by Lani Forbes

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Release Date: February 16th 2021

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Cast into the underworld after an act of shattering betrayal, Mayana and Ahkin must overcome unimaginable odds if they are to return home and reclaim the throne of the Chicome. A river of blood and demons disguised as children are only two of the challenges standing in their way. Fortunately, they are not unequipped. Mayana’s royal blood controls the power of water, and Prince Ahkin wields the power of the sun itself. Ometeotl, the Mother goddess, provides them with other gifts—and an ominous warning that one of them may not survive. But can the goddess be trusted?

Back in the lands above, Mayana’s best friend, Yemania, has survived the empress selection ritual—but her next challenge may be more than she can bear. The new empress of the Chicome Empire demands she become High Healer. Yemania has no interest in serving in the palace; she wants to use her healing ability to help the common people. More than that, her heart is no longer her own. She has met an enchanting stranger—Ochix, one of the feared Miquitz people who are ancient enemies of the Chicome.

As Mayana and Ahkin move ever closer to confronting the lords of the dead, Yemania and Ochix must hide their forbidden romance or face the wrath of both their empires. Meanwhile, the new empress has made a dangerous alliance that might destroy everything they hold dear.

Thrust into leadership upon the death of his emperor father, young Prince Ahkin feels completely unready for his new position. Though his royal blood controls the power of the sun, he’s now responsible for the lives of all the Chicome people. And despite all Ahkin’s efforts, the sun is fading - and the end of the world may be at hand.

For Mayana, the only daughter of the Chicome family whose blood controls the power of water, the old emperor’s death may mean that she is next. Prince Ahkin must be married before he can ascend the throne, and Mayana is one of six noble daughters presented to him as a possible wife. Those who are not chosen will be sacrificed to the gods.

The events of The Jade Bones immediately follow the (literal?) cliffhanger ending of book one. Ahkin and Mayana find themselves trapped in the terrifying underworld with a deadline to escape or they will be stuck there forever. In addition, the Mother Goddess has given them a task to complete and a warning that one of them may not survive the journey. In addition to Mayana and Ahkin’s POVs, we also get to enjoy the POV of Yemania, Mayana’s close friend who is left reeling from the events of the conclusion of book one. She finds herself in a precarious position with the new empress and a forbidden love interest from an enemy empire!

It’s tricky because there really are two very different storylines in the book, but if I had to describe the reader reactions during the course of the book, it would probably go something like:

🧐😱😔😢😱😍😬😡🙈😱😱😱😍😰😭🤫🤐

I think Mayana has changed a lot since the first book and she ends up changing quite a bit in book two as well. In book one, her struggle was really with being true to herself. She didn’t know if she should deny her heart and what she believes and submit to what the world wants her to be in order to fit in, or take a stand and be true to herself. In book two, she embraces that truth because she had validation from the Mother Goddess but she begins to struggle with and question the will and intentions of the Mother Goddess. Ahkin really has a better handle on the idea of faith in the midst of hardship and it is something she has to learn from him. I’m also really excited to see Mayana and Ahkin deepen their relationship. They rushed things in book one because of the pressure of the selection ritual, but they really get to know each other in book two (for better or for worse!). I was also really surprised by how much I grew to love Yemania and Ochix! They almost overtook Mayana and Ahkin as my favourite characters in the series!

I originally planned the events of book two to take place at the end of book one, but I had so many ideas with the underworld and wanted to write so much more that I knew it really needed its own story. I also really loved the movie “Tristan and Isolde” growing up and wanted their love story to be part of the inspiration for Yemania’s storyline. Much of what happens in the underworld itself is inspired by ancient Maya mythology. I also had the amazing opportunity to travel to the ATM caves in Belize (a sacred cave they believed to be the entrance to the Mayan underworld) and incorporated what I learned from my studies and from my personal experiences within the cave itself!

Hands down it would be “Stand by You” by Rachel Platten. Especially when she sings, “I'm gonna stand by you, even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through, even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through hell with you.” When you read book two, it makes so much sense. I listened to the song so many times as I was writing the book itself!

I feel like my book will go well with a fruity drink and a hammock somewhere warm, preferably on a beach. That also might just because it’s currently freezing and snowing where I live and I desperately wish I was visiting my family in Mexico right now!

If you are interested in Mesoamerican mythology in particular, there are some fantastic books including “Gods of Jade and Shadow” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and the Storm Runner series by Jennifer Cervantes. If it is epic historical fantasy based on more ancient worlds, I highly recommend the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir.

There is so much pressure that goes along with writing a second book because there are now expectations from the first book. Readers are already familiar with your characters and invested in them, so I think it is so important to keep characters consistent in terms of who they were in the first book. That doesn’t mean they can’t change, but the change has to be consistent with who the character is on a deeper level. Another challenge for me was that such a huge part of book one was the big twist at the end and I wanted to make sure that I delivered that same kind of surprising twist at the end of book two.

I’ve already finished book three and we are going to begin edits on it soon, so that is a major next step for me. I’m really excited to have finished a trilogy that I am really proud of. I am also excited to work on some new ideas including a fantasy-western standalone and some new fantasy series based on various ancient mythologies!

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Lani Forbes is the daughter of a librarian and an ex-drug smuggling surfer (which explains her passionate love of the ocean and books). A former teacher turned trauma counselor, her passion is showing readers the transformative and encouraging power of story on the human experience. She helps others process anxiety, depression, and complex PTSD, both in her stories and in real life. A California native whose parents live in Mexico, Lani now resides in the Pacific Northwest where she stubbornly wears flip flops no matter how cold it gets. She is a proud nerd, Gryffindor, and member of Romance Writers of America and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.