Welcome to book spotlight where instead of giving you another book review, I’m just going to talk about books I’ve read recently that I enjoyed. Prepare yourself for the fangirl gushing.
Sometimes I request books on NetGalley and by the time I actually get approved or get around to reading it, I forget what drew me to the title in the first place. But when it comes to Bone Weaver by Aden Polydoros, it didn’t take me long after starting to understand why I requested an early copy of this book.
I love the world-building of this book. It definitely sets itself apart by being inspired by Russian and Slavic culture. I love the turn of the century/steampunk vibe with dirigibles and trains and guns and the inclusion of mythical creatures and magic. I love the idea that maybe the monsters aren’t what you think they are and the real monsters are the humans causing violence and destruction instead.
Both the world-building and characters have a lot of depth to them. I love each of the journeys of the main characters and how things tie together. The banter between them is also fun. The ending suggests there is more to their stories, and while I don’t think this book needs a sequel, I wouldn’t mind reading about what happens next in this world. There is a lot of potential here.
My only issue is that the middle meanders a bit. The beginning has the right amount of excitement to get the story going, but things slow down in the middle. I don’t think this is a long book, but it feels long while reading. I found myself just wanting to hurry and get to the end. I realize that what the characters face in the story is important for their journeys, but it just seemed to take forever for them to get to where they needed to be. And they’re constantly being captured and escaping, captured and escaping, which gets repetitive after a while. And Toma also gets knocked out a lot, enough that I started noticing it.
But overall, this book was mesmerizing and intriguing. The world-building is so well-down, the characters well-developed. This book would appeal to fans of the Grisha books by Leigh Bardugo and A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft.
Keeper of the Wood Between Worlds 