The Sins on Their Bones on a bookshelf next to Home Office candle

Review: The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin 

Posted on by Anna and Alexis

Alexis:

The Sins on Their Bones is a gorgeously written story about grief, abuse, and moving on from the past. ⁣

It has a loveable yet flawed cast of characters, a fantastically written evil villain, and enough humor to balance out the dark themes. ⁣(At one point, the main character, Dimitri, has to hold a goat, and it’s hilarious). 

I loved the LGBTQ+ characters, the Jewish mythology, and the Russian-inspired world. 

Samotin did an amazing job with the body horror elements in this. The descriptions are dark and gruesome—but I liked that the story isn’t dark just for the sake of it. 

I also really enjoyed the multiple POVs—I think Samotin balanced them out really well. 

⁣I would avoid this one if you’re squeamish or uncomfortable reading about abuse. But if you like Anastasia, Frankenstein, and Shadow & Bone/the Grishaverse, then I recommend it! ⁣

Pub Date: May 7, 2024

VERDICT: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴/5 

⁣TW: Blood/gore, body horror, sexual abuse and violence, death/murder, trauma/PTSD, drugs and alcohol use ⁣

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Canada for my e-ARC!

Synopsis From Goodreads: 

Dimitri Alexeyev used to be the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now, he is merely a broken man, languishing in exile after losing a devastating civil war instigated by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin. In hiding with what remains of his court, Dimitri and his spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, engineer a dangerous ruse. Vasily will sneak into Alexey’s court under a false identity to gather information, paving the way for the usurper’s downfall, while Dimitri finds a way to kill him for good.

But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body—and now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen.

Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can’t bring himself to forsake—or the spymaster he’s come to love.

Published by Anna and Alexis

Hello! We're Anna and Alexis, twins from the Richmond, Virginia area. We both studied English and creative writing in college. Anna spent a year after college working in book publishing in New York City. After living outside of D.C., she moved back to the Richmond area. She works in marketing. Her favorite genre to read is literary fiction, especially by female authors, and she also enjoys dystopian novels. Alexis works in marketing and writes novels on the side. She recently finished grad school, where she received her MFA in creative writing. She loves reading fantasy, especially YA, magical realism, and the occasional lyrical fiction and romance. We’ve been reading and writing together as long as we can remember, and we’re excited to share our bookish thoughts with you! Check us out on Instagram @takestwotobookreview.

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