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Three girls. Four kingdoms. One potion.

When ten-year-old Dania catches an old deadly sickness that will eventually take her life, her sister Maeve and two friends desperately try to find a way to save her. After searching for weeks, it is Leyna, an elf with a passion for alchemy, that finds an old recipe for a potion that seems to be the cure to Dania’s disease.

Katerina, the banished fae of the group, sets out to steal the first the skin of a soulless. The only place to find it is inside of the Cursed Kingdom, which lies behind a veil that separates it from the rest of the realm. With little knowledge of the land or its danger, Katerina shows no hesitation in taking on the hard task.

Nothing could have prepared her for the wicked game the Cursed King wants to play with her. His army of soulless is what Katerina is looking for, but will she be able to obtain a part of its skin, or will the Cursed King force her to bargain for it?

210 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2025

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Bo Salem

6 books49 followers

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5 stars
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32 (31%)
3 stars
34 (33%)
2 stars
12 (11%)
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4 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for lenaleest.
250 reviews348 followers
June 22, 2025
I would like to thank the author for sending me the ARC — I was so excited to be chosen to read this book in advance!

I absolutely enjoyed it! It was a young adult fantasy that was easy to follow, yet full of action. So much happened, and I honestly couldn’t put it down — I flew through it! The book ends at a point where you just have to keep reading, so… I need book two, like, now! Haha!

I really liked the characters, but Katerina was definitely my favorite. She’s so sassy — I absolutely love her!

I gave it 3.5 stars, which I think is a great rating for a first book in a series. I’m really curious to see where the story goes from here!
Profile Image for Laura.
265 reviews179 followers
August 14, 2025
I am so happy that I got an ARC because this was FUNNY!!! Omg

In this book, the first in a series, we follow the story of a Fae, Elf and 2 human siblings. One of the humans got ill and the other 3 girls will do anything and everything to find a solution to her illness: get a piece of skin from the soulless and make a potion. Easy, right?

Katerina (Fae), the FMC in this book, is so incredibly skilled, sassy and hilarious. She was banned from the Fae kingdom and her wings were cut off. Trying to survive in the human realm by stealing and moving around a lot, she meets Maeve, Dania and Leyna. The four became incredibly close and formed their own found family.

When Dania, the youngest of the group, fell ill with an old and deadly sickness, Katerina sets out to the Cursed Kingdom to steal a piece of soulless. Only when she finds these creatures, she becomes a guest (prisoner) of the Cursed King (Fae).

We all know you should never make a deal with the Fae, but that is the only way Katerina can save Dania and escape the Cursed Kingdom.

Now I had the most fun reading this story. It’s quick, fast pasted, witty and sassy. Katerina does NOT like men, and I was here for it 😏.

The amount of times I was SNORTING and laughing out loud omg. I love it

The worldbuilding is easy to understand and I love how these four girls found each other and are working together. Proof that kingdoms can be united, if only they weren’t so stubborn.

I cannot wait to read the second book, so bingeworthy and I’m waiting to buy the special edition!!!!!
Profile Image for Bo Salem.
Author 6 books49 followers
August 26, 2025
I totally forgot to post a message here, but I am beyond thrilled for this entire series to come alive! I have things PLANNED! I want to think everyone for rating, sharing and reading my book, please know I appreciate it all! <3
Profile Image for Pheebs.
60 reviews16 followers
May 19, 2026
This book has one of the most immersive fantasy worlds I've read this year. It is so impressive how this is a debut novel.

This is the first short instalment in a four book series and it did such a great job at introducing the main cast as well as the world and magic within it.

It has strong themes of found family and determined female leads. So many questions arose as the plot of this book went forward and I found myself intrigued even by the smallest of hints to other books in the series.

Overall I feel like the pace of this book felt a little slow, even though it's relatively short. Some scenes felt like they were supposed to be emotional and tense but I felt disconnected. I fear it was a lot of telling and less showing. But I do see the potential of this world and characters. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

3 stars
Profile Image for Lenalin.
51 reviews2 followers
July 14, 2025
Bo salem did it again people!

This short novel honestly feels like a full length one with how good and rich it is written. This is a part one of 4 interconnected books, the first three being a pov of each girl and then book 4 has all of the povs! In this first book we follow katerina.

A found family of 4 lovely girls, but what happens when the youngest catches a deadly sickness, and the only way to stop it is to steal something from all of the 4 kingdoms so you can make a potion? You do it. Katerina is the first one and she goes to the cursed kingdom where the cursed king reigns. She must steal a piece of the skin of one of the creatures from the cursed king, a skin of a soulless. But it will not be easy and katerina will be challanged. Will she succeed? Will they save diana?

This book has it all, found family, angst, rich world building, a hint of romance, good lore, and a fast pace story that keeps you on the edge of your seat! If you know bo from her previous work then you know you are in for a good ride and I will be honest (I am here as an arc reader since her first book, bo I love you hahaha) this might be one of her best books so far! I can't wait to see where the story will take us.

(Thanks bo for the arc♡)
Profile Image for Crystal.
135 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2026
It's a fun quick read, good for if you want to turn your brain off for a while.

However, I had an issue with how quickly they set out on a journey from reading a vague book. It could have been expressed more, on how desperate they were, in order to risk their lives on a quest they're not sure of and could screw them for life. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the end of the series plot twist was that they themselves were the greatest treasures since their love interests are rulers/ future rulers hahaha.

Talking about romance, I most definitely prefer stories where romance is a subplot and quite liked the adventure plot. Nevertheless, this story has a genre error; it's a fantasy and not a romantasy.

Most of the Cursed King plot line wouldn't have been there if Katerina was smarter, but then again that's her stubbornness haha. The Cursed King really doesn't seem bad despite all of Katerina's prejudice. There was a part of Katerina's trauma response that felt really icky, (it was mostly why she hated him), and I hope that's addressed in the future.
74 reviews
June 15, 2025
3.5⭐️

First of all, thank you very much for letting me be an ARC reader.
The story is short, but ends at a point where you want to continue reading.
It is easy to follow and fits well within the YA genre. I would not recommend it rather if you like the adult genre more or more a romantasy/fantasy full of action, since it is a short story and therefore does not elaborate on certain confrontations, but there are rather short scenes in which this takes place.
The female protagonist has a nice character that distinguishes itself from the female main characters I am used to. She was funny, tough and relatable. I also found her backstory very catchy and hope that more will be discussed later in the series.
All in all a great book!
Profile Image for Equeeny.
289 reviews3 followers
March 14, 2026
4.5⭐️ I very very much enjoyed this fist book of the series. It had a steady pacing and made you understand every character and detail of the story!!☺️

The beginning was so heartbreaking, which soon led to the characters to work together (founded family) closely and created a close bound between them. I really liked our female lead character (Katerina) in this story, she is very strong and also mysterious.

I thought this book was a beautiful beginning of the series, and I cannot wait for the next books!!! I would for sure recommend this book to every fantasy lover (starter or advanced) because this story was already amazing!!!🥰💗
Profile Image for Kim (readerbydusk).
154 reviews6 followers
July 1, 2025
The Skin of a Soulless is a short but intriguing start to what looks like a promising fantasy series. The setup is solid: three girls, four kingdoms, and one nearly impossible quest to save a dying child. When ten-year-old Dania falls ill with a deadly disease, her sister Maeve and two friends: Leyna, an elf with a knack for alchemy, and Katerina, a banished fae, set out to find the ingredients for a mysterious cure.

The story mostly follows Katerina as she ventures into the Cursed Kingdom to retrieve the first ingredient. I liked her right away! She’s funny, tough, and a little reckless, which makes her a fun protagonist to follow. Her backstory is hinted at just enough to make me want more.

That said, this is a pretty quick read, and you can feel that in the pacing. Some scenes, especially the more intense or emotional ones, fly by a little too fast. I found myself wishing for more world building and a deeper dive into the dynamics between the girls. But as a series opener, it does its job: it sets the tone, introduces the stakes, and ends in a way that makes you want to keep going.
Profile Image for skadreads.
84 reviews
June 4, 2026
in my very valid defense, i did not check how short this book was gonna be or really research much about this book because i was trying this thing where i genuinely go in blind but that didn’t really make anything better. the book wasn’t bad, i just lowkey thought it was gonna have romance in it (don’t come for me, it looked like a romance book).

first of all, because it’s so short, there wasn’t time to actually build the world or develop the characters properly. for me, katerina is one of those so-called badass FMCs but are actually kind of annoying. i also didn’t realize this was YA but her behavior makes so much more sense now. BUT LIKE genuinely what 20y/o acts or thinks or talks like that? the writing felt fanfiction-y? (not necessarily a bad thing in general but i am specifically talking abt the very cringe redundant writing).

with the book being this short, world-building was just squeezed in wherever. sometimes it felt unnatural or just unnecessary. like for example, one of the girls explaining why the human girl didn’t know much about the faes as if the others didn’t already know. i get that it’s for the readers but realistically speaking, she wouldn’t need to explain that to the other girls cuz it apparently is common sense in their world, AND it was already mentioned earlier in the book why hans don’t know much about faes and elves so there you go, that was a good opportunity for your readers to take note of that an there’s no need to explain it again.

selfishly, i wish there was romance in this book. i would have loved the tension between katerina and the cursed king. speaking of, how long can a person— or in this case, a cursed king— grin before it starts to hurt? this man kept grinning every time he talked to her (ngl i like the idea of a seemingly powerful scary cursed king being genuinely excited for his first guest) and the author never failed to mention it at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for aminahthebooklover.
78 reviews2 followers
June 4, 2026
Okay, this was just so well-written I’m gobsmacked.

I’ve been seeing this series all over my for you page and I’ve been dying to have a read.

Katerina is one of four girls that live together in a cottage in the human kingdom. She’s also a fae who got kicked out and her wings were stripped. Although the exact reason hasn’t been mentioned, but I’m sure it will come up later on in the series.

The youngest, Dania, is playing outside when she gets bit by something which causes her to fall into this deep sleep. Black lines begin to appear on her body, causing the other girls to get scared. They find out the only cure to save her before those black lines begin to touch her heart is that they will need to go on a mission to all four of the kingdoms in the region and steal something precious to them.

So, of course, Katerina, their resident dare-devil and current fae decides the first place to go is the cursed kingdom. In which she meets the cursed king, who we still don’t know his NAME?

So the man is aggravating towards her, and did I mention she hates men? So this is more infuriating. She has to steal a piece of a soul of a soulless creature and bring it back to her friends, the problem is, the cursed king takes it off her and makes a bargain for her. Get his wings back from the fae kingdom and she can have the piece of the soulless creature.

The guy makes the exchange while she’s literally sinking into black quick-sand which makes her all the more likely to accept the deal so she doesn’t die.

Im excited to see more of their story as the plot of the series goes on, but yeah. Defo a good read for anyone wanting to read about fae, but no smut? Unlike some other books that are out there. Ahem. AHEM. 🤨
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Author 5 books7 followers
August 27, 2025
This book is just feels like a dream...🥀

God! Whenever I read this book I just wished that it didn't end, but it did and I am so sad that I couldn't read any further. The book shows how a fae lived in her past life and now that she is banished she steals for living. But in all that someone closer to her gets hurt and in order to cure her she have to travel to the Cursed Kingdom.

O. M. G. I finished reading this book in the morning and I can’t cope well. Cause I need book 2 and it's not out yet. I hope the author has mercy on me and every other reader. Also, I loved Katerina and every character in the book. I also happen to get a little curious about the cursed King! And Katerina's hate for men, God, that's just me in another world. Because same girl same🤌🏻✨️!!! And Maeve God, I really laughed at her stress eating and Leyna, Goodness they all are so sweet. I loved every character written by author❤️‍🩹. It was like a dream, and I am so glad that I read this book.

Everyone had such a strong character. And I really liked how Katerina fought against the Cursed King until she couldn't. She really did her best. And I loved everything in the book. It was out of the world experience. And Katerina's power, her depth it only made shine more!✨️

I loved this book! And so will you! Just go for it!!!

If you love Fantasy with secrets and fae, then I am sure that you will love this book, too!!!
Profile Image for Daphne.
65 reviews
October 23, 2025
I loved reading this book! I’ve been following the author and chatting to her since a while ago and it was really cool to finally get around to reading her work.

This is a fun quick read that stands out from the vast majority of major publishers’ book these days. It’s not about romance with an adventure side plot or about female characters pitted against each other (I know, shocker). Instead it’s a short and sweet quest/heist book with distinctly different characters, interesting kingdoms each with its own characteristics, and a clear trajectory in the plot that doesn’t fail to be exciting.

The only things that I didn’t like as much was the slower pace at the beginning and some of the phrases were just a bit awkward language wise. Here and there, there were also some double/redundant sentences that basically said the same thing twice or something was shown and then spelled out as well. Also a couple tiny mistakes that really weren’t that many for a self published book.

Already half way through I was excited to learn what would happen in the next books and if not for the language/writing style that sometimes bothered me and thus took me out of the story, this would’ve been a 4.5 star.

Still, I highly recommend this book. It’s a nice refreshing book that’s different from a lot of fantasy but still in the same genre and just overall very fun to read.
Profile Image for Amanda Cole.
Author 5 books19 followers
July 2, 2025
A banished fae and her friends are having a great time hanging out by a creek when the youngest of the group suddenly falls unconscious. They do some searching and are forced to plan to steal things in order to make a cure.

A fantastic start; could use some editing before being published.

The concept and story are definitely there. Some things just need to be polished first. There are spelling errors and some continuity errors (like ages), but nothing too dramatic.

I would love to see some things described and explained more, just fleshed out more, basically.

I loved the entire concept of the cursed kingdom and the way it was described. I'm very intrigued by what our MC found there (can't say because spoilers).

This is a fast-paced story with less than 190 pages. It would actually be really good to market this as a middle grade book instead of YA. It gets straight to the point and the MC is sassy with a rich background that we get a glimpse of in this book.

I did enjoy this story and I will be reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Melody.leest.
39 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2025
This is book 1 of the serie called: The kingdom's greatest treasures.
And that is what these books are about. Getting the hands on the most important item of each of the kingdoms realms.

In this first book Katerina sets out on a mission to steal the skin of a soulless. She needs to go to the realm of the cursed king. There are no people living there, only Soulless. She just wants to get in and out of here as fast as she posible can. But nothing goes as Katerina wants it. So the king offers her a deal. Is he to be trusted? And does she accept the deal?

Wow this book was so nice. I loved reading it. Its a Ya Fantasy. But with depth in the character, good description about the land, and i could not put it down. I really enjoyed. I really like to continue to the next story asap, witch already had a really nice set up at the end of this book. For me this is a ⭐⭐⭐⭐ read.
Profile Image for Abbie Brown.
24 reviews
May 24, 2026
I was sucked in pretty quickly, but I also pretty quickly discovered that I did not really like this main character. She was hateful to just about everyone, even when some people weren't awful, they were just scared. Then, when she gets to where she's going, she dilly dallies. I know, she just didn't want to make a deal with the king, but she was there to get something to help Dania, and when he tells her that the only way for her to leave is to make a deal with him she says no and stays there for a few days. She ended up having to make the deal anyway, so what was the point of sawing no to begin with. And don't get me started on the fact that she goes, "Anything for Dania," then won't make a simple deal to get what she came for and leave. A girls life is on the line, but no, let's not sacrifice our pride just a bit to get what you need to save her in a timely manner.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Christel.
241 reviews2 followers
August 27, 2025
I really enjoyed reading this book, loved it. Really like this author. The story sounded very intriguing so was pretty curious to it. And the execution did not disappoint. It was a good story. Like how they need something from each kingdom, and that they all get something. I love the characters, for now Katerina is my fave. Also love the banter between Katerina and the cursed king. Think it's also nice how Katerina didn't immediately succeeded in getting the item. Otherwise it would be kinda predictable. The book was also sad. I feel bad for Katerina, for her whole past and her sister dying. The scene with the horse was also sad, poor horsey. Reminded me of a scene from the movie: the neverending story. Really curious to the rest of this serie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for demi fiore.
169 reviews5 followers
May 16, 2026
*3.5

This was such a fun read!! The concept of the book is so original and it felt really refreshing. It was really fast paced and I reached the end in no time.

The writing style is a bit odd sometimes but I honestly don’t mind it. I have read way to many trashy books to care about the writing style tbh 😭

I wish we got a bit more backstory on Katerina tho, everything was a bit confusing now. I also wished we spent a bit more time in the cursed kingdom, I wanted to know more about the land, history and the king. Maybe we will learn more about those things in the coming books, I hope.

Overall this was a fast and fun read, I really enjoyed it. I will immediately dive into the next books ofc haha.
Profile Image for Amber.
158 reviews9 followers
August 1, 2025
What an amazing beginning to this series!

In this book we follow Maeve, Katerina & Leyna who need to save Maeve’s little sister Dania from an almost incurable disease. This book focuses more on the task Maeve needs to complete.

First of all, the character are amazing. Maeve’s humour and way of thinking are awesome and I laughed out loud a few times. Second of all, the plot has such great potential. It had an amazing build up for the next few books & I already have so many questions I want the answer to in the next books!

I would 100% recommend this book!
2 reviews
September 22, 2025
I've always loved fantasy but the names and places were too much to keep up with but when I stumbled on Bo Salem's page and I saw this, I was intrigued. Everything was easy to remember and I love the characters (Diana is my favourite❤️).
Katerina is someone I relate to in a lot of ways and Diana is the cutest little girl. Even though Katerina doesn’t show her emotions, you can clearly read her love and care for the sisters and Leyna.
The world of The Kingdom's greatest treasures is simple and that's what makes it a fast and easy read.
Thank you for allowing me to read this. I really enjoyed the banter between the Cursed King and Katerina.
Profile Image for Liezl.
64 reviews
March 23, 2026
This book definitely wasn’t bad it was just a little bit unfinished. I feel like if the author had planned out the story a little bit better she could’ve fit all three girls stories into the one book.
Some of the characters also annoyed me but that’s just going to happen with books.
I will so was disappointed when the “love arch” didn’t really happen. It felt like there was an enemies to lovers subplot being teased but it never properly came into fruition.
Overall it wasn’t a bad book at all, it just wasn’t classic literature and felt totally incomplete
Profile Image for LilacHauntress.
56 reviews6 followers
December 22, 2025
Aside from a few typos, this book was very well written. It kept me engaged from start to finish and was extremely fast-paced. At times, it almost felt too fast. I blinked and suddenly it was the next day in the story, and I found myself wishing the book had been longer.

That said, the worldbuilding was great, and overall it was a very enjoyable read. Definitely worth 4 stars!
Profile Image for daniëlla.
45 reviews5 followers
August 4, 2025
LOOOOVEEEEDDD EVERY MOMENT 🤍 If you are looking for a fantasy book that has everything you ever loved about the genre and so much more new stuff, this is it. I cannot wait to learn how to story continues!!
Profile Image for Roosh.
77 reviews7 followers
September 18, 2025
Sorry I tried really hard but the writing just got worse. The story has a lot of potential but there needs to be a serious improvement in the writing. Dnfing for now I don’t think I have enough motivation to carry on with this story without pulling all my hairs out.
Profile Image for Caitlin.
7 reviews
September 28, 2025
Okay so I’ve been in a reading slump for the past month and I went out on a whim to try and find a good book to get me out of it and let me tell you… THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! I read it in one whole sitting and ugghhh it was so good I love Katerina so so so muchhhhh!!!
Profile Image for Xia , Faaïza.
26 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2025
I can't believe I finished this book RIGHT before the second book is getting released. I'm so excited (and anxious) for what's next.

PS. I might have a lil crush on the cursed king but that's just me idk
Profile Image for GAK.
95 reviews
August 11, 2025
i started reading and then i stopped cause low key she was reminding me of wattpad
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews