The Bone Thief is the stunning conclusion to Breeana Shields’ Bone Charmer duology, delivering a powerful and emotionally rich finale. This YA fantasy deepens Saskia’s story with meaningful twists and mature themes that elevate the series. If you enjoyed the first book, this sequel will exceed your expectations—and if you haven’t started the series yet, now is a perfect time.
Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4.9/5)
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Bookish Essentials
Genre: Young Adult / Mystery / Magic / Coming-of-Age
Series: Book 2 of The Bone Charmer (2 books)
Reading Age: 14+
Published: 2020
Pages: 340
Reading order: 1) The Bone Charmer, 2) The Bone Thief
Read The Bone Thief Now or Eventually?
Read now! Read now! Read now! This is honestly the best book I’ve read in a long time. I fell in love with the main character Saskia and the strange word her story takes place in. Breena Shields is an amazing storyteller, and The Bone Thief is a gift to the YA genre.
From the Jacket of The Bone Thief
“I was absolutely swept away by the world of The Bone Charmer.” – Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series
A deft exploration of the weight of grief and cost of revenge, Breeana Shields’s Bone Charmer duology reaches its spine-tingling conclusion in this high-octane fantasy-thriller.
Saskia returns to Ivory Hall to train in bone magic, determined to stop Latham from gaining the power of all three Sights—past, present, and future. But danger lurks within the fortress’s marrow. Trials are underway for the apprentices, and the tasks feel specifically engineered to torment Saskia, which is exactly what Latham wants.
As she grows increasingly more suspicious, her thirst for revenge becomes all-consuming. Together with the friends she can trust and the boy she loved in another lifetime, Saskia traces clues from Latham’s past to determine what he’ll do next. Their search leads them across Kastelia and brings them to a workshop housing a vast collection of horrors, including the bones Latham stole from Gran, and the knowledge that the future isn’t all that’s in jeopardy—but the past as well.
Always Eventually Review
After finishing the second installment in The Bone Charmer duology, it’s safe to say I’m obsessed with Breeana Shields! The Bone Thief is utterly perfect. It finishes the series strong. There are spoilers ahead, so quit reading this now, and go pick up The Bone Thief, if you haven’t already!
I love the way Shields uses this installment to explore more mature themes than you typically see in YA fantasy. The Bone Thief carries a strong undercurrent about the dangers of letting grief and revenge harden your heart. Saskia is devastated by the cruel and untimely death of her mother, and her desire for vengeance against Latham, her mother’s killer, becomes an all-consuming force. She doesn’t even realize—until it’s almost too late—that she’s slowly walking the very path that twisted Latham in the first place. The Bone Thief masterfully explores the difficult choices Saskia has to make and the complex feelings that accompany those choices.
I was especially drawn to the love story between Saskia and Bram. In the first novel, Shields handled the enemies-to-lovers trope with such care, avoiding the toxic dynamics that so often come with it. In this story, Bram has no memory of their other path—the one where he and Saskia fell in love—leaving Saskia to quietly grapple with unrequited feelings while dreading the moment her love tattoo completes. And it’s heartbreaking. But it seems that Bram and Saskia are fated to be together, as they keep finding themselves working side by side and in compromising situations. (You’ll know what I mean when you read it 😉 My one gripe about their love story—after calling the book perfect (It still is!)—is that I wish we’d gotten a bit more time to get to know Bram and watch their relationship deepen and grow.
The book is beautifully written and surprisingly sophisticated for the genre. One of the most genius things about The Bone Thief is that none of the characters are written like children. They’re not unrealistically mature, but they’re grounded in a way that makes them feel authentic—and as an older reader, I really appreciated that.
When I finished The Bone Thief, I was a bit sad this story is over. It’s such a great series with lovable characters. But I’ll get over it the way I always do: by jumping right into another book. I’ll definitely be adding some more Breeana Shields books to my TBR, so keep an eye out!
If You Liked This, Try
- Winterwood, by Shea Ernshaw
- Wicked Like a Wildfire, by Lana Papovic
- Serpent & Dove, by Shelby Mahurin
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