Lyra Bien possesses no memories of her past, but she knows that she must hide her rare magical ability to avoid being taken to the King’s stronghold and used to fuel his conquest of other regional territories. Hidden away in a small village, she lives a quiet life until word of her existence reaches Stonegate. When Lyra must choose between freedom and the life of her best friend, she submits to the King’s demands and starts a path to understanding the truth of her ability to bind soul and bone.

Broken Souls and Bones by LJ Andrews is a new adult romantasy set in a pseudo-Viking society, where many individuals develop magical abilities. The protagonist Lyra is a melder, the rarest of the three magical varieties, and her existence is enough to cause war between the various ethnic groups in the region. When the King’s melder dies, his emissaries strike out through the kingdom searching for a replacement, and trouble ends up on Lyra’s doorstep. Roark Ashwood serves the crown prince, but he feels no compunction about dragging the young melder or the other magically gifted from the village back to Stonegate for the King’s whims. As Lyra and Roark build a relationship, the root of Lyra’s gifts becomes clearer. Melding challenges the nature of death, and the King’s power-hungry desires may destroy everything if she can’t break free.

Broken Souls and Bones often felt like two stories: one focused on the political struggle and Lyra’s dangerous magic and the other being a romance between two imperfect people who found solace in each other. The two threads weaved together as the book progressed, but I was left feeling that I hadn’t gotten quite enough of either to be satisfied. I wanted more development of the various magical abilities (bone, blood, and melding) and detailed breakdowns of how they worked (Perhaps I’ve been playing DnD too long.) and political intrigue. I was less invested in the Lyra/Roark romance, because it functioned strongly on the principle of a soul bond, which is too close to love at first sight for my taste; however, I stayed intrigued enough to finish the entire thing. Andrews included some surprises that I did not anticipate, and I might be hooked enough to try the next installment.

While the overall plot structure left me a little disappointed, Broken Souls and Bones championed LGBT and disability representation in a way that worked. First, two primary characters are homosexual, but it’s a) not their only defining personality trait and b.=) Lyra’s main concern is that one of them is engaged, so she sees the relationship as cheating. The same-sex love never gets treated as something harmful or weird, only something that can’t be fully allowed because of the social status of the characters. Second, Roark is mute due to an injury to his throat, and he uses a form of sign language. While some characters in Stonegate look down on him because he cannot speak, having a romantic lead with immense physical prowess utilizing sign language (finger speak per the book) provides deaf and hearing-impaired individuals with a positive media figure.

I wasn’t fully sold on Broken Souls and Bones, but it absorbed me enough to want to unpack some of the revelations from the final chapters. It’s unique enough to be worth checking out if you love romance in fantasy or creative magical systems or just want a story where the romantic hero isn’t supposed to be 100% perfect. I’m still thinking about some of the themes, so I can’t deny it impacted me. If you love Nordic fantasy with darker undertones, pick this up! It may be your new favorite read.

4 Faked Deaths out of 5

Creative Team: LJ Andrews (author)
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group | Ace
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