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sarina_langer's review
5.0
Beverley Lee's newest dark offering is such a chilling, heart-breaking story! I was fortunate to read an ARC and flew threw it. This is a Beverley Lee horror through and through, and since it's a novella, it'll chill you to the bone from start to finish!
If you're new to her books, this could be a fantastic first read when it releases later this year. And if you're not... you know what darkness to expect. I guarantee you'll love this too.
If you're new to her books, this could be a fantastic first read when it releases later this year. And if you're not... you know what darkness to expect. I guarantee you'll love this too.
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review
4.0
The House of Little Bones was an alluring and eerie story that is perfect for Halloween. Beverley Lee is an author with superlative skills. Boy, can Lee write a perfect combination between fear and plot-driven narrative. This is a story that reminded me why the novella can be hard-hitting and attention-grabbing. Although it’s in a smaller format than the novel, the action has more impact and leaves you reading just one more chapter. A house built on hallowed ground. A scandalous relationship that needs to be shut down. An abusive father-son relationship. A brutal inevitability.
Luca and David are two lovers that are doomed from the very start. David, a fifty-year-old renowned author has been caught on camera engaging in a relationship with his long-time friend and publisher’s son, Luca. It doesn’t sound like some major transgression but it’s the last thing that he needs to get out. His publisher, Charles makes it abundantly clear that he needs to end it with his son otherwise he’s finished. He wants to yell back at him but his selfish side wants to preserve his career. Charles will stop at nothing to ensure his empire is left unmarred from scandal.
Luca has an appalling relationship with his father. He has never measured up to his expectations and this just feels like another nail in the proverbial coffin. He has been living in his father’s shadow for too long and just wants to step out on his own. He doesn’t want to take over his father’s empire and he wants to love his choice of person, not who is acceptable to his family. He’s never really felt love or affection from one of the people that should love him unconditionally. You can feel Luca’s desolate and saddened state of mind and I found myself feeling who he was emotionally.
I slipped through the pages and became immersed in a world that provided the threatening edge slipping into my peripheral vision. The worldbuilding was exquisite and I could feel myself zoning out, standing on the edge of the moors, hearing a distant owl shrieking at its prey in the dead of night. The fog rolling in, making me blind temporarily. A figure in the distance, struggling to decipher what is fiction and what is reality. It’s a true talent to be able to transport your reader into the midst of suffering. I was listening and I was enraptured. I fell within the pages. It felt like a magnetic force pulling me inwards. I couldn’t refuse…I didn’t want to.
The House of Little Bones isn’t a pretty read, it’s brutal and displays the many nuances of the human condition. The characters could have been anyone, your neighbours, your family, a son. It was real, it was emotive, and they take the reader on a journey of self-discovery, consequences, and a love that is painful. It is a deeply addictive read. Steeped in brutality, courage, and a deep need to do the right thing. It’s an emotional punch to the jugular.
Luca and David are two lovers that are doomed from the very start. David, a fifty-year-old renowned author has been caught on camera engaging in a relationship with his long-time friend and publisher’s son, Luca. It doesn’t sound like some major transgression but it’s the last thing that he needs to get out. His publisher, Charles makes it abundantly clear that he needs to end it with his son otherwise he’s finished. He wants to yell back at him but his selfish side wants to preserve his career. Charles will stop at nothing to ensure his empire is left unmarred from scandal.
Luca has an appalling relationship with his father. He has never measured up to his expectations and this just feels like another nail in the proverbial coffin. He has been living in his father’s shadow for too long and just wants to step out on his own. He doesn’t want to take over his father’s empire and he wants to love his choice of person, not who is acceptable to his family. He’s never really felt love or affection from one of the people that should love him unconditionally. You can feel Luca’s desolate and saddened state of mind and I found myself feeling who he was emotionally.
I slipped through the pages and became immersed in a world that provided the threatening edge slipping into my peripheral vision. The worldbuilding was exquisite and I could feel myself zoning out, standing on the edge of the moors, hearing a distant owl shrieking at its prey in the dead of night. The fog rolling in, making me blind temporarily. A figure in the distance, struggling to decipher what is fiction and what is reality. It’s a true talent to be able to transport your reader into the midst of suffering. I was listening and I was enraptured. I fell within the pages. It felt like a magnetic force pulling me inwards. I couldn’t refuse…I didn’t want to.
The House of Little Bones isn’t a pretty read, it’s brutal and displays the many nuances of the human condition. The characters could have been anyone, your neighbours, your family, a son. It was real, it was emotive, and they take the reader on a journey of self-discovery, consequences, and a love that is painful. It is a deeply addictive read. Steeped in brutality, courage, and a deep need to do the right thing. It’s an emotional punch to the jugular.
spookybookwitch's review against another edition
4.0
just enough spook
I love a good ghost story, and this was nothing if not enjoyable. And, if you’re also a scaredy-cat horror fan like yours truly, this one is just spooky enough and short enough without making you bust out the rom-com books to balance the sheer terror. (Is that just me?)
I love a good ghost story, and this was nothing if not enjoyable. And, if you’re also a scaredy-cat horror fan like yours truly, this one is just spooky enough and short enough without making you bust out the rom-com books to balance the sheer terror. (Is that just me?)
ayereads's review
Oh I am so irritated right now. I have been anticipating reading this book for a long time (because I thought I'd love it?) and it FAILED. It failed to scare, entertain or even interest me. The premise (and the cover) of this book is so cool. The folk setting and the lore would have made this so interesting if explored better.
This book is also too short for all of the threads and POVs that the author opened. It could have done better with more length or maybe just a single POV
This book is also too short for all of the threads and POVs that the author opened. It could have done better with more length or maybe just a single POV
melb_reading's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Car accident
allybee's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookish_satty's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Wow! Just wow! I'm speechless after finishing this. Man that ending scene with David just creeped me out so much. The overall plot of the story was predictable but I loved the execution. At the end we get the actual story of Mary which was an added bonus.
Would definitely read more from this author.
The characters were well developed and the pacing was fast paced which helped me in reading this in one sitting. Some of the choices David and Luca made irritated me so very much which dimmed my excitement and anticipation somewhat but the ending 10% was great.
David should have left the house a long time ago and could have just stayed in the nearby village and no one would have been the wiser because no one was actually there to trap him in the house, no he just stayed there of his own freewill or maybe this was his way of torturing himself because he felt guilty for leaving Luca.
My favorite character was Mary and I was rooting for her through out the entire book, don't know what that says about me! I still have some doubts and unanswered questions though but that's inevitable when a book is so short and mostly in horror fiction the author always leaves some parts up to the reader's imagination.
Would definitely read more from this author.
The characters were well developed and the pacing was fast paced which helped me in reading this in one sitting. Some of the choices David and Luca made irritated me so very much which dimmed my excitement and anticipation somewhat but the ending 10% was great.
My favorite character was Mary and I was rooting for her through out the entire book, don't know what that says about me! I still have some doubts and unanswered questions though but that's inevitable when a book is so short and mostly in horror fiction the author always leaves some parts up to the reader's imagination.
pbanditp's review
5.0
“Regret took hold of his mind and shook it between merciless teeth”
This book took hold of my mind and shook me mercilessly. It took me a bit to write the review because even though I finished reading the book, I was not done with the book. More likely, the book was not done with me.
David is a famous writer and his indiscretions get him in deep trouble when he gets caught dating his best friends son, Luca. His best friend is also his book publisher. He is forced to get out of the spot light and escapes to a house called Bone Hollow on the Corpse Road by the locals.
Luca has premonitions that something is wrong and he can’t get in touch with David. David is dealing with his own paranormal problems as the old legend, the Bone Crone, has awakened and wants him off her land.
The positions we humans get ourselves into when we think we are infallible and invincible, and how quickly life changes. The House of Little Bones is about so much more than what is on the surface.
This is a sad tale of relationships between a father and son, between forbidden lovers, between best friends, and what happens when a vengeful spirit gets in the middle.
One of my favorite parts about this book is that David and Luca are obviously gay lovers and it does not make any difference. There is no hatred because of sexual preferences, no slang or insults. It is just about their love for each other and is only forbidden because the relationship with David’s best friend.
Also, I want more about the asylum. I bet there is a another book just about that place.
This book took hold of my mind and shook me mercilessly. It took me a bit to write the review because even though I finished reading the book, I was not done with the book. More likely, the book was not done with me.
David is a famous writer and his indiscretions get him in deep trouble when he gets caught dating his best friends son, Luca. His best friend is also his book publisher. He is forced to get out of the spot light and escapes to a house called Bone Hollow on the Corpse Road by the locals.
Luca has premonitions that something is wrong and he can’t get in touch with David. David is dealing with his own paranormal problems as the old legend, the Bone Crone, has awakened and wants him off her land.
The positions we humans get ourselves into when we think we are infallible and invincible, and how quickly life changes. The House of Little Bones is about so much more than what is on the surface.
This is a sad tale of relationships between a father and son, between forbidden lovers, between best friends, and what happens when a vengeful spirit gets in the middle.
One of my favorite parts about this book is that David and Luca are obviously gay lovers and it does not make any difference. There is no hatred because of sexual preferences, no slang or insults. It is just about their love for each other and is only forbidden because the relationship with David’s best friend.
Also, I want more about the asylum. I bet there is a another book just about that place.
n0rmann's review
4.0
This was a really well-written story with some very creepy parts. This was my first Beverly Lee book but it won't be my last.