Hi everyone! Today I’m reviewing two books in a new fantasy romance series. Let’s go!
The Road of Bones by Demi Winters (The Ashen #1)
A woman on the run. A crew of Viking mercenaries. A forbidden romance. And the secret which threatens them all.
Silla Nordvig is running for her life.
The queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous quest: travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.
After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.
Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?
Featuring an immersive world blending fairy tale with Vikings, The Road of Bones leads you on an adrenaline-fueled chase with fun banter and a slow-building enemies to lovers romance. The first book in the Ashen Series, you are one click away from reading it!
WELL, I MAY HAVE FOUND MY NEW FANTASY OBSESSION. This is the Viking-inspired romantasy I wanted and more. While the first 20% or so honestly had me struggling a bit to connect to our main character Silla and this new world, once Silla sneaks into the wagon of the notorious Bloodaxe Crew to travel the dangerous Road of Bones, I WAS HOOKED.
This was a rollercoaster ride that had it all:
- A sunshine main character with an amazing character journey. I ended up really loving Silla, her positive attitude, her determination, and her dream for a simple life with chickens.
- A lovely found family of badasses. I love the Bloodaxe Crew! Their banter and camaraderie was so much fun to read about and got me all emotional. But especially Hekla was my favorite, who won me over with her tough exterior (and her prosthetic arm with claws!) but sweet personality.
- Multiple POVs. We get scenes from the POV of Silla (our main character), Jonas and Rey (member and leader of the Bloodaxe Crew) and Skaedra (the hunter chasing Silla across the Road of Bones). Not only did this give us so many different perspectives from several very distinct voices, but it also made every single one of these characters so multi-faceted. Like, you may not agree with them, but you can understand them and see where they are coming from.
- An intriguing world with unique creatures. I read one Norse mythology romantasy earlier this year that left me a bit disappointed, but this one I ADORED. The world is so big and intriguing and we already get so much magic and mystery and politics and interesting creatures (vampire deer!!), and yet it’s also clear this is still setting up for so much more intricate and genius storylines and worldbuilding.
- A slow-burn romance with steam. I’m not going to describe the romance too much because I don’t want to spoil you going into the story. It’s best to go into this one blind. But yes, there is romance and it’s both slow-burn and steamy and bantery!
- Secrets, shocks, betrayals and revelations. Again, I’m keeping this vague but I loved the plot twists in this one. Some I saw coming and some I didn’t, but I loved every single plot twist and revelation as I thought they were all very well built up and made sense (like, they were not just put in there to create a shock). Very well done!
Only point of criticism: The Road of Bones itself was talked about as being super dangerous, with hardly anyone travelling it surviving. With all that hype, I was expecting a bit… I don’t know… more? Like, more attacks and less time for cooking and practicing self-defense and sneaking away for romantic interludes. But maybe that’s just me…
Overall, I highly recommend this series if you’re looking for a fun new romantic fantasy series based on Norse mythology with Vikings, evil queens, found family and lots of intrigue and mystery.
**QUOTES**
“It is a man’s world, in which we live, Skraeda. Let them think us lambs when truly, we are wolves.“
“Tell me she did not just apologize to a rock.”
“He was just like the rest of them, those who thought strength was simply a measure of how hard you swung your sword. He underestimated her resilience. He equated her niceness with weakness.
“Then we shall show him just how wrong he is,” growled Silla, turning on her heel.”
Kingdom of Claw by Demi Winters (The Ashen #2)
Silla Nordvig survived the Road of Bones.
In the aftermath of her journey, her dreams of a simple life have been shattered. Beaten, betrayed, and reeling from the revelation of her true name, she flees Kopa with Reynir Galtung, ruthless leader of the Bloodaxe Crew. But Silla soon discovers Rey has been keeping secrets of his own, and they’re forced into hiding together.
Stuck in a shield-home with the murderous man she thought she knew, Silla forms a new plan: master the magic flowing through her veins to save her sister. But before she can do that, Silla must face her most formidable opponent yet–her own inner demons.
Saga Volsik has nothing to lose.
They’ve murdered her family. Stolen her throne. And now they expect her to marry their son. But when she discovers her foster mother has been keeping the biggest secret of all, everything changes.
Saga’s goal: dismantle Queen Signe’s plans piece by piece. The only problem? The handsome Zagadkian dignitary who knows far too many of her secrets.
Meanwhile, dark threads continue to weave themselves through Íseldur as magic long thought dead begins to wake. In this follow-up to The Road of Bones, both women will need to find the strength to step into their destiny and stop chaos from sweeping across the land.
Return to the Kingdom of Íseldur where enemies become lovers and dark secrets hide around each corner. This installment digs deeper into Íseldur’s forbidden magic and the simmering attraction growing between two unlikely couples.
(Keeping this review vague to not spoil anything about The Road of Bones)
EVEN BETTER THAN BOOK ONE! While The Road of Bones had a bit of a slow start, this one started with a bang and was a constant roller coaster ride all the way to the end with amazing pacing and writing. This had everything that made book 1 great, but with so much more too:
- We get a new POV as Saga Volsik’s POV is added and with it we get more political intrigue and mental health rep. While I was hesitant about this new POV at first, I think I ended up loving Saga even more than Silla near the end.
- We get not one but TWO amazing romantic plotlines and yet neither of them feel like the overwhelm the plot at any time.
- We get to meet new characters (my favorites were ‘Twig Arms’ Vig, Kass and Runny)
- We learn more about beloved (and less beloved) old characters. The multiple POV’s continue and I am loving it because all the characters are so complex and well rounded!
- The world gets so much bigger and more intriguing. The magic, the gods, the political scheming,… there is just so much to learn and so many new threads being woven.
Only downside is that I thought this was a duology but it’s not as it’s actually part of a 5-book series and book 3 isn’t out yet so now I have to wait, ugh!
Overall, I highly recommend this series so far. It’s a new favorite of mine that has definitely reawakened my love of romantic fantasy!
**QUOTES**
“You see blundering. I see progress. There is beauty to behold in the in between.”
“A hungry wolf is bound to wage a hard battle. And we, the Galdra, are starving.”
“Silla gasped. “Wha-what’s that?”
“What’s that?” repeated the creature in an appalled voice. “I’m not a what. I’m a who.”
“That’s Rykka,” said Harpa, waving a hand. “She is a smoke spirit.”
Silla clasped her hands together, her mouth falling open. “Ashes, but you are darling!”
Rykka erupted into flames that quickly burned out. “I’m no darling. I’ll burn you alive!”
Tell Me:
Have you read The Road of Bones and Kingdom of Claw yet? What did you think about them?
You’ve sold me! These books haven’t been on my radar at all, but they sound like they check all the right boxes!
Yay! I do love these books, I hope you’ll love them too if you decide to give them a try!