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

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

Of Blood, Bones, and Truth is a scifi-fantasy series opener following two indentured assassins. Kellan is a Fallen, born indentured as part of the seraph race that lost the war, and is now working as a political assassin for the empire. Cassian is an elf, forced to work off his father’s debt as an assassin for a crime boss. When their assignments intersect, they form a tentative partnership to solve a series of demonic murders with an undercurrent of mutual attract and shared circumstances.

I’d describe this book as a queerer and noir Crescent City, which may appeal to a lot of readers. It is set in a queernormative futuristic world full of magic and technology inhabited by humans and all kinds of magical races like the seraph, fae, elves, and demons. And while there is a central gay romance, this is more of a thriller and focuses on the mystery aspect of the story.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me. It shoots itself on the foot by giving the villain their own PoV chapters, cutting much of the tension and mystery for us readers because we already know what is going on from the very beginning. Even without naming the villain in their chapters, it was very obvious early on who they were. As for the romance, I didn’t buy into it as much as I could have because the two protagonists barely interact through much of the book. And when they do, it is fairly dry and passionless, without much chemistry in all honesty. I liked both men, but their romance was just sorely underdeveloped.

The book is also fairly inconsistent narratively—everyone is just so bad at their jobs despite how good they are supposed to be, character's purported relationships don't line up with what is actually shown in the book, the story keeps taking leaps with characters seeming to know things they shouldn’t, and things seemingly happen out of nowhere without adequate foreshadowing. There's just this weird sense that characters are having conversations that shouldn't be happening yet because it hasn't been set up properly. I’d actually rather have had the book focus on the romance more than the mystery, and these problems would have actually been much less noticeable.

I understood what it was going for, but Of Blood, Bones, and Truth just didn’t pan out.

*I received a complementary ebook copy as part of its book tour.