee but not for me" moments. And for a self-discovery journey, there was barely any character development.

Then there came the romance. It had me cringing the entire time. Yes, you're mates, and you're hot and heavy for each other, but Calla was incapable of having a single though about Grae other than how hot he was, how he smelled, or pouting because he (very understandably) didn't disclose everything right off the bat- when Calla was doing the exact same thing. The attempted "slow burn" did not pay off- when they actually got together all I could think was "this is SO not the right time for you to be doing this!" These two characters were supposed to be childhood best friends- and there wasn't absolutely nothing that indicated "friendship" between them. Let's call it what it was: insta love trying to be slow burn and failing miserably.

For all the snarky, underhanded subtle digs that Calla made about her sister, Briar was one of the only redeeming characters in the entire book. And she was asleep for ¾ of it. That should tell you all you need to know.

The ending was rushed, predictable, and barely came together. This book was never about the plot though, so okay fine 🙄

I think what bothered me the most about this book was that it had such potential. The plot, the world, the representation- and it was fumbled. I wanted to give this book at least 2 stars just for those things alone, but I had such an awful time reading this that I can't even do that.

[Rachii Reads ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I only read this book because I received a review copy of book 2 (A Sky of Emerald Stars) and don’t want to go in blind. Should I have verified that it was a book 2 before I applied? Yes, yes I should have. Do I regret it? No, not exactly.

This story takes you on Calla’s journey as a secret twin to the heir of the Golden Wolves and her mission to save her sister from the evil queen Sawyn (who cursed her parents and stole their throne, rude). After spending their childhood hidden with their (essentially) fairy godmother, Calla and Briar have come of age and Briar is set to marry the handsome Prince Grae. The same Grae who is Calla’s childhood best friend and gives her all of his attention and affection….let me stop there before I spoil it for you.

Calla’s journey takes her across a continent, finds her in league with a band of traveling musicians, and has an adorable slow burn romance arc that will leave you frustrated to no end (but ultimately swooning).

While I enjoyed the story overall, something was just *missing.* It has the potential to be a really great book, but teetered on the edge of being good and being mediocre….and given the 3 stars, it landed somewhere in the middle. I think the story could have used a little more finesse and development in the prose, but overall
It was a decent book with a decent plot and decent writing. Give it a shot if you like wolf-shifters and evil witch queens and non-binary representation and fated mates 🐺💕

[Gigi Ropp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magnificent portrayal of a non-binary MAIN CHARACTER! The story is worth it for the discussions on gender alone, but the world created is a close-second. While the pacing of the plot felt off at times and made it difficult to push through, but it always came back strong.

[Nic, Queen of the ARCs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to love this book, especially because queer romantasy has me in a chokehold right now. I feel like there's far from enough of it, and a special scarcity of romantasy with genderqueer/nonbinary/trans leads. So I was delighted to hear about a Sleeping Beauty retelling with werewolves, spicy romance, and a nonbinary MC whose journey to find comfort in their own skin is central to the plot.

For the large part, A River of Golden Bones ticks those boxes. Twenty year old Briar and Calla are twins, but Calla has always been in their sister's shadow. Briar is the princess who will unite kingdoms by marrying Calla's childhood friend and prince, Graemon. But Briar never saw herself marrying a man, and Calla has eyes for Grae.

When it turns out that Calla and her female bodyguard, Maez, are fated mates, and Calla and Grae also are, it sets in motion an upheaval of the throne and a quest. On this quest, Calla discovers that girlhood always felt uncomfortable for them because they are NOT a girl. They are nonbinary, and this is beautiful and freeing. Oh, and pretty much everyone is a werewolf.

For representation, I love this book and I want to shove it at everyone. We NEED more nonbinary leads, especially in New Adult, which is a largely cishet genre still. My main disappointment with AROGB, though, is that Calla's identity kind of felt...sidelined? When Calla is with Grae, they haven't come out yet, so the spice reads as largely cishet spice. Their romance, too, is essentially cishet through most of the book. I also wish that Calla's journey had felt more central. There are so many parallels to draw between a world in which being a wolf is forbidden and a largely-binary world where being nonbinary is unthinkable, and yet these parallels weren't explored. The writing, too, didn't seem to help. There wasn't a ton of internality on Calla. By the end, I still couldn't really get a read on who they were and what they wanted. Other than Grae. Boy oh boy, did they want Grae.

I think the world and story has a ton of promise, and I probably will pick up Book 2. AROGB seemed to struggle with some pacing issues--a lot of info dumping in the beginning, a shockingly quick fated mates situation, and a meandering middle--but it ended very strongly and with a lot of promise for a sequel. I've heard this is a trilogy and I am excited to see where it develops, especially because wolf shifters really haven't had their moment yet, have they?

I think it's kind of the ACOTAR syndrome: stick it out through Book 1 for those beautiful glimmers (Sadie! Briar and Maez! That twist with villain, Sawyn, at the end!) and then watch the series soar.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and A.K. Mulford for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4 Stars⭐️
A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford is an exciting page turning journey of action, adventure, self-discovery and romance and the first book in the Golden Court series. It has a Sleeping Beauty retelling theme and is set in a fantasy world complete with werewolves, fated mates and royalty. The romance element in the story is quite spicy.

Twins Calla and Briar are in hiding from the powerful sorceress Sawyn who killed their parents, they are the last of the golden wolves. They hide that they are wolves from the humans. Briar is destined to be a princess and marry Prince Grae and Calla is to remain the secret twin and is trained to be her sister’s protector.

When the evil sorceress returns to deliver a sleeping curse to one of the twins the other must go on a quest to save her sleeping twin and their legacy.

The characters in the book are well crafted, I especially loved the interactions when Calla joins a troupe of travelling musicians during her quest.

The LGBT representation was very nicely delivered in a creative way. I love the writing of this author it was enthralling as was the plot and I can’t wait to read more of Mulford’s work. I will definitely be watching out for more of the series to come.

Publication Day 29 November 2023
Publisher Voyager GB

A huge thanks to Harper Collins Australia and Harper Voyager Australia for a copy of the book.