I really enjoyed Blood Iron and Bone.

The six different points of view were a lot to handle at first, and were mildly confusing at times. Once I got a grasp on it (and made a notes sheet with details), I was able to really enjoy the story.

I was expecting this book to be more of a romantasy book, than fantasy with a side plot of romance, but I can't fault it for that because it was my fault for going into it expecting romantasy. I found that once I understood that romance was not going to be a main plot point, I enjoyed it a lot more and spent more time understanding and figuring out the book than rooting for the romance. Although I looooved that there were fated mates! That was a huge plus for me, as well as fae x human. The world building was solid, the plot was tight and it kept me on my toes to keep reading! I had a fun time with this one and will definitely be reading the next.

⭐️ 3/5

Blood Iron and Bone is a fantasy novel built on multiple POVs, intricate lore, and a prophecy-driven plot. While I don't remember every detail, I do recall the early chapters being quite confusing. The shifting perspectives took time to adjust to, and it wasn’t always clear how everything connected. However, once the threads began to converge, the structure started to pay off and added to the overall impact of the story.

The world itself is built with care, and the inclusion of a prophecy gave the plot a strong sense of purpose and direction. The romantic elements played more of a background role, with destiny and fate taking center stage. While I didn’t form a strong attachment to any specific character, I think the book has a lot to offer readers who enjoy layered fantasy with big-picture stakes.

Even though this book didn’t fully land for me, I’d still give the sequel a chance, especially to see how the world and characters evolve. But for that I think I would have to re-read the first book.

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

Blood, Iron, and Bone by Sera Foxe was dark, seductive, and completely addictive. From the first page, I was pulled into a brutal, beautifully crafted world where survival comes at a cost — and love is both a weapon and a lifeline. The romance is everything: sharp-edged, enemies-to-something-more, with banter that cuts and vulnerability that hurts in the best way. The emotional tension built like a storm, and when it broke? Worth. Every. Page. The morally gray love interest? Chef’s kiss. This book gave me spice, pain, power, and just enough softness to break my heart and rebuild it. I couldn’t put it down.

This book draws you into a dark, twisty world where shadows have teeth and fate plays dice with your emotions. The pacing feels a bit slow on some occasions but what I can I say I am the kind of person who is frustrated because I can't read fast enough—anyway it’s stuffed with deliciously angsty character thoughts (and who doesn’t love a good mental spiral?).

If you like morally gray fae, prophecy drama, and slow-burn chaos under a cursed sky, this one’s ready to ruin your sleep schedule. Think SJM meets Holly Black after a long night of brooding

AMAZING!! I will be completing the series, Hard to believe this is a debut fantasy novel! It’s packed with lush, gothic, whimsical fae lore and romance. If you’re into Romantasy, this should be your number one pick for your TBR!

Amazing world building, compelling story telling and characters. Can't wait for book 2. Sera Fox is a new author to me and has become a must read.

Thank you for the ARC!

The story started out strong and I was interested. Unfortunately, mid-way through I was completely lost to what was going on to the story and I found it boring and unable to hold my attention. I felt like I needed to go back and start over at the beginning because I had felt like I was missing something.

I did not finish this book and I do not think I will be able to finish this book. I am setting it to 3 stars because it had a promising beginning and the story sounds intriguing, I just feel like there were too many moving parts that caused it to be confusing.

This is a doozy and very confusing but in the best way possible.

Blood Iron and Bone follows a crew of fae and human folks who have to come together to save their realm from dark alchemy. As they uncover the truth behind blood magic and ancient curses, Wren (the mostly main character) confronts who she is and what she represents.

There’s a ton of POVs in this story (six, if you can believe it) and it threw me for a loop. Its remarkable how the story holds together but it does. There’s a lot of dimension to the story because of this which adds a lot to the plot, but I wouldn’t say its a strong suit. I would have liked to have maybe four POVs and get more depth to the characters.

The worldbuilding is also not for the faint of heart. Its substantial and throws you in headfirst into a tsunami with no floatation devices. It does add a nice storytelling aspect to things but you get distracted from the complexity of it all.

The characters were decently built out, but I can’t help but think if there were less POVs that we might have seen more development. Because there is so much perspective, the plot is slow moving and the romance suffers as a part of it. Its not even similar to a slow burn, its just more of a slow moving romance which I didn’t love too much.

I would recommend this if you are okay with overwhelming worldbuilding and multiple POVs (similar to how Crescent City is built out) who love the fantasy aspect of romantasy.

Thank you NetGalley and Agency Press Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my review.

This was good a little mind boggling trying to keep up with all 6 different points of view occasionally but it is what it is . It was a fun read and the world building was amazing !! I find so many authors mess up with the world building making it too rushed or tagged on but this was spot on .

I really enjoyed the set up of this book with the multiple point of views however I know there are a few people who wouldn’t like this.
I loved how the different point of views made you think you were piecing a story together

Thank you to NetGalley and Agency Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my goodness - this book is incredibly hilarious! The world building and writing were both beautiful but the 6 points of view!? Excessive and SO hard to keep track of the different voices - I need that bit to be a bit smoother in the next book, but that being said - I still just truly enjoyed the overall book!

It felt like a huge puzzle that needed to be put together and I loved every freaking second of it. Coming from someone that really doesn't enjoy puzzles....well, that says a lot! The pacing of this story is insane (in a good way) and the fact that there was THIS much detail crammed into a span of a few days just continues to blow my mind now that I am done reading!

The romance is a subplot - but it's fated mates and utterly delicious!

Super unique read, and I can hardly wait for the next book as it's been set up SO INCREDIBLY well!

I received a copy of Blood Iron and Bone by Sera Foxe from NetGalley. This romantic fantasy is the first book of the Lightbringer series. I loved the concept of the different worlds pressed together on top or below each other. The story follows Aurelia, who is a human and feels like she doesn’t belong in this world or with her parents. She hears strange noises at night that intrigue her. One day, she follows the noises and ends up in a different world.
The fae realm of Aithrim is kind of parallel to the human world. This world has been taken over by darkness, but there is a prophecy of a union of two fae that will help bring back the light to their world. Andar, a prince, and Lark, a high-born girl, seem to be the fae whose union will help their world. Andar feels a disconnect from Lark, who is supposed to be his fated mate, and Lark doubts if their match will fulfill the prophecy. They have always been friends, but the way they feel about each other doesn’t seem like anything fated. When Aurelia is drawn by the mysterious noises and ends up in Aithrim; there are revelations of their true identities and how the prophecy comes into play.

A fab story and well written. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. Enjoyed every second of reading.

I love romantasy and definitely found this book interesting. Even though I struggled a bit with the many POVs, the characters and storyline were captivating. I will definitely be reading the next installment in the series.

Fated mates ✔️
Spice ✔️
World building ✔️
Curses ✔️
Magic and fae ✔️

What more could you want?

I really enjoyed this, but my only struggle was that this book has a lot of different view points which for me was really difficult to keep up with. It makes sense in the end, when it all comes together.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review!

This book contains many tropes so it has a lot to offer in this romantasy. With starting this book I had to really give it a chance because there's six different POV's and more than one timeline, it's full of plot twists and slow-burn romance. I'm not the biggest fan of duel-POV's so six was a bit chaotic with just having been introduced to the characters in my opinion. It can be a fun challenge to keep up with the flow of the book if your up for that aspect in a story, especially because you aren't really made aware of who's POV your reading in every chapter. Also if you don't connect with a character your forced to keep reading about them to get through the story. This book is a whirlwind because it all happens within a couple days. I believe this story may be for some if these aspects intrigue you, but I wouldn't recommend this book if your looking for an easy to follow along read.

The world-building in the books is very well detailed along with the beings living within it. The side characters were intriguing which I always enjoy in a fantasy read!

I enjoyed this in the beginning, but as I continued it felt very predictable. I ended up not finishing. I may come back at a later date and try again, but for now this one just isn't for me. Thank you to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity of reading this.

When Amelia is drawn buy a stage call she finds herself in the fay world. Meanwhile Andar is due to marry but is conflicted as he does not feel that it right for him, but duty calls.
A wonderfully woven tale that kept the reader engrossed. The characters were well fleshed out and the storyline moved with a pace that kept the interest.
A great story by a new author to me.

3.25/5 stars! This was a good romantasy. It had an interesting world and I liked the MMCs. I just wish it offered something, anything, new to the genre. It felt predictable and like other books I have read. I definitely enjoyed it though.

I actually had no idea that I received this book as an ARC so now I’m sad I’m late to the party.

I enjoyed this book! The story follows six different characters and their perspectives. I am someone that is used to reading a lot of POVs throughout bigger fantasy books, however it was still a bit hard to keep up at times with which perspective I was following at times. However, I loved all of the characters and their different storylines that connected to the story!

I also enjoyed that this story wasn’t heavily focused on the fated mate romance (though it’s a central plot of the book). This felt more involved in the rest of the plot and bringing back light through the fated mates rather than revolving around just those two characters and the romance itself and that was refreshing!

Very thrilling, fast-paced and I’m excited for the next!