★★★★★ 5
Call it a Masterpiece
It is such a pleasure to revisit The Road of Bones. To travel its road with a fresh perspective and fall in love all over again-- as if it's the first time. For it is a revelation.
The world-building that daunted me the first go around is now a warm embrace, it is an exhilarating charm. I readily hold onto its every detail, I listen up for every piece of information, collecting ravenously. I fall in deeper love with our heroine Silla and the enigmatic Bloodaxe crew.
This book should be considered a classic. I hope it is, I hope one day when people list modern classics, this gorgeous story (and its glorious sequel that is soon to be re-released under Delacorte Press!), will be firmly at the top of all mentions. That’s where I’d put them.
The Road of Bones opened my eyes to a brand new world, and I feel right at home.
A home led by whom has become one of my all-time favorite heroines, Silla. Oh dear Silla, how I adore you. My favorite part of her is her strength, but it’s not the type ever so commonly seen in fantasy. It’s not one of brawn and physical power, it’s one of brain, wit, and so much heart. I can’t express how much I NEED heroines like her. Soft, gentle, vulnerable, and oh so wholly relatable. I was glad she wasn’t a warrior, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a fighter. That doesn't mean her own unique strength isn’t as valuable as those who can wield a heavy blade or physically stand in the way of the villains. Her strength is her courage, her kindness, her wit, her will to live and never bring harm to others. She will buckle, she will fall, but she always tries her very best to get back up. And she feels so much, she wears her heart on her sleeve, and is vulnerable, is emotional, and is so utterly human.
I look at Silla’s journey in awe, I look at what’s ahead in wonder, and I look at that girl and think: she is magnificent. She defies the archetype of the common fantasy heroine and that makes her all the more unique and relatable.
Something this book achieves for me that no other book had until now, is make me love a multi-POV book! I was nervous, y’all! Could I handle more than single or dual POV? As it turns out: Heck yeah I can! In fact, I highly anticipated each POV presented as the narrative unfurled. But I played favorites, I can’t lie, I did, I did!
Silla, my girl, my number one. But her love interest— *the* love interest— slowly but surely creeps in the most tantalizing way. I don’t want to spoil this POV, but my story’s end, trust me, you’ll know. And he is such an incredible part in this story, his scenes at the end had my heart racing and I genuinely mean that literally. My heart was pounding in my ears, both times I read this. I think every time I reread the ending all my emotions will be pouring out like it’s the first time. I was just so immersed, my attention so deeply captured that it like connected into each of emotions in an explosion of fireworks. It’s so rare to find a book that pulls something so powerful out of you.
But The Road of Bones does just that.
Brava, Demi Winters, brava! To watch this journey from an indie published work to now a traditionally published book, allowing for greater audiences, has been absolutely magic.
If you love fantasy, romance, intelligent plots, excellent pacing, and a dynamic cast of characters you will come to know deeply and feel so many colliding emotions for— then pick The Road of Bones as soon as you can!
You won’t regret it— that is my promise to you! And just you wait, oh my goodness, just you wait for the new edition of Kingdom of Claw, to me— it’s the greatest sequel of all time, and I am so excited to read its new release. Let’s goooo!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2024
