Scan barcode
wildfaeriecaps's review
5.0
This book is my everything. Put me in the world of Oreyn and I'm a happy person. Jek and Sel and, yes, even Calissa. I love them. This book is very action-y. I'm not sure I can recall any moment where something isn't happening, or falling apart, or burning down. It's a ride that you'll love every second of.
I wish that I could review this intelligently. I want to tell you that Cat's words are like poetry - like a song that eats its way into your bones and makes a home there. I want to tell you that her characters are so very human (even though they aren't) - flawed and fumbling and so sure of themselves and perfect. I want to tell you that this book tackles real world things - classism, racism. It does. I'm just not eloquent enough. Please read this book, this series. It is much too good for people to sleep on.
I wish that I could review this intelligently. I want to tell you that Cat's words are like poetry - like a song that eats its way into your bones and makes a home there. I want to tell you that her characters are so very human (even though they aren't) - flawed and fumbling and so sure of themselves and perfect. I want to tell you that this book tackles real world things - classism, racism. It does. I'm just not eloquent enough. Please read this book, this series. It is much too good for people to sleep on.
tallulahlucy's review
5.0
[Disclaimer: I received an advanced review copy of this book from the author]
This is the kind of book you savour. You could devour it in mighty gulps and crawl into work the next day having had no sleep, but you don’t. You don’t because every chapter is a treat to read. You’re too invested in the characters and in the world. You’re dreading the end, when you’ll be ejected from it, when there are no more pages of surprises and stunning prose to enjoy.
I made it last a few weeks and towards the end, I was using it to incentivise myself to do less pleasant things. “If I write 1,000 words tonight, I can read a chapter”, “If I wash the dishes, I can read a chapter”.
Bones like Bridges is the most recent of Cat Hellisen’s “Hobverse” books and I was surprised to learn it was the one that she wrote first - the one that started everything. Although, upon discovering this fact, it made sense. Each of the Hobverse books is built to stand alone. When the Sea is Rising Red is a story about freedom and betrayal, House of Sand and Secrets is a story about social injustice and oppression. While the themes and characters carry across, each narrative is tightly woven and focused on the very personal plight of the main character, Felicita.
This novel is like that part in a symphony where the music swells and you feel it reverberate through you. It’s bigger, darker, sprawling. The stakes are higher, the consequences greater. It is graphic, visceral and so very Hellisen.
It is split into three points of view with each character having a very specific voice. Jek, a half-breed, grew up on the streets and his inner monologue reflects his tough upbringing and “low class” values. Calissa is a House daughter, highborn and scheming. Sel is a young vampire who has been kicked around by life and is now almost certainly completely insane.
The story documents the lives of these three characters when the scriv (the powder that gives the high-born elf-like Lammers their magic) starts to run out. Without their magic, there is nothing to protect them from the neighbouring kingdom’s war machines. It’s a story about survival - what will you do to ensure yours? It’s a story about power - how far will you go to protect it? And it’s about love. Love hard-won and often unconventional.
I said that it made sense that this book was written first. It’s because this is the book where all the lore that has only been hinted at in the previous books is revealed. It’s the book that shows you the history of MallenIve, that finally takes you to the place where the vampires hail from. It’s the book that makes everything else make sense. If you’re a Hobverse fan, you’ll want to have the other books on hand to check back on things (Calissa makes a cameo in House of Sand and Secrets!), and you’ll appreciate the fact that this book revisits Harun and Isandro fifteen years later, and that Felicita and Jannik also have a part to play. If you’re new to Hellisen, you might even want to start with this novel. But prepare yourself, it gets dark.
As I said in my previous Hobverse reviews, the thing about Cat is that there are no limits to where she’s willing to go and what she’s willing to do to her characters if the story requires it. She won’t play into the genre conventions, so won’t give you a predictable little love triangle with a heartwarming resolution. She’ll dig into the human soul and expose it in all its glory. It’s refreshing for fantasy to be so real.
As I’ve also said before, the other thing about Cat is her exquisite prose. Here are just a few of the beautiful bits you can expect:
“The windows are slits, letting in hardly any sun. The light that does come in stripes the grey floor like a tabby cat.”
“They are like dawn and dusk; my mother filled with mysteries and dreams, and my father brisk, jolly, and quick to temper. He is the sun around which our house revolves.”
“Is this what makes people family - this wounds and hurt? Why the fuck did I ever think I wanted it. It’s too much to pay.”
“‘Look at me,’ she says. There’s something in Her voice. Stars and brilliance. Mother’s death.”
If you like dark, character-driven fantasy that marries political scheming with unlikely love and friendship, then definitely grab this book as soon as you can.
This is the kind of book you savour. You could devour it in mighty gulps and crawl into work the next day having had no sleep, but you don’t. You don’t because every chapter is a treat to read. You’re too invested in the characters and in the world. You’re dreading the end, when you’ll be ejected from it, when there are no more pages of surprises and stunning prose to enjoy.
I made it last a few weeks and towards the end, I was using it to incentivise myself to do less pleasant things. “If I write 1,000 words tonight, I can read a chapter”, “If I wash the dishes, I can read a chapter”.
Bones like Bridges is the most recent of Cat Hellisen’s “Hobverse” books and I was surprised to learn it was the one that she wrote first - the one that started everything. Although, upon discovering this fact, it made sense. Each of the Hobverse books is built to stand alone. When the Sea is Rising Red is a story about freedom and betrayal, House of Sand and Secrets is a story about social injustice and oppression. While the themes and characters carry across, each narrative is tightly woven and focused on the very personal plight of the main character, Felicita.
This novel is like that part in a symphony where the music swells and you feel it reverberate through you. It’s bigger, darker, sprawling. The stakes are higher, the consequences greater. It is graphic, visceral and so very Hellisen.
It is split into three points of view with each character having a very specific voice. Jek, a half-breed, grew up on the streets and his inner monologue reflects his tough upbringing and “low class” values. Calissa is a House daughter, highborn and scheming. Sel is a young vampire who has been kicked around by life and is now almost certainly completely insane.
The story documents the lives of these three characters when the scriv (the powder that gives the high-born elf-like Lammers their magic) starts to run out. Without their magic, there is nothing to protect them from the neighbouring kingdom’s war machines. It’s a story about survival - what will you do to ensure yours? It’s a story about power - how far will you go to protect it? And it’s about love. Love hard-won and often unconventional.
I said that it made sense that this book was written first. It’s because this is the book where all the lore that has only been hinted at in the previous books is revealed. It’s the book that shows you the history of MallenIve, that finally takes you to the place where the vampires hail from. It’s the book that makes everything else make sense. If you’re a Hobverse fan, you’ll want to have the other books on hand to check back on things (Calissa makes a cameo in House of Sand and Secrets!), and you’ll appreciate the fact that this book revisits Harun and Isandro fifteen years later, and that Felicita and Jannik also have a part to play. If you’re new to Hellisen, you might even want to start with this novel. But prepare yourself, it gets dark.
As I said in my previous Hobverse reviews, the thing about Cat is that there are no limits to where she’s willing to go and what she’s willing to do to her characters if the story requires it. She won’t play into the genre conventions, so won’t give you a predictable little love triangle with a heartwarming resolution. She’ll dig into the human soul and expose it in all its glory. It’s refreshing for fantasy to be so real.
As I’ve also said before, the other thing about Cat is her exquisite prose. Here are just a few of the beautiful bits you can expect:
“The windows are slits, letting in hardly any sun. The light that does come in stripes the grey floor like a tabby cat.”
“They are like dawn and dusk; my mother filled with mysteries and dreams, and my father brisk, jolly, and quick to temper. He is the sun around which our house revolves.”
“Is this what makes people family - this wounds and hurt? Why the fuck did I ever think I wanted it. It’s too much to pay.”
“‘Look at me,’ she says. There’s something in Her voice. Stars and brilliance. Mother’s death.”
If you like dark, character-driven fantasy that marries political scheming with unlikely love and friendship, then definitely grab this book as soon as you can.
casseyt's review
5.0
Oh my freaking hat...this book. I've been ripped and torn asunder by it all. I do not have the words to do this book justice...nor am I able to talk much about it without dropping some spoilers, but oh my freaking hat. Just damn. Read it and just be blown away.
xan_van_rooyen's review
5.0
I read this book a little while ago back when it was still being revised and finalized for publication. I adored it! I fell in love with the world, with the characters, and with the writing.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Cat Hellisen's work, but this is something special and will be a treat for anyone who's looking for a refreshing take on vampires and magic.
Highly recommend for fans of Anna-Marie McLemore and anyone who enjoys lush prose and rich world-building!
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Cat Hellisen's work, but this is something special and will be a treat for anyone who's looking for a refreshing take on vampires and magic.
Highly recommend for fans of Anna-Marie McLemore and anyone who enjoys lush prose and rich world-building!
More...