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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Nita figured everyone in the world had something they did for peace of mind. That crystalline, calm moment when there was no thought, just peace. Some people ran. Others meditated. Nita dissected.
Not Even Bones follows Nita, who spends her time dissecting the bodies of Unnaturals so her mother can sell their body parts on the Black Market. Unnaturals look like humans, but they have different supernatural abilities, depending on what category they fit into. Zannies, for example, feed from other people's pain and can sense people based on their pain. Nita and her mother are secretly Unnaturals and they are unlike any other known Unnaturals. They can manipulate their bodies in different ways, such as healing rapidly and turning pain receptors on and off.
Nita never questions where the dead bodies that end up on her dissecting table come from. Surprisingly, she actually enjoys dissecting. However, when her mother brings home a live specimen one day, Nita is shocked and plans to free the boy. Once doing so, she is prepared to face the wrath of her mother. But she wasn't prepared to be sold to a black market located near the Amazon..
Hadn't heard much about this book going into it, only that is being compared to Dexter meets This Savage Song, but this book certainly did not disappoint. Really enjoyed this book, and loved the crazy world it was set in.
The characters were great. Nita's mother was scary as hell, and I certainly wouldn't want to get on the bad side of her! Or Nita, actually. I loved the friendship between
Spoiler
Nita and KovitSpoiler
romance? Kinda shipping itAt the end, I was hoping it would be
Spoiler
Kovit
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
THAT WAS SO FUCKED UP BUT FANTASTIC.
Full review to come
Full review to come
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly, I actually prefer the webtoon to the book so far.
Is this just because the book missed my favourite line from the webtoon? Very possible.
Is this just because the book missed my favourite line from the webtoon? Very possible.
Pro Tip: If you listen to The Dismemberment Song by Blue Kid and Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde while reading this book it makes it even more fun. This was not the most groundbreakingly written novel I've ever read but the characters are fun and morally destitute and I love me some body horror dissection and torture pieces. It's not often I get to read a book where the main character is objectively evil. Also, found this novel because of the webtoon and was very pleased to see how closely the comic was adapted with very little changed besides - I think- they age Kovit down in the comic? Excited for the second one to arrive.
Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!
DNF @ 50%
Not Even Bones was high on my TBR and one of my top priorities at ALA this June! While I'm not necessarily huge on paranormal romance, the synopsis sounded amazing! I love the idea of a dark, Dexter-style book about a girl who finds herself on the brink of being sold for parts. I was lucky enough to receive a copy and started reading it shortly after I got home.
This book begins with Nita working on dissecting bodies for her mother (and loving every minute of it). Her mom brings home bodies of supernatural beings and Nita takes them apart for her mother to sell on the black market. It's work she has been doing, and loving, for her entire life. She doesn't concern herself with where the bodies came from or how they came to be deceased, but when her mom brings home a boy who's still alive, she's forced to confront the morality of what she's doing.
I thought that Nita's moral struggle was really interesting. She knows that taking apart a live person is wrong and decides to help him get away, knowing this will bring down her mother's wrath. I appreciated that she was able to understand the issue with what her mother was asking her to do, but it seemed like she never connected that back to the dead bodies she dissected and planned to continue dissecting. I'm assuming this was dealt with later in the book, but it's very strange to see how her brain is able to keep the two things separate.
Soon after helping the boy, Nina finds herself up for purchase and then has to deal with the fact that all "bad" supernatural beings may not be completely bad. Again, it's interesting to watch her realize that the world is actually shades of gray.
Unfortunately, all of her realizations drag on and on and I lost interest. Nothing in Not Even Bones was exactly bad, it was just boring. Even the big events lacked urgency and I found myself dreading reading another page of Nita sitting in a glass room and talking to the girl next to her or the guard who feeds off pain.
Everything in this book had potential to be really good! The world could have been interesting had we seen more of it, the variance in supernatural beings was interesting, and Nita's family dynamics while working for her criminal mother were certainly interesting. I just wish it had all moved along a bit faster. I gave up at 50% and at that point Nita was still sitting around talking to people. I'm sure many people will love Not Even Bones! It just isn't the book for me.
DNF @ 50%
Not Even Bones was high on my TBR and one of my top priorities at ALA this June! While I'm not necessarily huge on paranormal romance, the synopsis sounded amazing! I love the idea of a dark, Dexter-style book about a girl who finds herself on the brink of being sold for parts. I was lucky enough to receive a copy and started reading it shortly after I got home.
This book begins with Nita working on dissecting bodies for her mother (and loving every minute of it). Her mom brings home bodies of supernatural beings and Nita takes them apart for her mother to sell on the black market. It's work she has been doing, and loving, for her entire life. She doesn't concern herself with where the bodies came from or how they came to be deceased, but when her mom brings home a boy who's still alive, she's forced to confront the morality of what she's doing.
I thought that Nita's moral struggle was really interesting. She knows that taking apart a live person is wrong and decides to help him get away, knowing this will bring down her mother's wrath. I appreciated that she was able to understand the issue with what her mother was asking her to do, but it seemed like she never connected that back to the dead bodies she dissected and planned to continue dissecting. I'm assuming this was dealt with later in the book, but it's very strange to see how her brain is able to keep the two things separate.
Soon after helping the boy, Nina finds herself up for purchase and then has to deal with the fact that all "bad" supernatural beings may not be completely bad. Again, it's interesting to watch her realize that the world is actually shades of gray.
Unfortunately, all of her realizations drag on and on and I lost interest. Nothing in Not Even Bones was exactly bad, it was just boring. Even the big events lacked urgency and I found myself dreading reading another page of Nita sitting in a glass room and talking to the girl next to her or the guard who feeds off pain.
Everything in this book had potential to be really good! The world could have been interesting had we seen more of it, the variance in supernatural beings was interesting, and Nita's family dynamics while working for her criminal mother were certainly interesting. I just wish it had all moved along a bit faster. I gave up at 50% and at that point Nita was still sitting around talking to people. I'm sure many people will love Not Even Bones! It just isn't the book for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVE THIS BOOK AND THE WHOLE TRILOGY! Such a great book and great dynamic of the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Murder
4/5 stars
“I know.” His hand ran across the floor, making shapes in the nonexistent dust. “Have you ever seen those shows starring serial-killer main characters? Dexter? Hannibal? Some of those sexy vampire ones the mafia funds to lure victims to them? They make all sorts of excuses for the serial killers. ‘It’s okay, he’s killing bad guys.’ ‘It’s okay, because it happened offscreen.’ I hate those. I hate when people do that to me. When they try to make me sympathetic, moralize all the decisions that aren’t moral.”
Trigger warnings: Gore, body horror, toxic relationships/toxic family members, torture
I have said in the past and will say again that morally grey stories with dissections, blood and morbid humour are my comfort reads. Drop in two asexual (according to the internet and later books in the trilogy) teenagers, a lot of action and plot twists and a wonderful amount of original mythology and interesting monster designs, and you have my soul. I don't remember why I needed to rest during November (probably quarantine in my country and having to move again), but this provided exactly the kind of entertainment I needed.
Following the story of mysterious magical creature Nita, who works by dissecting the bodies of monsters for her mother, but one day ends being the prey instead of the hunter, this is a story about bonding in times of distress, the complicated emotions of the people around us and the desire for pain that burrows in some of us. It does not have the most impressive plot or the most carefully crafted characters, truth be told, but it is a very fun thriller that involves a new perspective of old monster tales, and it is highly addictive and macabre.
I found myself thinking about this world over and over throughout the months, and am really excited to pick the second book up. I also really liked the small commentary on colonialism and the distortion of language and culture by the colonisers in this book. More than that, despite the fact that I am not usually a fan of the enemies to lovers trope (this one was enemies to queerplatonic, in a way!), I was pleasantly surprised by the way the bond between the two main characters evolved in bloomed here.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read and I am more than excited to continue, considering how often I think of this book throughout the day ♥ I highly recommend for fans of Dexter and This Savage Song, fans of horror and dark comedies or readers who want to try something quick and thrilling! Bonus points because there's a webtoon of this! Until the next review, please stay safe and take care <3
~Mary <3
“I know.” His hand ran across the floor, making shapes in the nonexistent dust. “Have you ever seen those shows starring serial-killer main characters? Dexter? Hannibal? Some of those sexy vampire ones the mafia funds to lure victims to them? They make all sorts of excuses for the serial killers. ‘It’s okay, he’s killing bad guys.’ ‘It’s okay, because it happened offscreen.’ I hate those. I hate when people do that to me. When they try to make me sympathetic, moralize all the decisions that aren’t moral.”
Trigger warnings: Gore, body horror, toxic relationships/toxic family members, torture
I have said in the past and will say again that morally grey stories with dissections, blood and morbid humour are my comfort reads. Drop in two asexual (according to the internet and later books in the trilogy) teenagers, a lot of action and plot twists and a wonderful amount of original mythology and interesting monster designs, and you have my soul. I don't remember why I needed to rest during November (probably quarantine in my country and having to move again), but this provided exactly the kind of entertainment I needed.
Following the story of mysterious magical creature Nita, who works by dissecting the bodies of monsters for her mother, but one day ends being the prey instead of the hunter, this is a story about bonding in times of distress, the complicated emotions of the people around us and the desire for pain that burrows in some of us. It does not have the most impressive plot or the most carefully crafted characters, truth be told, but it is a very fun thriller that involves a new perspective of old monster tales, and it is highly addictive and macabre.
I found myself thinking about this world over and over throughout the months, and am really excited to pick the second book up. I also really liked the small commentary on colonialism and the distortion of language and culture by the colonisers in this book. More than that, despite the fact that I am not usually a fan of the enemies to lovers trope (this one was enemies to queerplatonic, in a way!), I was pleasantly surprised by the way the bond between the two main characters evolved in bloomed here.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read and I am more than excited to continue, considering how often I think of this book throughout the day ♥ I highly recommend for fans of Dexter and This Savage Song, fans of horror and dark comedies or readers who want to try something quick and thrilling! Bonus points because there's a webtoon of this! Until the next review, please stay safe and take care <3
~Mary <3
dark
tense
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
22/01/2020
Okay okay
So I've had this book on my bookshelf for a while. I picked it up because it had a high rating on Goodreads, besides that, I didn't know anything about it. I completely misjudged the genre before I started it, so I was surprised it turned out to be an urban fantasy instead of a thriller.
I only decided to read this book today, because it's got a drop of blood on the cover and I happened to start my period today. So, because of thematic relevance to my life, I started reading it.
It was mostly okay. I predicted who the love interest would be as soon as he entered the story though. I liked that the love interest was Asian (Half Myanmari, part Thai) and not just another white boy. Nita could be a bit dumb at times, but because she was homeschooled (and badly at that) it can be explained away with the plot. I like Kovit as a character, although I do think he opened up to Nita way too quick.
I did get through it really fast though and I mostly enjoyed it. I'm not sure if it deserves these 3 stars, maybe it does. I don't read a lot of YA anymore and I don't remember the standard anymore. I don't know whether this is better than the standard, but I think it is? It doesn't shy away from violence (it does shy away from sexual violence for obvious reasons, although I do think more sexual violence would make sense in the world that this story takes place in)
(Upgraded to 3½ after reread in Webtoon format in 07/2023)
Okay okay
So I've had this book on my bookshelf for a while. I picked it up because it had a high rating on Goodreads, besides that, I didn't know anything about it. I completely misjudged the genre before I started it, so I was surprised it turned out to be an urban fantasy instead of a thriller.
I only decided to read this book today, because it's got a drop of blood on the cover and I happened to start my period today. So, because of thematic relevance to my life, I started reading it.
It was mostly okay. I predicted who the love interest would be as soon as he entered the story though. I liked that the love interest was Asian (Half Myanmari, part Thai) and not just another white boy. Nita could be a bit dumb at times, but because she was homeschooled (and badly at that) it can be explained away with the plot. I like Kovit as a character, although I do think he opened up to Nita way too quick.
I did get through it really fast though and I mostly enjoyed it. I'm not sure if it deserves these 3 stars, maybe it does. I don't read a lot of YA anymore and I don't remember the standard anymore. I don't know whether this is better than the standard, but I think it is? It doesn't shy away from violence (it does shy away from sexual violence for obvious reasons, although I do think more sexual violence would make sense in the world that this story takes place in)
(Upgraded to 3½ after reread in Webtoon format in 07/2023)