Stunning photo by @bookstagram_dreamer
Hello everyone!
Today is the 5th and final day of our readalong for Bone Crier’s Moon and what a ride it’s been! This book has been so fast paced with so many shocking revelations! I’m sure we still have some more twists and turns to come, bring it on!
Let’s see just how this is all going to be wrapped up. Everyone have a blanket and a beverage at the ready? Good!
Picking back up at Chapter 42! Let’s finish this book!
Please be warned, the following will include spoilers for Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie! Read only if you’ve finished the book!
-!SPOILERS!-
Woah, we’re straight back into the action with Sabine as she performs the ritual as Ailesse’s proxy. She’s there to finish Ailesse’s rite of passage for her! Oh no no no she thinks killing Bastien is the only way to save her sister!
But wait, what is happening?! It isn’t Bastien that showed up! Oh no did she just lure her own amouré here and will she have to complete her own rite of passage now? I can’t help but wonder whether the owl somehow planned this?
Oh my god WHAT A PLOT TWIST!!! It’s Ailesse’s amouré… but it isn’t Bastien!
Did any of you see this coming because I certainly didn’t! This changes everything!!
At least Ailesse’s true amouré wants to help search for her in the catacombs and he’s a Soldier with a map so he could be useful!
The silver owl seems to want her to lead this boy to Ailesse so that she can complete the ritual, will Ailesse have better luck killing him than she did Bastien? And what does this mean for their relationship?
Who is this boy? Clearly a person of power, is he maybe a prince? He did pull the ol “do you know who I am?”
Ailesse finds the bridge under the caves, the Leurress must have ferried from it in the past so why did they stop? Any theories?
Oh yay! Bastien has found her and finally they kiss! Ooh things are getting a little steamy.
Jules will not be happy…
Bastien is going to try and help fight off the dead and he’s brought black powder! Have to say I love how resourceful he is! Hopefully this will work and will cause the chained to be lured out of Jules’ body too.
One of Cas’s soldiers, Briand, seems to be smitten with Sabien, could there be something there? I had wondered at first if she would have a romance with Marcel until we learnt more about Birdie, but maybe this guy? ?
Yes! Ailesse has managed to raise the gates, why didn’t this work at the other bridge? Is it something to do with the fact that it’s a full moon and not a new moon like usual?
I love how Bastien has literally blown the ceiling off this place, But will the bridge hold? Yes! Goodbye chained man who possessed Jules, have fun in the Underworld!
Oh we had such a nice moment when Ailesse reassures an unchained woman to step through Elara’s gate, do we think she would make a good matrone? I know some of you think Sabine would make a great head of their famille, but what if they ruled together?
Oooh the underworld doesn’t sound…pleasant and the melody Tyrus’ gate is tempting her. Tyrus’ lure is strong, she’s about to step through his gate!!
Hold up! Odiva is here! Oh no she has Bastien and I don’t think there’s any convincing her to let Ailesse and Bastien have their year together.
As Ailesse is being lured towards the gate again. Odiva cries out, “no Tyrus not like this” Oh so she does still care? Or she just wanted her to die another way? Better than ending up in the Underworld I guess, so she must care…a little? Just not as much as she does for her lost love clearly!!
Oh this is heartbreaking, as Odiva and Ailesse fight together like she always dreamed of doing, she thinks Odiva does actually care about her. I wouldn’t be so sure Ailesse, it’s so sad that she’s still craving her mother’s approval ?
Odiva does what she must to save her daughter from Tyrus. She threatens to kill Bastien if Ailesse doesn’t retreat from the black gate!
Thankfully this works but not before Odiva decides that she needs to help Ailesse complete her rite of passage and kill Batsien. As she thinks this is Tyrus’ last requirement of her- ahhh crapppp
Yes Sabine and Cas are close! But can she get there in time to stop Odiva from forcing Ailesse to kill Bastien?!
Ohhhhh Odiva insists she’s just trying to protect Ailesse. Interesting, so Odiva says that she should never have had an amouré. And that’s what she’s trying to “set right” Do we think retrieving her amouré is just a small part of a larger plan?
She’s confessed to Ailesse that she loved another man! I loooove how she basically calls her mother out for insisting that she kill the one she loves when Odiva didn’t even love Ailesse’s father! Her rite of passage meant nothing…This girl has a point!
Yet so does Odiva? She made her choice and suffered the consequences and she doesn’t want her daughter to go through what she did, she says she still has a chance for peace. I hope Sabine gets there soon!!
Bastien gives her a nod, he’s asking her to save herself by killing him! He’s really sacrificing himself! My whole heart and soul!! Yes Ailesse! They will break the soul bond or they will die together!
But oh no Odiva grabs Ailesse’s hand holding the ritual knife and drives it towards Bastien’s chest..
Oh phew it’s okay Sabine is here to clear everything up!
Ailesse refuses to believe that Bastien isn’t her amouré but Bastien is right, they can now be together, isn’t this what she wanted?
It’s understandable that Bastien hates Cas, this must be how Jules feels huh?
Just when we thought we were safe folks, Odiva stabs Bastien in the back, quite literally! I get that she’s trying to save her daughter from betraying the gods and choosing him over her amouré but damnnnnn that’s so callous!
Oh no is Bastien really going to die? Odiva demands Sabine bring forward her true amore, she has a rite of passage to complete. By killing Bastien Odiva believes she is saving her daughter from the same fate, so basically Bastien was always screwed either way?
Sabine drops the bombshell that she’s both of their mothers and Odiva takes Ailesse’s gracebones, oh no this can’t be good…
Odiva admits that Tyrus asked her to kill Ailesse and this pretty much sums it all up; “Her hypocrisy is astounding. She’s made me suffer because the Gods stole her love, but she did the same thing by killing Bastien. I won’t let her take away anything from me.” ???
The owl arrives on cue and gives Ailesse hope, yay! She is surprisingly strong after the owl imbues her with power, are we still thinking the owl is from Elara?
Woahhhh Odiva just jumped through the gate! As a sacrifice in exchange for the man she loves! I wasn’t expecting that, did anyone expect Odiva to do something like this?! This book is keeping us all on our toes!
Oh no her love didn’t come through the gate, was that all in vain? Ailesse and Sabine are finally reunited! It’s a touch bitter sweet though as Ailesse asks her to take Cas away causing Sabine to feel a sting of betrayal.
Yes Sabine! This whole time she’s been doing everything she can to save Ailesse, how was she to know she had fallen in love with Bastien?
Happy to see that Ailesse doesn’t blame Sabine for Bastien’s death but Sabine does still feel guilty. Plus she didn’t get the reaction she was expecting from Ailesse when she revealed they are actually sisters..
Sabine insists she kill Cas and finish this ritual but Ailesse is clearly not feeling up to that right now! She needs her best friend!
Wait Bastien moves!
Wait what is happening? Cas takes Ailesse’s grace bones and he instructs his soldiers to arrest Sabine?
He has Ailesse and Jules and Marcel are able to carry Bastien away. Oh no, will Bastien be okay and can Sabine find a way to escape the soldiers and save Ailesse? This time she swears she won’t fail, Sabine is so loyal!
Ooh so Ailesse wakes up in a place she doesn’t recognise, her wounds treated. Her mother is gone and she doesn’t know if Bastein survived.
Cas is a prince! Because of course he is ?
“She isn’t the leurress my mother preferred over me, she’s the daughter my mother loved more than me” *wipes away tear*
Wait Cas is saying Sabine managed to escape but he lost her grace bones? What are your thoughts on this guy? Seems a little shady, no?
Ooh interesting, his father the king is dying, will he try and make Ailesse his queen? Do we think she should give him a chance like she did Bastien? The lure from the song he heard at the bridge should have worn off by now but he is her amouré. Maybe the gods do want her to give him a chance?
And by loving Bastien has she doomed him to spend his afterlife in chains?
Ooh cool so she’s accepted his invitation to stay and considers killing him but no, how would that be any different than what happened to Bastien’s father? Instead she will find a way to break the soul bond and get back to Bastien! Anyone else get the impression that Cas might make that difficult?
Oh yay! Batien has made it and is being treated by Birdie-I knew I liked her ?
He knows that her amouré is the prince and plans to go rescue her as soon as he’s able. Surprisingly Jules says she wants to rescue Ailesse too- she does owe her afterall!
Jules looks weakened from the chained being inside her, how much of her soul did he eat away? Can she gain back the light she lost? Has she seen the error of her ways and will she let Bastien go?
Oh what a good note to leave it on! Sabine did escape and she’s here to ask for the help! Yes! Rescue team assemble!!
What an ending!
We did it! Thank you so much for joining this readalong, you made it so much fun!
I want to hear all your thoughts! What rating did you end up giving this? Did you enjoy the romance, the magic and all the twists and turns? Did you see Bastien turning out not to be Ailesse’s amouré? What are your predictions for the sequel? I feel like there‘s still so many questions left to be answered! Will you be reading the sequel when it’s released?
Let us know down below and we hope to see you in the next one!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Love,
Codie
Excuse me, what the…?!
So Bastien is not Ailesse’s amourè?? I have to admit I didn’t see this coming.
However, given this revelation (unpopular opinion incoming) I was hoping that Bastien would die on the bridge ? their love story leaves me stone cold, I was hoping that we would be Sarah J. Maassed at the end and the affair with Cas would be more rewarding, but I don’t think it will happen.
In the end my favourite character was Sabine. I really loved her personal development: she is a strong character, but her strength does not reside in her bone graces’ gifts or her combat skills, but rather in her moral.
I’m also curious about Odiva. She wasn’t all bad in the end: she sacrificed herself to save Ailesse, but by making so is the ritual complete? Will Sabine’s father come back?
I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I thought…I was really, really hyped for it, and sadly I don’t feel like it lived up to my expectations. Anyway it was still a pleasant read, I think it’s a 3 stars read for me.
Me neither!! ?I was wondering if we would get a Sarah J Mass style twist too ?I completely agree, Sabine has so much strength and I loved seeing her come into her own! I’m wondering the same thing about Sabine’s father.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and for joining in! I hope you’ll enjoy the next pick a little more ?
It didn’t surprise me that Bastien isn’t Ailesse’s amouré, the thought has crossed my mind.
I liked reading this book and finished yesterday so today I’m free to spent with my husband and kids celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary ?❤️
Thank you for arranging this readalong!! Xx Sandy
Nice! I definitely didn’t expect it ?So glad you enjoyed it and Happy Anniversary!! ❤️ Thank you so much for joining Sandy! Hope you are having a lovely weekend ?
I had to finish this book in one go after day 3 of the readalong! This book was not suit to read in a readalong, so many cliffhangers!!!!! ?
It was impossible to put this book down.
I normally wouldn’t go for a book with such a fast pacing, but this one was really enjoyable!
I am already looking forward to the next book.
This book had a very nice magic system, I loved the lore behind it. I don’t care too much for the characters, I don’t feel like I got to know them. The romance between Sebastian and Ailesse felt forced. I was sad to see that he died because I wanted Ailesse to be happy. But then again, he didn’t die for some reason. (Sometimes I feel the story gets stronger when a character just stays dead. But a character surviving against all odds seems weird to me).
But the ending tho. Whaaaaaat?! The Prince guy? Who does he think he is?! That, I did not see coming. All I was thinking about was ‘again?!’.
Ferrying the dead is so important and all the non leuresse be like ‘you’re a bad witch, let’s take away your bones and flute so the dead can slowly kill us, but we don’t actually know that so byeeeee’.
hahaha yeah I agree, so many revelations!! It was hard to stop reading ?I agree I loved the world and the magic system but would have like to have gotten to know our characters more! “Again”?? yeah I didn’t expect that either! hahaha that’s exactly it!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and for joining the readalong my love! ❤️
I was hoping for this outcome: either that they can sever the soul bond, or Bastien isn’t her real destiny one just misunderstood circumstances. I’m glad it turned out like this!
Soooo, Odiva is over now that she went over the gate? I hope so, she has done more than enough…
Cas 1000% hid Ailesse’s grace bones, because he wants her to be easier to manage. Don’t know what other stuff he plans apart from that.
I hope Ailesse and Sabine will have the chance in the next book to heal their relationship, because it doesn’t look great at the moment. Both sides have pent up hurt.
Huh, I’m glad Bastien lived and can’t wait to read the sequel!!! I’ll definitely get it!
It was fun, thank you for hosting the readalong! <3
So glad you like how it turned out, I was shocked to say the least but yay at least Bastien doesn’t have to die now ?I agree Cas seem so shady and I hope Ailesse and Sabine can be reunited to talk it out! So happy you want to try the sequel too! Thank you so much for joining my love and for sharing your thoughts and theories! ❤️
That was really fun. Don’t know how I feel about everything that happened at the end but still 🙂 I read the rest today in one sitting (it was my 30th birthday yesterday and since my Mom came to visit, sadly I didn’t have time to read)
Really curious what will happen next and I can’t wait for the sequel.
Thank you so much for the readalong, I really enjoyed it as always <3
Happy birthday! <3
Thank you <3
Yay I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! ?I hope you had a lovely birthday!!! Thank you so much for joining us my love and I hope you have are having a lovely weekend ❤️
I LOVED this book… And I refuse to believe Bastien and Ailesse aren’t endgame… I don’t trust this… and I don’t trust Cas! Does anyone ship as and Sabine?
If Cas turns to be a decent person, then I’d love to ship them! Sabine is not that keen on this ferrying business, she could have a different life if she would end up with Cas. (Plus we still don’t know who is Sabine’s amouré, he can also be a decent fellow!)
Yeah I totally agree! I kind of ship Cas and Sabine! I think Cas is now made to look like a bit of a prick but I feel like he doesn’t have bad intentions and might not be so bad after all. I’m very curious to see what the next book will have in store for us!
Me too! I hope he behaves like that because of the songe he listened to.
Oh amazing! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Yeah I don’t trust Cas either, something shady going on with him for sure! Thank you so much for joining the readalong and for sharing your thoughts!
omg so many twists I love it
Odiva I guess she did love Ailesse a bit but somehow she also blamed her for losing her love and then I don’t get it did she sacrifice herself to save Ailesse or to be with her man or possibly save him that part to me was sooo weird.
I am soo happy that Bastian and Ailesse can be together without dying or will they be since Odiva couldn’t be with her love either oooh I hope they will make it as a couple. I just love a little bit of sugary story in the middle of it all
Sabine is such a good character soo firce but yet soo sweet I just love her. Ithin she will become a bit sassy in the second book if you read the preview of the second book
OH but Cas that love stricken fool he is soo annoying to me that pompous royal ass he is going to be a real nuisance in the next book while the gang will try to recuse Aileese I do hope they succeed
I loved the book interesting story with lots of twists I give it 5 stars and I cant wait how the rescue mission will go and what other twists and plots the author has in store fore us . I need the second book now hehe
So many twists right?! Yeah I’m not sure of Odiva’s motivations either, I think both? haha. Ooh I’d love a sassy Sabine!! So glad you loved this one!! Thank you so much for joining my love 🙂
I kind of wondered if she was maybe also hearing the temptation of the song from Tyrus and that’s why she made the jump. It kinda seemed counter to everything else she had done in relation to her older daughter to dive in there (after leaving everything an absolute freaking mess).
I loved the plot twists! There’s so many that I genuinely have no idea where this story is going and I can’t wait for the next book!!
I have a theory that Cas and Bastien are both her amoure… Odiva said she wasn’t meant to have one (though I’m not sure what dodgy deal she was doing regarding that) but what if instead of not having an amoure, it went the other way and she’s now got two?
Whatever happens, I desperately want Ailesse to be happy. I’m a fan of Bastien but if Cas turns out to be a good guy and the romance is there, I could ship them…but something seems a bit shady. This was a very solid 4 stars for me, maybe even a 4.5!
Thank you so much for hosting the readalong, it’s been fab!!
(I’ll put a comment on day 3, but I’ll be posting a picture with a review on my insta to enter the giveaway – @princessofpaperandink ?)
The twists were so good! Ooh interesting, I love that theory! Something does seem shady with Cas but I think there’s stuff going on behind the scenes that will be revealed in the sequel, hopefully! haha
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for joining and for entering the giveaway too ?
I like your theory. I kind of wonder about the whole concept of amoures in general… My guess is that book two will HAVE to undo it (not just because if Ailesse and Bastien, but because while we’ve seen the worth of the ferryiers proven, I’m still deeply wary of her motives…. But I don’t think Bastien could ever be okay with the perpetuation of murder like the one be saw. ?maybe that will be something else addressed in book two!
I’m shook. I did not see that ending. I am totally here for a Maas style romantic twist. But I also think screw the gods – who are they!
I totally loved this book, up there as one of my favourites from a FL box.
The wai for the next is going to be soooo long.
Me neither!! I have a feeling it will go in a S J Mass direction but Cas does seem shady. I think there’s more to him for sure though…we shall see haha
So happy you enjoyed this one! thank you so much for joining in and for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Ooooh, I dont like this Cas character! He seems a bit shifty to me. I dont think he dropped Ailesse’s grace bones, I think he’s got them tucked away somewhere, to keep Ailesse from her full strength. I also wonder about his dad’s illness – is it a natural illness, or is it as a result of answering a Leuress song a year ago?
I also dont think we’ve seen the last of Odiva. Characters like that dont just die quietly, there’s always a twist.
Sabine is my favourite character, her growth has been immense, I love this new strength that she’s found, and not just from her grace bones. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the next book.
As for Bastien, I’m glad he didnt die – if he had, and then the next book was about Ailesse falling for Cas, I wouldn’t be impressed!!
Till next time, folks ?
Definitely shifty! Yes! I was wondering the same thing about his father, the king! Maybe it’s a similar thing to Bastien where Cas wants revenge? hhhm We will have to read the sequel to find out haha
Yeah I hope we haven’t seen the last of her, she made for an interesting character!
hahah I agree, the sequel will probably much more juicy having Bastien there too! 🙂
Thank you so much for joining the readalong my love and for sharing your thoughts and theories!
I loved this book. It was such a captivating story. I loved Sabine’s growth and strength, I loved Ailesse’s fierceness, I lover Bastien’s awkward gentleless, and Marcel’s funny kindness. Definitely excited for the next book and see what happens.
I hated the ending though. Ailesse being called by Tyrus so much was annoying. Cassimir went from being interesting to me, to a sketchy nuisance. I hate him more than Jules now. I hated how this book ended. Although it doesnt affect my good opinion of the book overall.
Yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂 hahah I agree Ailesse being lured towards the gate so many times at the end was a bit much! Oooh interesting, Cas is acting shifty for sure! Sorry to hear you didn’t love the ending but I’m glad you still liked it overall 🙂 Thank you so much for joining us!
CAS seems like the wooorst. He seems like such a controlling nincompoop. (Yeah I used that word) and his obvious lie about losing her bones..I mean cmon. It really confused me why Ailesse seemed more willing than not to at least listen to them “giving it a shot”
So, my deep dislike for Jules shifts now to Casimir. He’s quite a mix of entitlement and stupidity. I hate him already. Maybe he’ll redeem himself by accepting Ailesse’s feelings for Bastien in the next book, but I see a lot of annoying trouble coming.
Now I feel almost sorry for Jules. She’s clearly traumatized. And I get the feeling, that a lot of her lifetime has been stolen from her. Will we see her die in the next book?
I don’t want it to end this way. That’s mean. Ok, so the next story will be about rescuing Ailesse. Again. Including the white dress she really checks some boxes for a damsel in distress. But Casimir should be really careful once her leg is healed. Let’s just hope, Sabine picked up the gracebones this oh so great prince accidentally “lost”. Fishy guy. But I also kind of see him and Sabine fall for each other. Enemies to lovers 2.0 – Sabine edition. 😀
Poor Odiva clearly lost her mind in the end. But maybe the girls with the help of Elara will find a way to free all Leuress of this stupid sacrifice.
I think I’m most likely going to read the next book. This one was a really entertaining read. The most exciting part was the fight with the dead on the land bridge during the new moon, though. Unfortunately the time discrepancy really seems to be a slip on the author’s and editor’s side. All in all I would say it’s 4 stars out of 5 for me. Interesting characters, fun to hate and like, entertaining to read. And I really enjoyed all the theories. But what will we do with the second book after our beloved source of theories Odiva pulled a Sirius Black and went through the gate of death?
hahah yeah I see a lot of trouble being caused by Cas too! Will he be the next villain or be redeemed and become a love interest? I’m honestly not sure hahha
Ooh I wonder if we will! hahah yeah I preferred Sabine over Ailesse as she had more agency in this first one! I’d be intrigued to see if something does happen between Sabine and Cas! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! oh my god Odiva totally pulled a Sirius Black hahha
Thank you so much for joining the readalong and for sharing your thoughts and theories! 🙂
Oh this was such fast paced ending. I totally did not guess that Bastien wouldn’t be Ailesse’s amoure. I’m just not sure will Cas be any better choice? He clearly has plans for Ailesse, long term kind. I did not see it coming that Odiva would jump trough the gate. Is her love there, too? is that why she jumped because she didn’t see any other choice? I’m so happy Bastien lives. I hope they all can save Ailesse. I will totally read the sequel. Already marked it as want to read on Goodreads. I gave this book 5 star rating which I have done to all FairyLoot books. You guys really know how to pick them.
So many twists right? I didn’t see them coming either 🙂 Cas seems shifty but I feel like there’s going to be more to the story with him. So happy you enjoyed it and will be picking up the sequel! Thank you so much for joining the readalong and I hope you are having a lovely weekend 🙂
Bastien not being Ailesse’s amouré was a twist that I did not see coming at all. I’m still not all that invested in their relationship, I don’t think there was enough of a build up. I don’t trust that Cas has good intentions towards her though. ‘Losing’ her grace bones was just too convenient.
I’m proud of Sabine and loved her character growth throughout. She’s definitely been my favourite character. I’m curious to see if she has become the matron in Odiva’s absence. And I really want to see her have a heart to heart with Ailesse. I was so upset when Odiva’s revelation hurt their relationship.
Overall, I’d give this book 3.5/4 stars. This was my first read along and I really enjoyed it. Thanks so much for setting it up ?
Same! I don’t trust Cas either and agree, losing her grace bones was far too convenient! Oh my god yes I really hope Sabine and Ailesse get to have that heart to heart!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the readalong, thank you so, so much for joining us and for sharing your thoughts! I hope you are having a lovely chilled weekend 🙂
OMG talk about ending on a cliff hanger! I want so much more! I’m so glad Odiva is gone and Ailesse knows the truth. I’m also glad to know she can love Bastien without fear of killing him or dying for not killing him. Way to go Sabine for going to ask for their help at the end! I hope there’s more of this, because I need to know what happens next!
Right?! What a cliff hanger! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 I expect the sequel will be just as filled with twists and revelations! thank you so much for joining the readalong my love! 🙂
The fights scenes dragged a little for me, but the twist of Ailesse’s true amoure got me interested again – AND he’s the prince!!! Bring on the sequel with the love triangle!
Fun great read. Thanks FairyLoot!
Right?! I didn’t expect it and it changes everything 🙂
So happy you enjoyed this one and thank you so much for joining in! 🙂
I have soooo many thoughts on this book! There were some things that I really enjoyed and some things which, sadly, just weren’t my cup of tea.
I really liked some of the characters, Sabine and Odiva for example. They were just so interesting. I mean, there is still so much mystery surrounding Odiva and I’m very intrigued! Hopefully we’ll find out more in the next book! I’m still hanging on to my thoughts (after reading yesterday’s chapters) that King Godart might be Odiva’s true love after all, there are just too many subtle signs!
When it comes to Sabine, I think that she is such a great character who has gone through such an amazing development! For some reason, it bothered me a bit that she’s not on the cover of the book because to me she’s the most interesting and important character in it. I really hope she gets a happy ending because I totally think she deserves it!
For some reason, I just couldn’t really connect with Bastien and Ailesse. I liked both characters but I just wanted more, especially when it came to Bastien because I feel like we didn’t get to know much about him except for his father, his friends, and that he does not have a home. I would have loved to have gotten to know more!
Ailesse was a nice character and I liked her friendship with Sabine but she didn’t really make me feel interested for some reason. Don’t get me wrong, I think she is a very interesting character with an intriguing background and I like how we get to know a lot about her, but I constantly felt as if her story wasn’t really changing. Whereas Sabine went through all these interesting situations, the majority of Ailesse’s story was spent in the catacombs and, for me, not a lot of big things happened, except for fighting the dead which I do have to admit was very cool! Also, her being called and almost tricked by Tyrus like three or four times was a bit too much of the same, in my opinion.
I also noticed that I became more interested in the friendship between her and Sabine than in the romance between Ailesse and Bastien. The romance part just didn’t do it for me, I hope for many others it did but it was just not really my thing as I thought it felt a bit too sudden and it all happened too fast. I am very curious to see what’s going to happen to Ailesse and Bastien in the sequel though! I’m convinced that we’re not going to see a ‘Sarah J. Maas’ and see Ailesse fall in love with Cas, but I do think that he might make the relationship between Bastien and Ailesse more of a challenge!
That being said, I’m not really annoyed by Cas, I think he just really wants to protect Ailesse and that he has hidden her grace bones out of protectiveness (even though that might not have been the best idea) and he doesn’t have bad intentions? I also have a gut feeling that Cas and Sabine might end up together and I quite like that idea!
Overal, I thought this was a very nice read and I have really, really enjoyed it! In my opinion, there aren’t a lot of books about “les Dames Blanches”/witchcraft out there so it was very nice to read one about that topic again! Especially considering that I loooooved Serpent & Dove! so I kind of knew that I would enjoy this book too! The magical system was just so cool! I loved, loved, loved Kathryn Purdie’s writing style as it just felt effortless but still very beautiful at the same time and I could totally picture everything because of it! The romance part wasn’t really my thing though and I thought Sabine to be way more interesting than the main characters Bastien and Ailesse, so I think I’m going to give it a 3.5 rating!
Thank you once again Fairyloot and especially Codie for hosting this readalong! I have really, really enjoyed the reading, sharing my thoughts together with others and hearing the theories and thoughts of others about the book!
I agree, Sabine and Odiva were the stand out characters for me. It was so fun reading everyone’s theories about Odiva and her plans! Speaking of theories, I love your King Godart theory!! There’s definitely more secrets to be revealed I feel.
Yes Ailesse being called to the gate repeatedly felt too much to me too and I hope we see more character growth with her! and some more back ground on Bastien too 🙂
Their friendship was my favourite part, Sabine is just so loyal and she deserves the whole world!!
I’m totally holding out for a Sarah J Mass style situation in the second book but I really like the idea of Cas and Sabine having an enemies to lovers kinda thing hahah
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it overall! Your thought are pretty much identical to mine on this one hahah
Thank you so much for joining the readalong my love! It’s been such a pleasure hosting and getting to chat theories with everyone 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed taking part and thank you again for sharing your thoughts!! Hope you a having the loveliest of weekends <3
Right? I think I would quite like an enemies to lovers romance between Sabine and Cas!
Ah I’m glad to hear that we share similar thoughts about the book! It was a very magical book and I’m very curious about the sequel!
Thank you too!
Enjoy your weekend!! (:
THAT CLIFFHANGER AT THE END.
From the moment we met Casimir I had a bad feeling about him. Even now I don’t trust him, I’m sure he still has Ailesse’s graces.
For a moment I thought Odivia finally decided to do good but she stayed really bad. I was so scared about Bastien, I’m glad he survived!
I loved this book. Loved every books from fairyloot I read so far! And for sure I will read the sequel, I want to know what happens next. I’m sure there’s still a lot to tell about these!
Right?! Oh 100% something shady happening with Cas, I’m excited for the sequel to find out what that is exactly hahah
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved this one too 🙂 Thank you so much for joining us and for sharing your thoughts!
I got caught up and finished today! Woo! I really liked this book. The middle was a bit weak for me and I would have liked a little more of Bastien and Ailesse falling in love because that felt rather rushed, but other than that I really liked it! I’m super excited for the sequel – I’m really excited to see Sabine work with Bastien, Jules, and Marcel. I don’t trust Cas one bit – he is super shady. I think he has some knowledge of the Bone Criers and wants to use Ailesse for something but I don’t know what. I definitely didn’t see the twist that Bastien was not going to be Ailesse’s amoure but I really hope they can be together in the end since he isn’t! Thanks Codie for hosting this! I had a great time reading it!
I’m so happy you liked it! I agree, I would have liked to see more development in Ailesse and Bastien’s relationship too.
Yes!! I have a feeling Cas knows more than he’s letting on too, he seems super shady.
Thank you so much for joining us my love! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Am I the only one who is super worried that in the end Bastien will happen to be Sabine’s amoure and we will have super duper messed up relationships in the next book? If that happens probably Ailesse and Bastien will still end up together to prove that you can write your own destiny and so on. But I am quite nervous for Sabine and what will happen with her… ???
Noooooo! That would kill me if Bastien would end up being Sabine’s amouré. ?
Wait…I hadn’t thought of that!! That would be such a twist! ?
I’m now more nervous for Sabine too ?
Thank you so much for joining in the readalong!!
Sabine is trying to kill Bastein! ?
Omg what if Bastien isn’t Ailesse?! Omg I knew it! I love seeing Sabine’s inner strength come out throughout the book! Her pull to the underworld was very interesting! The end is such a whirlwind with the two boys and all the knives and stabbing! Wow so much! Her mom to the underworld! Bam! Sabine arrested! Bam! I FREAKIN KNEW CAS WAS THE PRINCE! I hope the love triangle in the second book is fantastic! Omg the end is so good I want a castle heist and more Sabine and Marcel! Or SOMEONE maybe Braind!
Ahhh that ending! This book was so fast paced! I loved it and I will be reading the sequel. Sabine was my favourite character, though Ailesse grew on me as the book went on. I didn’t really feel much of a connection betweem Ailesse and Bastian, and I didn’t feel we really got to know Bastian all that well. I didn’t expect another man to be her amoure! But did feel it was a bit typical for it to end up being the prince! So I hope the sequel doesn’t end up falling into cliche traps. I loved the magic and the world in this story. I have a feeling there’s more about ferrying and the soul bond, the Gates etc that they will discover in the next book, perhaps there’s more to all that and everything Sabine and Ailesse think they know about being a Leuress will change.
I really enjoyed this book!! Albeit long, it was very interesting! I loved the plot twists at the end, but I didn’t like the ending. Jules has literally been captive throughout the entire book with some breaks here and there. I especially love Sabine, and her relationship with the owl was one of my favorite things haha.
Thank you Fairyloot for picking yet another great book to feature in your monthly box!
I meant Ailesse not Jules! Ahh
Oh i didn’t see that coming. Cas suddenly appeared. And i think i like him. But not for Ailesse but for Sabine. Since Marcel and Birdi are quite cute together ? And Odivia is gone. Up she goes through the dark underworld door. Can’t say I’ll miss her…
Sabin ismy favourite in this book. And she’s joyning forces with Bastien at the end. So excited what they will do in the next book to safe Ailesse. I really liked the magic in this book and the side characters. The love wasn’t the best part. Didn’t feel it. But that may be better in the next part. Looking forward to read it.
Thanks fairyloot for this stunningbook and this readalong!
I really enjoyed this book, all those plot twists towards the end! I know a lot of people are weary about cas but the fact that he is a prince has me okay with him lol. Overall the book was a great fast paced read, I like that it didn’t drag on to much and we understood everything that went on without loads of description text. 4 stars!
Honestly, I thought the ending was way too drawn out. Things and circumstances that already happened kept repeating themselves and the plot twists didn’t even make me gasp. I was enjoying this in the beginning but I think it was too long. Sabine is my favorite character and I wish there was more focus on her and less on Ailesse. I like Ailesse and Bastian together but just didn’t think they were as strong of characters. I would also be interested in seeing more of Marcel. I will probably give the sequel a chance but I’m notbin any rush for it.
I have SO MANY lingering questions now that this book is done. How can a person have two amoures? Was it really the gods who kkilled O’s second amoure or is that just who she blames after he dies (because it seems like there’s a bit of a gap with her bargain and the death…. I dunno). I also don’t recall a bunch of set up for a freaking prince/dauphin and I dislike Cas so very very much! I cant wait to pick up the sequel but I’m finding this book impossible to assign stars because so many different things happened.
Wow ! Haven’t thought the ending would be like this !
Why do we have to wait for the next book ?! Need it NOW.
It’s going to be a Duology , isn’t it ?!