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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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