[Skye’s Review]: Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Bone Crier's Moon
by Kathryn Purdie
Series: Bone Grace #1
Pages: 480
Published by HarperCollins
Release Date: March 3rd 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, YA
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC, eBook
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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 Criers’ 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 also 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 Criers’ 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 b

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was super excited to read Bone Crier’s Moon. I love the premise: the Bone Criers are essentially sirens that ferry the dead. To be able to ferry the dead, a leuress (what the Bone Crier’s call themselves) must undergo a ritual where she finds her amouré, her soulmate, and kills him. By killing him, she is proving to the Gods that she is dedicated and loyal to her duties as a leuress. Cutthroat, I know. 

Two of our main characters, Ailesse and Sabine, are part of a leuress clan. Ailesse’s mother is the Matron of the clan. When it comes time for Ailesse’s ritual, she brazenly chooses a public bridge as her venue for the ritual with the hopes of impressing her mother. Sabine, Ailesse’s best friend, is the exact opposite of Ailesse. Where Ailesse is bold and fearless, Sabine is cautious and timid. Where Ailesse has no qualms on killing animals or her amouré, Sabine hates the idea of killing any living creature. On the night of Ailesse’s ritual, both girls encounter a shock.

Bastien, our third main character, has detested bone criers ever since he watched one brutally kill his father. He’s spent his whole life training and learning about the bone criers to exact his revenge. On the night of Ailesse’s ritual, he and his friends are on a mission to find and kill a bone crier. When he hears a beautiful song played by a flute, he comes across a bone crier. Ailesse. 

Naturally, things don’t go the way Ailesse, Sabine, or Bastien planned. Ailesse is kidnapped by her amouré. Bastien finds out his soulmate is a bone crier. Sabine is left to go home and tell the Matron of her failure to protect Ailesse. 

My favorite part of this whole book is the world-building and the magic system. Kathryn Purdie writes this world extremely well. It never feels as if she’s info-dumping on you. I found the folklore and mythology surrounding the leuress to be very interesting. 

My biggest complaint is that I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, nor did I feel connected to the romance–which made me sad. I wanted Ailesse and Bastien together, but there weren’t enough meaningful scenes between them, in my opinion. Their romance didn’t feel real or believable. My second complaint is the ending. I’m not a fan of how this book ended at all. It felt super cliche and predictable.

Overall, this was a solid book. I’ll definitely check out the next book to see how this duology ends. But, for me personally, this book was a bit of a letdown. I could get over the cliche ending if I loved the characters, but I don’t. The characters just fell flat for me.