Book: Castles In Their Bones by Laura Sebastian
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publishing Date: February 1, 2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis:
A spellbinding story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown. Immerse yourself in the first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series.
Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born. Princesses Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz will be queens. And now, age sixteen, they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes.
Beautiful, smart, and demure, the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl. Which is a grave mistake. Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz are no innocents. They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception, seduction, and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.
The princesses have spent their lives preparing, and now they are ready, each with her own secret skill, and each with a single wish, pulled from the stars. Only, the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers.
Life abroad is a test. Will their loyalties stay true? Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other?
My Review:
This is the kind of book which people often think about for days on end! I can say this because this has happened with me!
➳ There's so much to say about this book and I don't think I'll get all of it written down😅 As this book has multiple POVs, mostly the triplets', it was a bit difficult to follow along and distinguish between the triplets but that changed quickly for which I was glad.😂 The synopsis offers only a quarter of what the books offers, there is so much more to this book. The plot which was deception, betrayal, assassinating, politics and backstabbing was very intriguing to read. I relished reading the scheming and rebelling, it was so good, despite me being almost sick with anxiety about what was going to happen next. I am once again going to talk about the politics because it was that good! The different countries in this book are highly layered with their own culture, traditions and temperaments which is a very difficult thing to conjure and naturally the author must be applauded for that. The specific kingdoms had their own politics, power-hungry people and views on magic, it was so pleasurable to read it. I absolutely loved reading everything the Empress planned to lay out and the pieces of a puzzle falling into place, utterly delightful and enjoyable! Also, the betrayals, plot twits and turns are sure to keep anyone on the edge of their seats!
➳ One thing I adored was how each character was so different from one another and this book has a vast cast of characters. Each has their own personality and it was fun reading how the triplets differed from each other. Another thing I loved was how Sophronia, Beatriz and Daphne started seeing the world from their eyes and not the Empress's. They sometimes questioned and acted according to what was right not what had to be done "no matter what", according to their mother. I especially loved Sophronia from the three sisters because she broke from the hold her mother had on her and did what was right. The sibling bond was very heart-warming and lovely to read, the sisters supported each other no matter the circumstances which is a goal when writing these bonds. There was romance but thankfully not the main plot but it was warm. I almost forgot to add that the ending broke me😭
➳ All in all, this was a very delightful and heart-wrenching book which every YA fantasy lover needs to get their hands on!
Thank you so much TBR And Beyond Tours for an eARC and an opportunity for being on a tour for this book! The tour schedule can be found here.
Book Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound
About The Author:
Laura Sebastian was born and raised in South Florida (the Redlands and Key Largo) and has always loved telling stories–many apologies to her little brother who often got in trouble because of them. She got her BFA in Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design before realizing she preferred the other side of storytelling.
When Laura isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, cooking/baking, or buying more clothes than her overstuffed closet can fit. She currently lives in London with her two dogs, Neville and Circe.
Her New York Times Bestselling series, Ash Princess, is out now from Delacorte (Penguin Random House. Keep an eye out for her debut adult fantasy book, Half Sick Of Shadows, out Summer 2021, and the first book in her new YA series, Castles In Their Bones.