Book Review
Title: The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder (The Bone Spindle Book 1)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I am reading The Bone Spindle because I got on a blog tour for The Severed Thread and it made me pick it up even though it has been on my radar for a while. The prologue is essentially a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty with some minor twists but it does introduce us to Briar Rose, the Prince who has been sent to sleep in order to prevent him falling under the spell of a evil witch. In the present we are introduced to Fi, a girl who was cursed by her ex and is looking for a way to break it and she happens to run into a former friend and huntsman, Shane and she tells Fi that she found a map from the witches of Andar and they should follow it and Fi agrees. The end up finding a manor and getting themselves stuck inside but I believe this is the same manor that Briar Rose is sleeping in. The opening was interesting and sets out a tale we are familiar with but has some interesting twists and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Fi and Shane try to navigate the booby-trapped manor and are failing horribly but I do like the dynamic between them and we also get to learn more about their respective pasts which was interesting and added a lot of depth to them. Fi ends up in the river when a balcony collapses and she accidently pricks herself on the spindle which summons the spirit of Briar Rose to her and he saves her from drowning but she thinks its an hallucination. After escaping from the Witch Hunter, Shane and Fi meet up at the home of the Paper Witch who explains what has happen to Fi and that it can’t be broken and when they try she once again summon Briar to her who explains more about their situation and despite being a little cocky he has waiting a century for Fi and is determined to make her fall for him which I think is going to lead to some interesting and hilarious situations especially since it is unclear right now about whether anyone else except Fi can see Briar. However, getting to Andar to wake Briar isn’t going to be easy since many have attempted it and disappeared but she has the added complication of knowing that the Great Witch who attempted to curse Briar will sense the awakening of the magic Fi unlocked as well as Briar and she will be attempting to get to Briar before Fi can.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, the pace is great as I flew through the first 100 or so pages and I hope Vedder manages to keep this up. For a moment Shane almost lets Fi got to Andar on her own but the Paper Witch reminded Shane of what he once did for her and to return the favour and she does. However, to get to Andar they need a border pass since they are being hunted by the Witch Hunters and Fi’s family just happens to have one and they end up breaking into one of her family homes only to be caught and they learn that her parents have the border pass. We learn through flashbacks of the moment Di was cursed and since then she hasn’t been home in a year. We also learn of the curses effects which cause things to happen when she is somewhere she considers home for more than a few days. In the past her aunt’s burnt down and another of her uncle’s was almost killed because she was too sick to leave so Fi is weary of staying the night but they do, but she refuses to go home and she fears even one night there could be disastrous because of how much she loves the place. I really wanted to learn more about Fi’s ex since they aren’t mentioned by name or gender but we do get a little development between her and Briar and it was interesting since they understand each other far better than either of them realises right now.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Shane ends up bumping into Red again and Fi suspects that she is a witch that was born in Andar from the tattoo on the back of her neck and Shane thinks that Red has been through some horrible things from the way she talked. While Shane’s flashback aren’t as dramatic as Fi’s they were interesting as they give us some major background on Shane and why she left her home and title as the War King’s daughter voluntarily. They begin heading to a place to get a border pass that isn’t Fi’s home and they get cornered and attacked by witch hunters and when one seemingly lands a fatal blow on Fi, Briar comes into to save the day. While he manages to summon enough magic to touch Fi in order to protect her even like this Shane only catches a small glimpse of him but is thankful for his appearance since it allowed the both of them to escape but they have to take shelter in a ghost town since they can’t take the mountain paths due to the heavy rain. So far I was really enjoying the pacing and story but my only issue is the budding romances, while neither of them are insta-love, the progress doesn’t seem natural either given the circumstances and its throwing me off.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Fi and Shane escape from the witch hunters and take shelter in an abandoned house which turns out to be the very place all images of the Spindle Witch were hidden when she was banished from Andar. During her exploration, Fi and Briar get closer when he tells her that the Rose Witch was her older sister and he wasn’t there when she gave her life to save him and he is sad that his entire family has died when he is still there in an enchanted sleep. That night Fi ends up in Briar’s mind for the first time and witnesses some of his memories first-hand which brings them closer together but Fi is determined not to repeat her past mistakes especially when she has to ask her ex, the very one who cursed her for help in getting border passes. When they arrive and Shane realises what is going on she isn’t happy about the situation but doesn’t want to interfere especially when Fi claims she has it under control but I have a feeling her ex, Armand is going to be more of a problem than he is right now and I immediately disliked him when he taunted Fi about her curse bringing up her parents when he probably knows she hasn’t been home or seen them in over a year.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, as much as I was enjoying the plot and character development I did want some more action and progression in the story as we get closer to the end of the book. Armand tries to blackmail Fi into him going with her to Andar rather than Shane but Shane with Red’s help manage to get some border passes and Shane enlists Red as a guide since she is from Andar and can help them navigate the wastes which Fi isn’t happy about in the beginning but appreciates once they cross the border. However, it has an affect on Briar since he is mourning everyone that was lost in order to protect him and Fi doesn’t know how to approach him or if she even should since she knows she can’t truly love him unless her curse is lifted thanks to Armand. I liked the relationship developing between Fi and Briar more than the one between Shane and Red right now purely because we don’t know a lot about Red and I have a feeling she might betray them in some way but I will have to wait and see what Vedder presents in the final 100 pages.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, things really come together we watch Red leave the duo at the Forest of Thorns and I know something was shady with her as she begged Shane to go with her. They have some difficulty in getting to the castle but managed to wake Briar but the others don’t awaken. Briar realises the Spindle Witch had bound them for their magic but she can’t access it while they are sleeping. As the Spindle Witch is on her way to the castle the trio flee to fight another day only to be cornered by Red in the forest and learn that she is working for the Spindle Witch which breaks Shane’s heart. They do manage to get away with the help of the Paper Witch who happens to be Briar’s great-nephew or something like that. I am really looking forward to the sequel since this book really surprised me.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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