The Bone Spindle By Leslie Vedder Review

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Title: The Bone Spindle

Series: The Bone Spindle #1

Author: Leslie Vedder

Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group (UK), Razorbill (US)

Pages: 416

Release Date: 3 February (UK), 11 Jan (US)

This gender switched, Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones YA fantasy was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 so was absolutely thrilled to get the chance to review this early.

With super entertaining Xena, Lara Croft and Evie (from The Mummy) vibes, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Summary

Two girl treasure hunters. One sleeping prince. A hundred-year-old curse and one very angry witch. Fantasy with m/f and f/f romance for fans of CINDERELLA IS DEAD. A pacey, fractured twist on a classic fairy tale. Filore, a treasure hunter with a knack for riddles, is busy running from her own deadly curse, when she pricks her finger on a spindle. Bound to the sleeping prince Briar Rose with the spindle’s magic – and chosen as the only person who can wake him – Fi is stuck with the prince’s ghost until she can break his ancient curse and save his kingdom. She’s going to need a partner. A warrior huntswoman with an axe to grind (literally), Shane couldn’t care less about curses and ancient texts. But instead of riches, the two girls find trouble. Dark magic, witch hunters, nightmarish beasts – and of course, curses – all stand in their way as Fi and Shane undertake the dangerous journey into a forgotten kingdom where the sleeping prince’s body waits.

Review

This was just… WOW! Words cannot do justice to explain just how incredible this is, I loved every second of it. The world-building was full of intricately rich details that really brought the whole thing to life, so much so in fact, that I have a truly desperate urge to visit The Witches’ Jewellery Box and do some treasure hunting of my own.

I loved the plot, which was just the right blend of fantasy,romance and daring adventure; keeping the pace fast without sacrificing any of the compelling or emotionally significant character development (an exceptional feat given this is a debut novel.)

The plot was incredible (I loved it) but it was the engaging and in depth characters that kept me invested. Shane (our axe wielding and fiercely loyal mercenary) was an absolute joy the get to know (I really enjoyed the backstory about her family and how she came to be a woodsman for hire) and the hilarious banter/ bickering with the bookish and pragmatic Fi—even in the face of danger— was honestly the perfect way to lighten the more intense moments.

Not to mention the absolutely swoon-worthy romance we’re treated to with Fi and Briar, whose chemistry was amazing, though I should warn it is a slow burn. Shane also has chemistry laden romance of her own—with the mysteriously irresistible Red, whose appearances are a bit of a whirlwind but, I have to admit they’re always memorable.

Vedder also makes ample use of the multi POVs (Fi, Shane and Briar) which really added to the immersive experience and helped connect with all three characters. Briar’s was especially helpful as he does spend the entire novel pretty much a ghost, so to get more insight into his life (and emotional state are being alone for 100 years) was great.

I also wanted to mention just how great the LGBTQ+ rep was and how much I loved the Shane and Fi’s incredible bond of friendship and their support for one another through difficult situations. I was also pretty pleased with Vedder’s choice to use stereotypically gendered titles/roles (such as King, huntsman) for any gender (as opposed to changing the title to Queen or huntswoman) and found it really refreshing to see.

Overall, this magically atmospheric and beautifully thrilling, gender-switch retelling of Sleeping Beauty is an absolute must read for all fairytale lovers, adventure aficionados and fans of Socrcery of Thorns or Cinderella Is Dead.

Also a huge thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ /5

About The Author Leslie Vedder (she/her) is a queer ace author who loves fairytale retellings with girl adventurers and heroes! She grew up on fantasy books, anime, fanfiction and the Lord of the Rings movies, and met her true love in high school choir. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in creative writing and currently lives in Colorado with her wife and two spoiled house cats.

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When she's not reading or writing, you can find her watching anime and sci-fi shows, walking in the woods and pretending they're enchanted forests, or playing old video games. She always collects all the Skulltulas in Zelda and all the Dalmation puppies in Kingdom Hearts.

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THE BONE SPINDLE is her debut novel

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