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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was more mystery than the horror/gothic I was expecting, but my biggest issue was the writing - it just felt so cringy and overwritten to me. Tons of similes and metaphors. The reveals at the end were also just… a lot. Not for me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Haunting and atmospheric are the two best words to describe Salt Bones. I thought that the character development was handled very well. I really enjoyed the Mexicali folklore and cultural elements that were woven throughout. The storytelling style was reminiscent of Mexican Gothic. The author did an amazing job of building up the overall suspense and tension. With vivid descriptions you feel like you are in the thick of it. Overall I really enjoyed the story and would definitely read from this author again.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quick very high level summary.
A girl goes missing, bringing up old memories about Mal’s sister who went missing 20 years prior. As Mal investigates, she experiences vivid visions of a local legend. But these vision begin to blur the line between reality and a devastating nightmare. Themes of family secrets and environmental devastation dripping with beautiful supernatural darkness.
My Take.
Right away I noticed the amazing character development. I immediately felt immersed in the story and connected with the characters. There are moments in the book that I could actually feel the panic and anxiety that the characters are going through. The author also does an amazing job of creating an atmosphere of overwhelming dread. The author vividly focuses on the details of the unsettling environment and psychological elements that coincide with one another. Often written so poetically. On top of some amazing writing we have some heavy themes being tackled. Themes like environmental crisis, racism, generational trauma and family secrets. Overall a dark and haunting, well written read with amazing social commentary nicely tucked into an intriguing thriller with moments of poetic horror.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It may not look like Mal Veracruz has much to show for her life, living on the outskirts of the bubbling, sulphuric remains of the Salton Sea, but she’s done her best.
Despite the frightening, sudden disappearance of her sister, Elena, when they were kids, Mal has become a skilled butcher and raised two daughters on her own. She cares for her parents, supports her brothers, and carves out small pieces of time for herself.
But when another local girl - and then another - goes missing, old wounds, deeply ingrained fears, and La Siguanaba, the horse headed woman - plague Mal’s every moment.
The town, the lake, these things have been overrun by rich white men, like the Callahans: father, son, and grandson. They destroyed the lake with farm runoff but continue to thrive through questionable means.
Mal and her daughters, Griselda and Amaranta, are pulled into the sphere of these men, and as they fight to extricate themselves, they discover long held secrets that could destroy each and every one of them.
__
Holy. Cow.
Billed as a retelling of Persephone and Demeter, combining Latina and Indigenous culture, this book is gripping and twisty and completely surprising.
The storytelling is beautiful and complex, examining motherhood, familial ties, and the death of land once held sacred.
It’s got elements of crime fiction, horror, magical realism, and family drama - each so well crafted, like puzzle pieces locked together, waiting for you to put the last in place.
Mal is fierce and flawed and one of the best female protagonists I’ve read in recent memory. She is poetic and raw and I fell in love with her.
Vibe check: True Detective: Night Country and Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan is part gothic horror, part psychological thriller, a haunting, poetic story about inherited trauma, and the ghosts literal and emotional that refuse to stay buried.
Set in New Orleans, the book follows Eva Santos Moon, a bruja and psychologist, who returns to her childhood home after her mother’s mysterious death. The deeper she digs into the past, the more reality begins to slip revealing family secrets, dark magic, and a murder that refuses to stay silent.
This is a slow-burn, deeply emotional read that blends magic, mental health, and motherhood in ways that feel raw and powerful. Givhan’s writing is lyrical and surreal at times, perfect if you love books that blur the line between supernatural horror and psychological depth.
Just a heads-up: it’s heavy. Topics like abuse, grief, and generational trauma are front and center but so is healing, rage, and reclaiming power.
Thought-provoking, eerie, and beautifully written.
⚡️Thank you Mulholland Books and Jennifer Givhan for sharing this book with me!
Set in New Orleans, the book follows Eva Santos Moon, a bruja and psychologist, who returns to her childhood home after her mother’s mysterious death. The deeper she digs into the past, the more reality begins to slip revealing family secrets, dark magic, and a murder that refuses to stay silent.
This is a slow-burn, deeply emotional read that blends magic, mental health, and motherhood in ways that feel raw and powerful. Givhan’s writing is lyrical and surreal at times, perfect if you love books that blur the line between supernatural horror and psychological depth.
Just a heads-up: it’s heavy. Topics like abuse, grief, and generational trauma are front and center but so is healing, rage, and reclaiming power.
Thought-provoking, eerie, and beautifully written.
⚡️Thank you Mulholland Books and Jennifer Givhan for sharing this book with me!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Would you travel to the depths of hell to save the young daughters of your village? Malamar Veracruz would, and does, in this dark story that interweaves indigenous and Latino folklore with modern day terrors.
While the nightmarish creatures El Cucuy and La Siguanaba carry the theme throughout the book, for me this one does not fit into a typical horror mold. Instead, the story reads more as a family drama involving the solving of a long-standing town mystery. The creatures themselves are presented in a dark, magical realist style, as visions rather than hauntings. This may or may not be what you are looking for as you browse the horror section of your local bookstore, but I enjoyed the reading experience regardless. Just don't expect any jump scares or night terrors.
The prose itself is beautiful, thoughtful and thought-provoking, as we experience the musings and ruminations of our heroine Mal. And Mal is easy to root for because of this; I felt that I could understand and empathize with her throughout her painstaking, and increasingly desperate, search to solve the town mystery. The first third of the book requires some concentration to fully acquaint with the characters - there are quite a few and they are connected in somewhat confusing ways, but the family tree diagram at the front of the book is helpful in this regard. The storyline accelerates considerably after these relationships and personalities are established.
If you love Spanish (I do!), you will be in for treat, as there are copious Spanish words, sayings, and phrases sprinkled in throughout the English text. If you have an elementary proficiency, you will navigate the Spanish portions of the text without difficulty; however, if you are unfamiliar with Spanish, you may want to read this book digitally, so you have easy access to onboard translation tools.
I think this will be perfect for someone who loves the dark, magical realism found in Latin American writing traditions. If you enjoy Laura Esquivel, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or even Isabel Allende, you will want to check out Salt Bones.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Givhan, and Little, Brown and Company/Mulholland Books for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
Jackal meets Mexican Gothic and Just Like Home in this haunting story of a border town that eats its daughters and spits out their bones. From the first chapter, Givhan’s poetic, dreamlike prose had me by the throat. It was her writing I fell in love with first, but it will be her messy, profoundly flawed characters who stick with me, especially Mal, the worst best mom in the world.
I do have a qualm with the marketing of this book. In the same way that a Beauty and the Beast retelling without any fathers or roses would not quite be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, the absence of certain iconic images and characters from the Greek myths makes Salt Bones not really a Demeter and Persephone retelling. Demeter and Persephone isn’t even the myth the novel alludes to the most.
I received a free advance copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I do have a qualm with the marketing of this book. In the same way that a Beauty and the Beast retelling without any fathers or roses would not quite be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, the absence of certain iconic images and characters from the Greek myths makes Salt Bones not really a Demeter and Persephone retelling. Demeter and Persephone isn’t even the myth the novel alludes to the most.
I received a free advance copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit
There is a lot of unreality and loving descriptions of animal butchery.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Salt Bones is a story of secrets, murder, and heartbreak, and it is a book that once again proves that humans are the worst monsters of all.
Malamar's sister Elena disappeared years ago, a tragedy she has, understandably, never gotten over. Now a mother of two young women, Mal faces her greatest nightmare when one of her own daughters disappears.
There is much that has already been taken by the rich white people who moved into the area decades ago - land, water rights, and more, and Mal is determined to figure out, once and for all, who or what is responsible for the girls' vanishing. The local legend of a woman with the head of a horse plays into the community's fears, and whether this myth is a friend or a foe, Mal will find her daughter, and the rest of the girls.
I was not surprised to find out that Jennifer Givhan is also a poet, given the lyricism of her prose, descriptive and beautiful within the horrors of the plot. The timeliness of a story where one people take everything they can from another is in sharp contrast to the strength of a mother who will fight monsters of any kind to keep her children safe. My first book by this author, but not my last.
Malamar's sister Elena disappeared years ago, a tragedy she has, understandably, never gotten over. Now a mother of two young women, Mal faces her greatest nightmare when one of her own daughters disappears.
There is much that has already been taken by the rich white people who moved into the area decades ago - land, water rights, and more, and Mal is determined to figure out, once and for all, who or what is responsible for the girls' vanishing. The local legend of a woman with the head of a horse plays into the community's fears, and whether this myth is a friend or a foe, Mal will find her daughter, and the rest of the girls.
I was not surprised to find out that Jennifer Givhan is also a poet, given the lyricism of her prose, descriptive and beautiful within the horrors of the plot. The timeliness of a story where one people take everything they can from another is in sharp contrast to the strength of a mother who will fight monsters of any kind to keep her children safe. My first book by this author, but not my last.