DNF unfortunately.

I meant to add this as a DNF a long time ago, but I got too busy.


This writing style comes across as both smarmy and self conscious in a way I found to be wildly grating. The dialogue didn't match up with time period it was placed in, and sounded awfully juvenile. I'm also very, very sick of being quipped at, or having to read truly terrible flirting. Ultimately, despite the legions of reviewers commenting how dark the novel is, I just simply do not trust the author to tackle the purported themes properly. Both from the shallowness I get from the prose alone, but also trying to reconcile the "queer normative" world building. You can't have no homophobia and imperialism, because that's not how those concepts work on a basic structural level. There was also a lot of telling and not showing, references to past key events and bonding moments between the characters, all of which serve to pad out what is simply a book that cannot seem to allow itself to be that deep.

It’s taken me a while to write this review because I really didn’t know where to start with it. I guess I will begin by saying that I had really looked forward to this book, with its Jewish-based fantasy world and heavy emphasis on queer characters and relationships. Instead, I feel like I got a slow book full of trauma porn, relationships that weren’t fleshed out or believable, bad execution of detail and background, and so much unnecessary sexual content that existed SOLELY for the purpose of demonstrating abuse.

Like many other reviews, I really struggled to get sucked into this book, even though the magic system and fantastical elements had so much potential and were really interesting. The starting point of the book being after a war could have added to the intrigue of the novel if not for the fact that the dispensation of details felt jagged–at times way too slow and at other times far too much at once. The flashbacks didn’t feel well-paced, and I found that inter-character dynamics just existed and the reader was plopped into them, rather than watching any of them naturally unfold or grow. This is the greatest hindrance to the Dimitri/Vasily relationship, which I absolutely could not find any investment in beyond feeling bad for Vasily the whole book (because let’s be honest, he was used). The Dimitri/Alexey relationship was even worse: one of utter abuse and horror that we were supposed to buy into, or at the very least, be interested in witnessing their abusive sexual encounters. So much time was poured into this aspect, and I personally had no interest in reading about it.

I found myself skimming all the way to the very end, and when the resolution presented itself, my primary thought was “meh.” I didn’t feel a cathartic satisfaction at the end, likely because the author didn’t ever win my entire buy-in for her characters. She didn’t make them well-rounded or, frankly, very likable, and their relationships to each other felt superficial—or, at the very least, like their friendships had been forged in a prequel war we never got to see and therefore could not really understand.

I appreciate the intent of the novel, and am always excited for more diverse versions of fantasy worlds, but the intricacies of this book really took me out of it and removed any sense of enjoyment I could have felt. I give this 2⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

One of the best dark fantasies I had the pleasure of reading!

Inspired by Jewish folklore, The Sins on their Bones is an engrossing, immersive tale of loss and grief, and family and friendship.

I adored every single character, how uniquely written each of them are, and most importantly, their interactions. This has to be one of the best found family books I’ve ever read, and the romance was as well masterfully done.
This is a very character-driven story, and despite the actual plot moving at a pretty slow pace, you get a lot of time to know these characters, to understand their fears, their motivations, and how they shape the plot.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

Set during the turbulent times after a Tzar loses the civil war to his husband, The Sins on Their Bones is an emotional and unflinching exploration of love, loss, pain, belonging, fear and healing. The story is told primarily through the perspectives of three people:

1) Dimitri, the righteous Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo who exiled himself after failing to kill Alexey who has betrayed his love and trust in so many different ways.
2) Alexey, the immortal acting Tzar who’s set on ruling the world after uniting the middle world of demons and the lower world of men via the Holy Science.
3) Vasily, Dimitri’s spymaster who’s willing to do anything to save his country and provide Dimitri the happiness and freedom he deserves.

And, it’s a story that cuts deep and hard with its willingness to openly and deeply explore the effects of war, violence, death, abuse (emotional, physical and psychological), toxic relationships, trauma, human experimentation and more through life-like characters that will have you rooting or hating them. Every page is filled with emotion — the most vivid being desperation, grief, anger, greed and hope. The story is so alive, so dark and though I knew nothing about the Ashkenazi Jewish culture which inspired the world of the book, it didn’t hinder my understanding of it.

The Sins on Their Bones will sit in my mind for a long while. From the nuanced execution of the story and the complex characters to that painful yet realistic ending that has left me fervently hoping for the best despite knowing better, there is so much to ponder about here. If you’re a fan of Tokyo Ghoul and The Heroic Legend of Arslan , you’d love this book too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!

I love unconventional fantasy novels, where the main characters aren't powerful and heroic, where they have lost everything, where they doubt themselves and their decisions at every turn, but still choose to forge on regardless. Dimitri is depressed and going through it mentally, after his ex-husband's betrayal and usurpation, and a lot of the beginning of this book is about picking up the pieces in order to move forward. I appreciate how his depression is taken seriously as a legit illness, which is something you don't see a lot of in high fantasy. Vasily is his loyal spymaster who is devoted to his country and to Dimitri, and is willing to do whatever it takes in order to reinstate Dimitri as Tzar. At times, things look hopeless, but Vasily manages to persevere and act under pressure. Alexey reminds me of the Darkling from Shadow & Bone, so take that as you will. He's power hungry and delusional in his quest for more power, under the misguided belief that he must do it for the good of the country. I hadn't expected to get his point of view in this book, and I won't say it was a pleasant surprise, but it was fascinating to read from his perspective and see how differently he interprets things.

A lot of the negative reviews critique the pacing as "too slow", but honestly, I didn't even notice? In hindsight I can see how people might find this book slow, as it takes about halfway into this book for the main plot to get going, but I really enjoyed being able to spend more time with the cast, learning about them and their backstories before getting swept up in the plot.
I've also seem some criticism of the amount of sex scenes in this book, which is perfectly fine and everyone's preferences are valid. However, I do feel that some people are coming at this from the perspective that sex scenes are written purely for the purpose of titillating the audience, which is definitely not the case here. The characters have sex for a variety of reasons, ranging from using it as a coping mechanism for trauma, or as a way to exert power or control, or as a method of manipulation, which I think is important to keep in mind before dismissing this book as "smut". (But if you're into it that's fine too!)

Another aspect of this book I found rather interesting was how Jewish folklore and customs were written into the world-building. I have zero knowledge of Judaism so I lowkey thought some of it was made up for fantasy world-building purposes, but the author's note at the end of the book was enlightening and gives some great insight into how the author constructed this world with Jewish culture in mind.

One thing that bugs me about this is, I was under the impression that this book was a standalone until I got to the ending. You could still read it as a standalone, I guess. And like, I'm glad that there could be more of this world, but it irks me that I didn't know this going into it.

TLDR; This book weaves a complex tapestry of past and present, love and betrayal, loss and healing. It's about finding light in the darkest of times. 5 stars.

This was a really solid debut fantasy novel! I really enjoyed the characters (especially Vasily), and I'm so excited to see where the story goes next after that ending! I do think that the pacing was a bit off at parts of the novel, but I otherwise really loved it and would recommend it to those who like dark fantasies!

Thank you, NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada | Random House Canada, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Dimitri Alexeyev was the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now he's exiled by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin and hiding with his own small court away from the city. Helped by his spymaster, Vasily, they decided to try a ruse in order to destroy the usurper's court from the inside Vasily will sneak into Alexey's court, to gather information and to pay the way to his downfall. But Alexey isn't an ordinary man anymore. Thanks to the pervesion of the Lydayzim religion he died and resurrected himself, being now impossible, or almost, to kill. Able to summon demons, he is now corrupting the whole city, wanting to build a powerful army and create a mighty empire.
But saving Novo-Svitseso means kill the husband Dimitri isn't yet ready to say goodbye too, even though he's starting to feel something for Vasily.

The sins of their bones is a brilliant, magnificent and hugely captivating story, set in a Jewish folklore inspired world, in Eastern Europe. It's the story of two estranged husbands, who find themselves on opposite sides of a civil war. The story is intriguing and told mainly by two povs, Dimitri's and Alexey and their desires, dreams and ambitions. In this queer dark fantasy, the author did an excellent job in dealing with toxic relationships, abusive love, loss, love and power, mainly in describing the intense story between Alexey and Dimitri and the slowly falling in love between Alexey and Vasily.
The story follows these two civil war faction, between intrigues, court, lies, secrets, power and demons, in fighting for the right thing for the country and for themselves, with well rounded characters and an intriguing and fascinating setting.
I was emotionally destroyed by this book, but I'm totally recommending it!

This book broke my heart and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I needed to know what happened next, even as I worried over the fate of my favorite characters. Dimitri was so sweet and he struggled so much. I felt that the portrayal of his grief and depression was done well, and my heart hurt for him. Vasily was such a complex character, so full of empathy, while somehow also balancing his role as spymaster and what needed to be done. He's very self-sacrificing, always doing what's best for everyone else, regardless of what he wants. I was so invested in how everything would play out, and I needed this little found family to find some version of a happy ending.
I really enjoyed the fantasy element, as well. It's an interesting take on magic, faith, and demons. I'm unfamiliar with Jewish folklore, so this was an introduction into some pieces of that.
This was a fantastic read, and I enjoyed it a lot, despite the fact that it made me cry. I definitely recommend checking it out!

I love everything about this book. The found family and relationships in this book are wonderful, and all of the main characters are queer. This book focuses a lot on themes of abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and I believe the author portrayed the effects of this abuse on the main characters in a way that does it justice and can be relatable for people who have been through similar. The romance is so beautiful (and at times steamy), and this book tore my heart out and healed it again more than once. The author includes many elements of Jewish culture in this book, and while I do not know enough about Jewish culture to say whether this aspect was executed well, I did enjoy what I noticed was included from traditional Jewish myths and stories.

Really enjoyed this one! I know historical Russian setting has kind of been done to death in fantasy in the past few years, but Samotin was really successful with this one. It's a dark and at times painful story, but I love to suffer a little. Very interested to see what else this author writes in the future!

This book was such a thrill for the heart really. It took me a good amount of time to read because it was tinged through by this melancholy sense of desperation- of wars already waged, hearts already broken, promises long shattered. You come into the story after everything has settled, the soldiers have stopped fighting. Dimitri and his friends, the remainder of his court, have been living in a foreign country after Dimitri’s husband, Alexey, waged war and became the new Tzar. Alexey has consolidated his power through his new Holy Science, making himself immortal and strange.

Despite the heavy past that weighs on the cast, there's an ultimate tone of hope. Despite it seeming like all is over, this small group has not given up- not wholly. They see Alexey for what he really is: a blasphemer who has perverted the country’s love of God. Hope to win, despite the lingering pit in Dimitri's stomach that he'll never be able to get over what he once had so he can kill Alexey.

I actually almost stopped when I was about halfway through because it was making me sad and it was all feeling rough. But once you hit that mark it picks up rapidly and I read the second half all in one sitting.

I think this book’s conversation on abuse, especially at the hands of someone you love, is one of the most interesting and compelling pieces of the puzzle. It's Dimitri's biggest obstacle: how to come to terms with what has happened, how to rectify this with the feelings that still exist in him, how to move on because he has to- even if he doesn't feel ready. And the themes of found family and healing slot right in there.

I always say I won't skim other ppls reviews and then I do. I won't say I disagree that this book feels like a sequel to a book I never read. But I also think there's something compelling in that. There's a real haunting sense to it. The world has ended and there's nothing you can do to stop the hurt because its already happened. The only thing left to do is pick up the pieces and keep moving. I am definitely biased as someone who loves memory studies and looking at aftermath and memory and how the moving on is viewed. Regardless. I really enjoyed reading this and you should give it a go!

Really enjoyed this dark fantasy debut! It was hard to put this book down once I got started. It explores darker themes, but does it so well. I loved the darker religious themes as well. The writing was great and seeing the story from our three main POV's kept me coming back for more. All of our characters were fully fleshed out and the slower pace at the beginning really allows you to understand them and their motivations. The ending definitely leaves me excited for the sequel.

(4.25 stars)

When I saw the description of this book, I knew I had to read it. It has been described as a queer dark fantasy. The story takes place in a fictional version of 19th century Eastern Europe/Russia and is drenched in East European Jewish mysticism, folklore and traditions. Yes, there’s a Tsar, but he’s Jewish! This world also treats same-sex relationships as nothing unusual, which is another refreshing aspect.

The story follows Dmitri’s efforts to regain control of Novo-Svitsevo. He used to rule Novo-Svitsevo as Tsar, but lost to his husband, Alexey, in a civil war. Alexey is now immortal, having undergone a resurrection/transformation via what he calls the Holy Science, a twisted version of the fictional religion of Ludayzim. Dmitri is in exile now, with a few of his faithful court. The plot took quite a while to take off, but once it did, I was hooked.

Chapters are told from three POVs: Dmitri, Alexey, and Vasily who is Dmitri’s close friend and spymaster. The book design is beautiful, with illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and illustrations of two playing cards that figure in the story.

It’s not an easy read; be aware that there is a lot of violence and gore, body horror, human experimentation, and abusive relationships, among the content warnings. There are also quite a few very explicit MM sex scenes throughout the book. Dark magic pervades the whole story, which includes both angels and demons.

The story talks to us about the long-term effects of abuse and trauma, about deep friendships, facing our faults (and realizing that some things weren’t our fault).

The final chapter hints at the possibility of a sequel. If that happens, I’ll be reading it.

Don’t skip the Author’s Note at the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Once I got into this one, I did not want to put it down! It took my brain a while to adjust to having a villain character who was really a villain, not the enemy in an enemies-to-lovers arc. All three POV characters were interesting, and I thought it was impressive that Alexey remained unlikable but still engaging because I feel like we are often predisposed to love the bad guy.

I would recommend this to people who enjoyed the Grishaverse series and want to try something darker, those who enjoy more fantasy than romance (but still some heart-wrenching moments), and anyone who wants to hang out in a queer fantasy world.

I do think TSOTB reads a bit like it could be the second or third book in a series, rather than the first, so if you're someone who doesn't enjoy being dumped into the middle of things it might not be for you! (Everything is well-explained and I love this sort of set up, but it's not for everyone.)

Wow wow wow! This was not what I was expecting but I really enjoyed it! This is definitely a lot darker than I thought it would be so TWs should definitely be checked. I didn't want this to end. The characters actually felt human. I cannot wait to see what Samotin comes out with next after finishing TSoTB.

I’m usually a high fantasy reader, so I was unsure about this one when I received an ARC from NetGalley. However, I was drawn in immediately by the storyline and wanted to know what had happened to cause this war that the characters were reeling from. I thought the use of different narrators was very well done and wasn’t confused about who was speaking.

I did find there to be a few too many sex scenes for my preference, but I had no problem skimming them to get back to the plot.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and I would love to read more by the author!!

What I Loved (at a glance):
🖤Dark Magic
🖤Queer Representation
🖤Betrayal
🖤Chosen Family
🖤Espionage
🖤Wonderfully Written Heartbreak

Sins on Their Bones was a longer read for me, mainly because I wanted to do my best to understand political and religious systems as a Canadian with no knowledge of Jewish culture. It seemed very well done! One thing is that while there are romantic elements, this is not really a romantasy in my books, so please don’t go into it expecting that. It beautifully deals with subjects like manipulation, narcissistic lovers, and depression post-heartbreak.

Once I started to understand what the systems looked like in the world building, I was entranced by the found family aspects as well as the bit of romance.

I honestly just dove straight into this book knowing that the premise was about two ex-husbands flung onto opposite sides of a war, so damn was I delighted to find I loved this book so much. It’s definitely not a read for everybody—the plot generally moves very slow, and the focus is less on the war and more on the characters themselves. I ambled through the first 10-15% struggling to see where the story was going, but once I realised this more character than plot heavy, I began to enjoy it a lot more.

All of the characters in this book are fully fleshed out, and even though they might make decisions that are very rash and stupid, you get a good sense of why they’re doing so. Their inner struggles and conflicts are so very real, and you really get to feel their pains. Laura Samotin does such a good job of making you understand where they came from and how they got to where they are, and that’s undoubtedly what kept me going even when I found the plot to be absent in the first half. The found family dynamic in this book is just so, so good. This isn’t a story that’s very focused on it’s worldbuilding, and you really only get a few sparse details about the overall larger setting, but I think Samotin does a fine job at making you understand elements which are key to the plot, so that you’re not left wanting to understand more. Also, I think the sequel will expand a lot on the larger aspects of the religion, so I’ll be holding my fingers till then.

I also can’t talk about this book without screaming about its main romance, because it is so. so. good. Both Dmitri’s realisation about his unhealthy relationship with Alexey to him finally admitting how much he cares about Vasily was so ridiculously well written. I am a sucker for pining, and this book does that so well. You see exactly why the characters care for each other, so when they finally kiss, it’s so well worth it. A lot of the main themes of this book revolve around learning to accept yourself and overcome toxic and abusive relationships, and Samotin handles that with such care. Though I had a few issues with the pacing at the start and the handling of some plot points at the end (they seemed very rushed over and not dwelt on enough), I had a really good time with this book and I cannot wait to hear news of the sequel.

5 stars

Favourite blurb: "'If I die first, Annika said. 'I'll tell you the secrets of heaven," Dimitri finished,"

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I liked the book a lot! It started directly with Dimitri grieving for the lost spiritually of his husband. This book is about Dimitri trying to save his country from his husband and his belief in the devil. Samuel. It shows the aftermath of the war between him and his husband where he fled because he could not shoot him dead. It shows his interaction with his court: Ladushka, Mischa, Annika and Vasily. Vasily in particular and Dimitri has a relationship going on when Vasily tries to heal and help Dimitri against memories of his husband. Dimitri is very affected by the memories of his husband as can be seen reading the book. The court's interaction is very straightforward and does not drag on. This book did have some fantasy element in it as they can invoke the power of angels and devils. The book features characters with lgbt.

The archangel invoked by the main characters said: "Just as your sins are written on your bones," and "so will you bear the name of God." I guess this is where the name of the book came from.

They will say: "If I die first, I'll tell you the secrets of heaven" as a mantra similarly found in Six Of Crows

Vasily cares and tries to heal Dimitri, he is so caring.

The ending is a cliffhanger and there should be a second book. When it comes out, I will try to get my hands on the other books in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley for this copy of ARC.

This book is truly fascinating. It sets the scene for a story full of political scheming, betrayal, and supernatural elements. The idea of a leader seeking redemption and vengeance against his tyrant ex-husband is both gripping and unique.

The interactions among Dimitri, Vasily, and Alexey are particularly intriguing, as each character wrestles with their motives and yearnings amidst the turmoil of warfare and power struggles. Dimitri's resolve to free his nation from Alexey's oppression while dealing with his conflicting emotions for Alexey and Vasily adds richness to the plotline and hints at character growth.

Introducing aspects like Alexey's ability to resurrect himself and summon creatures from the demon realm brings an exhilarating and unpredictable twist to the narrative. It further heightens the challenges faced by Dimitri and his allies as they confront hurdles in their mission to overthrow Alexey and restore harmony to Novo Svitsevo.

In essence, this novel offers an immersive reading journey, blending intrigue, romance, and supernatural elements that will surely captivate readers from start to finish. It delves into the themes of love, sacrifice, and the repercussions of authority, appealing to enthusiasts of historical fiction and political intrigue.