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The Bone Spindle #1
Костяное веретено
Как в старой сказке, все начинается с веретена. Темное проклятие заставляет молодого принца уколоть палец и уснуть беспробудным сном. Чтобы спасти королевство от чар, на опасную тропу выходят искательница сокровищ Фи и воинственная наемница Шейн. Вот только Терновый лес — наименьшая из проблем на пути к их цели...
Hardcover
First published January 11, 2022
About the author
Leslie Vedder
10 books444 followersLeslie Vedder (she/her) is a queer ace author who loves girl adventurers and heroes! She grew up on fantasy books, anime, fanfiction and the Lord of the Rings movies, and met her true love in high school choir. She currently lives in Colorado with her wife and her cat Fox Mulder, who believes the treats are out there.
When she's not reading or writing, you can find her watching anime and sci-fi shows, walking in the woods and pretending they're enchanted forests, or playing old video games. She always collects all the Skulltulas in Zelda and all the Dalmation puppies in Kingdom Hearts.
Her debut YA THE BONE SPINDLE was an ABA indie bestseller.
When she's not reading or writing, you can find her watching anime and sci-fi shows, walking in the woods and pretending they're enchanted forests, or playing old video games. She always collects all the Skulltulas in Zelda and all the Dalmation puppies in Kingdom Hearts.
Her debut YA THE BONE SPINDLE was an ABA indie bestseller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,230 reviews
February 16, 2022
The Bone Spindle reads like a classic action movie. Think Indiana Jones but with teenage girls, a gender swapped sleeping beauty retelling and an axe wielding lesbian. A fast paced, adventurous story full of magic, curses and a wonderful friendship.
I was in the mood for action, for something to grip me and not let me go and The Bone Spindle delivered. Right from the beginning I was hooked by the characters, the adventure and the action. It was fast paced and entertaining, even as our characters took on long journeys across kingdoms which I can often find boring in books. I loved this spin on the classic fairy tale and thought that it really brought something new to the table while remaining true to the essence of the Sleeping Beauty story.
I really enjoyed that this world was so entrenched in history and magic. I found the worldbuilding really interesting and was always eager to learn more about the witches and lost kingdom of Andar. This was aided by one of our protagonists, Fi, who was equally fascinated by the history she uncovered.
I enjoyed both romances in this book, though they both felt a little instant and I would have liked to see some more development, especially of the sapphic pairing. But what stood out to me most was the friendship between Fi and Shane. I really loved following their relationship as they grew from reluctant allies into good friends who were completely supportive of one another and trusted each other’s decisions. I felt that both characters were well developed and I also enjoyed reading their back stories and learning more about their histories and seeing the ways this influenced their characters in the present.
Overall, The Bone Spindle was a fun adventure focused fantasy novel. The world and its histories were beautifully developed and the plot kept me on my toes. I can’t wait to read the sequel!
I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*
I was in the mood for action, for something to grip me and not let me go and The Bone Spindle delivered. Right from the beginning I was hooked by the characters, the adventure and the action. It was fast paced and entertaining, even as our characters took on long journeys across kingdoms which I can often find boring in books. I loved this spin on the classic fairy tale and thought that it really brought something new to the table while remaining true to the essence of the Sleeping Beauty story.
I really enjoyed that this world was so entrenched in history and magic. I found the worldbuilding really interesting and was always eager to learn more about the witches and lost kingdom of Andar. This was aided by one of our protagonists, Fi, who was equally fascinated by the history she uncovered.
I enjoyed both romances in this book, though they both felt a little instant and I would have liked to see some more development, especially of the sapphic pairing. But what stood out to me most was the friendship between Fi and Shane. I really loved following their relationship as they grew from reluctant allies into good friends who were completely supportive of one another and trusted each other’s decisions. I felt that both characters were well developed and I also enjoyed reading their back stories and learning more about their histories and seeing the ways this influenced their characters in the present.
Overall, The Bone Spindle was a fun adventure focused fantasy novel. The world and its histories were beautifully developed and the plot kept me on my toes. I can’t wait to read the sequel!
I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*
August 2, 2021
Hello! Author review time! I’m not really active on Goodreads, but I’m so excited to share this book with everyone!
THE BONE SPINDLE is my love letter to fairytale mashups, action movies that are like one long chase scene from beginning to end, and partners who start out hating each other (but would die for each other by the end). It’s got two girl treasure hunters, two love stories, and a whole lot of snark.
If you like dark fairytale vibes, fun adventure romps, m/f love with a romantic and a skeptic, and f/f love with a whole lot of sizzle, I hope you’ll come along for the ride!
THE BONE SPINDLE is my love letter to fairytale mashups, action movies that are like one long chase scene from beginning to end, and partners who start out hating each other (but would die for each other by the end). It’s got two girl treasure hunters, two love stories, and a whole lot of snark.
If you like dark fairytale vibes, fun adventure romps, m/f love with a romantic and a skeptic, and f/f love with a whole lot of sizzle, I hope you’ll come along for the ride!
January 25, 2022
Do you ever read a book and think ... yeah, this author fundamentally misunderstood the assignment?
This is one of those books.
Let's walk through the construction of a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, shall we?
Step 1: Start with a prince. He'd better be beautiful. He should be cursed at birth by a witch to fall into a magical sleep when he pricks his finger on a spinning wheel at age whatever-- a state in which he will remain until he is woken by his true love's kiss. Then, when he reaches age whatever, he should fall into a magical sleep when he pricks his finger on a spinning wheel-- a state in which he will remain until he is woken by his true love's kiss.
With me so far?
Great.
Step 2: Add a girl/woman/lady knight/etc. who comes along and wakes 'Sleeping Beauty' ... with a kiss.
That's it. That's all you need. Just two easy steps and badda bing, badda boom, you've got a fully functional subversion of the classic fairytale, Baby.
Let me tell you what WON'T work:
Or how about THIS gem of a non-starter:
The two scenarios outlined above are examples of what are known colloquially as "bad ideas," because they not only violate the BASIC PREMISE OF THE STORY, but also manage to unsubvert the subversion we created by swapping the gendered roles assigned to each character.
Thereby rendering the ENTIRE EXERCISE completely pointless.
So yeah.
If you're writing a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, don't do either of those two very specific things.
I don't even know what else to say, man.
Like, you had literally ONE JOB, The Bone Spindle.
ONE.
FUCKING.
JOB.
This is one of those books.
Let's walk through the construction of a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, shall we?
Step 1: Start with a prince. He'd better be beautiful. He should be cursed at birth by a witch to fall into a magical sleep when he pricks his finger on a spinning wheel at age whatever-- a state in which he will remain until he is woken by his true love's kiss. Then, when he reaches age whatever, he should fall into a magical sleep when he pricks his finger on a spinning wheel-- a state in which he will remain until he is woken by his true love's kiss.
With me so far?
Great.
Step 2: Add a girl/woman/lady knight/etc. who comes along and wakes 'Sleeping Beauty' ... with a kiss.
That's it. That's all you need. Just two easy steps and badda bing, badda boom, you've got a fully functional subversion of the classic fairytale, Baby.
Let me tell you what WON'T work:
Or how about THIS gem of a non-starter:
The two scenarios outlined above are examples of what are known colloquially as "bad ideas," because they not only violate the BASIC PREMISE OF THE STORY, but also manage to unsubvert the subversion we created by swapping the gendered roles assigned to each character.
Thereby rendering the ENTIRE EXERCISE completely pointless.
So yeah.
If you're writing a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, don't do either of those two very specific things.
I don't even know what else to say, man.
Like, you had literally ONE JOB, The Bone Spindle.
ONE.
FUCKING.
JOB.
January 12, 2022
Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars
Okay—WOW —seriously, what an AMAZING debut. I am speechless over the fact that this is a debut novel!
I loved the LGBTQIA+ rep, also—Shane was my fav POV & character; what a damn BADASS! Queer & proud! Her dedication to the MAIN protagonist, Fi, is platonic, but absolutely breathtaking. I'm lucky to say I have a friend that is as dedicated to me, & I am dedicated to like that (HI, Darcey, my lil sis 🤍💜🤍). Fi is just as dedicated as well, as well as to the prince she's trying to save—Briar Rose—he is the whole point of Fi & Shane's quest, in fact.
THEIR BANTER IS HIGH TIER, PEOPLE!
I also loved Briar Rose's POV & Fi's! They were both amazing POVs to read.
The prose is absolutely incredible, with lush world-building, amazingly fleshed out characters, and was just overall amazing! What a great fantastical, with a mix of fairytales & retellings, thrown in perfectly, fairytale/ fantasy read!
100% recommend!!!!
Okay—WOW —seriously, what an AMAZING debut. I am speechless over the fact that this is a debut novel!
I loved the LGBTQIA+ rep, also—Shane was my fav POV & character; what a damn BADASS! Queer & proud! Her dedication to the MAIN protagonist, Fi, is platonic, but absolutely breathtaking. I'm lucky to say I have a friend that is as dedicated to me, & I am dedicated to like that (HI, Darcey, my lil sis 🤍💜🤍). Fi is just as dedicated as well, as well as to the prince she's trying to save—Briar Rose—he is the whole point of Fi & Shane's quest, in fact.
THEIR BANTER IS HIGH TIER, PEOPLE!
I also loved Briar Rose's POV & Fi's! They were both amazing POVs to read.
The prose is absolutely incredible, with lush world-building, amazingly fleshed out characters, and was just overall amazing! What a great fantastical, with a mix of fairytales & retellings, thrown in perfectly, fairytale/ fantasy read!
100% recommend!!!!
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645808644i/7494844._UX200_CR0,6,200,200_.jpg)
Did Not Finish
July 7, 2022DNF at 11%
For me, this suffered immediately from a case of "oh sweet fuck just age up the characters and make it regular fantasy."
When characters are The Best of the Best and have traveled far and wide and done a bajillion things at *checks notes* 17, cue my skepticism. Mostly because I'm doing the logistics and the math isn't really mathing. One character had had numerous partners in crime over the years (her words) and she's also a princess from the northern islands who fled and ma'am that is a lot of backstory and timeline to establish yourself as a the premier treasure hunter going on expeditions and shit?
This had been high on my tbr too, dammit.
For me, this suffered immediately from a case of "oh sweet fuck just age up the characters and make it regular fantasy."
When characters are The Best of the Best and have traveled far and wide and done a bajillion things at *checks notes* 17, cue my skepticism. Mostly because I'm doing the logistics and the math isn't really mathing. One character had had numerous partners in crime over the years (her words) and she's also a princess from the northern islands who fled and ma'am that is a lot of backstory and timeline to establish yourself as a the premier treasure hunter going on expeditions and shit?
This had been high on my tbr too, dammit.
January 15, 2022
When I read fantasy this is exactly what I'm expecting to get: an ax lesbian simping for a witch and a butterfly-hating historian teaming up to save the soft-sunshine-Speak-Now-Stan prince.
January 13, 2022
Hello a gender swapped sleeping beauty retelling yes please but I need the sequel now
January 12, 2022
5/5 stars, this was such a good retelling I’m so in love with all of it omg
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year so I was so honored to receive a review copy and I can still hardly believe it! Even before I got the arc I knew I had to jump on the train of a sleeping beauty retelling, mixed with Indiana Jones, and with a sapphic main character. Every bit of this book was what I was hoping it to be and I am so in love, everyone should pick this up!
Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles who doesn't believe in destiny. Shane is a tough-as-dirt warrior-girl from the north who loves her battle-ax, girls, and doing things her own way. Cursed princes and tales of old magic mean nothing but ancient history to Fi until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a ruin. Now she's attached to Briar Rose's spirit until she can break the century-old curse on his kingdom. Dark magic, witch hunters, and pieces of her past all stand in her and Shane's way, not to mention the mysterious stranger trying to help them.
The setting of this story revolves around a kingdom that has been abandoned after the prince was put to sleep, and the surrounding kingdoms have been affected by this. There are lots of treasure hunters, including our main characters, who roam around the old ruins and try to find magic items to sell. There are also witch hunters, people bent on believing all witches are bad because one bad apple ruined it for all of them. I really felt like the atmosphere was built to be a fairytale, and that's what drew me in so much to this world, I could practically feel the magic flowing through the air.
The plot of this book was really fun, it had the feeling of an adventure fantasy but set across a smaller destination. They went through a couple of kingdoms but mostly kept to their area, which was fine I enjoyed seeing the girls thriving in their comfortable places. There were some plot twists that I was not expecting and some that I did. I wasn't upset though as the twist was built up really nicely either way and helped to further the story. There were also flashbacks from both of the main girls, when the reader needed context on something or why they were feeling the way they did for something, these were presented. I really enjoyed the flashbacks as well, they were useful to help understand Fi and Shane, but it never felt like an info dump.
Filore or "Fi" was the main character, even if there were switching POVs with her and Shane. She just took up more space in my opinion and more things revolved around her. I wasn't complaining as I really liked her, she was sweet and adventurous and book-smart too. She was like Belle but in a different fairytale. Her desire to save Briar but also her fear of growing closer to him was represented very well in this book, and I don't feel like anything was forced. It's obvious Fi has been through a lot in her past as well, and the things that keep catching up with her are really sad. She's a great character though and I really cannot wait to see her grow in the second book.
Shane was super fun, she reminded me a lot of Luisa from Encanto, not just because they are both strong but because of the pressure, they have to live under. Shane has a past that is slowly revealed to us through the flashbacks, but one that obviously still has a lot of effect on her daily life. All of the responsibility and pressure that was put on her then pushes her to take on usually more than she can handle in the present time. I enjoyed her loyalty to Fi though, as they gradually became friends instead of just partners. I really enjoyed her humor as well, it made me laugh a couple of times.
Prince Briar was probably my favorite, he was really cute and brought some comic relief to the story, besides what Shane already brought. It was easy to root for him gaining his kingdom back because of the sadness he really displayed at losing everyone closest to him. I lend out loads of sympathy for him because I could never imagine. I cannot wait to see what kind of person he becomes in the sequel.
The romances in this book were quite opposites, one was more of attraction-but-slow-burn-sort of lovers and the other was attraction-not quite lovers-enemies if that makes sense. I won't spoil you and tell you which is which but it was kind of cute the connection Fi and Brair had, he was usually really respectful towards her too. It was also great to see a casual sapphic main character in Shane, in her past there were complications with it but in the present, no one really cared and it was great to see. No matter how headstrong Shane can be in the story as well she is a sweetie.
Overall, this was a fantastic book and I am so excited to continue this retelling mashup, every second of it was so exciting! The writing was easy to follow and had some great worldbuilding and some really great plot twists. I recommend trying this out if you want to get into retellings but don't know exactly where to start!
[TW: injuries, death of a friend, blood (light), animal injury (light)]
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year so I was so honored to receive a review copy and I can still hardly believe it! Even before I got the arc I knew I had to jump on the train of a sleeping beauty retelling, mixed with Indiana Jones, and with a sapphic main character. Every bit of this book was what I was hoping it to be and I am so in love, everyone should pick this up!
Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles who doesn't believe in destiny. Shane is a tough-as-dirt warrior-girl from the north who loves her battle-ax, girls, and doing things her own way. Cursed princes and tales of old magic mean nothing but ancient history to Fi until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a ruin. Now she's attached to Briar Rose's spirit until she can break the century-old curse on his kingdom. Dark magic, witch hunters, and pieces of her past all stand in her and Shane's way, not to mention the mysterious stranger trying to help them.
The setting of this story revolves around a kingdom that has been abandoned after the prince was put to sleep, and the surrounding kingdoms have been affected by this. There are lots of treasure hunters, including our main characters, who roam around the old ruins and try to find magic items to sell. There are also witch hunters, people bent on believing all witches are bad because one bad apple ruined it for all of them. I really felt like the atmosphere was built to be a fairytale, and that's what drew me in so much to this world, I could practically feel the magic flowing through the air.
The plot of this book was really fun, it had the feeling of an adventure fantasy but set across a smaller destination. They went through a couple of kingdoms but mostly kept to their area, which was fine I enjoyed seeing the girls thriving in their comfortable places. There were some plot twists that I was not expecting and some that I did. I wasn't upset though as the twist was built up really nicely either way and helped to further the story. There were also flashbacks from both of the main girls, when the reader needed context on something or why they were feeling the way they did for something, these were presented. I really enjoyed the flashbacks as well, they were useful to help understand Fi and Shane, but it never felt like an info dump.
Filore or "Fi" was the main character, even if there were switching POVs with her and Shane. She just took up more space in my opinion and more things revolved around her. I wasn't complaining as I really liked her, she was sweet and adventurous and book-smart too. She was like Belle but in a different fairytale. Her desire to save Briar but also her fear of growing closer to him was represented very well in this book, and I don't feel like anything was forced. It's obvious Fi has been through a lot in her past as well, and the things that keep catching up with her are really sad. She's a great character though and I really cannot wait to see her grow in the second book.
Shane was super fun, she reminded me a lot of Luisa from Encanto, not just because they are both strong but because of the pressure, they have to live under. Shane has a past that is slowly revealed to us through the flashbacks, but one that obviously still has a lot of effect on her daily life. All of the responsibility and pressure that was put on her then pushes her to take on usually more than she can handle in the present time. I enjoyed her loyalty to Fi though, as they gradually became friends instead of just partners. I really enjoyed her humor as well, it made me laugh a couple of times.
Prince Briar was probably my favorite, he was really cute and brought some comic relief to the story, besides what Shane already brought. It was easy to root for him gaining his kingdom back because of the sadness he really displayed at losing everyone closest to him. I lend out loads of sympathy for him because I could never imagine. I cannot wait to see what kind of person he becomes in the sequel.
The romances in this book were quite opposites, one was more of attraction-but-slow-burn-sort of lovers and the other was attraction-not quite lovers-enemies if that makes sense. I won't spoil you and tell you which is which but it was kind of cute the connection Fi and Brair had, he was usually really respectful towards her too. It was also great to see a casual sapphic main character in Shane, in her past there were complications with it but in the present, no one really cared and it was great to see. No matter how headstrong Shane can be in the story as well she is a sweetie.
Overall, this was a fantastic book and I am so excited to continue this retelling mashup, every second of it was so exciting! The writing was easy to follow and had some great worldbuilding and some really great plot twists. I recommend trying this out if you want to get into retellings but don't know exactly where to start!
[TW: injuries, death of a friend, blood (light), animal injury (light)]
Want to Read
December 18, 2020*crying* because omg wtf this sounds too good to be real
December 13, 2022
-Fourth read-
—4.5 stars—
“A drop of blood, a drop of hope. The sleep of death broken with a single kiss.”
————about the book————
Age: YA
Genres: Fantasy, Fairytale retellings,
Cliffhanger: not particularly
Writing: 7/10
Quotes: 8/10
World building: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Romance: 8/10
My rating: 9/10 (no, I don’t know how my rating system works either.)
‼️spoilers below‼️
———my feelings———
I love fairytale retellings. I always have (I used to love Jessica Day George when I was younger) and I think I always will.
So, obviously I love this book!
A gender-swapped version of Sleeping Beauty, with a sweet prince, a historian heroine, fluffy romance, and it’s set in a magical world! What’s not to like?
Well, only a couple of things;
It’s a debut, so it can be a little slow at the beginning, and some of the flashbacks are jerky and abrupt.
But I love the characters, especially Briar and Fi! They’re so adorable🥺🥺.
The dialogue is a mixture of funny and sweet—it reminds me of Sorcery of Thorns!
I’d rated this 5 stars before, but I’m removing half a star because it just isn’t a 5 starand I need to stop giving out 5 stars like cookies.
Also, I JUST realised. Shane and Red are a Red Riding Hood retelling. (How did I not see this before????😭)
———Characters ———
Fi: Historian, treasure hunter, shy and brave, she felt so relatable (don’t we all prefer books to people?)
Briar: Prince, witch, sweet and flirtatious, he’s so adorable with Fi! I’m really interested by his darker side though...
Shane: Huntswoman, war king’s daughter, standoffish and daring, she’s definitely not my favourite but I don’t mind her.
————Quotes————
“A girl under a curse meets a boy under a curse.”
“She’d long accepted that she preferred books to people.”
“Fi was his hope, and he would never let her drown.”
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair. “Stay.”
————Songs————
I love you -Billie Eilish
Wild roses -Of monsters and men
Bad dream -Ruelle
———Random extra thoughts———
I have a different cover than the one shown, but that one is so fucking gorgeous, I NEED IT😭😭😭😭
Thanks for reading!❤️
———————————
Reread because I want to write a review
(And I’m fully aware that the second one’s out, i just need to stop buying so many books at the moment)
—4.5 stars—
“A drop of blood, a drop of hope. The sleep of death broken with a single kiss.”
————about the book————
Age: YA
Genres: Fantasy, Fairytale retellings,
Cliffhanger: not particularly
Writing: 7/10
Quotes: 8/10
World building: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Romance: 8/10
My rating: 9/10 (no, I don’t know how my rating system works either.)
‼️spoilers below‼️
———my feelings———
I love fairytale retellings. I always have (I used to love Jessica Day George when I was younger) and I think I always will.
So, obviously I love this book!
A gender-swapped version of Sleeping Beauty, with a sweet prince, a historian heroine, fluffy romance, and it’s set in a magical world! What’s not to like?
Well, only a couple of things;
It’s a debut, so it can be a little slow at the beginning, and some of the flashbacks are jerky and abrupt.
But I love the characters, especially Briar and Fi! They’re so adorable🥺🥺.
The dialogue is a mixture of funny and sweet—it reminds me of Sorcery of Thorns!
I’d rated this 5 stars before, but I’m removing half a star because it just isn’t a 5 star
Also, I JUST realised. Shane and Red are a Red Riding Hood retelling. (How did I not see this before????😭)
———Characters ———
Fi: Historian, treasure hunter, shy and brave, she felt so relatable (don’t we all prefer books to people?)
Briar: Prince, witch, sweet and flirtatious, he’s so adorable with Fi! I’m really interested by his darker side though...
Shane: Huntswoman, war king’s daughter, standoffish and daring, she’s definitely not my favourite but I don’t mind her.
————Quotes————
“A girl under a curse meets a boy under a curse.”
“She’d long accepted that she preferred books to people.”
“Fi was his hope, and he would never let her drown.”
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair. “Stay.”
————Songs————
I love you -Billie Eilish
Wild roses -Of monsters and men
Bad dream -Ruelle
———Random extra thoughts———
I have a different cover than the one shown, but that one is so fucking gorgeous, I NEED IT😭😭😭😭
Thanks for reading!❤️
———————————
Reread because I want to write a review
(And I’m fully aware that the second one’s out, i just need to stop buying so many books at the moment)
January 12, 2022
4.5 stars
This book was so much fun!! Not a perfect book and you can kind of tell it's a debut, but a blast to read with great characters. I had such a good time with it, I didn't mind the imperfections.
The Bone Spindle is Indiana Jones meets a gender-bent Sleeping Beauty. It's got adventure, treasure, magic, friendship, terrible ex'es, curses, and two great romance arcs! This is exactly what I want from a light YA fantasy.
It follows two girls who are treasure hunters, partnering up to find a legendary secret prince who can be woken by a kiss. They are opposites but develop this great friendship.
Fi is a bookish girl hiding that she is cursed. She also ends up waking the magical spirit of this prince and they have a lot of chemistry...
Shane is a tough, battle-axe wielding warrior who ran away from her position as heir to a throne. She also has a real thing for this mysterious woman in red she keeps running into...
I won't say too much more about the plot but I really enjoyed this. The transitions are sometimes a bit choppy, especially in and out of flashbacks that give us more of the characters history, but I was just so charmed by Shane and Fi, their burgeoning friendship, and their romances. Plus the adventure, treasure hunting part was really fun. I love that queerness is casually accepted in this world. Can't wait for book 2! I think this will be a real crowd-pleaser. The audio narration is also great. I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
This book was so much fun!! Not a perfect book and you can kind of tell it's a debut, but a blast to read with great characters. I had such a good time with it, I didn't mind the imperfections.
The Bone Spindle is Indiana Jones meets a gender-bent Sleeping Beauty. It's got adventure, treasure, magic, friendship, terrible ex'es, curses, and two great romance arcs! This is exactly what I want from a light YA fantasy.
It follows two girls who are treasure hunters, partnering up to find a legendary secret prince who can be woken by a kiss. They are opposites but develop this great friendship.
Fi is a bookish girl hiding that she is cursed. She also ends up waking the magical spirit of this prince and they have a lot of chemistry...
Shane is a tough, battle-axe wielding warrior who ran away from her position as heir to a throne. She also has a real thing for this mysterious woman in red she keeps running into...
I won't say too much more about the plot but I really enjoyed this. The transitions are sometimes a bit choppy, especially in and out of flashbacks that give us more of the characters history, but I was just so charmed by Shane and Fi, their burgeoning friendship, and their romances. Plus the adventure, treasure hunting part was really fun. I love that queerness is casually accepted in this world. Can't wait for book 2! I think this will be a real crowd-pleaser. The audio narration is also great. I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
January 24, 2023
vacation book #3 - review to come??? i promise i will come back to reviewing - i SWEAR!
Did Not Finish
December 28, 20212.5/2.75
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Okay, I don't think I'm gonna finish this one (I might pick it back up one day but I'm not so sure) so I figured I'd write out all my thoughts.
This book held SO MUCH potential. I mean the concept alone is so exciting: a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with Indiana Jones vibes and a sapphic relationship? Completely up my alley.
Every single element on its own was so well-crafted. The characters were interesting and dynamic, the action was fun and thrilling, and the lore and world-building was absolutely captivating. But they all felt mushed together without a lot of thought. It lacked a necessary narrative foreplay. We had approximately a couple paragraphs to meet each of the main characters before they were tossed into life-and-death situations with almost zero explanation. The way that this book just tossed us as audience members between different scenes and flashbacks and environments in such a short amount of time and with such drastically different stakes was giving me motion sickness. It made the pacing feel hard to follow and never gave me enough time to catch my breath or actually sink my teeth into what was going on. Each scene and moment were individually wonderful, but they were scrambled in such an odd order. Almost like the author wrote a bunch of scenes and plot points and just tossed them up in the air to see where they'd land. It felt like those questions on quizzes in grade school where you would have to unscramble the sentences to make a functional paragraph but like with a whole book.
Maybe this might be a book for someone else, but I could just feel it putting me into a reading slump and I had to put it down. Hugely disappointed.
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Okay, I don't think I'm gonna finish this one (I might pick it back up one day but I'm not so sure) so I figured I'd write out all my thoughts.
This book held SO MUCH potential. I mean the concept alone is so exciting: a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with Indiana Jones vibes and a sapphic relationship? Completely up my alley.
Every single element on its own was so well-crafted. The characters were interesting and dynamic, the action was fun and thrilling, and the lore and world-building was absolutely captivating. But they all felt mushed together without a lot of thought. It lacked a necessary narrative foreplay. We had approximately a couple paragraphs to meet each of the main characters before they were tossed into life-and-death situations with almost zero explanation. The way that this book just tossed us as audience members between different scenes and flashbacks and environments in such a short amount of time and with such drastically different stakes was giving me motion sickness. It made the pacing feel hard to follow and never gave me enough time to catch my breath or actually sink my teeth into what was going on. Each scene and moment were individually wonderful, but they were scrambled in such an odd order. Almost like the author wrote a bunch of scenes and plot points and just tossed them up in the air to see where they'd land. It felt like those questions on quizzes in grade school where you would have to unscramble the sentences to make a functional paragraph but like with a whole book.
Maybe this might be a book for someone else, but I could just feel it putting me into a reading slump and I had to put it down. Hugely disappointed.
zzzz
December 18, 202017-year-old treasure hunter Fi considers the curse ancient history—until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle and comes face to face with the mysterious spirit of Prince Briar Rose. Shane is an axe-wielding huntswoman perpetually on the run from trouble. She partners with Fi for the score of a lifetime but gets a lot more than she bargained for when she finds herself dragged along on the dangerous quest and falling hard for a mysterious girl in red.
✔ Gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty x Indiana Jones
✔ "Ruins, riddles, battle axes, cursed princes & snark"
✔ Dark magic, With Hunters, treacherous exes
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
June 29, 2022
It was great and fun to read. I liked it and I'm excited to see how the story progresses.
August 7, 2022
This had so much potential - it ticked so many boxes - and yet it fell short at every single mark and frankly I feel like I wasted my time reading it.
The concept of a gender-swapped Briar Rose with a buff, lesbian, axe wielding huntswoman, and an Indiana Jones-esque (minus the sexual assault tendencies) treasure Hunter/historian had me by the throat. The idea of a new YA reimagined fairytale of magic and risk and mystery and adventure was captivating.
The execution was so bad it was painful. I feel so mean writing that - I understand that this was the authors first book and that maybe it wasn’t meant for me as much as it was bad - but it’s true. If this wasn’t the chosen read for my bestie Bookclub this month I’d have yeeted this bitch into the DNF pile so quickly!
Ok, so let’s start on a positive - what worked:
-The dialogue was often super fun.
-The action scenes were really engaging and well written.
-The characters had great potential to be fun.
-The story was just different enough from the source material to be new and engaging and fresh.
-Gay. And I like gay.
-The witches/magic system is so cool. I love the specific types of magic users.
-The way that Shane as a woman would be a King. Also the open acceptance of The Gay™️.
-Shane wanting to flex to impress Red. 💯 🔥
What didn’t work:
-The characters were annoying and underdeveloped.
-The pace was so fast you were never able to engage with it fully. Like 8 pages intro and then BOOM ACTION.
-I had 0 emotional investment in anyone except maybe Briar because the pace just didn’t allow you time to grow it.
-The characters were so stupid and it pissed me off so much like they were so annoying. Additionally, they felt like they were built to fit very specific tropes but at the expense of soul.
-Maybe I’m just too old BUT they needed to be aged up. And not just because they story would be better with characters aged 22-30, but because it would make the storyline’s/character arcs make sense (specific example: Shane talking about her “years as a merc” but she’s only 17 so we are expected to believe she became a merc at 13??)
-Predictable. I called most of the main plot points early on. Not the most egregious offence but I’m greedy for something more.
-Flashbacks were super clunky which lead me to the observation that it feels like this was written like a tv show or a movie. I think it could work in its current form for visual media instead of a book.
-The lack of research into some parts just felt lazy. Like there is a scene where Shane breaths into a wine sack to use as an air bladder under water. That’s not how that works. Please just use Google it’s free and easy.
Ok, I need to stop. This book was so utterly disappointing and enraging and I’m so glad to be done. I’m not sure if I’ll read the next book. I want to, to see if the writing has improved with experience and because I’m curious to see what happens. But I also don’t think I want to waste more time on something this awful if it isn’t good.
The concept of a gender-swapped Briar Rose with a buff, lesbian, axe wielding huntswoman, and an Indiana Jones-esque (minus the sexual assault tendencies) treasure Hunter/historian had me by the throat. The idea of a new YA reimagined fairytale of magic and risk and mystery and adventure was captivating.
The execution was so bad it was painful. I feel so mean writing that - I understand that this was the authors first book and that maybe it wasn’t meant for me as much as it was bad - but it’s true. If this wasn’t the chosen read for my bestie Bookclub this month I’d have yeeted this bitch into the DNF pile so quickly!
Ok, so let’s start on a positive - what worked:
-The dialogue was often super fun.
-The action scenes were really engaging and well written.
-The characters had great potential to be fun.
-The story was just different enough from the source material to be new and engaging and fresh.
-Gay. And I like gay.
-The witches/magic system is so cool. I love the specific types of magic users.
-The way that Shane as a woman would be a King. Also the open acceptance of The Gay™️.
-Shane wanting to flex to impress Red. 💯 🔥
What didn’t work:
-The characters were annoying and underdeveloped.
-The pace was so fast you were never able to engage with it fully. Like 8 pages intro and then BOOM ACTION.
-I had 0 emotional investment in anyone except maybe Briar because the pace just didn’t allow you time to grow it.
-The characters were so stupid and it pissed me off so much like they were so annoying. Additionally, they felt like they were built to fit very specific tropes but at the expense of soul.
-Maybe I’m just too old BUT they needed to be aged up. And not just because they story would be better with characters aged 22-30, but because it would make the storyline’s/character arcs make sense (specific example: Shane talking about her “years as a merc” but she’s only 17 so we are expected to believe she became a merc at 13??)
-Predictable. I called most of the main plot points early on. Not the most egregious offence but I’m greedy for something more.
-Flashbacks were super clunky which lead me to the observation that it feels like this was written like a tv show or a movie. I think it could work in its current form for visual media instead of a book.
-The lack of research into some parts just felt lazy. Like there is a scene where Shane breaths into a wine sack to use as an air bladder under water. That’s not how that works. Please just use Google it’s free and easy.
Ok, I need to stop. This book was so utterly disappointing and enraging and I’m so glad to be done. I’m not sure if I’ll read the next book. I want to, to see if the writing has improved with experience and because I’m curious to see what happens. But I also don’t think I want to waste more time on something this awful if it isn’t good.
September 13, 2021
Thank you Penguin Teen & Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4.5/5
This was so much fun!! The whole time reading this I had a giant smile on my face. I love these characters and this world! I want more queer retellings.
The Bone Spindle is a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty in a queer normative world. This book follows cursed bookish treasure hunter, Fi, and Shane, a lesbian with an axe (also a fierce warrior)! The two of them team up when Shane finds a strange map that could lead to treasure and/or magic. Along the way, Fi pricks her finger on a bone spindle and wakes Prince Briar Rose. With Briar's spirit in tow, Fi and Shane will have to travel through the magical forest to his kingdom in order to break his curse.
I loved the characters of this book so much. Between Fi and Shane, I knew I was going to be a goner. Fi is the perfect book lover trope and she's so adorable about it! I loved how tough Shane was, but she also had a fierce loyalty and a soft heart for those she loves. Her backstory really got me, I hope we continue to learn more about her and possibly see her brother and ex-fiance in the sequel!
I will say if you've ever experienced an emotional abusive relationship proceed with caution. Fi deals with a lot of past trauma from her past ex who not only was emotional abusive, manipulative and gaslit her, but he also cursed her before parting ways. While all these things happened in the past, Fi is still dealing with the trauma and the aftermath of it. This ex also appears in the book and tries to manipulate and coerce Fi again. So yeah, he's a scum bag.
The magic and worldbuilding was so cool! I really loved learning more about the world and Briar Rose's Kingdom, especially how he ended up being cursed. All in all, I really loved this retelling and I can't wait for its sequel!!
Rep: female MC with PTSD, Lesbian female MC, sapphic female side character, bisexual female side character, vegetarian male side character, queer-normative world.
CWs: Blood, confinement, emotional abuse, fire, gaslighting, injury/injury detail, mental illness (PTSD), misogyny, sexism, toxic relationship (past one), violence.
4.5/5
This was so much fun!! The whole time reading this I had a giant smile on my face. I love these characters and this world! I want more queer retellings.
The Bone Spindle is a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty in a queer normative world. This book follows cursed bookish treasure hunter, Fi, and Shane, a lesbian with an axe (also a fierce warrior)! The two of them team up when Shane finds a strange map that could lead to treasure and/or magic. Along the way, Fi pricks her finger on a bone spindle and wakes Prince Briar Rose. With Briar's spirit in tow, Fi and Shane will have to travel through the magical forest to his kingdom in order to break his curse.
I loved the characters of this book so much. Between Fi and Shane, I knew I was going to be a goner. Fi is the perfect book lover trope and she's so adorable about it! I loved how tough Shane was, but she also had a fierce loyalty and a soft heart for those she loves. Her backstory really got me, I hope we continue to learn more about her and possibly see her brother and ex-fiance in the sequel!
I will say if you've ever experienced an emotional abusive relationship proceed with caution. Fi deals with a lot of past trauma from her past ex who not only was emotional abusive, manipulative and gaslit her, but he also cursed her before parting ways. While all these things happened in the past, Fi is still dealing with the trauma and the aftermath of it. This ex also appears in the book and tries to manipulate and coerce Fi again. So yeah, he's a scum bag.
The magic and worldbuilding was so cool! I really loved learning more about the world and Briar Rose's Kingdom, especially how he ended up being cursed. All in all, I really loved this retelling and I can't wait for its sequel!!
Rep: female MC with PTSD, Lesbian female MC, sapphic female side character, bisexual female side character, vegetarian male side character, queer-normative world.
CWs: Blood, confinement, emotional abuse, fire, gaslighting, injury/injury detail, mental illness (PTSD), misogyny, sexism, toxic relationship (past one), violence.
July 9, 2022
dnf at 9%
30/325 of my pdf
(if i did the math right it would be 37 pages out of the whole book which is 404 pages but idk)
this book was vecna, i was max, and dnf-ing it was my running up that hill
basically what im trying to say is i would have snap crackle popped and unalived if i stayed and continued this book
30/325 of my pdf
(if i did the math right it would be 37 pages out of the whole book which is 404 pages but idk)
this book was vecna, i was max, and dnf-ing it was my running up that hill
basically what im trying to say is i would have snap crackle popped and unalived if i stayed and continued this book
January 15, 2022
This gender switched, Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones YA fantasy was an absolute pleasure to read. With beautifully lush world building and a loveable, treasure hunting duo serving us Xena, Lara Croft and Evie (from The Mummy) vibes that I couldn’t help but love—it’s an utterly captivating retelling and a must read for all fairytale and YA fantasy lovers.
The story is centred around bookish treasure Hunter Fi who, whilst exploring some old ruins pricks her finger on a bone spindle and ends up stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose, the legendary Prince of Andar, who has been under a sleeping curse for the past 100 years. Now Fi and her axe wielding, business partner Shane must now break the curse and save Briar’s kingdom.
Dark magic,evil witches, witch hunters and even nightmarish beasts (not to mention a curse or two) all stand in their way —as Fi and Shane make the perilous journey to the kingdom where the Prince’s body waits…
This was just… WOW! Words cannot do justice to explain just how incredible this is, I loved every second of it. The world-building was full of intricately rich details that really brought the whole thing to life, so much so in fact, that I have a truly desperate urge to visit The Witches’ Jewellery Box and do some treasure hunting of my own.
I loved the plot, which was just the right blend of fantasy,romance and daring adventure; keeping the pace fast without sacrificing any of the compelling or emotionally significant character development (an exceptional feat given this is a debut novel.)
The plot was incredible (I loved it) but it was the engaging and in depth characters that kept me invested. Shane (our axe wielding and fiercely loyal mercenary) was an absolute joy the get to know (I really enjoyed the backstory about her family and how she came to be a woodsman for hire) and the hilarious banter/ bickering with the bookish and pragmatic Fi—even in the face of danger— was honestly the perfect way to lighten the more intense moments.
Not to mention the absolutely swoon-worthy romance we’re treated to with Fi and Briar, whose chemistry was amazing, though I should warn it is a slow burn. Shane also has chemistry laden romance of her own—with the mysteriously irresistible Red, whose appearances are a bit of a whirlwind but, I have to admit they’re always memorable.
Vedder also makes ample use of the multi POVs (Fi, Shane and Briar) which really added to the immersive experience and helped connect with all three characters. Briar’s was especially helpful as he does spend the entire novel pretty much a ghost, so to get more insight into his life (and emotional state are being alone for 100 years) was great.
I also wanted to mention just how great the LGBTQ+ rep was and how much I loved the Shane and Fi’s incredible bond of friendship and their support for one another through difficult situations. I was also pretty pleased with Vedder’s choice to use stereotypically gendered titles/roles (such as King, huntsman) for any gender (as opposed to changing the title to Queen or huntswoman) and found it really refreshing to see.
Overall, this magically atmospheric and beautifully thrilling, gender-switch retelling of Sleeping Beauty is an absolute must read for all fairytale lovers, adventure aficionados and fans of Socrcery of Thorns or Cinderella Is Dead.
Also a huge thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley for the e-arc.
The story is centred around bookish treasure Hunter Fi who, whilst exploring some old ruins pricks her finger on a bone spindle and ends up stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose, the legendary Prince of Andar, who has been under a sleeping curse for the past 100 years. Now Fi and her axe wielding, business partner Shane must now break the curse and save Briar’s kingdom.
Dark magic,evil witches, witch hunters and even nightmarish beasts (not to mention a curse or two) all stand in their way —as Fi and Shane make the perilous journey to the kingdom where the Prince’s body waits…
This was just… WOW! Words cannot do justice to explain just how incredible this is, I loved every second of it. The world-building was full of intricately rich details that really brought the whole thing to life, so much so in fact, that I have a truly desperate urge to visit The Witches’ Jewellery Box and do some treasure hunting of my own.
I loved the plot, which was just the right blend of fantasy,romance and daring adventure; keeping the pace fast without sacrificing any of the compelling or emotionally significant character development (an exceptional feat given this is a debut novel.)
The plot was incredible (I loved it) but it was the engaging and in depth characters that kept me invested. Shane (our axe wielding and fiercely loyal mercenary) was an absolute joy the get to know (I really enjoyed the backstory about her family and how she came to be a woodsman for hire) and the hilarious banter/ bickering with the bookish and pragmatic Fi—even in the face of danger— was honestly the perfect way to lighten the more intense moments.
Not to mention the absolutely swoon-worthy romance we’re treated to with Fi and Briar, whose chemistry was amazing, though I should warn it is a slow burn. Shane also has chemistry laden romance of her own—with the mysteriously irresistible Red, whose appearances are a bit of a whirlwind but, I have to admit they’re always memorable.
Vedder also makes ample use of the multi POVs (Fi, Shane and Briar) which really added to the immersive experience and helped connect with all three characters. Briar’s was especially helpful as he does spend the entire novel pretty much a ghost, so to get more insight into his life (and emotional state are being alone for 100 years) was great.
I also wanted to mention just how great the LGBTQ+ rep was and how much I loved the Shane and Fi’s incredible bond of friendship and their support for one another through difficult situations. I was also pretty pleased with Vedder’s choice to use stereotypically gendered titles/roles (such as King, huntsman) for any gender (as opposed to changing the title to Queen or huntswoman) and found it really refreshing to see.
Overall, this magically atmospheric and beautifully thrilling, gender-switch retelling of Sleeping Beauty is an absolute must read for all fairytale lovers, adventure aficionados and fans of Socrcery of Thorns or Cinderella Is Dead.
Also a huge thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley for the e-arc.
February 2, 2022
This is a really impressive debut that had many elements that I enjoyed. I especially liked the gender bent retellings, it felt fun and intriguing.
I liked both main characters when we were in their individual POV. But I had a bit of a hard time for Fi when viewing her from Shane’s POV, because then she came across as having a superior complex. I didn’t feel like it was present when viewing everything from Fi’s angle, but it was clear that Shane felt ignored and dismissed.
The characters may also be a bit one-dimensional, I didn’t really mind it because both Shane and Fi’s love interest Briar Rose was a comic relief and then I can overlook a lot. But I also think they’re going to develop more in the coming books.
The storyline was overall really good, but the pacing were sometimes a bit slow. For me I think that came from all the flashbacks, I understand that we’re supposed to get a better understanding for the characters because of this. But it threw the pacing off and I would rather have it came across in a different way.
I also think that the world building could’ve used some more work and a lot of things a probably a bit easy to predict. But that doesn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying the book and I will definitely read the next.
I liked both main characters when we were in their individual POV. But I had a bit of a hard time for Fi when viewing her from Shane’s POV, because then she came across as having a superior complex. I didn’t feel like it was present when viewing everything from Fi’s angle, but it was clear that Shane felt ignored and dismissed.
The characters may also be a bit one-dimensional, I didn’t really mind it because both Shane and Fi’s love interest Briar Rose was a comic relief and then I can overlook a lot. But I also think they’re going to develop more in the coming books.
The storyline was overall really good, but the pacing were sometimes a bit slow. For me I think that came from all the flashbacks, I understand that we’re supposed to get a better understanding for the characters because of this. But it threw the pacing off and I would rather have it came across in a different way.
I also think that the world building could’ve used some more work and a lot of things a probably a bit easy to predict. But that doesn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying the book and I will definitely read the next.
October 4, 2021
fun & fast-paced, which was appreciated since i found the writing a little basic & the emotional beats didn't hit
5 reasons to read this book
Rep: lesbian mc, sapphic li
5 reasons to read this book
Rep: lesbian mc, sapphic li
March 25, 2024
3,5 🌟
The start of this book was very, very painful. It took all my strength to push through but honestly, I’m glad I did! This story ended up being so much fun and so adventurous. Not yet sure if I’ll continue reading this series but I definitely don’t regret pushing through :)
The start of this book was very, very painful. It took all my strength to push through but honestly, I’m glad I did! This story ended up being so much fun and so adventurous. Not yet sure if I’ll continue reading this series but I definitely don’t regret pushing through :)
January 18, 2022
3 stars. Pretty solid debut. I liked the characters Fi, Shane, and Briar well enough and the plot is fun but the execution of it needed some work. We’re dropped into the story and world with no build up and it read like this book was a second book to something but it’s clearly not. Everything moves at a rapid pace and needed to be fleshed out more. The world building is a bit murky and the characters don’t get enough time to really develop any genuine connections.
This was a case of too fast paced when it needed to be slowed down and built upon more. It wasn’t awful or anything and I liked it enough that I will pick up the sequel whenever it comes out.
This was a case of too fast paced when it needed to be slowed down and built upon more. It wasn’t awful or anything and I liked it enough that I will pick up the sequel whenever it comes out.
November 5, 2021
Unfortunately, I was just meh about this book. It had good vibes, and I liked the idea of it. But when it came to the execution I just didn't really care.
Another thing is, this uses some tropes that you see in other treasure hunter media, and those tropes don't actually work as well in a YA book because of how young they are. It's hard to have a sordid past or a tense romantic history with someone when you're like 16. It just means that there wasn't actually that much time since those events and it doesn't hit as well as I personally would like it too.
Another thing is, this uses some tropes that you see in other treasure hunter media, and those tropes don't actually work as well in a YA book because of how young they are. It's hard to have a sordid past or a tense romantic history with someone when you're like 16. It just means that there wasn't actually that much time since those events and it doesn't hit as well as I personally would like it too.
June 10, 2022
byłyby 2⭐️! ale dzięki Shane która jest połączeniem florence pugh oraz flynna z zaplątanych dostała ta książka dodatkową gwiazdeczke.
•nie wiem co mam powiedzieć, faktycznie jest to retelling śpiącej królewny, ma to w sobie coś z indiany jonesa (i w ogóle tych wszystkich filmów o poszukiwaczach sakrobow na których się wychowałam) … ale no.. czegoś mnie zabrakło… a może bardziej drażniła mnie relacja Fi i Śpiącego królewicza… tam dosłownie działo się wszystko i jednocześnie nic! to była najnudniejsza relacja jaką widziałam pomiędzy dwojgiem ludzi 💔
•naprawdę żałuje że nie mogę napisać że pokochałam te książkę, że pragnęłam ją z każda stroną bardziej, prawdę mówiąc bardzo przeciągałam w czasie jej czytanie…
•i bardzo mi smutni z tego powodu… bo naprawdę liczyłam na coś super! coś wybitnego …a tutaj takie disappointed
•nie wiem co mam powiedzieć, faktycznie jest to retelling śpiącej królewny, ma to w sobie coś z indiany jonesa (i w ogóle tych wszystkich filmów o poszukiwaczach sakrobow na których się wychowałam) … ale no.. czegoś mnie zabrakło… a może bardziej drażniła mnie relacja Fi i Śpiącego królewicza… tam dosłownie działo się wszystko i jednocześnie nic! to była najnudniejsza relacja jaką widziałam pomiędzy dwojgiem ludzi 💔
•naprawdę żałuje że nie mogę napisać że pokochałam te książkę, że pragnęłam ją z każda stroną bardziej, prawdę mówiąc bardzo przeciągałam w czasie jej czytanie…
•i bardzo mi smutni z tego powodu… bo naprawdę liczyłam na coś super! coś wybitnego …a tutaj takie disappointed
March 26, 2022
"Maybe falling in love wasn't something you dreamed about, or something you left to destiny. Maybe it was something that happened when you were having too much fun to nice."
After several weeks since I decided to read this one, and I'm proudly to say I have finished reading this book and tell you guys, this book really helped me out from my one-month suffering from reading slump.
Okay, should we start the review?
The story followed Filore or Fi, a treasure hunter who accidentally pricked her finger on the bone spindle while she was exploring a long-lost ruin and thus, she started being stuck with the spirit of Prince Briar Rose The Sleeping Prince. So together, Fi and her partner, Shane, a huntsman for hire which also a warrior started their new adventure to save Andar, the Sleeping Kingdom from the wicked Spindle Witch (yep, everyone, it's a gender bent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, y'alls!)
The main characters—Filore, Shane and Briar Rose. Okay, well I love the three of them. I love the way I can relate to Filore for her love towards history so much just like me and Shane with her sarcastic, loyal and loud personality. And Briar Rose? Well... I love his flirty and playful personality, especially his relationship with Fi.
"You really are nothing like a typical prince," Fi said.
"Would you like me better if I were?" Briar asked.
"No," she said. "Not one bit."
Furthermore, it's a fast-paced fantasy adventure story. The world-building in this book too managed to made me feel amazed with it. There's also an unexpected twist too (my jaw-dropped when reading it since I'm guessing something else, but no, the twist exceed my expectation!). You know what? I didn't regret for buying this book since it's one of my most anticipated 2022 reads and, it's really satisfied me. Such a delightful debut book from the author herself!
For me, this book was really a page-turner for me since it's been a long time since I read a good fantasy treasure hunting adventure just like this one, and I'm a massive fan of retelling moreover if the retelling are gender-bending retelling. I can tell you The Bone Spindle really gave me Indiana Jones vibes too. Suddenly, I feel like I want to be a treasure hunter and prick my finger on a spindle, so I can have my own Sleeping Prince (okay, stop dreaming, Fey!)
And there's only one thing I didn't really-but-still-fine for me in this book; the insta love between the characters. Well, I'm not a fan of insta love, but hmm, okay.... this one was fine for me.
I don't want to talk about the ending. I only want to say... JUST GIVE ME THE SEQUEL OF THIS BOOK NOW!!!
Will I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of fairytales retelling, treasure hunting, Indiana Jones, ancient kingdoms of witches, please do pick up this book as soon as possible! I guarantee you would love it just like the way I love it!
Rate: 4.2🌟
—Buddy reading this one with Belle (@showeringfantasies) and we had a lot of fun while reading this book!
Fey signing out. Peace!
—Feyssa, Your Friendly Faerie Witch.
After several weeks since I decided to read this one, and I'm proudly to say I have finished reading this book and tell you guys, this book really helped me out from my one-month suffering from reading slump.
Okay, should we start the review?
The story followed Filore or Fi, a treasure hunter who accidentally pricked her finger on the bone spindle while she was exploring a long-lost ruin and thus, she started being stuck with the spirit of Prince Briar Rose The Sleeping Prince. So together, Fi and her partner, Shane, a huntsman for hire which also a warrior started their new adventure to save Andar, the Sleeping Kingdom from the wicked Spindle Witch (yep, everyone, it's a gender bent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, y'alls!)
The main characters—Filore, Shane and Briar Rose. Okay, well I love the three of them. I love the way I can relate to Filore for her love towards history so much just like me and Shane with her sarcastic, loyal and loud personality. And Briar Rose? Well... I love his flirty and playful personality, especially his relationship with Fi.
"You really are nothing like a typical prince," Fi said.
"Would you like me better if I were?" Briar asked.
"No," she said. "Not one bit."
Furthermore, it's a fast-paced fantasy adventure story. The world-building in this book too managed to made me feel amazed with it. There's also an unexpected twist too (my jaw-dropped when reading it since I'm guessing something else, but no, the twist exceed my expectation!). You know what? I didn't regret for buying this book since it's one of my most anticipated 2022 reads and, it's really satisfied me. Such a delightful debut book from the author herself!
For me, this book was really a page-turner for me since it's been a long time since I read a good fantasy treasure hunting adventure just like this one, and I'm a massive fan of retelling moreover if the retelling are gender-bending retelling. I can tell you The Bone Spindle really gave me Indiana Jones vibes too. Suddenly, I feel like I want to be a treasure hunter and prick my finger on a spindle, so I can have my own Sleeping Prince (okay, stop dreaming, Fey!)
And there's only one thing I didn't really-but-still-fine for me in this book; the insta love between the characters. Well, I'm not a fan of insta love, but hmm, okay.... this one was fine for me.
I don't want to talk about the ending. I only want to say... JUST GIVE ME THE SEQUEL OF THIS BOOK NOW!!!
Will I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of fairytales retelling, treasure hunting, Indiana Jones, ancient kingdoms of witches, please do pick up this book as soon as possible! I guarantee you would love it just like the way I love it!
Rate: 4.2🌟
—Buddy reading this one with Belle (@showeringfantasies) and we had a lot of fun while reading this book!
Fey signing out. Peace!
—Feyssa, Your Friendly Faerie Witch.
Want to Read
September 29, 2021who gave this cover the right to be that GORGEOUS
also the title??? like sorcery of thorns?? indiana jones meets sleeping beauty?? queer???? everything i never knew i needed in my life
also the title??? like sorcery of thorns?? indiana jones meets sleeping beauty?? queer???? everything i never knew i needed in my life
Want to Read
April 1, 2021Genderflipped Sleeping Beauty x Indiana Jones with ruins, riddles, battle axes, cursed princes, m/f & f/f love, and snark.I'm a simple lady: give me all the genderflipped retellings, especially if sapphic.
Read
December 10, 2022dnf because i got bored and just wasn’t enjoying this at all but i’ve heard great things so i might try it again in the future!
October 12, 2021
Actual rating: 4.5
Thanks to Edelweiss and Razorbill for providing me with an early copy. The book comes out on January 11th 2022 .
“A drop of blood, a drop of hope…”
The Bone Spindle takes the classic tale of the sleeping beauty, gender bends it and adds so much action you will hardly be able to put the book down. The two main heroines, Fi and Shane are both compelling characters and each one has a distinctive personality and voice which is quite important considering their point of view changes throughout the book. The story starts when the two girls team up in order to try and break a hundred year old curse that has put a kingdom near them to sleep.
I’m a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles and this reminded me so much of that so of course I ended up loving it. The story is very fun and fast paced. The world building is very interesting because beside the familiar fairy tale setting there is also the addition of different witches in contrast to the traditional fairies. The way kingdoms work here is also refreshing because in this world being queer is normalized and totally acceptable even for heirs to the throne. Both characters have backstories which we gradually learn about throughout the book and which help us understand how they ended up where they are now. In addition to Fi and Shane we also meet Briar, a sleeping prince in the form of a ghost who even gets a point of view later in the book. The dynamic between the three of them is amusing as they all have quite different personalities.
I do have to say there are two things I didn’t like. First are the flashbacks. Now I don’t mind a few of them especially if they are incorporated into the story well. But here I think there is a bit too many of them, and at times they broke the flow of the story. Some flashbacks were used to explain things which were crucial so we could understand the plot, but some felt like ‘fillers’ and could be replaced with a few sentences coming from characters as they remember or reminiscent of what happened before.
And the other thing I didn’t like and oh boy, this is the sole reason I took half of the star off. It’s the way a sapphic relationship was done. When I read the synopsis I knew it was gonna follow two main characters and that it was going to have a m/f and w/w relationship. But honestly I feel like the treatment of sapphic relationships was so different compared to the straight one. Fi and Briar were given a lot more development and time so I could understand where the romantic feelings came from. I mean right from the start the book already lets you know who is gonna end up with who. So the fun in it is really when you see how it happens. And with Fi and Briar there is a medium paced burn. You get to learn about both characters beforehand. Both of them also have point of view in the book so you know their motivations and feelings. They share a lot of moments together which makes you root for them.
With Shane and Red it’s a different story. I get Red is supposed to be mysterious but she simply wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to understand or care about her or the fact that she is a romantic interest of one of the main characters. Earlier in this review I mentioned how much I love The Lunar Chronicles and how this reminds me of that series. But the thing with TLC is that there are four main characters where each one has a love interest and each one is also given their own book so their stories and relationships could be properly developed. From what I see this will have a sequel and I would have much rather preferred if Shane’s and
Red’s arc was done in the second book instead of doing it so badly in this one. Of course there is still time and I hope that they will be developed more, but the whole thing of already falling in love based on nothing just irritated me. If you want to have a queer main character you can have it without necessarily giving them a love interest. In fact I would rather take that than some undeveloped insta-love plot that feels almost forced just for the sake of the representation. Shane was really well written at first but toward the end she somehow started to feel as more of a secondary sidekick than the main character herself.
Overall I would recommend this book to everyone who loves adventure and fairy tale retellings with a twist. It’s a really awesome story and it was nicely written. It’s quite impressive that this is the debut novel from the author. My only complaint is as I said the way that the sapphic relationship was handled which to me as a queer person myself matters.
Review also posted on my blog.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Razorbill for providing me with an early copy. The book comes out on January 11th 2022 .
“A drop of blood, a drop of hope…”
The Bone Spindle takes the classic tale of the sleeping beauty, gender bends it and adds so much action you will hardly be able to put the book down. The two main heroines, Fi and Shane are both compelling characters and each one has a distinctive personality and voice which is quite important considering their point of view changes throughout the book. The story starts when the two girls team up in order to try and break a hundred year old curse that has put a kingdom near them to sleep.
I’m a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles and this reminded me so much of that so of course I ended up loving it. The story is very fun and fast paced. The world building is very interesting because beside the familiar fairy tale setting there is also the addition of different witches in contrast to the traditional fairies. The way kingdoms work here is also refreshing because in this world being queer is normalized and totally acceptable even for heirs to the throne. Both characters have backstories which we gradually learn about throughout the book and which help us understand how they ended up where they are now. In addition to Fi and Shane we also meet Briar, a sleeping prince in the form of a ghost who even gets a point of view later in the book. The dynamic between the three of them is amusing as they all have quite different personalities.
I do have to say there are two things I didn’t like. First are the flashbacks. Now I don’t mind a few of them especially if they are incorporated into the story well. But here I think there is a bit too many of them, and at times they broke the flow of the story. Some flashbacks were used to explain things which were crucial so we could understand the plot, but some felt like ‘fillers’ and could be replaced with a few sentences coming from characters as they remember or reminiscent of what happened before.
And the other thing I didn’t like and oh boy, this is the sole reason I took half of the star off. It’s the way a sapphic relationship was done. When I read the synopsis I knew it was gonna follow two main characters and that it was going to have a m/f and w/w relationship. But honestly I feel like the treatment of sapphic relationships was so different compared to the straight one. Fi and Briar were given a lot more development and time so I could understand where the romantic feelings came from. I mean right from the start the book already lets you know who is gonna end up with who. So the fun in it is really when you see how it happens. And with Fi and Briar there is a medium paced burn. You get to learn about both characters beforehand. Both of them also have point of view in the book so you know their motivations and feelings. They share a lot of moments together which makes you root for them.
With Shane and Red it’s a different story. I get Red is supposed to be mysterious but she simply wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to understand or care about her or the fact that she is a romantic interest of one of the main characters. Earlier in this review I mentioned how much I love The Lunar Chronicles and how this reminds me of that series. But the thing with TLC is that there are four main characters where each one has a love interest and each one is also given their own book so their stories and relationships could be properly developed. From what I see this will have a sequel and I would have much rather preferred if Shane’s and
Red’s arc was done in the second book instead of doing it so badly in this one. Of course there is still time and I hope that they will be developed more, but the whole thing of already falling in love based on nothing just irritated me. If you want to have a queer main character you can have it without necessarily giving them a love interest. In fact I would rather take that than some undeveloped insta-love plot that feels almost forced just for the sake of the representation. Shane was really well written at first but toward the end she somehow started to feel as more of a secondary sidekick than the main character herself.
Overall I would recommend this book to everyone who loves adventure and fairy tale retellings with a twist. It’s a really awesome story and it was nicely written. It’s quite impressive that this is the debut novel from the author. My only complaint is as I said the way that the sapphic relationship was handled which to me as a queer person myself matters.
Review also posted on my blog.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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