Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Bone Way by Holly J. Underhill

4 reviews

nerdysread's review

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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 
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mothie_girlie's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

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irl_bookworms's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think the best way to describe this lovely little novella is: An Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, but with sapphic, cottagecore witches. I mean, what else could you want??

The story of Teagan and Cressidae is told in a mix of cozy flashbacks (from Teagan’s youth, to their meeting in the city, to their wedding night) and the tense scenes of Teagan’s journey through the Bone Way. Before the start of the book, Teagan is attacked by a monster and is lethally poisoned. With no cure, Teagan and Cressidae consider making a bargain with the Princess of the Shadow Realm, but Teagan refuses to risk Cressidae’s life. Unwilling to let the chance slip by, Cressidae steals away in the middle of the night to make the bargain herself. But Teagan knows how treacherous both the journey and the princess are, so she follows her wife into the Shadow realm with the hopes of bringing Cressidae back safely...

Their world is a lush, queer normative, cottage core world, that I so badly want to visit. But as beautiful as the surface realm is, the Shadow Realm is just as haunting and eerie. Both sides were fascinating to read.

I found The Bone Way to be a wonderful little novella that I would happily recommend to anyone queer or with a love of queer stories. It’s sweet and lovely and tense and adventurous and all of the good stuff. I can’t wait to see what Underhill decides to write next!

PS - All the props to the cover artist, because the cover art is absolutely STUNNING!!

*Thank you Nyx Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC*

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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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! 
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