Review: The Sins on Their Bones, by Laura R. Samotin

Dimitri Alexeyev used to be the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now, he is merely a broken man, languishing in exile after losing a devastating civil war instigated by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin. In hiding with what remains of his court, Dimitri and his spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, engineer a dangerous ruse. Vasily will sneak into Alexey’s court under a false identity to gather information, paving the way for the usurper’s downfall, while Dimitri finds a way to kill him for good.
But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body—and now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen. Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can’t bring himself to forsake—or the spymaster he’s come to love.

"If I die first, I'll tell you the secrets of heaven."

Laura R. Samotin's The Sins on Their Bones is an extraordinary tale of healing from trauma and finding your inner strength again after enduring an abusive relationship, a well-written dark fantasy story with Jewish accents and folklore and a Russian-inspired court, a tale of the supernatural that doesn't shy away from its horrors, even when it's creatures of good that are doing the violations. It's a quiet story, following the three POVs of the grief-stricken former Tzar, his loyal spymaster, and the man who abused the Tzar's heart, body, and empire.

The abuser's POV is truly unsettling; he's so enamored of his narrative, so disgustingly lacking in self-awareness, that it proves to be a challenging read. He's a perfect villain, not moustache-twirling but one who believes he's the hero of his own story when in truth, we see the depths of his depravity in stark vividness. The book is prefaced by trigger warnings, and one would do best to take heed of them; the upsetting material isn't just in his chapters, but is reminisced and witnessed in the other POVs as well. The spymaster, too, has a painful past, that he'll try to overcome while he helps the former tzar do the same. The tzar's POV is heartbreaking, for his love for his abuser, even though he's aware of the things he did, is still ever-present and drenched in agony, and he can't bring himself to find comfort as his kingdom is taken apart by a madman.

The supporting cast truly shines. Dimitri has friends, his inner court, well-rounded characters with inner lives, who love him and try to bring him back from the abyss (they enrich the queerness of the book, as one of them is nonbinary and another is aroace). The story starts after the war that broke the realm, and pieces of information are given here and there, to slowly paint the picture of what happened. Not everything is clear - how exactly Alexey turned to the Holy Science, for instance - but the atmosphere makes up for it. Another character who is truly tragic is Dimitri's half-brother, who bears the brunt of Alexey's twisted affections in the absence of the brother whom he resembles so much; his story was heartbreaking.

The magic system was intriguing, as were the glimpses of the supernatural and the way they were linked to Jewish folklore; we have demons and angels and the name of God. There are horror elements, in a sense, but the deepest horror is human depravity.

The book, despite no indication of this, seems to be part of a series given the epilogue, but I was expecting a standalone.

The Sins on Their Bones is a powerful tale.

✨ 4 stars

Review: A Sweet Sting of Salt, by Rose Sutherland

When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labor, already drenched to the bone in the freezing cold and barely able to speak a word of English. Although Jean is the only midwife in the village and for miles around, she’s at a loss as to who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume she must be the new wife of the neighbor up the road, Tobias. And when Tobias does indeed arrive at her cabin in search of his wife, Muirin, Jean’s questions continue to grow. Why has he kept his wife’s pregnancy a secret? And why does Muirin’s open demeanor change completely the moment she’s in his presence?
Though Jean learned long ago that she should stay out of other people’s business, her growing concern—and growing feelings—for Muirin mean she can’t simply set her worries aside. But when the answers she finds are more harrowing than she ever could have imagined, she fears she may have endangered herself, Muirin, and the baby. Will she be able to put things right and save the woman she loves before it’s too late, or will someone have to pay for Jean’s actions with their life?

"She held her love in an open hand."

Rose Sutherland's A Sweet Sting of Salt is a sapphic retelling of the tale of the selkie wife, set in Nova Scotia during the Nineteenth Century. The author weaves an atmospheric story of longing and loneliness, depicting period-typical homophobia and a deft exploration of the wrongness of forced marriage. The growing tenderness between Jean and Muirin is written beautifully, and as the stakes get higher and the husband turns into a menacing antagonist the story almost turns into a horrific tale, with palpable tension woven in the narration.

The cast was fantastic. Jean, the protagonist and only POV, a midwife with a secret in her past that led her to being ostracised for a long while, stuns with her bravery and her kindness. Muirin is a perfect match, a loving mother and a brave character whose playfulness shines through sometimes, with a secret of her own. The crown jewels of the book are certainly their interactions, and especially the moments when Jean teaches English to Muirin. Jean's mentor and her friend, a mother and son, take a bigger role than expected; Jean's relationship with her mentor is beautifully explored, especially in one touching moment, but it's the small moments with the other townsfolk, as we see Jean carve a new life for herself, that really stir the heart. Muirin's husband is an excellent antagonist, a stalking threat who believes that possession is love.

The mystery is built up slowly, with little clues here and there, but it's easy to clock in on the truth even if one picked up the book only thinking it a work of historical fiction. Jean is perhaps a little slower to catch on, but when she does, it's with a heart full of love. The full scope of the revelations however is a surprise even to a more savvy reader.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a stunning debut.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Bedlam Stacks, by Natasha Pulley

In 1859, ex–East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall with an injury that almost cost him his leg. When the India Office recruits him for an expedition to fetch quinine--essential for the treatment of malaria--from deep within Peru, he knows it's a terrible idea; nearly every able-bodied expeditionary who's made the attempt has died, and he can barely walk. But Merrick is eager to escape the strange events plaguing his family's crumbling estate, so he sets off, against his better judgment, for the edge of the Amazon.
There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettling stories of impossible disappearances, cursed woods, and living stone. Merrick must separate truth from fairy tale, and gradually he realizes that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more valuable than quinine, and far more dangerous.

"He wasn't crude work but the ruin of something fine."

Natasha Pulley's The Bedlam Stacks is an atmospheric story set in Chile and filled with magical realism, full of wonder. We follow Merrick, a disabled character, as he has to join an expedition he would have rather abandoned because of his new disability. In the liminal space of a town his grandfather used to visit once, he will find Raphael, a mysterious man who seems to be ailed by a strange condition.

The prose as always with Pulley, was spectacular, so very simple and yet complex and magical. It's a slow reveal of a novel, a quiet treasure that one should savor. The magical elements come together slowly, revealing the magic behind the ordinary and beyond the objective European mind, unveiling a wholly different way of thinking.

I appreciated how Merrick was written, exploring his disability and his struggles in a very believable way, and I loved what we got to see of Raphael. Their feelings are never made explicit, but this is undoubtedly a love story, one that has a bittersweet ending. Like other Pulley characters, they are flawed and sometimes nasty, but always so very human. And fans of the Watchmaker of Filigree Street will find an incredible cameo and appreciate even more a beloved character.

The magical realism aspects were very intriguing, especially once the veil is lifted and things are revealed to be much more than they seem at first glance. The other characters feel a bit empty, with only the physician having a little depth.

The Bedlam Stacks is a quiet marvel.

✨ 4 stars

Review: Unholy with Eyes like Wolves, by Morgan Dante

Noémie, a dishonored and widowed noblewoman in early 17th century Hungary, finds herself in an unenviable position: after grievous trauma and loss, her last chance to regain her honor comes when she must serve as Lady Erzsébet Báthory’s handmaiden. Báthory is stoic and imperious, and as Noémie struggles to acclimate and accept her present and future, she begins to have dreams about a mysterious woman. Worse, there are stories of disappearance and deaths in the castle, and Noémie might be next.

"Sometimes, we need monsters to protect us."

Morgan Dante's Unholy with Eyes like Wolves is a gory sapphic exploration of the horrors of life as a woman, set in Hungary and drawing on the myth of Erzsébet Báthory and the story of Carmilla, throwing in the mix a sympathetic protagonist that isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Noémie holds her own as a character in her own right, surrounded by the figures of legends, and her journey is both touching and invigorating.

The book delves deep into themes of grief, mortality, morality, and self-actualization, weaving a tragedy steeped in languid eroticism that climaxes in sex scenes that are gory and bloody and deeply sensual. The prose is excellent, a slow and rich journey, but it's plagued by a number of typos that destroy the magic a little.

The 17th-century Hungary setting is clearly researched, even with phrases sprinkled throughout the text, and the exploration of the politics of the time is certainly intriguing.

The almost-female cast is the real gem of this book, with the relationships that are woven not only between the three women at the center, but also with the serving women at the castle and with others, and especially the strong bonds of sisterhood explored when the three wise women help Noémie with an abortion. The book, as one might imagine, tackles triggering topics, but does it expertly.

Unholy with Eyes like Wolves is a decadent delight.

✨ 4.5 stars

List: Most Anticipated Books of 2024 - July to December

Here are my most anticipated books for the second half of the year, in order of publication.

"A Thousand Times Before", by Asha Thanki (pub July 9, 2024)

"Yoke of Stars", by R.B. Lemberg (pub July 16, 2024)

"Queen B: The Story of Anne Boleyn, Witch Queen", by Juno Dawson (pub July 23, 2024)

"The Phoenix Keeper", by S.A. MacLean (pub August 13, 2024) 

"Mistress of Lies", by K.M. Enright (pub August 13, 2024)

"Lucy Undying", by Kiersten White (pub September 10, 2024) 

"Countess", by Suzan Palumbo (pub September 10, 2024)

"Emberclaw", by L.R. Lam (pub October 1, 2024)

"Swordcrossed", by Freya Marske (pub October 8, 2024)

"The Lotus Empire", by Tasha Suri (pub November 1, 2024)