Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Castles in their Bones

I really enjoyed this. The premise is just the best. I read this after stardust in their veins, but it was still amazing. The Empress is just a villian I love to hate while I love every one of the triplets. I'm a bit annoyed that

the Empress's plan just had her daughters acting as sacrifices as opposed to spies/integral parts of her plan as well. That bit is pretty horrifying. I'm not saying I outright hate it because it makes her evil-I dislike that they aren't integral parts of her plan who are also eventual sacrifices

. Also, I find it a bit weird that every country other than Bessemia has a fundamental problem that could lead to instability with the right planning. I know this is because of the Empress's plan and because Bessemia is older, but it's still a bit weird that there isn't at least some underlying tension that could (eventually) be exploited. Since I've already read stardust in their veins I am desperate for the third book.

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ezwolf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Triplet princesses who are trained from birth to marry into other royal families and take over so their mother, the Empress, can rule all of them.

That sounds incredibly interesting and it was for the most part, but I wasn't really wowed by the book. It was a fine read and if you like court fantasies then this is probably a book you would like. I'm interested enough to continue the series but I don't know, I was kind of underwhelmed.

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.25

The premise of this book centers around political intrigue told in multiple POV.

While I'm not a big fan of multiple POV, especially when it's more than two, I did enjoy this book.

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kodafaith's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was very conflicted about this book. I loved the political intrigue and following the separate yet connected plots. However I felt the whole thing fell flat and a lot of it was just forgettable.
The ending does leave on such a cliffhanger that will definitely have me coming back for more.

Also another issue I had was with the ebook where the names to distinguish whose POV we were in got mixed up at about half way and kept being wrong throughout. I was alternating with the audiobook and it was just making it confusing with no chapter numbers and then getting mixed up. There were also a few moments where a name was wrong in the text. Stuff like that doesn’t normally bug me but it kept occurring so it got annoying.

Overall it was a fun series and was entertaining enough, I’m looking forward to the other books to see where the books go. But this one didn’t fully connect for me.

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frantically's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

me, talking about margaraux:
"'i could fix her' yeah? well i could accept her as she is. you don't like the murder? grow up. the atrocities are part of her and ive decided they're funny"

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thelittlestmermaid's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

* Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! *

This was such an enjoyable book to read! Full of political intrigue, royalty, magic, arranged marriages and more fantasy goodness. The story follows the triplets Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia as they each set off to foreign countries once they come of age to be married. Their goal however, is not just getting married. Once the sisters arrive in each country they are under orders from their mother to bring down their monarchies so that she may reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.

I loved this book so much. The triplets had distinct personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Reading from each of their perspectives was so fun, and I couldn't pick a favorite out of the 3 of them no matter how hare I try.
The world that Laura Sebastian has built is unique and intriguing. I never found myself horribly confused when learning about it which was nice- world building in fantasy novels can be tricky sometimes. The magic system is also so so neat! I love the use of the stars as their source of magic & the religion that the people follow.

I cannot wait for the next book. The plot twists and the final chapter of this book have me eager to read what comes next. If you like awesome princesses that kick butt and lots of royal drama then I highly recommend this book.

The only reason I'm not rating this book 5 stars is due to the fact that I wish the princesses were slightly older- they talk about consummation of marriages too much for me to be comfy with them being 16. Also the lecherous king that Beatriz has to deal with. And it was a little too instalove-y at points and that's not my fave.

4.5 stars

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