Bone Crier’s Moon is the first book in a YA fantasy Duology. Ailesse is destined to kill her fated soulmate like all the others of her kind. Bastien is driven by revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a woman in white, a bone crier, when he was a child. They are ill-fated at the start. Not only do we have the ill-fated lovers trope but fated lovers, and enemies to lovers tropes. This book sure does pack in the romance tropes. Thankfully it doesn’t make the plot feel bloated or unfocused. The enemies to lovers could have been fleshed out more but paired with the fated lovers trope it does make up for some of the lacking progression from I want to kill you to I will kill for you. Both Bastien and Ailesse struggle with the confusion over their own reasons to seek the others demise and if the feelings they are experiencing for each other are real or just the product of the gods magic. I really enjoyed the banter between them and how sweet Bastien eventually came to be with her. I hope they do end up being endgame, but with the twist and turns in the plot nothing is for sure.
Besides Bastien and Ailesse we also follow along with Sabine, Ailesse’s best friend and fellow bone crier. She has a very strong character arc and part to play in the story. Starting as a very passive and meek girl she finds herself and her inner strength in the process of trying to save her best friend from the boy she was supposed to kill. I’m hoping she gets her happy ending as well in the next book and finds a way to break the cycle of sacrifice the bone criers are stuck in.
With French influences sprinkled in, the world created is rich and imaginative. The magic system is nothing like I have seen before. The idea of sacrificing animals to take on their characteristics is new and intriguing, and take on the reaper mythos makes for a well rounded lore that feels complete.
Over all Bone Crier’s Moon is a lovely read that keeps you hooked with a deep complex world and magic system, and romance that keeps you on your toes. The second book in the duology, Bone Crier’s Dawn, comes out next month and you can bet it will be in my hands on release day.
