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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Yep. Definitely a cliffhanger. Whyyy. Should've killed him the very first time she saw him. -_- wonder when will the next book comes out?
I loved loved loved this. I liked their character. Nita and Kovit. They didn't try to make it okay. They are morally damaged but yeah, I kind of like that they didn't say things to make it seem what they are doing are right. Cause I had enough of that in other books. So, this is really refreshing and gory
I loved loved loved this. I liked their character. Nita and Kovit. They didn't try to make it okay. They are morally damaged but yeah, I kind of like that they didn't say things to make it seem what they are doing are right. Cause I had enough of that in other books. So, this is really refreshing and gory
Let me just start this review off by saying how shocked I am that I didn’t know this book existed. As someone who is constantly on Goodreads, Bookstagram, reading book blogs, on book twitter, etc. it is so hard for me to believe I somehow missed such a good book EVERYWHERE. It also seems deeply underhyped.
Not Even Bones is a gruesome yet fascinating read. The main character, Nita, has been dissecting bodies for her parents to sell on the black-market for almost her entire life. She fondly remembers scooping out body parts and putting them in jars while singing along to Disney songs with her family. Just in case you thought that part alone wasn’t interesting enough you learn it’s not regular humans that she’s cutting up for profit, but what they call unnaturals. Unnaturals are unique beings in this world that range from monsters that feed on the souls of virgins to strange fruit with eyeballs and potentially some form of sentience? While I completely understand why it didn’t happen in this book, I do really hope at some point in the series we’ll get to see more of this fantastical world we only got a taste of in the first book, and hopefully it won’t all focus on the gruesome body selling parts.
As far as characters, I really enjoyed being in Nita’s head. She has complex thoughts that seemed so real and honest that it was easy to relate, which is kind of an awful thing considering some of the decisions she makes throughout the book. I definitely think a big point the author is trying to drive home is that good people sometimes, maybe even often depending on the situation, do bad things. I also keep seeing this book referred to as a villain origin story and that makes me want to see what happens in the next books so much more. Aside from Nita, the other main character we spend time with is Kovit. I know he’s supposed to be a terrible monster (without spoiling too much), but I kind of love him. I wish we would have gotten to go a little deeper with his character, but I’m hopeful that will come in the next book. After learning so much about him it’s honestly not that hard to love him. Which makes me curious if that was the authors intention or not, since it seems like she also wants him painted as a morally gray monster. It’s almost like she’s saying one thing and doing another, but it’s hard to tell if it’s on purpose. The rest of the characters honestly aren’t super important so far. Obviously her mom is going to be a big plot point, but all we really know so far is she’s a ruthless bitch that may have done worse things than we see her do in this book, or she may have gotten herself in some type of trouble that explains why she’s so extreme and awful, but as of now that’s about it. Don’t get me wrong though, I can’t wait to see what the deal with her is. The only other character that I think is going to be pertinent to the series after the first book I’m not going to name because I don’t want to potentially spoil anything, but I hope they either have hella good reasons for their actions or die an awful gruesome death. You can make of that what you will lol.
The writing in this book wasn’t anything fancy or lyrical, but it was still complex and good and I really enjoyed that. It was very easy for me to sink into the story and fell like I was there, which is probably my favorite part of reading. I also thought the author did a fantastic job describing the settings. I could easily imagine what these places looked like, even though I’ve never been even remotely anywhere similar. The scenes in the forest where they were dripping sweat, mosquito bitten, and sunburned were described so well I almost felt like I could feel it all myself. Fun fact, the author traveled to at least one of the places described in the book and stayed there for a while herself! Also, the way she throws in bits about different unnaturals was so cool. Schaeffer obviously has a creative mind and she is using it well. I noticed in the acknowledgements that though this is her first published work she has written several others and her parents helped her with editing and support and I just want to take a minute to acknowledge how awesome that is, and how nice it was to read. As someone who’s never had the most supportive family, I adore reading things like that.
I think this book would be a good match for people who: like darker reads, thinks autopsies are neat, enjoy morally gray characters that make iffy/bad decisions, are interested in urban legends, fans of individuals with powers (i.e. x-men maybe), and also probably add in guys I should probably not have romantic feelings for but definitely do.
Altogether 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
ALSO! I totally forgot to throw in some content warnings for blood and gore descriptions, the book is a lot about autopsies so keep that in mind, torture, cannibalism, and death. I hope that covers everything.
Not Even Bones is a gruesome yet fascinating read. The main character, Nita, has been dissecting bodies for her parents to sell on the black-market for almost her entire life. She fondly remembers scooping out body parts and putting them in jars while singing along to Disney songs with her family. Just in case you thought that part alone wasn’t interesting enough you learn it’s not regular humans that she’s cutting up for profit, but what they call unnaturals. Unnaturals are unique beings in this world that range from monsters that feed on the souls of virgins to strange fruit with eyeballs and potentially some form of sentience? While I completely understand why it didn’t happen in this book, I do really hope at some point in the series we’ll get to see more of this fantastical world we only got a taste of in the first book, and hopefully it won’t all focus on the gruesome body selling parts.
As far as characters, I really enjoyed being in Nita’s head. She has complex thoughts that seemed so real and honest that it was easy to relate, which is kind of an awful thing considering some of the decisions she makes throughout the book. I definitely think a big point the author is trying to drive home is that good people sometimes, maybe even often depending on the situation, do bad things. I also keep seeing this book referred to as a villain origin story and that makes me want to see what happens in the next books so much more. Aside from Nita, the other main character we spend time with is Kovit. I know he’s supposed to be a terrible monster (without spoiling too much), but I kind of love him. I wish we would have gotten to go a little deeper with his character, but I’m hopeful that will come in the next book. After learning so much about him it’s honestly not that hard to love him. Which makes me curious if that was the authors intention or not, since it seems like she also wants him painted as a morally gray monster. It’s almost like she’s saying one thing and doing another, but it’s hard to tell if it’s on purpose. The rest of the characters honestly aren’t super important so far. Obviously her mom is going to be a big plot point, but all we really know so far is she’s a ruthless bitch that may have done worse things than we see her do in this book, or she may have gotten herself in some type of trouble that explains why she’s so extreme and awful, but as of now that’s about it. Don’t get me wrong though, I can’t wait to see what the deal with her is. The only other character that I think is going to be pertinent to the series after the first book I’m not going to name because I don’t want to potentially spoil anything, but I hope they either have hella good reasons for their actions or die an awful gruesome death. You can make of that what you will lol.
The writing in this book wasn’t anything fancy or lyrical, but it was still complex and good and I really enjoyed that. It was very easy for me to sink into the story and fell like I was there, which is probably my favorite part of reading. I also thought the author did a fantastic job describing the settings. I could easily imagine what these places looked like, even though I’ve never been even remotely anywhere similar. The scenes in the forest where they were dripping sweat, mosquito bitten, and sunburned were described so well I almost felt like I could feel it all myself. Fun fact, the author traveled to at least one of the places described in the book and stayed there for a while herself! Also, the way she throws in bits about different unnaturals was so cool. Schaeffer obviously has a creative mind and she is using it well. I noticed in the acknowledgements that though this is her first published work she has written several others and her parents helped her with editing and support and I just want to take a minute to acknowledge how awesome that is, and how nice it was to read. As someone who’s never had the most supportive family, I adore reading things like that.
I think this book would be a good match for people who: like darker reads, thinks autopsies are neat, enjoy morally gray characters that make iffy/bad decisions, are interested in urban legends, fans of individuals with powers (i.e. x-men maybe), and also probably add in guys I should probably not have romantic feelings for but definitely do.
Altogether 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
ALSO! I totally forgot to throw in some content warnings for blood and gore descriptions, the book is a lot about autopsies so keep that in mind, torture, cannibalism, and death. I hope that covers everything.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3⭐️
Featured in my Blind Date with a Book Reading Vlog:
https://youtu.be/0qnmWKYZois
Featured in my Blind Date with a Book Reading Vlog:
https://youtu.be/0qnmWKYZois
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Nurse, Scalpel
BFF Charm: Caution
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Gruesome
Bonus Factor: Unicorns
Factor: Series Starter
Anti-Bonus Factor: Patty Chase Award for Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: Outlook Hazy
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Nurse, Scalpel
BFF Charm: Caution
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Gruesome
Bonus Factor: Unicorns
Factor: Series Starter
Anti-Bonus Factor: Patty Chase Award for Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: Outlook Hazy
Read the full book report here.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3,5/5
Had a good time. Loved the morally grey characters.
The plot was a bit too much "one step forward three steps back" though.
Had a good time. Loved the morally grey characters.
The plot was a bit too much "one step forward three steps back" though.
