Castles in Their Bones
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- Create Date：2022-04-09 09:51:43
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Laura Sebastian
- ISBN：0593118162
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Summary
A spellbinding story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction， conquest， and the crown。 Immerse yourself in the first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series。
Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born。 Princesses Sophronia， Daphne， and Beatriz will be queens。 And now， age sixteen， they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes。
Beautiful， smart， and demure， the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl。 Which is a grave mistake。 Sophronia， Daphne， and Beatriz are no innocents。 They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception， seduction， and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria。
The princesses have spent their lives preparing， and now they are ready， each with her own secret skill， and each with a single wish， pulled from the stars。 Only， the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers。
Life abroad is a test。 Will their loyalties stay true？ Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other？
Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born。 Princesses Sophronia， Daphne， and Beatriz will be queens。 And now， age sixteen， they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes。
Beautiful， smart， and demure， the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl。 Which is a grave mistake。 Sophronia， Daphne， and Beatriz are no innocents。 They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception， seduction， and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria。
The princesses have spent their lives preparing， and now they are ready， each with her own secret skill， and each with a single wish， pulled from the stars。 Only， the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers。
Life abroad is a test。 Will their loyalties stay true？ Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other？
Reviews
Lori
，
It was okay。 I might be interested enough to read the next one but I didnt think it was fantastic。 I was provided an advanced copy by Netgalley for my honest review。
Julie
，
3。5 I have so many thoughts， and I’ll be thinking about this for a while。 I wanted more also less。 The overarching plot is expected for a trilogy: characters defined， a war begins。 Three sisters go separate ways， so there 3 unique stories with little overlap。 That’s never my preferred style of writing， and in this book， I couldn’t keep the all side characters and locations straight。 The reviews often mention the ending， so I expected something to happen。 They reviewers were right。
Quinn
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I enjoyed this as much as the other books I've read by this author。 Thrilling and romantic and surprising。 I enjoyed this as much as the other books I've read by this author。 Thrilling and romantic and surprising。 。。。more
Savannah Rae
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AMAZING and SO ADDICTIVE！！！ Really recommend castles in their bones as well as the Ash Princess series。 （also by this author）
Kira Thurgood
，
This teen fantasy series starter has a lot of what I enjoy: magic， romance， political intrigue， family drama。 I look forward to more！
TARA Peace
，
We are introduced to Beatriz， Daphne and Sophronia， triplets， on their 16th birthday as they are about to embark on a new adventure: marriage to princes from around the kingdom。 What the princes don’t know is that they are weapons in her mother’s plot to take over the kingdom for herself。 Each princess has different qualities that make her the perfect choice for the prince she is to marry。 But， who is to be trusted？ Themselves， their mother， their princes？ That is the question of this novel and We are introduced to Beatriz， Daphne and Sophronia， triplets， on their 16th birthday as they are about to embark on a new adventure: marriage to princes from around the kingdom。 What the princes don’t know is that they are weapons in her mother’s plot to take over the kingdom for herself。 Each princess has different qualities that make her the perfect choice for the prince she is to marry。 But， who is to be trusted？ Themselves， their mother， their princes？ That is the question of this novel and one which we will not find the answer to until the second book in the series comes out！It was fun- I finished in one day。 And I found myself curious about the princesses and how things would turn out for them。 But I also found myself questioning a lot of what was going on - the amount of intrigue and spying and lying would make your head turn！ Overall， excited for the next in the series but not necessarily in a rush！ 。。。more
Adriana
，
This one gets a solid 3。5 stars because I love the big idea and overall plot and was genuinely surprised by some of the twists Sebastian pulled off， but I'm afraid that I found the details of the story to be somewhat boring。 It's not even something specific in the writing or the characters that I can point to as the reason why I just could not get into the story as a whole， it's just that it couldn't keep my attention for long。 Thinking about the main points and big moments makes me excited abou This one gets a solid 3。5 stars because I love the big idea and overall plot and was genuinely surprised by some of the twists Sebastian pulled off， but I'm afraid that I found the details of the story to be somewhat boring。 It's not even something specific in the writing or the characters that I can point to as the reason why I just could not get into the story as a whole， it's just that it couldn't keep my attention for long。 Thinking about the main points and big moments makes me excited about the story， but getting into the nitty-gritty of how we get to those points is where the story lost me time and again。 Three sisters raised to be their mother's weapons against neighboring countries leave their home to marry the princes they've been betrothed to almost since they were born。 They leave home with strict instructions to destabilize their new country and， above all， not fall in love with their new husbands and countries。 Of course， the realities of life are nothing like the training they received and the girls find themselves in situations that nothing could have prepared them for。It's a story full of twists， reveals， betrayals， and entirely unexpected events that I can get excited describing in broad strokes but did not enjoy reading the details of。 This is a bit sad because Sebastian takes some risks that really impressed me and hooked me into caring for the characters， it's just too bad I can't agree with how she went about telling the story。 Happy thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the twisty read！ 。。。more
Thats another story
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Stars AboveThe ending of this book is where it is at。 I somehow went from almost not finishing this to feeling like I can't wait for the next one。 I loved the wishes and the beginning of this story。 This reminded me of ACOTAR in that it can be a little hard to get to the good parts。 There are a lot of characters to keep track of。 I felt like the different sisters and side characters needed a more distinct voice。 I sometimes forgot who was who。 There is Beatriz the flirty strong willed one Stars AboveThe ending of this book is where it is at。 I somehow went from almost not finishing this to feeling like I can't wait for the next one。 I loved the wishes and the beginning of this story。 This reminded me of ACOTAR in that it can be a little hard to get to the good parts。 There are a lot of characters to keep track of。 I felt like the different sisters and side characters needed a more distinct voice。 I sometimes forgot who was who。 There is Beatriz the flirty strong willed one， Sophronia the sensitive one and Daphne the one I kept forgetting about。 Even though this story has its flaws there is a really good set up here。 Since this is a trilogy， the writer must like to play the long game。 In this case， she lost the battle with this book but is likely to win the war with this as a series。 。。。more
Mariana Valença
，
This book has all tropes you could possibly imagine。 As a cliche lover， this really worked for me。 I believe you won’t find anything new in this book， but this doesn’t take away the amazing experience。I really like the fact the sisters were completely different - and I must say Beatriz won my heart。 She is loyal and honorable， and she abandons no one。Even though I pictured some things ahead， the ending was still mind-blowing。 I couldn’t figure out some parts of the Empress's plan until the last This book has all tropes you could possibly imagine。 As a cliche lover， this really worked for me。 I believe you won’t find anything new in this book， but this doesn’t take away the amazing experience。I really like the fact the sisters were completely different - and I must say Beatriz won my heart。 She is loyal and honorable， and she abandons no one。Even though I pictured some things ahead， the ending was still mind-blowing。 I couldn’t figure out some parts of the Empress's plan until the last couple of pages。 。。。more
Jade
，
WOW ！ It was so captivating！ And that ending！！ RTC
Pooja
，
Daphne understands， suddenly， exactly what she is – not a girl， not a princess， not a spy or a saboteur。 She is a poison， brewed and distilled and fermented over sixteen years， crafted by her mother to bring ruination to whomever she touches。Beatriz， Daphne， and Sophronia have been raised since birth to wed into the royal families of their neighboring countries – and then sow discord to bring them under their mother’s control。 But the triplets find that when their loyalties are tested， it is har Daphne understands， suddenly， exactly what she is – not a girl， not a princess， not a spy or a saboteur。 She is a poison， brewed and distilled and fermented over sixteen years， crafted by her mother to bring ruination to whomever she touches。Beatriz， Daphne， and Sophronia have been raised since birth to wed into the royal families of their neighboring countries – and then sow discord to bring them under their mother’s control。 But the triplets find that when their loyalties are tested， it is hard to stay true to that vision。One thing I often complain about in YA fantasy books is that the stories are too simple， the characters too cookie-cutter， the romance too overpowering。 Perhaps it has turned me unfairly against them， because there are definite stand-outs in the genre as well， and Castles in Their Bones is one of them。Despite juggling three storylines， each with their own characters and plots， the author does a good job of keeping everything both distinct and engaging。 The relationships between Beatriz， Sophronia， and Daphne and their mother were quite interesting and showed the real variance in their natures。 I also enjoyed the various friendships that the princesses developed – especially that between Beatriz and Pas， as well as Sophronia and Violie – and how those influenced their plots。A moment of whole-hearted appreciation， also， for how the romance was handled。 I love romance but dislike when it gets in the way of the story in books where the story really ought to be the focus。 Therefore， I was really pleased with how the romance was handled here。 It’s present in every storyline， but is used as a subtle flavor that enhances the plot instead of overpowering the dish。However， while I did think the political machinations were definitely more complex than one generally gets in YA fantasy， I thought the princesses did a fair amount of blundering with their schemes – but despite being raised as weapons， I suppose they are still sixteen after all。 The plethora of twists at the end of the book did have me on the edge of my seat though – and I am definitely going to be reading the next book in this series！Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley。 This is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more
Diane Hart
，
Political intrigue in the age of castles and princesses where the only way to power for a woman was through marriage and influence。 Triplet princesses， raised and betrothed since birth to this world， find the reality different from their mother's empire-building plans。 Political intrigue in the age of castles and princesses where the only way to power for a woman was through marriage and influence。 Triplet princesses， raised and betrothed since birth to this world， find the reality different from their mother's empire-building plans。 。。。more
Caitlyn
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DNF @72%。 Dreadfully dull。
Rayne
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3。5 starsway better than i expected。 it is admittedly slow and formulaic， but i still enjoyed it and it's been a while since the last time i wanted to continue with a series of this kind。 3。5 starsway better than i expected。 it is admittedly slow and formulaic， but i still enjoyed it and it's been a while since the last time i wanted to continue with a series of this kind。 。。。more
Lauren Hicks
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I received this as an ARC from Net Galley， and my opinions are below！ WOW！！！ This book was so stinking good！！！！ I loved the settings， I loved the plot， the pacing was great， and the twists were SHOCKING！！！ I absolutely can't wait until the next book！ I received this as an ARC from Net Galley， and my opinions are below！ WOW！！！ This book was so stinking good！！！！ I loved the settings， I loved the plot， the pacing was great， and the twists were SHOCKING！！！ I absolutely can't wait until the next book！ 。。。more
Dalia
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Boring。
Emery Rose
，
20/10 Loved it！ The twists， turns， and character development are out of this world。
The Reading Raccoon
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Book Review: Castles In Their Bones by Laura Sebastian Castles In Their Bones is a young adult fantasy novel about three sister princesses sent to nearby lands to secure royal marriages for their power hungry mother and what happens when they arrive。Sophronia （Sophie）， Beatriz （Triz） and Daphne are triplet princesses born only minutes apart。 They are also touched by star magic and part of a plot their mother has built to overpower nearby kingdoms and become the Empress over the entire land。 The Book Review: Castles In Their Bones by Laura Sebastian Castles In Their Bones is a young adult fantasy novel about three sister princesses sent to nearby lands to secure royal marriages for their power hungry mother and what happens when they arrive。Sophronia （Sophie）， Beatriz （Triz） and Daphne are triplet princesses born only minutes apart。 They are also touched by star magic and part of a plot their mother has built to overpower nearby kingdoms and become the Empress over the entire land。 The first part of her plan is complete and each sister is sent to marry her Prince or King and secure a foothold in each country。 But the sisters are immediately faced with complications as new royals in foreign courts and they each struggle with completing the tasks their mother demands but also with following their own moral compass。 Although each sister is in a completely different land it was sometimes difficult to keep them all straight in my head。 I don’t necessarily think it was due to any mistake on the author’s part but more of having three girls the exact age sent to kingdoms that weren’t all that different in geographies or custom （one country was slightly colder and the other didn’t allow magic but that was about it）。 The sisters each had their own personalities but they often ran together in my head and it took some effort to see them as separate entities。 I also thought it was strange to have a book featuring triplets but only have a single princess on the cover。 I think having all three with their “star touched eyes” would have been more powerful from a marketing perspective。This was also a fairly chaste novel considering two of the three sisters are married but the romance is limited to some flirty moments and kisses。 It was also mentioned many times that the sisters worked with courtesans to learn the art of seduction but none of them necessarily used it to their advantage。 Although many may argue that it is not appropriate in a young adult novel with teen heroines to have spicy scenes it could have used a little more heat and tension。 There are also dangerous and deadly political machinations afoot but much of the action was saved for the last twenty percent of the book。 Although， I’m very patient with a slow burn style fantasy I find that waiting to increase the danger and adding reveals only at the end is risky when some young adult readers are used to action and romance throughout the entire plot and may give up at the halfway point。 For me， the plot felt a little bland and vanilla for most of the book but I will add I was not bored or uninvested I just wanted more oomph。 Overall， this was an enjoyable read but personally I would like to see some more action and romance in the next book in the series。 But I am very curious to see where the sisters end up and what happens next in the sequel。 3。75 stars rounded to a 4 。。。more
Kate Schiffman
，
Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian promises to be a fascinating series。 The plot that 3 sisters all are married off at the same time for the good of their family's prospects is nothing new; though their missions are a bit more gruesome than average marriages。 Each tasked with a different mission， the ultimate goal is to bring down the kingdoms around their kingdom and destabilize the whole region。 As they move through their missions though it becomes obvious that not everything is as it s Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian promises to be a fascinating series。 The plot that 3 sisters all are married off at the same time for the good of their family's prospects is nothing new; though their missions are a bit more gruesome than average marriages。 Each tasked with a different mission， the ultimate goal is to bring down the kingdoms around their kingdom and destabilize the whole region。 As they move through their missions though it becomes obvious that not everything is as it seems and there might be more game afoot than any of the girls realize。 。。。more
Alicia
，
DNF at 25%。The premise of this book was compelling。 I'd only read good things of the author's previous work， so I thought she could handle a multiple POV story。 The thing about multiple POVs is that yes， you always end up with a favorite， but so long as everyone is doing their own thing and has their own storyline， it's fine。 To be fair， all three of the princesses are separated by so much land that they can't have their sisters hijack their stories。 However， even though I always knew in whose c DNF at 25%。The premise of this book was compelling。 I'd only read good things of the author's previous work， so I thought she could handle a multiple POV story。 The thing about multiple POVs is that yes， you always end up with a favorite， but so long as everyone is doing their own thing and has their own storyline， it's fine。 To be fair， all three of the princesses are separated by so much land that they can't have their sisters hijack their stories。 However， even though I always knew in whose character's head I was at any given time because of their countries， their stories are pretty identical。 One moment Beatriz is getting ushered into a carriage and the next Daphne is getting out of a carriage and then Sophie is getting robbed in a carriage。 Just because the scenarios are slightly different doesn't mean that they're not the same。 I'm not here for the window dressing。 This isn't an isolated thing， even: it also happens with their wedding montages， so it's probably a recurrent thing in the book and I can't be bothered more than this。The sisters are supposed to be different and refreshing， I think， with the narration describing Beatriz as the pretty one， Sophie as the kind one and Daphne as the kind one。 But listen， they all sounded the same。 At one point， Daphne thinks to herself that she won't say a certain thing because she doesn't want Bear to think her even more snobbish than he currently does， and I kept thinking about that line over and over。 Eventually I realized why the book was bothering me so much。 Despite the three countries and the princesses being soooo different， they all sound the exact same kind of snobbish。 There's tons of passages about how， oh， Beatriz knows how to do X and Z， her mother raised her to be F， so of course she can do the aforementioned things much better than her sisters ever could because X and Z are Beatriz' forte， and look， Beatriz is the perfect match for this mission。 It was catty， and all three of them did this then claimed five paragraphs later that they loved her sisters very much。 If only one of them had been like this， I would have accepted it as characterization， but given that all three of them are the accept same kind of obliviously pompous， it's just bad writing。Then there's all the Game of Thrones parallels: a bastard son with curly dark hair whose the son of the ruler of a harsh and cold northern land who has a spiteful stepmother and is sulky and broody and hot。。。 a lascivious， once-handsome king who has tons of bastards and has a gay family member。。。 an evil queen who throws money at problems and rules through her handsome son。。。 at one point the triplets' mother says that everyone but them is an enemy or something along those lines， you know， the whole Cersei spiel。 Sophie screams Sansa Stark and I just can't stand either of them。 It was funny at first， and then it got boring。My last gripe is the names。 Killian？ Bear？ Look， don't go for a medieval setting if you're going to name a love interest Bear。 I know a lot of this review is passive-aggressive and I'm not denying it but this book has made me furious in ways I haven't been able to start unpacking yet。 。。。more
Mira
，
This book was captivating。 I loved that we got to see things from each sister’s perspective and that unlike other books every POV was interesting to read about。 The story was filled with many twists and turns I didn’t expect and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel。💕
Safa
，
*4。5
Falon
，
A story filled with betrayal， secrecy， schemes， and magic。 This novel took me on a journey where it was impossible to tell what would happen next。 The plot is complex and entertaining。 My jaw is on the ground at the ending！
Pamela Sewell
，
Net Galley eARC。 Three princesses， three betrothals， three kingdoms。 Sophronia， Beatriz and Daphne have been groomed and trained from birth in seduction and manipulation to fulfill their mother's goal of controlling an empire。 Finally in place as new brides they can begin to implement the scheme。 As usual with all good plans things begin to go awry。 Complicating matters further the sisters are on their own for the first time and begin to questions their loyalties and realize the human cost of th Net Galley eARC。 Three princesses， three betrothals， three kingdoms。 Sophronia， Beatriz and Daphne have been groomed and trained from birth in seduction and manipulation to fulfill their mother's goal of controlling an empire。 Finally in place as new brides they can begin to implement the scheme。 As usual with all good plans things begin to go awry。 Complicating matters further the sisters are on their own for the first time and begin to questions their loyalties and realize the human cost of the plot。 I enjoyed the three POVs and three differing storylines for each sibling。。 The plot was balanced between the well developed characters and the world and magic building was clean and clear。 As this was the first book each POV is left with some dangling threads ensuring anticipation of the second entry。 I have read the author's first series "Ash Princess" and I think her writing has matured 。 I was really taken off guard by events in the final chapters 。。The novel had a Middle Ages historical vibe to it that added to my enjoyment。 An engaging multi-layer fantasy novel。 。。。more
Queenie
，
This was a fun read！ I enjoyed learning more about the sisters， how different they are， and how they choose to navigate their new lives。 The middle portion of the book was a bit slow， but I understand there were many puzzle pieces the author had to put into place to make a comprehensive story。
Kristen
，
It’s been a minute since I’ve done a pure YA princess fantasy， but this was a fun one for the genre！ Three 16 year old triplets are sent off to other kingdoms to marry and secure alliances， but we soon find out they’ve been trained by their mother since birth to undermine their new homes and make it easier for her to conquer them。 I’ll read the next one if I remember， but for a nice solid time this scratched the itch for now。
Nicole
，
3。5 stars
Mel's Reading Rook
，
3。5 stars
Hannah-Rose
，
A fun YA vacay book， this felt like a combo of The Selection， Sarah J。 Maas， and Tamora Pierce。 I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for Book 2。
mariannaah
，
It took me a looong time to finish this。 I was going to give it 3 stars but the last 20% kept me piqued。 It was a bit slow paced for me。 At first there were too many names and stories that it took me a while to grasp what was going on 😂。 However， as the story unfolded I became intrigued with the story and its characters。 Definitely reading book 2。3。5 stars
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Castles in Their Bones
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Castles in Their Bones&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft