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instalovewithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I picked this book up for Indie Bookstore Day and it didn't disappoint. I was looking for a book that was different, and that would transport me.
I really loved the premise, the atmosphere mixed with realism/fantasy/horror and the growth with the characters. I feel like I would definitely need to read this again at a later time because I did find the ending a bit confusing which brought it down to a 4 ⭐ review then a 5 ⭐.
Pedyr, Wyatt, and James were interesting characters and I wasn't 100% sure of the ending but it was open ended and I would love to see more of this world and place and characters
Not for everyone, but it is what I was craving.
I really loved the premise, the atmosphere mixed with realism/fantasy/horror and the growth with the characters. I feel like I would definitely need to read this again at a later time because I did find the ending a bit confusing which brought it down to a 4 ⭐ review then a 5 ⭐.
Pedyr, Wyatt, and James were interesting characters and I wasn't 100% sure of the ending but it was open ended and I would love to see more of this world and place and characters
Not for everyone, but it is what I was craving.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Medical content, Violence, and Torture
cjdbooks1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Child death, Torture, Cursing, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
tnemelce's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Torture
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
nostoat's review against another edition
5.0
They'd dreamed together. They'd fought together. And eventually - reluctantly - they'd grown together.
"You're mine. You and Peter. You always have been." / "People don't belong to people." / "Don't they? I take care of what's mine."
He could only remember James. The way he laughed, lit from beneath by a firefly glow. He could only remember Wyatt, and the way the skies thundered when he kissed her that first impossible time.
This book hit me in the same place that remembering reading Narnia, watching Little Woman (2019), and watching my nieces and nephews grow up while contemplating the flow of my own life between my fingers does. Which is to say, it hit me in the gut with all the force of a freight train with emotions about childhood, growing up, leaving it all behind, being haunted by the ghosts of the past good and bad and complicated. It doesn't matter how grey the skies were, the golden moments of joy still ache like taking a bite of fresh from the freezer ice cream. I feel it in my teeth, in my bones, in my soul. This book is one long "you can't go back, god, you can't go back, you just can't ever go back."
It's also a story about three people so deeply deeply entangled, it's as though the green sap of Willow Heath runs through all their veins. It's always the three of them, you see. There is hate, there is anger, there is violence and blood and crying and kissing. And at the end of it all there they are. What relationship between three people who grew up under the heavy thumb of a strange, pressing ritual guild could possibly come out normal in the wash? Their hands are bloody for each other; their arms locked in an embrace nothing could possibly break. Is it romance? Sure I guess. I don't know. I'm aromantic. To me, this is simply the deepest well of devotion that could possibly exist; bigger than romance. Deeper than romance.
There is so much pain in this book, but there is also power. Andrew, in my opinion, balances the power dynamics so deftly on a knife's edge. It's thrilling. It's delicious. I felt like I was reading a feast spread just for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content
roseleebooks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I'm very glad I picked this up as it surprised me in a good way. I knew it was going to be at least partly a horror and the writing and integration of that part of the story is outstanding. The tension really builds for the first portion of the book when Wyatt is trying to fix the farm that is falling apart around her. I won't give away the plot by talking too much about the other characters, but will say that the interpersonal dynamics and flashbacks are handled very well in building the story.
I did think that some of the plot elements felt a little rushed at the end, however thinking more about it after finishing the book I appreciated the direction it went in.
Overall this was the horror with heart at it's center that I didn't know I wanted to read. It is a story of loss, love, and hope with all the supernatural horror that I could ask for. There are no easy solutions in the world Kelly Andrew has created and I am glad that the story embraces that element.
Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic books for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.
I did think that some of the plot elements felt a little rushed at the end, however thinking more about it after finishing the book I appreciated the direction it went in.
Overall this was the horror with heart at it's center that I didn't know I wanted to read. It is a story of loss, love, and hope with all the supernatural horror that I could ask for. There are no easy solutions in the world Kelly Andrew has created and I am glad that the story embraces that element.
Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic books for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Abandonment, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, and Violence
This is a horror novel with some romantic elements, I would not characterize this as a romance centric book.ellejo3's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
Wyatt Westlock is returning to her childhood farm after her father's death set on burning it down. As she's dousing the house in gasoline, she discovers her childhood best friend turned nemesis, Peter, chained in the basement and left for dead. Peter is exceptionally good at dying. He's done it countless times. He can't quite nail the sticking part and resurrects each time. Upon discovering him, Wyatt learns that she comes from a long line of wardens, trying to keep the dark, ancient forces that lurk in the nearby woods at bay, wards that are crumbling since her father's death. The only way Wyatt can reinforce the wards is by working with Peter. The only way Peter can end his curse is by killing Wyatt, the last living Westlock. When their other childhood friend, James, arrives, matters get even more complicated, reinvoking an old dynamic between the three of them.
Your Blood, My Bones is set in the same world as The Whispering Dark and has the same lush, atmospheric writing, but instead of dark academia, it's cottage-core horror. Kelly Andrew nailed the setting and vibes, and I loved the dynamic between Wyatt, Peter, and James. The tension between the three of them! And that ending!! Ahh - I'm still thinking about it! I was also pleasantly surprised to see Lane and Colton from TWD make an appearance. Though don't worry if you haven't read TWD. While it helps to understand the concept of lay lines and walking between worlds, Andrew does a good job of explaining it in YBMB.
If you liked The Whispering Dark, read Your Blood, My Bones! If you never read The Whispering Dark, but you like cottage-core horror, read Your Blood, My Bones!
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for giving me an ARC. All thoughts are my own.
Your Blood, My Bones is set in the same world as The Whispering Dark and has the same lush, atmospheric writing, but instead of dark academia, it's cottage-core horror. Kelly Andrew nailed the setting and vibes, and I loved the dynamic between Wyatt, Peter, and James. The tension between the three of them! And that ending!! Ahh - I'm still thinking about it! I was also pleasantly surprised to see Lane and Colton from TWD make an appearance. Though don't worry if you haven't read TWD. While it helps to understand the concept of lay lines and walking between worlds, Andrew does a good job of explaining it in YBMB.
If you liked The Whispering Dark, read Your Blood, My Bones! If you never read The Whispering Dark, but you like cottage-core horror, read Your Blood, My Bones!
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for giving me an ARC. All thoughts are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Torture
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Murder, and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
eenicem's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is really fantastic! I’m so happy I read it during spooky season and only wish I could give it to people to read now instead of having to wait until it hits shelves in April 2024. Kelly Andrew hits the perfect mood of eerie and mysterious throughout the book and definitely keeps you turning the pages. The stakes are high from page 1, and though there’s a brief lull about 70% of the way through, things pick up again pretty quickly.
Wyatt and Peter/Petyr are both really compelling as characters and really make you want to root for them. Even when things are really tense between them or their circumstances are really fraught, their dynamic feels very realistic and natural instead of forced for the plot.
And the plot as it unfolds is really exciting and keeps the revelations coming. I’d definitely recommend this book to anybody who enjoys supernatural YA with high stakes and characters who’ve seen some shit and will definitely see more before the book is through. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth it.
(ARC received through my job as a bookseller)
Wyatt and Peter/Petyr are both really compelling as characters and really make you want to root for them. Even when things are really tense between them or their circumstances are really fraught, their dynamic feels very realistic and natural instead of forced for the plot.
And the plot as it unfolds is really exciting and keeps the revelations coming. I’d definitely recommend this book to anybody who enjoys supernatural YA with high stakes and characters who’ve seen some shit and will definitely see more before the book is through. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth it.
(ARC received through my job as a bookseller)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
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