I received this book to read and review as part of the BBNYA 2020 competition organised by The Write Reads Tours Team. All my opinions are unbiased and honest.
Azure ‘Azzy’ Brimvine lives in a world decimated by magic, where humans have retreated underground from the overwhelming dangers of the surface. But Below is no safer than Above.
Magic borne plagues continue to eat away at the remaining human cities, a sickness that doesn’t merely kill, but creates aberrations from the stricken: people twisted by magic into something dark, dangerous, and powerful. It is an existence of fear and constant dread. When Azzy’s brother, Armin, is infected and cast out into the Above, she sets out after him, determined to be there for him no matter what he becomes.
The world Above is full of monsters, both wild and cunning, some more human than Azzy was led to believe. Armin is captured and bound for the Auction block of Avergard, a ruthless city of inhuman lords and twisted creatures. To reach him, Azzy must brave the perils of the Above and the chaotic life forms created by the Gate. To reach him, she must find allies and forge new bonds in this broken world.
And Azzy must reach him, before Armin’s new power is used to open the Gate once more.
-Goodreads-
Marrow Charm grabbed 6th place in this years BBNYA’s and it is so deserved! This was the first excerpt I read for the competition and I was blown away, this is a story with many layers.
The world that the author created is both unsettling and beautiful, it was so vivid I could truly see myself there (thankfully I wasn’t as they’re a hell of a lot more monsters than I’m used to on my walks). Humans live underground as the world was destroyed by magic, however now there is a magic borne plague making it’s way through the population. The above is residence to massive spiders, wolves, witches and eel-like people who live in the water.
All of the characters in Marrow Charm have their own unique qualities, however Azzy has to be my favourite character as she is incredibly determined and brave. The love for her brother taking over her fear, she meets some very interesting characters along the way. I don’t want to go into details about them as I loved meeting them for the first time so I want you to be able to experience that aswell.
The only reason I couldn’t give this book the full 5 stars was because there were a few times when it felt like a struggle to get through. Overall though I loved Marrow Charm and I’m so glad that I was given the chance to read this as I had never heard of it before the competition. The world building and characters really gave this book a grimdark fairy tale feel and I will definitely be picking up the second in the sequel.
So Who Is Kristin Jacques?
Kristin Jacques is an author from small town New England. She grew up in the sticks, surrounded by river wildlife, and various swamp inhabitants. Somehow she managed to keep all her toes despite a run in with a snapper or two.
She lives with her husband and sons in another small New England town. She is mighty attached to them.
When not writing, she is likely reading, watching a terrific B-Horror flick, or further spoiling the family cats. Sometimes she has blue hair.
About BBNYA
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.
If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website (https://www.bbnya.com/) or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.
If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!
BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.
See you guys in the next one…
Feed The Crime 
Great review, I’m so glad you loved this book, I can’t wait to finish it!
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