I received a digital ARC of “Silver in the Bones” by Alexandra Bracken through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. 

Alexandra Bracken’s “Silver in the Bone” takes Arthurian legends and mixes them with an action-packed treasure hunt reminiscent of “Indiana Jones” to weave a nail-biting story of found-family, dark magic, and nearly-forgotten myths. 

Tamsin Lark was never supposed to be a Hollower. She was a mortal and lacked any magical talents, something necessary to break into ancient crypts in search of treasures contained within. That was something her brother Cabell could do, since he posed the One Vision and could see through the magics and break the curses placed by sorceresses. 

But when their ne’er-do-well foster father abandons them without warning, Tamsin has little choice but to join her brother and become a Hollower and figure out how to survive on their own. 

A decade later, new rumors begin to circulate about Tamsin’s long-gone father figure. They say that he abandoned them after acquiring a powerful ring from Arthurian legend, one that Tamsin sets her sights on in hopes it could free Cabell from a terrible curse. 

Tamsin isn’t the only one after the mythic ring. Once the rumor begins to spread, rival Hollowers also hunt for the ring, leaving Tamsin with little choice but to partner with her rival, Emrys. The pair form an uneasy alliance and fall into a conspiracy of dark magic and deadly secrets about ghosts from a long-forgotten past as they try to claim the ring. 

All of Bracken’s characters were solid and had layers of personality and secrets that the reader got to slowly uncover as the book progressed. Each did fall into the occasional rut of cliché, but clichés exist because they’re tried and true. The main character, Tamsin Lark, was an especially compelling character with her prickly personality and fierce loyalty to her adoptive brother, Cabell. Bracken did an excellent job showing the reader how Tamsin’s upbringing and betrayal from her foster father, Nash, affected how she mistrusted others and viewed the glass as perpetually half empty.

“Silver in the Bone” had a compelling plot that keeps the reader telling themselves “just one more chapter!” Bracken maintained steady pacing and kept the characters moving forward but also provided just enough downtime for the reader to get to know the characters. Towards the last quarter of the book, the plot started to seem a little muddled, but at no point was I bored or too confused to keep reading. 

Bracken has great writing chops, which is unsurprising since she wrote several books before this, including the New York Times #1 bestseller, “Lore.” I have a feeling that “Silver in the Bone” will also top some lists when it comes out. Bracken wrote an interesting fantasy story that utilizes Arthurian legends to tell a story full of magic and dark twists and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat the whole way through. 

Do yourself a favor and move “Silver in the Bone” up your TBR!