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nerdysread's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A quick emotional and bit scary Orpheus and Eurydice retelling. It’s really good
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Violence
micheala's review against another edition
3.25
I had conflicted feelings about this novella. Mainly in that it felt like a novel length idea that was shoehorned into a novella length story. It is the author's first published work so I'm leaning towards the positives.
I enjoyed the story and characters. The world building and lore was all really cool. If I get right down to it, the only things that I didn't like where based on the fact that I think this story needed more space to be fleshed out.
We get some flashbacks but I think we needed more and that if the story had started where the flashbacks do (Cress and Teagan meeting) with flashbacks to Teagan's mother's death (that plays a huge role in the plot and is only told to us in kinda patchy moments), and progressed in a linear fashion from that point on, with some smaller time skips between the relationship progressing and the keystone event of this story, I would have understood the character's decisions more. At this point because you don't get that, the characters feel a little flat and random in their actions.
I know it sounds like I didn't really enjoy this, but that's not true. I like it's a good novella, that could have been a great novel (it's only 152 pages in the physical edition and I think it needed like another 400 pages to really shine)
I enjoyed the story and characters. The world building and lore was all really cool. If I get right down to it, the only things that I didn't like where based on the fact that I think this story needed more space to be fleshed out.
We get some flashbacks but I think we needed more and that if the story had started where the flashbacks do (Cress and Teagan meeting) with flashbacks to Teagan's mother's death (that plays a huge role in the plot and is only told to us in kinda patchy moments), and progressed in a linear fashion from that point on, with some smaller time skips between the relationship progressing and the keystone event of this story, I would have understood the character's decisions more. At this point because you don't get that, the characters feel a little flat and random in their actions.
I know it sounds like I didn't really enjoy this, but that's not true. I like it's a good novella, that could have been a great novel (it's only 152 pages in the physical edition and I think it needed like another 400 pages to really shine)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Terminal illness
valereads's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Bone Way is a fantasy novella. It follows a young witch named Teagan whose wife, Cress, goes into The Shadow Realm, a queendom of death, in order to save Teagan from the poison slowly killing her. We follow Teagan as she goes after her wife in order to make sure she comes back alive.
I really liked how this novella was told. I love a fantasy story with a quest with a clear goal and this book definitely had that. I was a little unsure how it would work to tell a big fantasy story as a novella rather than a full length novel but this turned out to be easily solved. It just jumped right in instead of opening with chapters and chapters of background we open with Cress already gone and Teagan leaving to follow her with their backstory told as Teagan takes her journey through the Shadow Realm. I really liked this and I must say I actually preferred it to the slowness of the opening of a lot of other fantasy stories.
That said I had a few issues with the book. The final confrontation with the Shadow Princess felt kind of messy. [The Princess arrives out of nowhere and says Teagan and Cress broke her rules by touching and they convince her it didn't count. My problem? They didn't touch. I went back and reread sections after the confrontation afraid I'd missed something but it never explicitly says that they touch let alone draws attention to it. (hide spoiler)]
In addition I was expecting more nuance with the Shadow Princess' character and storyline, especially after Teagan arrives at the Deathly Palace so I was a little disappointed by that. I also wish the poison had more impact of the story. It's constantly mentioned but it doesn't really impact Teagan or slow her down until near the end. As a chronic pain sufferer I was hoping there would be a bit of representation here. Maybe she could have been slowed down or had to use a cane to balance. Instead she runs and moves with ease apart from one moment in part two and in the climax of the story.
Overall I enjoyed this novella and I would definitely recommend it for anyone after a fast-paced queer fantasy story.
The Bone Way is a fantasy novella. It follows a young witch named Teagan whose wife, Cress, goes into The Shadow Realm, a queendom of death, in order to save Teagan from the poison slowly killing her. We follow Teagan as she goes after her wife in order to make sure she comes back alive.
I really liked how this novella was told. I love a fantasy story with a quest with a clear goal and this book definitely had that. I was a little unsure how it would work to tell a big fantasy story as a novella rather than a full length novel but this turned out to be easily solved. It just jumped right in instead of opening with chapters and chapters of background we open with Cress already gone and Teagan leaving to follow her with their backstory told as Teagan takes her journey through the Shadow Realm. I really liked this and I must say I actually preferred it to the slowness of the opening of a lot of other fantasy stories.
That said I had a few issues with the book. The final confrontation with the Shadow Princess felt kind of messy. [The Princess arrives out of nowhere and says Teagan and Cress broke her rules by touching and they convince her it didn't count. My problem? They didn't touch. I went back and reread sections after the confrontation afraid I'd missed something but it never explicitly says that they touch let alone draws attention to it. (hide spoiler)]
In addition I was expecting more nuance with the Shadow Princess' character and storyline, especially after Teagan arrives at the Deathly Palace so I was a little disappointed by that. I also wish the poison had more impact of the story. It's constantly mentioned but it doesn't really impact Teagan or slow her down until near the end. As a chronic pain sufferer I was hoping there would be a bit of representation here. Maybe she could have been slowed down or had to use a cane to balance. Instead she runs and moves with ease apart from one moment in part two and in the climax of the story.
Overall I enjoyed this novella and I would definitely recommend it for anyone after a fast-paced queer fantasy story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THE BONE WAY is a sapphic Orpheus and Eurydice retelling exploring illness, grief, sacrifice, and love as Teagan enters the kingdom of the dead after her wife Cress went alone to beg for a cure.
I love the flashbacks interspersed between sections of the present timeline, they gave welcome context and helped even out the pacing. The descriptions are vibrant, and the cast of characters is suitably small for a novella. My favorite detail is the backstory for the queen, it has messy complexities and leaves those jagged edges unresolved. This would make sense even if you haven't encountered this myth previously. As a retelling this obviously draws inspiration from the myth but doesn't refer back to it explicitly.
I liked this and I'm glad I read it!
I love the flashbacks interspersed between sections of the present timeline, they gave welcome context and helped even out the pacing. The descriptions are vibrant, and the cast of characters is suitably small for a novella. My favorite detail is the backstory for the queen, it has messy complexities and leaves those jagged edges unresolved. This would make sense even if you haven't encountered this myth previously. As a retelling this obviously draws inspiration from the myth but doesn't refer back to it explicitly.
I liked this and I'm glad I read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
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