REVIEW: Blood, Metal, Bone & Other Side of The Sky
Blood, Metal, Bone:
Blood, Metal, Bone is by Lindsay Cummings. I was luckily enough to receive an e-arc of this on netgalley and was excited because I was a fan of Zenith and now I was so excited to read this so let’s dig in,
Blood, Metal, Bone is set on the world of Dohrsar where the land is split into three rival kingdoms. These kingdoms are ruled by various Kings and Queens who are revered by those who serve them. This is when we meet our main character, Sonara. Sonara is the bastard daughter of the Queen of Soreia, Iridis. Sonara being a bastard is looked down upon by her mother and the rest of society and so is forced to work and live in the Stables. Her only friend and confidant is her brother, Prince Soahm. But when her brother is taken in a beam of light, her mother blames her. Now she is sentenced to death and tortured and people don’t believe that she is wrongly accused.
But once she is left for death like something on the ground, the shadows grant her a second chance at life. Sonara is brought back to life as a Shadowblood. A shadowblood is a type of warrior with a magical power for the shadows that lingers in her blood. She has been cast out and hunted for her powers that she was gifted and now lives on the edges of society in the deadlands. Now revered herself, she is known as the Devil of the Deadlands, she survives by thieving her way through life and fighting for survival. She decides that she must find out what really happened to her brother on that night and will stop at nothing to do so.
When you look at this book, you get a mixture of sci-fi fantasy vibes from it and that is exactly what it is. It’s a concoction of tropes that they are both known for. This book deals with heavy subjects such as love and loss between family members and ones that do eventually become like family to Sonara. Cumming’s writing style is one that I do enjoy but the only thing I didn’t like is that it’s only one book. If this book had been a duology, I believe it would have been so much better instead of being crammed into a 400 page book. Lindsay Cummings did an amazing job and it is a truly an entertaining read.
3 out of 5 stars.
The Other Side of the Sky:
The Other Side of the Sky is another series by the beloved duo of Meaghan Spooner and Amie Kaufman. This series follows two civilisations that are entirely apart from one another. One is in the sky and one on the ground but what will happen when events mean that they will meet?
Prince North belongs in the sky but dreams of knowing and exploring what is below him. His civilisation is one of technology and engines and so when he goes to the council of people that who are also his family with this idea of exploration, they say no to his dreams but he does so anyway. His engine has been foiled with though and he finds himself on the ground with no way back home. This is when he meets Nimh. Nimh is known as a living Goddess among her people. She is the hope and light that they all need but unfortunately for her, she hasn’t manifested her affinity so factions begin to form that lose their trust in her. Determined to reveal that she truly is a living Goddess and that she does have an affinity, she looks for direction among books. It is revealed to her in a vision that she must go in search of a holy item, going against the wishes of the people at the temple, she goes in search of it and finds Prince North. Whilst being together, they find that their lives are more intertwined than what it should be and that they are both apart of a long unfulfilled propechy of Nimh’s people.
This is another awe-inspiring book by Amie Kaufman and Meaghan Spooner. I love their writing style when the duo writes together, they make the story flow endlessly and with ease. The story is told by the dual point of views of Nimh and North, though both have their struggles, the pair find companionship in one another that sets this story up for the conclusion of the book that is truly heartbreaking. Nimh is faith based whereas North is science based which gives both of them reasons to question everything, they do say that opposites attract after all. Despite their differences however, they do not judge on another for not having the knowledge of the other person but instead learn from them. And can I just add, the cover of this book is simply gorgeous and adds the atmosphere to the book.
4 out of 5 stars.