Reviews

Of Blood, Bones, and Truth by T.M. Ledvina

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disturbedtwistedtales's review against another edition

5.0

**ARC Review**

"I'm not sensitive. You're just an ass."
"I know, but that's part of my charm."

Thank you Tia for giving me such an amazing opportunity to read your book before release day!

nerdydreamer107's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Of Blood, Bones and Truth is a Fantasy thriller and as such, there was always lots of stuff going on. While most of it was exciting, it was still a slow read for me.
The characters also fell a bit short, probably because there was so much other stuff going on. (This might actually explain the slow read, character-driven books are faster reads for me.) I did like the characters though and was rooting for the two MCs to finally get together.
The world building was interesting, but I would have liked much more explanations in the story (this is a personal preference, I am very into world building). The glossary in the beginning helped though.
The last 10% of the book were just wild and I can't wait to see what the next one brings.

books_before_bed_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

baya_111's review against another edition

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4.0

Found this in my recommendations and I liked it? Nothing super groundbreaking but I liked the characters.

spellbound_archives's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Despite the battles and tense mystery plot, I found this a cozy book to read. The author does a great job of immersing you in the cityscapes and minds of the protagonists, and there is so much detail.

I also really enjoyed the influences from Dungeons & Dragons, especially in regards to the magic in the book. So fun to pick up on!!

Tia did a great job with her debut novel, and I’m looking forward to book 2!

faerietrails's review against another edition

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2.0

I loved the premise of this story, but Of Blood, Bones, and Truth reads like the novelization of a D&D campaign, and not particularly in a good way. We are given the lore sheet to begin with (which was a little overwhelming at first, especially given much of it was irrelevant to the story) as if we were a player, but unfortunately the reader doesn't get the same agency.

Giving the villain a POV in the story was an intriguing choice, however it negated most of the mystery. The reader is spoonfed answers to questions the characters haven't even asked, and there was exactly one (1) mild twist I hadn't guessed (that wasn't surprising, but I was desperate for something I didn't already know). I was so bored and wanted the characters to catch up to where I was.

Kellan and Cassian are the players and even feel like they're metagaming. Kellan is magically drawn to very specific information that he has no reason to find relevant to his murder investigation. Even when it becomes relevant, there is no evidence on his side to lead him to that conclusion, other than the ~vibes~. At least Cassian's Spidey-sense is explained off via magic.

The Nine Hells are lifted straight from the Forgotten Realms. Yes, they exist in The Divine Comedy, but the layers are the same in name and physical resemblance. This could have been such an easy change to make.

Otherwise, the worldbuilding is decent. I just wish it was more cohesive and had its social issues be more relevant to the plot. For example, Kellan is indentured as a Fallen, but no one really treats him any different. No one even treats him differently as a cop. As far as I know, there aren't any featured human characters and use their plight as off-screen worldbuilding. Given the number of times their oppression is mentioned, you would think it should be relevant to the plot (Yes, human philanthropy is Pontius' gist, but it could have been literally anything. Show us the problem!!).

The romance is fine. They had some cute moments together, but they never really got to know each other outside of deep conversations regarding them both being indentured assassins.

Ending spoilers:

Cassian going super saiyan was a big ol' holy fire ex machina. Our understanding of his magic is that he has more potential than he uses (Leo says as much), but there's a big jump between that and randomly unleashing demon-killing magic. Also wish I didn't know this was a series, because I knew Cassian wasn't going to die. I don't plan on reading the next book, but I hope he's pissed at Kellan for giving him up. Lovers to enemies let's gooooo.