Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Ferrying the dead so they don’t prey on the living is the sacred duty of the Bone Criers. However, the price to ferry spirits to Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s underworld is a promise of dedication. The only way to make this promise is for a Bone Crier to sacrifice their soulmate.

Ailesse is preparing to complete her rite of passage to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mystifying famille of women that derive their powers from animal bones in order to ferry the dead. And now Ailesse must kill the boy she is fated to love.

Bastien seeks revenge after watching his father be killed by a Bone Crier. However, his revenge will have to wait the moment Bastien comes face to face with one. The moment Ailesse starts her ritual, their fates are tied together in life and death.

Sabine doesn’t have the heart for the Bone Criers’ work. However, the moment Ailesse is taken, Sabine is willing to do whatever it takes to get her back. Even if that means refusing to obey traditions, and their matriarch, to shatter the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Otherwise they all might die.

So, a book containing tragic soul mates, the dead, power from the night sky, and bone magic is a dream come true in Bone Crier’s Moon. Not only that, but the mythology in the book is also very intriguing, I always love the incorporation of gods. Now how that shows through the characters is really well done as well.

First Ailesse, pronounced eh-LESS, is proud of her heritage and strives to complete her rite of passage and become an amazing matriarch. Not only does Ailesse embrace the lifestyle, but she goes above and beyond by throwing all of herself into her training. Ailesse has done everything to be as impressive of a Bone Crier as she can be, that is until she is stolen away by the soul mate determined to kill her. This is when her eyes open to other possibilities. In contrast to Ailesse is Sabine, who supports Ailesse but doesn’t wish to complete the tasks to get to her rite of passage or the rite itself. However, once it comes down to Sabine to take charge, she goes all in to save her best friend. Bastien also transforms by the end of the book. From a thief living on the streets dead set on murdering a Bone Crier for revenge, to learning their purpose and coming to their aid.

Bone Crier’s Moon focuses on the history, traditions, and mythology of the Bone Criers. Through the characters, we learn what they already know while also learning along with them. All while the world and mythology unfolds, something deeper and darker within their own famille unfolds. This sends everything spiraling and leaves everyone questioning what they know.