Review: Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Title: Bone Crier’s Moon
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Publisher: HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen
Release date: March 10th, 2020
Page count: 480
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Summary

Bone Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Crier’s one true love.

Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined –in life and in death.

Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Crier’s work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions –and their matriarch– to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die.

Review

Reading this book was quite a ride! Action-packed, full of strong and badass women, with an unique worldbuilding and a magical setting, Bone Crier’s Moon easily makes it to my best reads list of this year.

I think the summary was pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll skip that part. The first thing that called my attention from this book (besides its more-than-beautiful cover) was the summary. Bone Criers are magical beings of the author’s creation, something along the lines of a witch and an angel, in my opinion. I deeply enjoyed learning more about them. They have Gods, myths, sacred places and rituals of their own. The author takes inspiration from France for the story’s setting and you can really see that in the places the characters go, the myths mentioned in the story, and some words used in the book that are, surprisingly, totally made up.

The pacing of the book was just perfect, you jump quickly into the story and then it’s like you’ve known this world for a long time. It’s full of action, and not a single page goes to waste, but still has some quiet moment in which we see the characters (especially the main three) have a beautiful development, while they find out why they were wrong with their ideals since forever.

If the Bone Crier wants a soulmate, I’ll give her one. I’ll give her me. Then I’ll break her.

Kathryn Purdie, Bone Crier’s Moon

This book toys with the lines of evil and good. Everyone thinks they’re the heroes of their own stories. Take the Bone Criers, like Ailesse, for example: they think they’re doing the right thing by killing their amourés (the word they use for their soulmates) and sacrificing animals to claim their graces. Bastien thinks he’s doing the right thing by killing a Bone Crier even if it isn’t the one who killed his father. And Odiva, Ailesse’s mother and an important piece of this story, thinks she’s doing the right thing by going beyond her famille’s rules in order to get the one thing she’s been wanting for years. Everyone in this book is determined to get what they want, and will do anything to get it. So, with that being said, Bone Crier’s Moon is full of morally-gray, flawed characters that have an interesting development throughout the book.

Continuing with the characters, I really liked how different they were from each other, despite having their tenacity and determination in common. Ailesse is our strong and independent heroine, I really liked to see her standing up for herself and never expecting to be saved by anyone. Bastien is stubborn, the life he has lived made him prejudiced and a bit irrational, but he’s kind and would do anything to protect his friends. Sabine was the first character I got to love, she’s sensitive but willing to go through hell and back for her best friend. Jules, despite not being my favorite, had some growth towards the end that makes me curious about where her story’s going in the next book. And Marcel is such a sweet and shy character with a passion for knowledge. Let’s protect him at all costs.

Focusing on Ailesse and Bastien’s relationship, it was one interesting thing to read. During the first pages, I had no idea how these two could possibly end up together, but the author slowly puts everything into place for that to be possible eventually. Their chemistry is amazing, they love each other as deeply as they once stupidly hated one another. I think Ailesse and Bastien carry in their relationship the book’s strongest message: that not everything you believe is always quite right, and sometimes we need to step back and see the other people’s reasons of being the way they are. And whether or not there’s something that can be done to change that for the better.

The gods have nothing to do with us. We don’t have to play their games.

Kathryn Purdie, Bone Crier’s Moon

The gods play an interesting role in this story. They were mere mortals a long time ago, forced to be apart for eternity. Enraged, they make the Bone Criers kill their loved ones. Because of this particular thing, I think the next book will have some kind of fight with them. Perhaps we’ll see the characters going to the Night Heavens and the Underworld to force them to end the curse? Who knows!

In conclusion, Bone Crier’s Moon is a beautiful book about found family, love, friendship, growth and redefining the lines of good and evil. I can’t wait for Bone Crier’s Dawn!

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Have you read Bone Crier’s Moon or are planning to read it? Let me know in the comments!

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