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bellebookcorner's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“You’re not damned when you become a vampire.
You’re not damned by what you are.
It’s what you do that determines, whether you’re damned or not, if Hell even exist."
I’ve never read a paranormal detective story so this one really intrigue me right from the premise!
The storyline is pretty unique where our FMC – Jennifer Jones is a vampire detective who works to solve supernatural cases.
I really enjoy my time getting to know Jennifer Jones throughout the story along with following the investigation of a serial killer. There’s no info dumping and I can follow the plot easily, although there are quite a lot of characters to keep track of, not to mention there’s two different timelines as well.
The last few chapters are quite intense and I was slightly heart-broken by the ending, but I’m curious to see what happens next, what kind of cases will Jennifer and her friends solve next time….
Overall, for a debut novel this was pretty good and enjoyable.
It’s a good start for a series and has the potential to be one of my favorite series, but we’ll see..
I’m looking forward to read the sequel of this trilogy soon!
I received an advanced review copy for free from the author, and I am leaving this review voluntarily!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Child death and Suicide
chelseas_reads's review
4.0
i don't usually read paranormal books, and i also don't normally read books outside of the young adult age range. in saying this, i really enjoyed this book. one of my favourite things was the pacing. the book itself isn't particularly long. there were no boring parts. there was none of that horrible, slow setting up for the crime stuff that no one likes. (well, i don't like and i assume many others don't too).
i really loved the characters in silver and bone. i found jennifer relatable and fun. oftentimes a character who's over 300 years old are a little hard to like, but i loved her nonetheless. i really liked how jennifer is a hero but isn't portrayed as a saint. she's done some pretty dark things in the past. i enjoyed paul and his relationship with jennifer. they were a good couple. i like how the romance didn't overshadow the rest of the story.
one thing i enjoyed about this plot was the past vs present thing going on. i found it very enjoyable and insightful to jennifer's past and to the crime that's happening in the present.
i found the worldbuilding to be somewhat lacking but i expect that it's something that can be explored more in further books. i'm really glad that there was no info dumping in order to get all the information across. i'd rather wait for a sequel for some things to be explained than to have it all thrown in my face in the first book.
i really loved the characters in silver and bone. i found jennifer relatable and fun. oftentimes a character who's over 300 years old are a little hard to like, but i loved her nonetheless. i really liked how jennifer is a hero but isn't portrayed as a saint. she's done some pretty dark things in the past. i enjoyed paul and his relationship with jennifer. they were a good couple. i like how the romance didn't overshadow the rest of the story.
one thing i enjoyed about this plot was the past vs present thing going on. i found it very enjoyable and insightful to jennifer's past and to the crime that's happening in the present.
i found the worldbuilding to be somewhat lacking but i expect that it's something that can be explored more in further books. i'm really glad that there was no info dumping in order to get all the information across. i'd rather wait for a sequel for some things to be explained than to have it all thrown in my face in the first book.
nyxiabel's review
5.0
Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
Love vampires and everything supernatural but sick of the cheesy consistency that is most vampire books? Welcome to the book you need! Cain's supernatural mystery is a refreshing take on a cliched genre which has you hanging to the edge of your seat and page turning faster and faster.
Silver and Bone follows a vampire detective, Jennifer Jones, and a series of murders she and her friends/colleagues (a range of humans and other supernatural beings) must solve before Jennifer is taken down for them herself.
I went into this book very excited about the premise; Vampires, murder mystery, a twisted history, what's not to love?! Thankfully, I as the reader was rewarded with a thrilling ride void of cliche. Classic tropes were still included for characteristics of each individual species - silver for vampires, moon transformations for werewolves, a distinct creepiness of necromancers - but of course we need these! Otherwise they aren't vampires, werewolves and necromancers, are they? What made the difference was the very refreshing take on human/supernatural interaction. The supernatural beings weren't hiding in the dark from authority, but rather working alongside them to keep the rest of the supernatural world in check and likewise, the humans in the force treated them as colleagues and not monsters.
I enjoyed how the book kept the reader in the dark for some of the story, but were slowly given depth with the addition of flashbacks as the present progressed (a device that worked brilliantly in this particular novel). There was never a dull moment and the conflicts weren't repetitive at all. The pace was consistently fast and thrilling - the perfect mix of story and details. And that ending! (Better read it to find out what I'm talking about!)
As we all know, a great story isn't a great book unless it's characters are great too, right? Well, count yourselves incredibly lucky! The characters in this book all have distinct personalities and everyone has a purpose. Nobody is unnecessarily included just for the sake of dialogue - thank God! In particular, I loved Jennifer, but then again, I am an absolute sucker for cynicism and sardonicism. I could imagine Jennifer and I sitting back and making witty jokes about nearly everything. Also, kick-ass female much?! Mosi and Mei were other favourites of mine, although they did play more minor parts.
This book was one where I finished and sighed. The type of sigh where I sit and stare into space, thinking about the marvel which was the book I just read and what I am going to now now I have finished it. Where I sit and thinking about how perfectly the story flowed and how I simply didn't want it to end even though it had to! Thank God for sequels! I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to read this book and most definitely want to read the sequel to see what else these characters will get up to and how their lives will change and develop.
Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own! A huge thank you to Claudia Cain ♥
Love vampires and everything supernatural but sick of the cheesy consistency that is most vampire books? Welcome to the book you need! Cain's supernatural mystery is a refreshing take on a cliched genre which has you hanging to the edge of your seat and page turning faster and faster.
Silver and Bone follows a vampire detective, Jennifer Jones, and a series of murders she and her friends/colleagues (a range of humans and other supernatural beings) must solve before Jennifer is taken down for them herself.
I went into this book very excited about the premise; Vampires, murder mystery, a twisted history, what's not to love?! Thankfully, I as the reader was rewarded with a thrilling ride void of cliche. Classic tropes were still included for characteristics of each individual species - silver for vampires, moon transformations for werewolves, a distinct creepiness of necromancers - but of course we need these! Otherwise they aren't vampires, werewolves and necromancers, are they? What made the difference was the very refreshing take on human/supernatural interaction. The supernatural beings weren't hiding in the dark from authority, but rather working alongside them to keep the rest of the supernatural world in check and likewise, the humans in the force treated them as colleagues and not monsters.
I enjoyed how the book kept the reader in the dark for some of the story, but were slowly given depth with the addition of flashbacks as the present progressed (a device that worked brilliantly in this particular novel). There was never a dull moment and the conflicts weren't repetitive at all. The pace was consistently fast and thrilling - the perfect mix of story and details. And that ending! (Better read it to find out what I'm talking about!)
As we all know, a great story isn't a great book unless it's characters are great too, right? Well, count yourselves incredibly lucky! The characters in this book all have distinct personalities and everyone has a purpose. Nobody is unnecessarily included just for the sake of dialogue - thank God! In particular, I loved Jennifer, but then again, I am an absolute sucker for cynicism and sardonicism. I could imagine Jennifer and I sitting back and making witty jokes about nearly everything. Also, kick-ass female much?! Mosi and Mei were other favourites of mine, although they did play more minor parts.
This book was one where I finished and sighed. The type of sigh where I sit and stare into space, thinking about the marvel which was the book I just read and what I am going to now now I have finished it. Where I sit and thinking about how perfectly the story flowed and how I simply didn't want it to end even though it had to! Thank God for sequels! I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to read this book and most definitely want to read the sequel to see what else these characters will get up to and how their lives will change and develop.
Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own! A huge thank you to Claudia Cain ♥
simoneleafingthroughtime's review against another edition
5.0
A little over a week ago New Zealand based author Claudia Cain contacted me if I wanted to read her urban fantasy novel, Silver and Bone. I really like urban fantasy, so of course I said yes.
There are a lot of things I like about this book. The first is that it jumps right into the action. There is not a single moment that this book has you feeling bored. Second, there is a good amount of sarcasm and wit, and since sarcasm is my third language, I was often actually laughing out loud.
I also think the flashbacks into the past were really well done. Of course we know our main vampire has a bloody history, but the details are pretty vague. The timing of the flashbacks always fit perfectly into the progress of the story.
Like I said, it is fast-paced and jam-packed with action. This book had me reading well into the night, because I just kept wanting to know what would happen next!
There are more things I loved about this book. One of them is that despite the fact that a vampire is our main character, it is not thrown into your face every chapter. Yes, there are basic needs a vampire needs to attend to, but in the end of the day Jennifer is just a vampire trying to not get locked up for murders she did not commit (this time). I also really enjoyed the inclusion of other creatures, like the Fae and werewolves. I have never read a book that included necromancers, so that was refreshing. Also, necromancers are now decidedly creepy. I think that I felt about each character exactly the way Claudia Cain wanted me to feel about them. Some are easy to love, and some are easy to hate.
Claudia Cain is also not afraid to make tough decisions, which is pretty rare in a first book in a series. It was not so good for my mood yesterday night when I finished the book, but that is honestly a good thing. It made me want to read the next book, Smoke and Mirrors, immediately!
In all, this was a very refreshing take on a genre that has been done a lot. I thought it was in no way cliché, and really enjoyable. I definitely hope to see more of Claudia Cain in the future. If this book sounds like something you would enjoy, please consider supporting Claudia by buying her books! They are both on Amazon!
5/5
*****All opinions and ideas in this review are entirely my own*****
*****I was not asked to promote these books, but I'm doing it anyway*****
There are a lot of things I like about this book. The first is that it jumps right into the action. There is not a single moment that this book has you feeling bored. Second, there is a good amount of sarcasm and wit, and since sarcasm is my third language, I was often actually laughing out loud.
I also think the flashbacks into the past were really well done. Of course we know our main vampire has a bloody history, but the details are pretty vague. The timing of the flashbacks always fit perfectly into the progress of the story.
Like I said, it is fast-paced and jam-packed with action. This book had me reading well into the night, because I just kept wanting to know what would happen next!
There are more things I loved about this book. One of them is that despite the fact that a vampire is our main character, it is not thrown into your face every chapter. Yes, there are basic needs a vampire needs to attend to, but in the end of the day Jennifer is just a vampire trying to not get locked up for murders she did not commit (this time). I also really enjoyed the inclusion of other creatures, like the Fae and werewolves. I have never read a book that included necromancers, so that was refreshing. Also, necromancers are now decidedly creepy. I think that I felt about each character exactly the way Claudia Cain wanted me to feel about them. Some are easy to love, and some are easy to hate.
Claudia Cain is also not afraid to make tough decisions, which is pretty rare in a first book in a series. It was not so good for my mood yesterday night when I finished the book, but that is honestly a good thing. It made me want to read the next book, Smoke and Mirrors, immediately!
In all, this was a very refreshing take on a genre that has been done a lot. I thought it was in no way cliché, and really enjoyable. I definitely hope to see more of Claudia Cain in the future. If this book sounds like something you would enjoy, please consider supporting Claudia by buying her books! They are both on Amazon!
5/5
*****All opinions and ideas in this review are entirely my own*****
*****I was not asked to promote these books, but I'm doing it anyway*****
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