Reviews

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn

tastyspore's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Not typically a fantasy reader, but the cover intrigued me. The first 100 pages dragged on with no real development, and if I hadn't spent money on this book I might have DNF'd. The language was pretty though, and just interesting enough to get me to the plot. I agree with other reviewers that the mob subplot was totally unnecessary-- there was plenty of reason for Cordelia's urgency without it. I really liked that the romance wasn't the main focus of the book, it gave Cordelia and Eustace a chance to grow and shine and become more complex characters. The end was meh-bordering-on-unsatisfying; the twist was way too predictable (a problem when have only a small cast of characters) and I hate

a surprise pregnancy happy ending, particularly when the FMC expressed no desire to be a mother before.

Still, I had a good time reading it, so all in all, a pretty good read for a non-fantasy reader.

kmmk21's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.75

saadiyya_reads786's review against another edition

4.0

A really good witchy book for the spooky season. Eustace is an interesting character, wishing I could have read her point of view too.

alakis17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

amandalyn_417's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

heidi_thompson's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

bnrmcclure's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

smittinkittin's review against another edition

dark lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

paulineerika's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

This book had such a promising premise, but ultimately fell flat for me for two main reasons.

First is Cordelia. I found her to be a weak main character: immature, unlikeable, and inconsistent in the way she was portrayed. As some other reviewers have noted, Eustace probably would have been a better main character, although even she had her problems. Each of them could be so clever, then turn around and do/say something so dumb that you wondered if you were reading the same book. Eustace was just a little better than Cordelia.

Second, the book was just too long. There were far too many unnecessary plot elements, such as the mafia involvement, John's return, and even the romance with Gordon. (And don't even get me started on that third-act breakup.) It might have been fine if these had been relegated to the background of the story, but unfortunately, they would keep bubbling up in ways that undermined the book. 

There were parts of this book that I genuinely enjoyed. I liked reading about the magic in the house and the family and I wished those aspects had been better developed. As it was, the "mystery" was both predictable and underwhelming.

I expected more from the pictures and the dark background of the family. Instead, we got a random set of magical twins that seemed to come out of nowhere and a jealous bastard family that didn't have a good enough back story to make me care.

For as long as the book was, there was a lot of room to do more with this. Alas. 

emilyjmasters's review

3.75

Disappointing after a STUNNING beginning. I was immediately drawn in with incredible, descriptive writing and the mysterious and magical plot,  but it really fell apart for me in act three. The plot “twist” was a little predictable. I had a good time, but I won’t revisit this one in the future. 

Why the FUCK did Cordy pay the loan shark?? John had moved back into the house?? And Bennett’s whole thing I saw coming from a mile away, that was so lame