Crown of Bones (Amassia, #1)

by A. K. Wilder

Raise. Your. Phantom.

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 save us all.

• ASIN: B07N6595NG
• Publish Date: 5 January 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing, LLC
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 493
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I love finding new authors. Crown of Bones is A.K. Wilder’s debut YA High Fantasy novel. If you loved the Harry Potter series and Lord of the Ring series, then you will enjoy Crown of Bones. I know I enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting it down.

Characters: There are several characters in this book, but I’ll focus on the ones that I loved:

1. Ash – She’s a non-savant and a scribe. She’s to record the adventures of Marcus and Belair on their journey to get their yellow robes. She’s one character I loved getting to know because she may be non-savant (no magic or phantom), but she handled herself.

2. Marcus – He’s the heir of Baiseen, and he’s a Savant. It has taken forever for him to raise his Phantom and control it. Now he is determined more than ever receive his yellow robes. His warrior is something everyone should fear.

3. Kaylin – I loved his character. He’s someone that comes about on the journey towards Aku. He’s mysterious and sexy. He is all about protecting Ash, even if he defies his family.

My Thoughts: I’m not going to go over this book’s storyline because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Here is what I loved about the story and why I can’t wait for the next book:

– The characters all have different personalities and mysteries about them. I loved getting to know them. ( I go over a few of them that I loved in the book at the beginning of this review. ) Ash and Kaylin are my favorite characters, and I need more of these two together.

– The storyline of Savant and Non-Savants. Savants have phantoms that they can use for fighting, etc. It takes skills to raise the Savant and keep them in control. Readers will learn all about this process in this book. I loved going along with Marcus and other characters on finding more about their phantoms.

– The adventures that the characters have to endure in this book is a crazy whirlwind. They defied death so many times it’s fantastic. A.K. Wilder takes them all on a wild ride to get to their destination, and then it gets worst later on. There’s a war brooding in this book, and everyone is clueless about it except Marcus, Ash, Kaylin, and everyone else in their group.

– The ending of this book is what had me in shock. I loved it, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. A.K. Wilder had me on the edge of my seat with the ending.

– This a High YA Fantasy book, so it’s all about adventures, mysteries, magic, and power. It’s going to take every reader on a wild-ride. I know I felt like I was on a roller-coaster with this book.

POV: This book is told in Multi-POV.

Standalone or Part of Series: Part of Series.

Cliffhanger: Yes.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I would definitely recommend this book.

I’m so glad I started 2021 with Crown of Bones, and I can say now that this book has become one of my favorites. I give this book 5-stars, and I can’t say enough how much I loved this book. Here’s hoping the second book comes out soon because I need to know what happens next with these characters.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Crown of Bones in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A.K. Wilder's debut novel, Crown of Bones, is more than enough to get her added to my 'automatically read' list from now on.

Crown of Bones is the beginning to an all-new epic fantasy, one that introduces a new world of phantoms, magic, and politics. Ash has lived her whole life knowing that she's a non-savant. Meaning that she can't raise phantoms.

Yet somehow she's about to get wrapped up in one of the most dangerous and complex circumstances of her generation. And it's her presence that is going to change the outcome. Hopefully, if they're all lucky, for the better.

Traveling alongside Ash readers will find the heir apparent, a sailor and surprisingly competent and loyal guide, and several other determined savants willing to give their lives to the cause. Something that hasn't been ruled out, not just yet.

“War draws upon us. And if our enemies are infiltrating our lands, I may already be too late.”

If you have to pick only one epic fantasy to dive into in 2021, let it be Crown of Bones. This was an amazing tale, right from the start. Ash's story (along with all her friends and allies) is a powerful one. And yes, I am already counting down the days until the sequel is revealed.

The worldbuilding portrayed in Crown of Bones is superb, in fact, I'm just a wee bit desperate to learn as much as possible about it. There's politics, magic (in the form of phantoms), lore and heritage, history, challenges, and so much more.

All of which makes for a pretty fantastic setting, if you ask me. Throw in characters like Ash, Marcus, and Kaylin, and it becomes so much more along the way. On that note, this novel is split into three main perspectives (those mentioned earlier).

Yet for me, it very much felt like Ash was and is the main character. She's the driving force, the reason readers are able to learn so much about the world. The reason why we care. She's a delight to read about, and I am so extremely anxious to see what happens next in her life.

It's not just her character, both Marcus and Kaylin and enthralling as well. Actually, even the secondary characters are fascinating, even those who got little to no screen time. In short, this novel is full of fleshed-out characters, which makes me eager to see more.

The fact that the cliffhanger is killing me probably doesn't hurt either. It's not the worst cliffhanger I've seen, but it is certainly enough to make the wait between book one and two just a bit painful. Yet I have no doubt that it will be worth the pain.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[tweetybugshouse]

Crown of Bones is a fantasy novel that will blow your mind. The discovery of a story with a unique magical system, adventure, and romance is the best kind of discovery. Savants call forth phantoms, and each wears a different color robe that signifies rank. The phantoms are so varied and exciting I was sucked right in. Marcus is the heir and is meant to be the main character that you follow in this story. It is told in alternate POV for each chapter. I was intrigued by Marcus and his struggles. Although I stole my heart, Ash is a non savant, which means she does not have a phantom, and she is the wordsmith that records all of Ash's events as he learns how to become one with his phantom. Ash has a lot of exciting things that happen to her along the way, and the inner monologue she has going on is quite entertaining. You will meet a few other interesting characters in this debut novel, and the cliffhanger though you may see it coming, is not quite what I thought it was going to be, and I need the sequel like yesterday.