Disclaimer: I received an ARC of The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin for an honest review. This post may also contain affiliate links. If you click on one, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you.
Not interested in watching my video review, then look below for the major bullet points.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Technical Reasons to Read it: Emotional Payoff, Decent Ending, Characters’ Feelings
Hello friends!
In this blog, I’m reviewing The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin. As usual, the first half of the review will be spoiler-free, and more about my overall thoughts, whereas, for the second half, I’ll be doing a technical review. There will be spoilers there to help you strengthen your craft.
The world building was flat and not developed. The Sins on Their Bones focuses more on the two characters. If you love character-driven stories then this might be the book for you.
If you’re looking for a soft fantasy book that leans heavily on the romance side of things, this is the perfect book for you.
But halfway through the book, I was over Dimitri’s sob story. His feelings became very repetitive towards the end. I felt like I was getting beat over the head with it.
However, it did lend to a great emotional payoff at the end. I’m just not sure it was worth the time and effort.
Still, the book was very imaginative with a fun little twist at the end. The ending wasn’t obvious, at least for me. I wasn’t really trying to figure it out.
Something was missing for me though. I wanted more world-building. I wanted more fantasy. I wanted more plot. I’m not into character-driven stories.
I think that a lot of readers will find the book enjoyable. It was a great male lovers’ story. People who enjoyed Fourth Wing will probably enjoy The Sins on Their Bones as well.
Now look away if you don’t want spoilers.
Because here we be entering the technical review.
Realistic characters, especially at the end when Alexey lets Dimitri into his bedroom. Again, it goes to that emotional payoff that I mentioned above.
Samotin did a great job layering the characters’ feelings into the plot. She walked the line between too much and not enough – or in my case, too much when it came to Dimitri. But, to have that emotional payoff I’ve mentioned, I think she needed to be heavy-handed. Dimitri’s entire storyline was about his love for Alexey. It may be real life, but that doesn’t mean it makes for a good story. We don’t have to go into the weeds. That’s why writers flow in and out of conversations in the middle. Readers need the tension.
On the political front, I don’t see this story being what it is without the male lovers. Samotin did a fantastic job with it.
The ending had a great twist of sharing the same body. I found it believable. Samotin made sure to lay the groundwork beforehand. She wasn’t reaching around aimlessly trying to find a solution to resurrecting Dimitri.
Then, we have the death scene. This is the number one reason you need to read The Sins on Their Bones. The writing has to be analyzed. Oh boy, it’s a scene filled with tension. Making it from Alexey’s POV was also ingenious because the reader knows what Dimitri is planning to do, but they don’t know how Alexey will respond in the scenario. The emotional payoff is superb. Alexey is a grey character. He loved Dimitri so much, but he still couldn’t let go of his hunger for power.
Happy Reading!
Love,
Kait