The Scattered Bones: A Dark Fantasy Romance

This was beautifully written

I don't feel like I can give this book 3 stars because even though there were elements that I enjoyed (The Stranger, some of the trials, some of the prose), I can't ignore that the flashbacks to the actual romance that led to this “I can't live without my soulmate, and I'll do anything to fix it” journey were not doing it for me whatsoever. She instantly fell in love at first sight with literally the first man she's ever been alone with, he likes her because...she's beautiful, and he can teach this clueless beauty about the real world I guess? Idk, I just didn't care about their dynamic at all, so was hard to bring that history into the Present Day chapters without feeling like this was all based on how a person feels when they are 11 and have their first major crush in Middle School because someone smiled at them.

So yeah, I definitely enjoyed the Present Day chapters way more than the flashback chapters, but given that is only half the book—and the Present Day chapters definitely had some issues with multiple deux ex machinas—I just can't justify higher.