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A review by faerietrails
Of Blood, Bones, and Truth by T.M. Ledvina
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.
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: