Review for "Castles in Their Bones"

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 16 years, crafted by her mother to bring ruination to whomever she touches. Poison is a woman's weapon, after all, and here she is, a weapon of a woman.

★★★☆☆

I enjoyed this overall. I had a hard time staying completely engaged because of the shifting viewpoints, but that was unavoidable with the plot being what it is. I think if I had been attached to any of the relationships it would have been better. I really only cared about Sophronia and Violie's friendship. I could not have cared less about Beatriz and Nicolo (although I did appreciate her friendship with Pasquale and I wish we'd gotten to see more of Pasquale with Ambrose). I was so ready to ship Daphne and Bairre but alas their slow burn was such a slow burn that it was a no burn and we really got no payoff by the end of the book. I'm sure the second book will delve more into the relationships, but I am really not that motivated to continue the series. 

I found it slightly hard to believe the last chapter (Margaraux's). She had been this untouchable enigma for the entire book, but I didn't really get a sense of her coldness. It made the prophecy that was revealed at the end seem somewhat out of the blue and I just couldn't get on board with Margaraux's character/motivations. I was also slightly uncomfortable with the princesses' ages. They are supposed to be 16 (just turned), but they talk so much about alcohol ("If she makes it through this without being tied to a stake, she'll celebrate with an entire bottle of wine" (p. 191)), marriage consummation, and being trained for years on how to seduce considerably older men ("This is what she was raised for--her beauty is supposed to be her best asset" (p. 223)). (The latter is especially befuddling because they later state they've only kissed like 3 boys before.) I just think those comments would have sat better with me if they had been 18 or 20. 

Final verdict: The book is readable and entertaining but lacks logic and fleshed-out relationships.

CAWPILE: 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 6.5 - 6 - 7