Reviews

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

ribcager's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.0

Who the hell was Heather, why did we have so many instances of the main character wondering who had reported the monsters if it wasn’t going to be relevant

and why the hell were some of the characters here written to be so unbelievably stupid. I didn’t hate this, it was very readable (I finished it in a day), but much like the snowy mountainous setting, it left me cold. I would’ve preferred if it spent more time boiling us slowly in the domestic horror, keeping the monster on the periphery and building up the tension until something was forced to snap.

I would’ve at least liked to see the main character make an escape attempt by herself before she got rescued by random strangers, even if the attempt failed. It could’ve added some heightened anxiety and horror, which this book was mostly lacking due to its breakneck speed and the vagueness of the supernatural threat

. Though there were some impactful scenes, they were not allowed any room to breathe and permeate. The supernatural horror and the horrors the protagonist experienced at the hands of her husband were completely detached from each other, and the creature apparently materialized from nowhere (there was also no explanation for its sudden appearance) just in time to be convenient to the plot. Overall, a very predictable, sometimes frustrating book that couldn’t live up to a fantastic premise.

readingwmiles's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 this was such a good creature feature!

ryoko20042's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

bgoodlin's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

againanew's review against another edition

2.0

Where do I even start with this? I'm finding it hard to believe this was by the same author as Alice. It's an incredibly lazy book (seems like the author just wanted to be done with it halfway through) with no point and an abrupt ending.

There will be some SPOILERS now - The human interactions make no sense. Who finds their friend strung up in a tree, panics for approximately 2 minutes and then says okay lets go eat? Why and how does a squirrel conveniently scratch itself on a bear trap?(middle-school level writing to show the trap was poisoned - infuriating) Why does CJ keep forgetting that Mattie is a child abductee that's been severely abused for years and just talks to her like it's no biggie? Who keeps walking around in the woods after being attacked repeatedly by a monster? And is William the terminator? I have so many more but I'll stop here.

Just... wtf. This book made me angry because it started off decent. I kept thinking - oh, I bet the monster is a manifestation of Mattie's anger or something deep like that. But no, it isn't. It's just an unexplained monster that you never learn the purpose of or where it came from or why. It honestly doesn't seem to have a purpose because it just exists to climb trees (silently!! when it wants to be!!) and stack/organize bones and organs in a cave for no apparent reason. Oh, and hands hearts through windows? Again, for no reason really.

This has really turned me off of Henry. I have another of her books downloaded but ehh... I think I'll pass.

croceldon's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

millerhope25's review against another edition

3.0

Idk it was fine. Predictable. Annoyed we never got any details really on the “creature.” I know that was intentional but still annoyed for a book half centered around this creature.

also the resolution with William was SOOOOOO unsatisfying

this book was just frustration after frustration which gets boring after a while. I don’t think there was a single good decision made.

lbribiescas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

steffi_23's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Samantha I love and respect you so much 

blakeaustin's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this one. It’s not a horror book that will scare you or keep you up at night, but more of a thriller with supernatural elements and a human monster scarier than anything hiding in the woods.