Castles in Their Bones. Laura Sebastian. 2022. 514 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: It is said that the stars shine brighter on the princesses' birthday, but the princesses themselves think that is balderdash.
Premise/plot: Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz are the three princesses starring in Laura Sebastian's Castles In Their Bones. These triplets have been raised to rule, but not necessarily raised to love those whom they rule. In fact, there is something of a behind the scenes hoax afoot. Each princess is due to be married soon; one princess per kingdom. (The kingdoms are Friv, Cellaria, and Temarin. The princesses birth kingdom is Bessemia. All four kingdoms are on the same continent--Vesteria.) The gentlemen involved are Bairre (the king's bastard), Prince Pasquale, and King Leopold. Though the kingdoms are different there is one master plan to rule them all--literally. Dismantle the kingdoms from within--by whatever means necessary--and make war between all the countries/kingdoms inevitable. All while looking beautiful and plausibly innocent.
The book alternates between these three narrators. (Except for the concluding chapter which packs a PUNCH).
My thoughts: For those that enjoy YA fantasy with MAGIC and light to moderate touches of romance, I do recommend Castles in Their Bones. It is equal parts politics and romance but magic ties everything together.
This one has plenty of characters, plenty of stories. It's a juggling act to be sure to keep everything evenly paced. I almost, almost wish these were three novellas that act as companions to one another.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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