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Necromancers, emissaries of Death, political maneuverings… all of these are elements that draw me into a story. Mistress of Bones has them all in spades. And yet, at the end of this first book of a duology, I came away feeling as if I hardly knew any of the characters beyond their basic motivation (if even that, in some cases). There are far more questions than answers at the end (as cliffhangers tend to have), which is not necessarily a negative thing. In this case, however, so little seemed answered that I left the story feeling more chaotic than I did while in the middle of it.

Azul is a young woman that grew up in a land built on the bones of Gods. All of the lands were, and many of those lands mined the soil for Anchor (remnants of the Gods that gave their lives for humans). Azul is also a young woman with the power to raise the dead. Which is a skill that can lead one to gain many a “friend,” and far more enemies. Chief among her enemies is the Emissary to the Lord Death, who is hell bent on learning more about Azul’s ability and how he can return death to its’ rightful place. Upon an unfortunate incident upon arriving to Valanje, Azul and the Emissary engage in dueling paths back to Sancia, to more questions, more motives, and more secrets.

Told in multiple POVs, with a fair amount of hopping back and forth in the timeline, the story quickly felt muddled. It was a bit difficult to latch onto any one character. And while the land and the backstory of the Gods and Anchor and politics was interesting, we spent more time being told events by people, and not immersed in the world. Which is a bit of a shame because the world and the premise have so much promise and seemed the most interesting thing of all to me.

There is a lot here for fans of intrigue and death and the games that Gods and humans play. But there this one felt as if it could have been so much more. I do not always vote for more books, but so much was packed into this one, that instead of a duology this may have have been better as a trilogy, to give the world and the story and the characters more time to breathe and inhabit the page.

I read this early as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher (Wednesday Books). All opinions are my own. Book is out now.