Tag: Viking-inspired

Broken Souls and Bones by. L.J. Andrews | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Broken Souls and Bones (Stonegate, #1)

Author: L.J. Andrews

Format: borrowed (Libby)

Pages: 470

Publication Date: 4/29/25

Categories: Romantasy, Series, Viking-Inspired


Together they’ll restore a divided kingdom—or burn it down—in this new romantasy from USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation LJ Andrews.

Lyra Bien intended to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of the magic-obsessed king in the fortress of Stonegate. Until Roark Ashwood—the prince’s silent guard and rumored killer for the crown—invades her village and uncovers the truth behind the silver scars in her eyes. To save her best friend from death, she’s forced to reveal her abilities, and is immediately claimed by the crown as the next melder.

To be the King’s melder is to be revered and feared in equal measures, but above all it is a slow death sentence. Lyra is determined to find a way to free herself and her friends from bondage. But first she must get more information from the silent, brooding sentry who first took her captive: Roark.

As Lyra gets closer to Roark, she soon learns he’s nothing like she assumed—and in fact everything she needs. The more they work as allies, the harder it becomes to ignore the growing passion between them. After a sinister truth is revealed, Roark and Lyra must choose to stand against all they know, or accept their dark destiny.


Content Warning: violence, bodily injuries

+ I didn’t know this was the same author who wrote The Ever King series, which I love. But I shouldn’t have been surprised – I finished this book in three days (only because I was reading another book at the same time).

+ This is a viking-inspired romantasy and I found it refreshing especially with the unique magic system in place. The magic consists of bone magic – and there are some gruesome parts in this book where Lyra has to plunge her hand into a would to use her magic. Or she can manipulate someone’s bones – yikes! What a weapon to have! I found it fascinating and hope to learn more about it. There is political drama, secrets also and a few plot twists.

+ Our MMC, Roark, can’t speak and uses sign language so it was interesting to see him and Lyra go from enemies to lovers but I was definitely rooting for them the whole way. He is basically her bodyguard and with all the forced proximity their desire and like for one another grows substantially. I liked how protective he was of her but we shall see what happens in book two!

+ I loved the side characters like Emi and Prince Thane. I like the camaraderie and sense of family that Lyra observes between Thane, Emi and Roark. Lyra has her own found family as well with Kael and the other people in their group.

~ I did find it a little challenging to figure out what was happening with the magic they were using. I definitely could visualize it when they did it, especially bone craft but I think there is a lot more to learn about all the crafts and I hope we get that in book two. Lyra has all three, she’s a melder, but she learned the magic a little too fast I think for someone who was hiding that part of her and never used it before.

~ There is a major plot twist but I will admit I was confused for a minute as to what was happening. A lot was happening at the end of this story that shocked me. And it ends in a cliffhanger, of course!

Final Thoughts:

I’ve been in a reading slump and I feel like this pushed me out of it! I like that it was viking-inspired instead of all the same romantasy settings I’ve been reading lately and the magic system is unique, though would love to learn more about it. I loved Lyra and Roark’s romance story but with that cliffhanger ending and I can’t wait to see what happens in book two!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

The Mist Thief by. L.J. Andrews | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Ever Queen By. L.J. Andrews | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ever King By. L.J. Andrews | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

ARC Review | The Girl the Sea Gave Back

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Author: Adrienne Young

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**


For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home. 

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a Viking-inspired stand alone book set ten years after the events in Adrienne’s Young’s first book, Sky in the Deep. I am a big fan of Sky in the Deep. I thought it depicted Nordic life as I imagined it would be: violent, harsh and full of mysticism.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back brings us back to the same setting but this time we are following Tova and Halvard. The book is told through their dual perspectives. Tova is the girl who wasn’t supposed to be alive. She becomes the rune caster of sorts for The Svell people. The Svell think she is a curse, but the leader of the Svell keeps her with them. Among her own people, the Kyrr, who she has been separated from, she would known as a Truthbearer.

Halvard, is part of the Nādhir people. The Svell has been terrorizing their villages and they meet with the Svell to repair relations when the meeting ends up in bloodshed. From there, we see how Tova’s fate is tied with Halvard and the Svell as they all fight for their survival.

The things I liked about the book:

  • I found Tova and the mysterious Kyrr people fascinating. I loved learning about them and wanted to learn more about their mystical ways. I think the only time I really connected to the book was when it was about the Kyrr tribe.
  • The action and battle scenes are great. It is violent but for the time period this story is set in, I expect to see this type of violence.
  • The author does so well writing these historical fiction novels because I feel immersed in the world, especially when it comes to the landscape, battle scenes and mystical aspects of their religion.

The things I didn’t enjoy:

  • The time jumping threw me off it was so jarring because it went back 7 years, then 10 years, then 12 years…🤦🏻‍♀️. I think without it, my reading experience would have been way different. This was my biggest issue with the book.
  • The romance was not a thing in the book and then there it was in the end. It wasn’t nurtured enough throughout the book so for me it felt forced.
  • I also had a hard time connecting to any of the characters until maybe the ending of the book. I really I gravitated more towards Tova’s background and family. That’s where I felt excitement when I read the story.

Overall, I think I had higher expectations. I enjoyed the parts of the Kyrr and Tova’s history but everything else in this story was just okay for me.

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!