Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian || High Fantasy Political Intrigue and Scheming

Castles in Their Bones (Castles in Their Bones, #1)

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.

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?

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Perfect for readers who want:

• High fantasy world with a historical fantasy vibe.
• Strong women hellbent on taking over the world.
• Political intrigue and scheming and backstabbing.
• All the plot twists that you won’t see coming.
• Adorable budding romances and interesting secondary characters.
• Three protagonists coming of age and learning to stand on their own.

Many thanks to Delacorte Press and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I tried to resist this book because, I reasoned with myself, I have a lot to read and I didn’t need to add another 500-page book to that list, right? WRONG! Because have you seen that cover?! It’s all elegant and demure, but the woman on it looks like she would stab you in a heartbeat, and I am 100% for that aesthetic.

Castles in Their Bones is a twisty book filled with political intrigue and scheming, badass women running things from the background, and all the plot twists. Once you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down!

I actually sat down to read just a little bit of this, and before I knew it, I was 400 pages in and was like, welp, guess I’m just going to finish this today! I just couldn’t put the thing down, and I had to know what was going to happen! A lot of the twists caught me by surprise, and I absolutely loved the scheming and betrayal. I can’t wait for the next book!

Three protagonists are better than one, right? Enter the triplets Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz, each promised to a separate kingdom upon their birth.

“Promised” is a nice way to put it. Of course, they were betrothed to the princes of the kingdoms neighboring the one their mother rules. However, their mother had much more in mind than just marriage. Their real objective is to sow discord and tear down each of their respective kingdoms so that their mother can swoop in and take over, thereby ruling the entire region. This is a long-game plan that I don’t hate, and I can respect the dedication to the cause.

Just three problems with this plan: the three princesses themselves. They’ve been raised and trained all their lives knowing their individual missions and preparing for this day. However, not even all their preparation could fully get them ready for all the unexpected twists in their lives once they’re out from under their mother’s thumb. You know, like romance and friendship and the fact that all the skills and wiles they thought they possessed don’t work on everyone (and how dare they, really).

I liked these characters, though each is a little different personality-wise and they have their own arcs. Still, they were very relatable, and it was hard not to feel for these three who were just trying to do what they were raised thinking was their only purpose. It’s hard to have original thoughts when you’ve been told your whole life how to think and behave, but that’s part of their growth, too, and it’s fantastic.

Then there are the respective princes of these three realms that the princesses are betrothed to, and they themselves are all so different, yet utterly charming in their own rights.

They’re not perfect, of course, which makes it so much easier to fall for them, because of their flaws. They’re also not all quite what the princesses expected or trained for. I actually don’t want to tell you too much about these princes, because some of the plot twists revolve around them and I won’t spoil it for you. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by these princes, even if they weren’t what neither the princesses nor I had expected.

The secondary characters in this are a riot, each with their own motives, and never quite entirely clear about who can be trusted.

Remember, this is a political game to the triplets. They have a secret purpose in everything they do. They’re not the only ones, though. Sure, they make some friends and some alliances, but who can you really trust in a world where everyone has an ulterior motive?

That being said, there are some fantastic secondary characters that I absolutely loved. Even some of the characters that are meant to be antagonists have more behind their characters than what first appears on the surface.

While there isn’t quite a squad that develops in this book (as much as there are some hints at one), I suspect the book might be setting it up for a squad in the future books? That’s the impression I got, anyway. It might very well be wishful thinking (especially since I actually really enjoyed these characters, despite their issues). But I do hope to see these characters again in the next books!

I feel like I need to mention the plot twists again, because there are so many surprises in Castles in Their Bones that I was constantly trying to guess what would happen next.

Remember, this is a long-game con that the triplets’ mother has staged, so don’t think they’re entering into it lightly. There are obviously contingency plans for the contingency plans. Even then, though, not everything goes smoothly and exactly as expected. Because people tend to be fickle and unpredictable, even when you’re sure you understand how to mold and manipulate them. Silly people not bending and breaking the way they’re expected to!

I hadn’t expected to sit down and read this massive 500-page tome in one go, but you know what? I did. And I regret nothing. There were some twists that I called, because there were enough hints dropped that I figured it was coming, but some were just . . . *chef’s kiss*. That thing that finally comes to light that you hadn’t expected anyone to be capable of that much conniving and plotting and it’s just glorious. If you enjoy shifty, not always morally upright characters scheming and plotting, you will love the plot twists in this book! It’s just one big show of one-upmanship, betrayal, and scheming.

There’s a character death that happens sort of suddenly, off-screen, and with a kind of fade-to-black and then don’t discuss it sort of treatment, and I didn’t love it.

I’m going to avoid saying anything that will spoil things, but I will say that this was so sudden and unexpected and I was a little mad about how it was treated? It wasn’t just a throw-away side character, either. The repercussions should’ve been large, but we find out sort of in a throwaway line that they’re dead and there’s no exploration of the fallout or effects of this death on any characters and no discussion of the aftermath, nothing. I was kind of bummed, because it should’ve been a big, emotional, traumatic thing and it just . . . wasn’t.

About Laura Sebastian

Laura Sebastian grew up in South Florida and attended Savannah  College of Art and Design. She now lives and writes in London, England, with her two dogs, Neville and Circe. Laura is the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series: Ash Princess, Lady Smoke, and Ember Queen, as well as Half Sick of Shadows, her first novel for adults. To learn more about Laura and her books, follow @sebastian_lk on Twitter.

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3 winners will receive a finished copy of CASTLES IN THEIR BONES, US Only.

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