A River of Golden Bones: Book One of the Golden Court

4 4 out of 5 stars | 306 ratings

Price: 22.04

Last update: 12-10-2024


About this item

From bestselling author and TikTok sensation A.K. Mulford comes the first riveting, enchanting book in the all-new Golden Court romantasy trilogy—A River of Golden Bones begins a journey of self-discovery, romance, and adventure for a young heir as she/they comes out of hiding to save her sister from a malicious, powerful sorceress and her dangerous sleeping curse.

A sleeping curse. A fallen court. A secret twin.

Twins Calla and Briar have spent their entire lives hiding from the powerful sorceress who destroyed their kingdom…and from the humans who don’t know they are Wolves. Each twin has their own purpose in life: Briar’s is to marry the prince of an ally pack and save the Golden Court. Calla’s purpose is to remain a secret, her twin’s shadow . . . the backup plan.

No one knows who Calla truly is except for her childhood friend—and sister’s betrothed—the distractingly handsome Prince Grae. But when Calla and Briar journey out of hiding for Briar’s wedding, all of their well-made plans go awry. The evil sorceress is back with another sleeping curse for the last heir to the Golden Court.

Calla must step out of the shadows to save their sister, their kingdom, and their own legacy. Continuing to hide as a human and denying who she truly is, Calla embarks on a quest across the realm, discovering a whole world she never knew existed. Outside the confines of rigid Wolf society, Calla begins to wonder: who could she be if she dared to try?

Full of adventure, love, gender exploration, and self-discovery, A River of Golden Bones follows Calla’s journey through treacherous Wolf kingdoms, monster-filled realms, and the depths of their own heart in this thrilling romantic fantasy.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.


Top reviews from the United States

Lindsay Chung
5.0 out of 5 stars Sleeping Beauty Retelling
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2024
A River of Golden Bones is a Sleeping Beauty re-telling that includes some of my favorite tropes. There’s an evil sorceress, a handsome prince, a found family, and an exploration of gender identity that is often not seen represented in fantasy novels (but is perfect here). The character development and seeing how Calla confronts their beliefs based on observations and experiences is such a powerful message wrapped in a beautifully written and adventurous story.

If you enjoyed ACOTAR, but wanted more diversity, I highly recommend A River of Golden Bones. And, if you liked The High Mountain Court (or the rest of the Crown of Okrith series by the same author), you will definitely love this book!
Kurt Mandry
4.0 out of 5 stars adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2024
Physical book review:
Special edition sprayed edges are super beautiful and a perfect match to the medium purple cover color. They are solid with no discoloration or quality changes in the ink. The packaging also included the big air-filled plastic to help prevent damage during shipping.

Story review:
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5 Stars

audiobook (Audible) - love a good wolf fated mates story mixed within a Sleeping Beauty retelling. The fated mates status between the mmc and mfm was super easy to determine from their first interaction because the mmc knew it from the start. The mfm goes through a lot of growth and finds themselves throughout the story and most of it revolves around determining who they are and what they want. The build-up to the final scene makes it seem like the villain is all-powerful and would need to be overrun by multiple attackers at once though the final scene appears to complete super quickly. I would have loved to see a more drawn-out scene with more characters involved in the direct fight with the villain. It seemed a bit too easy like the end of the book came and someone wanted an easy quick final uncharacteristic fight for the villain.
Ashley
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2024
This book was a wonderful adventure. Calla is the hidden golden court princess who is a shadow to her twin sister Briar. But as she becomes so much more than a shadow she finds so much more of herself and finds she doesn’t fit into just one thing. A great fantasy about finding yourself and realizing who you were meant to be. I love the love stories and the characters and am excited for their next adventure. 3.5 stars!
Muzette Alcocer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Edition of the New Series
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2024
It looks exactly as depicted with the gorgeous cover, and colored edges. This new series by A. K. Mulford is different than her original series, but close enough to be in the same world and time. I'm so excited for the second book in this series, coming Dec. 24th! Merry Christmas to me!
shea.benn
4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Story - Love The Found Family
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2024
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A River of Golden Bones is wolf-shifter fantasy romance with a bit of a Sleeping Beauty retelling. There is a lot to appreciate with this story - an interesting storyline, a likeable heroine, good tension, and enjoyable side characters. I really enjoyed Calla's growth and self-discovery throughout the tale. Sometimes the story did seem to fall a bit flat and was difficult to want to push through. I would've loved a bit more world building. One of my favorite parts of the story was the found family with the musician troupe - especially Calla's relationship with Ora.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to friends. I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see where the story and characters go.
Nikki South
5.0 out of 5 stars Sleeping beauty with wolves!
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2024
Amazing story. I was hooked from the first page. Sleeping beauty retelling with spice. Beautiful story with incredible characters. Can't wait for the next book!
Billie
2.0 out of 5 stars It did get a little interesting...
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023
A River of Golden Bones
by A.K. Mulford
The Golden Court #1
Fantasy Mature
Ages: 18+

Calla and Briar are twins, born on two different days, and are hiding from the sorceress who killed their parents and took the throne on the day they were born. Their mother's dying wish was granted by a fairy, though Briar was the only child born at the time, Calla came after the wish and her mother's death.

Hidden from all except Prince Grae and his father, Briar is trained as a princess, destined to marry Prince Grae, and Calla is trained to be her sister's protector.

On their eighteenth birthday, they leave the only home they have ever known for Briar to marry the prince. But the sorceress interrupts before the vows are taken and curses Briar into sleep. To save her sister, Calla leaves to destroy the sorceress.

This story started off slow and disjointed. Things were not really explained in detail so I was not sure what really happened to their parents, who Grae was supposed to be, and why Calla and Briar were so unfeeling. It seemed as if they had no emotions whatsoever. They didn't shed many tears when they left, knowing the Fairy who raised them along with the home was going to disappear and not be seen again.

It did get a little interesting, but then flatlined and I got bored.

The blurb exaggerates the monsters and 'dangers' Calla runs into on her journey. The blurb and genre listing also fails to mention this contains porn, and that failure flushed a star away! (If it's listed as porn, I won't request it!) I understand it's a 'slow-burn-romance', but you don't need the gag-worthy detailed descriptions.

As for the next book in the series... Probably not. The story isn't bad, but it's not worth wading through the puke (porn).

2 Stars

NetGalley ARC
Pub. Date: Dec. 5, 2023
Harper Voyager

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