Reviews with content warning for Death - The Witches of Bone Hill

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn

6 reviews

missypy's review

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It had promise but didn't deliver.

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emilywemily6's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This book had a lot of things going for it, but the execution was subpar. The vibes were witchy and perfect for a spooky fall read. The house itself and the history of the family had so many secrets and interesting details. I’ve read a few witchy books recently and this one had the most interesting details. However, the story has lots of superfluous facets that impeded the plot and over complicated the story as a whole. The first chapter is super ridiculous with cheating, impending divorce, bankruptcy, and then a mob boss?? Not all that was needed to compel Cordelia or move the story forward. I also felt like a lot of descriptions and similes used by the author were either inaccurate (trying to say a murky pond was viscous like amniotic fluid- actually it’s not viscous, it’s pretty watery, so…) or really pointed with the witchy vibes, like the author was trying too hard. Cordelia was also really slow to get what was going on or to do anything about it, the story dragged on for most of the book. And I couldn’t get behind the romance because Cordelia just pined from the beginning, they didn’t have chemistry, she constantly said or thought rude things to/about him and their interactions were awkward as a result; it felt very childish. I could tell from the beginning he was a good guy and Cordelia did all but sabotage even a friendship. I honestly don’t know how they ended up together. Part of the mystery was really obvious, but there was a lot of what was going on that I didn’t understand until the end of the book, and I really wanted to find out what really was happening. The mysterious happenings were truly creepy and foreboding, and I wish the author had done some things different in the story.

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srivalli's review

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dark slow-paced

3.0

3 Stars

One Liner: Great atmosphere but gets burdened by unwanted elements

Cordelia Bone’s life is now a mess. Her husband’s affair and debts push her to the brink of ruin. With loan sharks threatening dire consequences, she doesn’t know what to do. A sudden call from her sister, Eustace, gives a ray of hope. Aunt Augusta may be estranged, but since she named them in her will, the sisters can sell her house and make money.

They fly to a remote town in Connecticut to realize that the house is in proper Victorian Gothic style. Cordelia knows her experience as a real estate agent will come in handy. However, the lawyer informs them about the additional stipulations. Also, Cordelia’s extra-sensory talents are back in action.

The house has too many secrets to unearth (including the dark past of the sexy tattooed groundskeeper). Digging into it may offer some answers about their dead mother and Cordelia’s skills. However, there’s danger everywhere.

The story comes in Cordelia’s third-person POV.

What I Like:

Aunt Augusta’s estate and the setting is wow. The house is a character of its own (though this gets diluted due to extra elements) and is quite creepy. I love every bit of the description of the estate. It’s dark, brooding, sinister, and tangible.

Cordelia’s initial struggle in using vs. suppressing her talents is well done. Her desire to lead a ‘normal’ life and the consequences of her decisions align with the creepiness of the house.

Eustace is my favorite character in the book. It’s too bad she doesn’t get her own POV and still manages to shine bright. She is the one who keeps things going when Cordelia sulks around.

The ghosts are great, though. I like that each has a definite personality and is easy to track. They have unfinished business but are also protective of their family.

The concepts of runes, coded writing (recipe books), secret rituals, etc., are interesting to read. There are some eww moments, which cannot be helped when you get into a dark basement with weird tools and scattered bones.

The pacing gets better in the last quarter where things move faster. But this means the atmosphere doesn’t hold steady. Still, I’m glad I could sit for a few minutes extra and finish the book instead of slogging through the second half.

The last chapter serves as an epilogue. It fills the gaps and provides a satisfactory ending.

What Could Have Been Better for Me:

The entire story comes in Cordelia’s POV (thank god for the third-person narration). However, she is hard to connect with. Though initially I empathized with her, as the story progressed, I found her voice uneven and erratic. She also sounds whiny and immature in some places.

Moreover, Eustace is a great character despite not getting an in-depth arc. I like her a lot more and couldn’t help but wish at least half the chapters come in her POV. It would have balanced the narrative. Though Cordelia is the MC and gets to save the day, I wouldn’t mind if it was otherwise.

The pacing is super slow. While this is necessary in the beginning to establish the setting and atmosphere, the story gets bogged down by too many elements. There’s a mysterious stalker, a creepy lawyer, Gordon (the love interest with a romantic track we could do without), a mafia lender (he wasn’t necessary since Cordelia had enough troubles to handle), a useless ex who gets a full chapter, and Cordelia going back and forth. Yep, it’s quite exhaustive and distracting from the central plot.

It’s a good thing this book is not marketed as a mystery (or is it?) since the clues are way too obvious and in the face. I’m sure everyone except the main characters figured out the danger and attacker.

I knew there would be a love track with Gordon in the picture. I wish it was believable or at least a real slow burn. This one doesn’t feel organic, and the third-act breakup is so stupid. It may seem like a way to advance the plot, but man, it’s horribly done. I can’t sugarcoat this.

To summarize, The Witches of Bone Hill has terrific potential but manages to deliver in bits and pieces. It would have worked better if the focus was limited to the house, family history, and the sisters instead of trying to force-fit too many threads.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (Griffin), for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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booksthatburn's review

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I don't like the main character and this leans more contemporary than I prefer.

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forever_undone_fables's review

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mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martens Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Witches of Bone Hill, in exchange for my honest review!

At first it reads like a purely contemporary fiction, but something I enjoyed was as the story goes on, the magic and overall spookiness got greater and greater. It’s not so much a fantasy as it is paranormal fiction. If you are a true fan of horror and gore, looking for something dark and unsettling, that’s going to give you the creeps, I don’t think this is for you. On the flip side if you are someone who is more into standard fiction, who wants to dabble in something that has moments of eeriness, magic, and can handle a little gore, you may really enjoy it!

I appreciated that the main characters were all of mature age, I’m guessing late 30s to mid 40s, and that the issues they had before arriving at the estate were that of people in that group. The pacing and writing was good, while the fmc was a little annoying at times, the reasons behind her actions were understandable. Another thing I liked was how communicative the sisters were with each other, there weren’t moments where, as a reader, I felt frustrated by the main character and I knowing there was information that should be shared. The sisters were a smart pair, and figured everything out at a reasonable speed for the story.

The villain was very predictable but there was still a *slight* twist about it. It wasn’t so much “who” but “why” with the bad guy.

(Spoilers ahead)

The only thing that really didn’t do it for me in this story was the relationship between Cordy and Gordon. I think there had to me a romance plot in the book, and I’m glad there was.. I just didn’t really believe in their chemistry. She was genuinely rude to him outwardly and judgey inwardly, as well as recently wounded from her ex husband, which is brought up enough to know it was obviously a huge deal. Even after she very suddenly decides to stop being snooty to him, they still just didn’t make sense to me. They had a few conversations about their issues together, he mentions she’s attractive on accident, and then he just steps into the role of needing to be there and protect her (it’s kind of his only personality trait) with so much faith and gusto after like… less than three weeks. And he’s just cool with all the bad stuff happening and the violence in the end, because it’s all about making sure she is safe.. he is kind of a shell of a character. Aside from just being the only people there and trauma bonding over loss/the property, I don’t see why they like each other at ALL. Much less to sleep together in a way which would end up in immediate pregnancy. Getting knocked up after a month of knowing each other and maybe 2 weeks of sleeping together? Not the trope for me. Yucky even. It could have been something alluded to by her ancestor for the future and mentioned as part of the wrap up when it has the jump to the future at the very end. Don’t think that had to happen at all.

Overall this was a very readable story, I was able to picture the atmosphere and follow along with everything very well. It was like watching a modern day practical magic-esque film on Netflix.

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noellelovesbooks's review

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5.0

Content Warnings: Blood, animal cruelty, animal death, murder, and death.
Mention of: suicide, rape, cancer, and infidelity.

***I received an ARC ahead of release, via Netgalley, through the St. Martin's Press Influencer Program***

OMG what a perfect fall read! I'd call this a cozy, low stakes, witchy fall book. I say cozy/low stakes because the "twist" was kinda obvious from the start...but I almost feel that was intentional 🤷🏽‍♀️...to give us those horror movie moments of yelling at the characters with the info we know that they should know.

We do get a romance but this book is definitely more about two sisters bond, finding themselves, and uncovering years of family secrets.

This book gave me all the same feels [warm/magical/family legacy/secrets] that I got when I read "In the Shadow Garden" by Liz Parker.

As the weather starts to shift us into Fall, aka the best season, and you're looking for a book to cuddle under a blanket with while sipping on a hot mug of tea...definitely get your hands on this book when it releases!

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