Reviews

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

manic23's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

drrodman29's review against another edition

4.0

I’m typically a reader of all things psychological thriller and recently branched out to some horror. I really liked this book a lot. It seemed a little strange at first to have a kidnapping and monster/demon in the same book. However, thinking back on some of my favourite horror movies (Split, 10 Cloverfield Lane etc.) this type of thing works. It reminds us that often it is people who can be the real monsters and even more frightening than the things that go bump in the night. It was a quick read and I couldn’t seem to put the book down. I think it could have been a five star read but it was just too heart wrenching for me. How many bad things can possibly happen in a row!? I also found the inner dialogue a little boring and repetitive at times. However, this is a very common problem I tend to encounter when reading horror and psychological thrillers. I hope this book gets adapted into a movie.

see_kat_read's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5

sammyisobsessed24's review against another edition

2.0

This book has so many rave reviews, and I blame myself for not reading more thoroughly about it. I could've saved myself the time.

This book is... really not good. It's not necessarily the worst thing I've read, not even the worst thriller, but it isn't good. The dialogue is consistently poorly written; most of the characters do not have much characterization, and there are so many plot holes.

While there were interesting concepts introduced, the execution was poor. I wouldn't recommend this one.

squidshroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

I think this book had a lot of potential that was not fully realized due to its split focus between the main relationship and the secondary storyline (Trying to avoid spoilers). Its strength lies in the relationship between "Martha" and William but the addition of the creature just seems like unnecessary tension that refuses to let the book stay grounded (Where the narrative shines the most). Overall a little above average but I think it had a lot of unrealized potential. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Religious bigotry

Minor: Rape

Religious Trauma, Physical Abuse, Psychological Dmg.

bahar's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.0

celsa's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

The first half is thrilling and the pace perfect. I was intrigued from the first pages.

However, the second half of the book was more difficult to read. The main characters and especially Mattie keep repeating the obvious, leaving us without any room for interpretation. The fact of explaining everything and telling us how to think puts the reader in an infantile position and slows the story’s action.
Also, C.P. one of the characters seemed unrealistic to me.

It is all in all an entertaining read with some minor flaws.

jenhurst's review against another edition

4.0

I’ve read a decent amount of horror novels since October this year, many of which were on the goodreads choice awards. I did enjoy “things have gotten worse since we last spoke” and “all the blackened teeth” which have gotten awful reviews on good reads, but every other one I read I thought were bad-okay. Maybe i just have a different taste of horror, I’m not sure. I really enjoyed this one though. I liked how it was in the winter and it was atmospheric with the cold. It gave me similar vibes to one of my favourite video games Until Dawn, so if you like that game I recommend picking this up. I loved how fast paced it was. I’m excited to read more by Christina Henry. The ghost tree and the red riding hood retelling in particular.

luminous's review against another edition

3.0

Workmanlike prose. MC seems psychic with how she always knows where the monster is. I'm sure the parallel is that she has a lot of experience keeping track of the whereabouts and emotional state of big angry monsters, but still it was almost too much. Liked the dynamic with and between the college students. Unlike other reviewers I do buy William being so flatly and thoroughly evil, becasue it's established that he's incorporated a twisted religiosity into his shitty worldview. However, I do not buy that a vehicle could have been running within a 30 minute or so walking distance and not be heard from the cabin. Especially in winter. I also will reluctantly accept, but strongly disbelieve, the moneymaking occupation William had.

I guess I didn't feel any additional deepness to the story. The monster wasn't scary at all until about 20 minutes from the end. And like No Exit, I refuse to believe people notice and are affected by cold and snow as little as they are in the book. Though this is nowhere as bad as that book's treatment of snow!

imogroos's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75