Stones and Finger Bones (The Black Towers, #1)

by Jessica Minyard

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

I was mainly drawn to Stones and Finger Bones because of the title. It also sounded like it was going to be an exciting, dark fantasy, but for the most part I was just bored. It started off pretty great, since Aurelia must be cursed. Her second fiance has just died, and her father has already picked out her third! But then her father is murdered, she’s kidnapped, and learns that her whole life is a lie. Now, Aurelia must take back her throne, avenge her father’s death, and dispatch those who would attempt to use her for their own gain.

Stones and Finger Bones was a very fast read, but the plot also moved too quickly for me to ever get invested in it. Aurelia is moving from place to place. She meets new people, leaves them, then meets more new people at her next location. One second she has no magic, then suddenly she’s the most badass magic user ever and is setting stuff on fire! And it jumps to multiple characters’ POV, including one from 3,000 years ago! There’s a lot going on, so I never quite settled into the story. It was too fast paced for my liking.

I didn’t dislike Stones and Finger Bones. In fact, the ending chapters were really great since Aurelia was taking control and putting her plan into place, but also someone else was trying to put their counter attack in place. But that whole middle portion was just a blur. Nothing stuck with me, since we were never in one place or with characters long enough to really get to come to care for them.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.