A review by aghoststory
Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

A book that had me at “The sleepy little farm that Laurel Early grew up on has awakened. The woods are shifting, the soil is dead under her hands, and her bone pile just stood up and walked away.”

And kept with me every “I reckon” that made 

 felt like home 

And it’s dark atmosphere that is both haunting and familiar

And the way Elizabeth Kilcoyne paints nature so beautifully, but also shows the mysterious and dangerous side

how it ranges from southern gothic to folk horror

and the gore and ruthlessness

and a mention of banana pudding

Wake the Bones was one of the books that I was looking forward to reading the most this year.  I think it quickly became one of my favorites too. 

I was surprised just how dark it was (The author provided some content warnings on her website. I will leave at the bottom). There’s a certain mood when reading this book that I really enjoyed. It’s almost like you can feel the heaviness outside of the pages.

And I believe it is based around the legend of Rawhead and Bloody Bones, somehow I heard of but didn’t know much about. It is pretty terrifying. 

I really loved this book. 

*ARC provided by WednesdayBooks via Netgalley 

CW: thematic material: mental & physical abuse, violence, suicide. 

specific: abuse by alcoholic parent

Additional: guns, Postpartum depression, drug usage, animal death, blood

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Suicide

Minor: Blood, Animal death, and Drug use