Crown of Bones by A.K. Wilder (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Entangled Publishing, LLC on January 5th 2021
Genres: Fantasy, General, Magical Realism, Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 400
Raise. Your. Phantom.
For fans of epic fantasies and sweeping adventures, this ensemble cast will immerse you in a world of unique magic, breathtaking action and unforgettable characters.
In a world on the brink of the next Great Dying, no amount of training can prepare us for what is to come …
A young heir will raise the most powerful phantom in all of Baiseen.
A dangerous High Savant will do anything to control the nine realms.
A mysterious and deadly Mar race will steal children into the sea.
And a handsome guide with far too many secrets will make me fall in love.
My name is Ash. A lowly scribe meant to observe and record. And yet I think I’m destined to surprise us all.
Crown of Bones by A.K. Wilder first caught my attention because of the cover. With that said, the story quickly grabbed my attention and I found I didn’t want to put the book down. Hopefully my review does it justice but if not, just trust me…pick this one up when you can.
The story follows a number of characters and gives us the perspectives of a handful. Wilder did a fantastic job of building out the world these characters live in and creating definition around phantoms, savants, and non-savants. Savants have phantoms that can be raised, and their level of expertise is noted by the robe color they wear.
The main characters include Ash, a non-savant recorder, Marcus, the heir to the throne of Baiseen, and Kaylin, a mysterious sailor who has quite a few secrets. There are a number of secondary characters (Piper, Samsen, and Belair) in the book that help to drive the story forward and I thought they added great layers. Not only in providing context for the magic/world they all live in but also support as these main characters push forward to the end.
As the group of Savants and Ash begin their journey to Aku so Marcus and Belair can get their yellow robes, they face a number of challenges that push them to rely on their skills with their phantoms as well as a stranger…enter Kaylin. The friendship between all of these characters was great. Yes, Ash is the only non-savant but she has a number of skills that the others do not which makes her just a valuable to the group and I love that they all acknowledge that. It’s clear that they will all do whatever they can to make sure that Marcus and Belair get to Aku and everyone has a role to play on the journey.
It was clear from the start that Kaylin was keeping some secrets from the group but as the story progresses, no matter how much he doesn’t want to share, he does have to let some things about himself slip and despite how close he and Ash have become over the weeks of the journey, they are all as much a surprise to her as they are to the rest of the group. I loved how Wilder developed the relationship between Ash and Kaylin. They were both definitely drawn to the other but not in an insta-love way. There was attraction and banter and I loved how the voice in Ash’s head didn’t hold back in making fun of her when she stumbled through her flirting with Kaylin. Adding to this, there isn’t any hate between Marcus and Kaylin. Based on how close Ash is with Marcus, I was worried things would be tense amongst them, but it is truly friendship that Marcus and Ash have, and they really just want the other to be happy. Plus, Kaylin really does help them throughout the book and Marcus definitely sees his value to the group.
I’ll admit that from the beginning of the book, I had a sense that there was more to Ash than meets the eye (on the pages) but don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything about that…we really only get glimpses into what it all is and what it means for Ash in this book so no spoilers! I’m definitely going to be picking up book two in this series so I can see what happens next, not only for Ash but for the whole crew.
If you’re looking for a new Fantasy YA series to start, I definitely recommend picking this one up. It has plenty of action, solid characters, and an interesting story that will have you turning the pages to see what will happen next for the group.
Thank you to Entangled Teen for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
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