A spellbinding story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown. Immerse yourself in the first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series.
"[A] page-turner that brilliantly blends magic, romance, and adventure.” --Booklist
Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born. Princesses Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz will be queens. And now, age sixteen, they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes.
Beautiful, smart, and demure, the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl. Which is a grave mistake. Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz are no innocents. They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception, seduction, and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.
The princesses have spent their lives preparing, and now they are ready, each with her own secret skill, and each with a single wish, pulled from the stars. Only, the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers.
Life abroad is a test. Will their loyalties stay true? Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other?
It definitely felt like it tried to have a lot of political intrigue, but I felt like we did not explore the characters enough to make it work. Or maybe it was too much on the younger side of YA for me personally. Don't get me wrong, it was fun! But I wasn't in love with the book. Which is unfortunate, because I absolutely loved Laura Sebastian's other series.
Castles in their Bones is the best book I've read in a while! I loved the author's other series, Ash Princess, so I had high hopes for this book. But I think in the end, I enjoyed Castles in their Bones even more!
I think what I loved most was all the scheming. Every single character has their own motivations and ambitions (some have them right out of the gate, and others develop them more slowly). You don't really know who to trust, or what someone's reason is for doing a certain thing. I loved all that not knowing and having the fun chance to speculate. This is political intrigue at its finest.
The book has three points of view, one for each sister. They each definitely have their own unique voice and I came to love each of them for different reasons. In addition to having an engaging plot, Castles in their Bones is also very character-driven. You really see each character develop over the course of the book.
Exciting, gripping, a little nail-biting at times, and one hell of an ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am so looking forward to seeing where the series goes next!
