i don't know if i just read this book at the wrong time, because due to whatever arcane and strange reasons of the spirit, occasionally you just aren't in the mood for a particular book at a particular time. this might have been the reason why i didn't connect with anything, or maybe we are just inherently incompatible for whatever reason.

the writing was alright, nothing stunning but not bad either, but i just couldn't connect with any of the characters. even at the very end, i just was overtaken by a supreme feeling of apathy. perhaps it was because i didn't really like the characters, and i didn't find them compelling. the setting and paranormal aspects were interesting, but also strangely confusing and higgedly-piggedly, and again, i couldn't vibe with them. it was as though everything was half-formed.

i was just disconnected throughout the whole book. it was kind of like an out-of-body experience, to be honest. i can feel the details fading from me by the minute. i probably won't remember a thing about this book in a week's time.

just underwhelming.

Retz is tasked with bringing some escaped exhibits for Lady Delight, a lamia who runs a menagerie of captured supernatural creatures. Lady Delight is a former acquaintance of Nalem, an entity who shares Retz's body and mind so he agrees to the mission not knowing his Retz's brother, Jarrod, has been hired by the escaped funaribi to protect them from Lady Delight. Retz and Jarrod have been estranged for 10 years and their reunion occurs under the pall of their conflicting missions as well as a horde of homicidal unicorns.

With all the stuff going on, this book is difficult to pin down. I get some Supernatural vibes (I haven't watched more than a couple episodes of that but even I could see the similarities) but it is a superficial connection that didn't take away from the story as a whole.

The characters are lively, well written, and have some great chemistry; particularly Retz and Nalem. The dynamics of having to share a body with some ageless entity of dubious morals is conveyed very well. Jarrod and his boyfriend Ferris have a great relationship and Jarrod is a great character who happens to be transgender instead of being transgender being the entire focus of this existence; as it should be. And with a relentless army of killer unicorns in the mix, this is a cool dark urban fantasy. I really enjoyed it. 3.9 out of 5.

This book is difficult to review because it didn’t really grab my attention too much. It was ok, there was nothing bad about it, but nothing great either.

This book was fine. I find it difficult to review the books that are in the middle of the spectrum, because I can't put my finger on why I didn't love it very much or why I didn't hate it very much. It just sits there, in the middle.

It was pleasant, funny at times, and I liked the story and the characters. I'd recommend this to others who want a pleasant read.

I really liked the idea and plot of this book but it did take me a while to get into. I also found myself confused a couple of times. But overall I really enjoyed this LGBT urban fantasy.

This book was such a fun adventure with a wicked sense of humour. It reminded me of an episode of Supernatural if there were fewer angels and demons and you know if The Winchesters were half Fae. The narrative is told in duel, alternating perspectives from the Gallows brother.

The story opens with, Retz driving a car along a stretch of road he’s not familiar with. His possessor, Nalem, has just released his and with no knowledge of where they are, why they are here or where they are going. Oh, also there is a decapitated unicorn head on the passenger’s seat. It’s alive and trying to kill him.

We meet Jarrod amidst a job, cleaning a club of Japanese frog people called Akanane with his boyfriend, Farris O’Reilly. I adore these two! Jarrod and Farris travel the country, picking up odd jobs clearing towns of the supernatural creatures that wreak havoc.

Also worth mentioning not only are these two a fantastic queer couple, Jarrod is transgender. What Dorian Graves does wonderfully is that these aspects are everyday elements for these characters and weren’t tokenised.

Bones and Bourbon is brimming with twisted creatures, a P.T. Barnum style Cabinet of curiosities and all the gore and violence you expect from the original fairy tales. The nods to different cultures and classic folktales are sprinkled throughout. Overall this was a really fun book and I adore that the fantastical creatures were lesser know and from a wide variety of cultures. Would be interested in seeing where the Gallows brothers end up next.

I fell like a tine of bricks for this book. I can't wait for the next in the series. I love urban fantasy but it can become repetitive with so many authors sticking to the same well trodden and usually Euro-centric paths. This was different. Ok I did know what a Huldra was - my thirst for folklore knows no bounds and it's a rare author who'll catch me with something I haven't heard of - but it was so refreshing to see how they were portrayed here along with various other rare beasts. Add to that the LGBTQ+ rep in this book and the fact that it's dark and delicious, very Grimm -like in fact, and this series is off to a great start. Awesome stuff.

Siblings Retz and Jarrod have been separated for several years when Bones and Bourbon by Dorian Graves begins. Both have tragic pasts. Since Retz was an infant, he has shared his body with the consciousness of a necromancer with low morals. Jarrod is dealing with a curse that dictates he take any supernatural job offered or suffer the consequences of said curse. I saw them both as suffering from suttle mental abuse throughout their lives, which gained my sympathies and my desire for them to succeed. There was well-placed tension in Bones and Bourbon. I was drawn in by the foreboding I felt surrounding the characters on their journey. The small triumphs they did acquire were welcome. The humor within the story was just enough for things not to get too grim for me. There was also a good deal of mystery surrounding several of the characters, giving me the desire to seek out their stories in the future.

There was complex and entertaining world building. I find most of my novels from the urban fantasy/ paranormal romance genres and vampires and werewolves are everywhere. I enjoy that the preternatural focus in this book is outside of what is most frequent. Learning about new types of supernaturals is something I enjoy and always prompts my desire to do outside research. Integrating the various kinds of creatures was interesting, however, it did cross my mind the book suffered slightly from overkill. Huldras, furaribi, lamia, fae, necromancers, and even Bloody Mary. And that is not all. Everything integrates well, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was a conscious thought to put in as many types as possible.

Overall, Retz and Jarrod's story was quite enjoyable. I was engaged in their relationships and perseverance. The brothers did their best in a world that was determined to beat them down. I am eager to see them prevail in their overall quest. All opinions are my own, and I encourage all readers to come to their own conclusions. I received an ARC copy of Bones and Bourbon by Dorian Graves for my honest opinion.

'Bones and Bourbon' is certainly entertaining - and some more weighty 'real life'issues are touched upon in among the mayhem.. The book has characters and plot reminiscent of a lot of other things (I described it to my partner who said it sounded rather like a combination of the programmes 'Supernatural' and 'Grimm' with some added twists.). That said, the story felt fresh enough and though a light read was nicely written, a likeable and humourous action adventure which I enjoyed enough that I would read more about these characters if a series develops. Perhaps better for a younger audience, but if light-hearted supernatural/fantasy adventure is your Thing, I would definitely recommend giving this a try.

This is probably more of a 2.5 but I rounded up to a 3 because it definitely feels wrong to give it 2 stars. I think most of my ambivalence towards this story comes from the fact that I read a lot of urban fantasy and also a lot of stories with brothers/siblings as the main characters so I guess this just didn't stand out in a lot of ways when compared to other things I've read. Both of the brothers are decent enough characters and I didn't dislike either of them, but I never really connected them on a deeper level either. The story is interesting and fast paced, and while I did feel like there was maybe too much going on at some points I also appreciated that it featured several creatures you don't really see a lot of in mainstream urban fantasy books. It's an okay story and really good for a debut novel, but I'm not really invested enough to read a sequel if there ever is one.

First thing first, I loved the originality. This book is original in many ways, it's original its folklore, for example, because the author wrote an urban-fantasy with characters that are not the typical vampire or were-animal, or fae or demon, but he chooses some others magical beings, like huldra, furaribi and akaname. Yes, we have some creatures that are more known, but mostly we have not so commonly known beings, and this thing was great!

And this book is original for its characters. Not only for their race, but just for who they are. Or sort of, anyway. The main character, Retz is quite a normal guy, if not for his being half huldra, and for the guest in his head: Nalem. This pair remembers me of Shins and Olgun, in a grittier way, and I loved it! I haven't loved all of it, because sometime Nalem is too much, especially when we're speaking about his relationship with Jarrod (Nalem, come on!) but it's an interesting character and it's quite the mysterious guy. There are so many answers to be had about his past and his motivations that I am hooked up and I really hope to read more book about him (and Retz and Jarrod).
Jarrod is another interesting character, and I liked him even if I really felt sorry for him during the reading. Also, he's a transgender character and he's quite well developed, as far as I can tell. He's not a stereotype and I really liked it.
Jarrod and Retz are brothers and are the main characters, but we have a lot of secondary characters that are interesting and well developed. Some of them are quite interesting, like Nalem's father (OMG! Nalem's father is really something! And he made me laugh! I think he was my favorite!). Also... all Nalem's family is quite peculiar. I'll pay to witness one of their family reunions!
And we have carnivorous and really strong-headed unicorns. And yes... you have read it right... carnivorous unicorns.

The story is fast-paced, there aren't a lot of plot twists, yes, but it's a really good characters driven book, with interesting ideas, snarky dialogues, and dark humor. And there are so many unanswered questions that, in the end, you would want the next one ASAP. I appreciated the unconventional take on the mythology, the unconventional set of characters and the highly imaginative world that the author creates for us!

This was not the book I was expecting. I'm not the biggest fans of books that put all the main characters into positions where they are constantly being forced to act out of their wishes by beings that have significant power over them and that's all this book is. I found the writing to be good and the plot holds together for the most part. Figuring out character motivation is difficult, they tend to do things just because the author says so a lot of times. I enjoyed the characters a lot but I would have enjoyed the book more if the characters had more agency.

That's one of the coolest covers I've seen in a long time, and I'll admit I grabbed it because the cover grabbed me. Loved the title as well.

First off, I'm just going to say that this isn't the type of book I usually read. I'm afraid I was lost most of the time, wondering what was going on and if I was missing something. The book was beautifully written and perfectly edited so the fault is my own, and not the author's.

If you enjoy fantasy, mystical creatures, high adventure, and lots and lots of descriptions of kinda gruesome stuff, then this is the book for you.

I received this book for free from Netgalley and Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a must read for me. When I read they synopsis, I knew I wanted this book. It has some very dark moments and any book with a dark unicorn and FAE world, Is a must. This was my second read that drew me into FAE. I enjoyed to storyline of this book. I do wish there was some extra back story of a few of the characters but overall I still loved the book.

The cover caught my eye (honest, that NEVER happens) so I decided to give a new author and publisher a try. Happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. ;)

First, I’m not a “book cover” reader, but honestly, the cover on this book definitely got my attention. Enough that I took a chance on a new author. (The synopsis was a pretty good draw for me too 😉 ) I’m happy to say that this is one time that a cover definitely lived up to the book.

I had no idea what to expect from Bones and Bourbon, but needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. From the very first chapter, the mystery and action didn’t stop. Not only that, the world building was as much a part of the story as the characters involved.

Part of the reason why I’m drawn to PNR is my love of mythology and it seems that the Deadly Drink series will be full of mythological creatures and legends. The twists that Dorian Graves has added to her take on some familiar creatures was more than interesting. Blood thirsty unicorns for example.

Family is a strong force in Bones and Bourbon as well and there were times that it was hard to tell if the brothers were working for or against each other. There were twists and turns that had my head spinning, danger, mystery and a little bit of romance thrown into the mix – all of it thrown together to keep the pages turning.

It wasn’t clear from the end of Bones and Bourbon, but I was more than a little excited that this book was just the beginning of series. A series that I can’t wait to continue. I can’t wait to see what the Gallows brothers – and company – get into next.

Thank you to Netgally and NineStar Press for the e-arc!

3.5 stars

TW: Alcoholism (the character in question never takes steps to cut back, which is fine by me since that isn't what the book is about, but I know that would bother some other readers)

I requested this book purely because the premise snagged my attention. One of my favourite troupes(?) is when some entity shares a body with a human, and this is the situation with one of the two main POVs in the story, and I was totally into it. (however, as it goes on, this also has one of my least favourite troupes, so you win some you loose some) .

I will say, I enjoyed the first 60% of this book more than the latter half. The plot went in a direction that made me loose interest when I was so invested for the first 60%. Also, this looks like a standalone, but a lot is left hanging, which I don't mind to a certain extent, but the author went out of their way to keep certain details in the dark.

Characters

I loved the characters. The six main characters all had strong and distinctive personalities. My favourites being Nalem and Farris, but I enjoyed reading about them all. I wished we saw Isamu more, but his whole thing was that he was grouchy and quiet, and his sister took more of the limelight in the story.

However, as the book neared the middle and end, I much preferred Retz's POV over Jarrod's. His thought process was more interesting, and while you get more of Farris (Jarrod's boyfriend) in Jarrod's POV, it didn't make up for how intriguing Nalem (the demon creature in his head) was.

Plot

As I mentioned, I loved like the first 60% of the plot. It was hitting all the right marks and I was ready for this to be a 4/4.5 star book. The characters were interesting and their interactions had enough tension to keep me reading and wondering were it would go.

Once the plot moved to a new destination (view spoiler) it all became too much. This short book became too crowded with too many ideas, and the plot took a lot of turns that were unsatisfying for me personally.

It also ended in a way that left us knowing that there would be more to tell, but I'm not sure if this will ever be continued in a later novel (which I would be interested in reading).

World

It was nice that this book focused on more obscure mythical creatures, and took a twist on the traditional definition of a unicorn (even if I thought they showed up one or two times too many).

However, as mentioned with the plot, as the book went on, it tried to tackle too many clashing mythical creatures, and it made this book messier than it should've been.

Overall

This was a fun book with a lot of great ideas and characters, but tried to do too much in a short period of time. If this ever gets a sequel, I'd be interested, but hope it would be more indicative of the first half of the story which focused on a more casual angle with enough action to keep it interesting without being crowded, or give us answers that were left out of this installment.

Bones and Bourbon has an exciting, enthralling concept and absolutely excels in its execution: from the dynamic opening scene right to the last page. The writing is well paced, with an engaging style throughout; practically every line of exposition presents the intended information about the world and cast in an interesting way. The world building was just the right amount to display fascinating settings but not to overwhelm and take away from the characters.

I loved the different character perspectives and the way they came together when the brothers reunited; each individual enough that the reader knows who they’re following at all times, but remaining consistent complementary to each other. The family dynamics overall, especially Retz and Jarrod themselves and their complicated situation and perspectives on it, were some of the most potent parts of the book. The dialogue and character interactions in general were incredibly well written: I loved reading about Aimi and Isamu’s sibling relationship in constrast to Retz and Jarrod’s, and it was a joy to read basically any scene with Farris in.

The character’s journeys and development, both individually and in pairs and ultimately as a group overall, were so consistently strong and solid that I can’t even pick one scene to give an example of it where I thought it was at its best. My personal favourite scene was one in Jarrod’s perspective where he and Farris had to confront mirror images of themselves: I absolutely loved what the scene said about their pasts, presents and fears, and how their interactions were framed by the chilling scenario.

Dorian Graves has a blog post with art of the characters and some background information about the book and various creatures featured in it, which I marked to have a closer look at after my second read, and it was so fascinating to read about certain characters and concepts and how that came through in the story.

This book really meant a lot to me, and I enjoyed every moment I was reading it. I read it a second time before writing this review to help me decide what I wanted to write about here and which line to write in calligraphy to go with it, and I enjoyed it just as much the following time and will definitely be revisiting it again in the future many more times. A brilliant, genuine story with a lot of heart, and I’m so glad to have had the experience of reading it.

This is certainly one of the most bizarre books I have read. The characters and world building are quite unique as is the plot...I think. It is this latter that makes the book difficult to get into. It is as though the story is missing several chapters or another book at the start. Characters appear fully formed with no clear backstory. Their actions the reader needs to make sense of as they go along. Sometimes you can and sometimes you either have to go with the flow or give up. Each of the characters has unique characteristics and none of them are fully human.

The flow of control alternates by chapter between the two brothers, although their relationship and point of view only really start to make a little sense when they come together. The timeline is mostly linear although there are periods of parallelism. As such the plot moves forward. One of the brothers is transgender although the reader doesn't get to know how far along this process is despite the mention of historical hormone replacement. He has a boyfriend but their intimacy is not even hinted at.

For the vast majority of the book, either 'beings' are imposing their will on or abusing the central characters or vice versa. There is some limited caring but largely the story is emotion-free.

The plot and its associated action points are generally well-paced and there is always something going on. The story consists of a series of goals, obvious or otherwise, that the lead characters need to achieve. They do this in both mundane locations as well as those that are clearly otherworldly. The writing is clear and approachable which is a key point in its favour.

At the end of the book, there is a partial resolution of themes, but there is so much that is unexplained or incomplete that it would suggest that there will be a sequel.

When I started this book I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I try not to read too much of the synopsis or to remember that much of it. I think the first 50 pages or so were a little rocky for me because of that but after that I was completely drawn into the story and I can’t wait to see if there is going to be more in this world and the Gallow Brothers.

Bones and Bourbon is told in two first person point of views. One is Retz, a half-huldra who is sharing his body with a necromancing spirit. The second is his brother Jarod who is also half-huldra with a faerie curse. The two haven’t seen each other in 10 years when supernatural life throws them together for some scheming.

One of the reasons I needed some settling was the world. There are a lot of different kind of supernatural creatures coming forward that I had never heard of. For instance huldra or hulder. I had no idea what that was. In case you were wondering, huldra comes from norse mythology and is a female that with a cow tail. It is suspected there is a whole race of them though. In this book huldra are more expanded on, given extra strength and speed for instance.

I ended up loving how everything was created though through the supernatural creatures. Unicorns for instance are not quite so bright, sparkly and full of goodness in this book. It was fantastic. I want one. The author clearly created their own image of all these creatures and myths, and worked them into the book really well. There are also more worlds than ours. That was a little more confusing but we got the information we needed. For this book anyway. There is a lot of room to be expanded on and I think at least Nalem would scream in the void forever if there wasn’t another book. Or worse.

Character wise, these guys really grew on me. Retz on his own isn’t quite so interesting but when you throw Nalem into the mix, the necromancing spirit, you get a lot of chaos. It was interesting to see their interactions, Nalem’s wants and in a way lack of control as he is stuck in someone’s body. I think I actually liked him best. Bitter revengeful little spirit. My favorite.

But I was also drawn to Jarrod in a way. He is a lot more closed off because of the situation he is in and doesn’t even tell his boyfriend everything. Jarrod is also a transsexual. Rep wise I of course have little experience with this, but from what I could see I think the rep was done well. Farris, his boyfriend, is a bit of a mystery, even from himself because he doesn’t remember anything about his previous life. We do get to know a bit nearing the end but a lot remains a secret. He is a bit of an oddball but he also reliefs a lot of tension without becoming the clown of the book.

All in all I am very pleased I found this book on Netgalley and I can’t wait to see more from this author.

The book itself:  This is full on! So many fantasies and mythological creatures and elements into one book. It was fast-paced, funny, random, and really entertaining. I really enjoyed it and laugh out loud on occasion, which is a rare thing for me. 

It does have all sorts of creatures and magical places into one book. It's got huldras, furaribi,  lamia, fairies, Harvester (death), bloody Mary, bone-spirits, unicorns, a castle in the skies, princes, a red queen and a white queen, a queen of frost, fairyland, fairy curses, goblins. All of that is packed into one book. It kind of feels like the TV show "Once Upon A Time" Where all the fairytales are interlinked and grouped into one world. This has a lot of creatures in one place that normally are not found together in the same book.

The Story: In the beginning, the story feels like there are a lot of smaller subplots put together into one large story. Even the main storyline feels like it could be a subplot in a bigger book. To be honest I'm not even 100% sure which story is the main plotline...  So its a bit strange in that sense, but I'm enjoying all the subplots and the main plot, whatever it is. 

In the end, the main storyline becomes clear and the unsolved storylines provide options for a second book in the series. YES!

The Characters:  Pretty much every single character in this book is morally grey, of different shades. Some didn't even have hearts. Literally. There was no goody two shoe character, but no truly evil either. It was a mishmash of grey wonder

There are several LGBT+ characters in here. No explanation given, no explanation needed. I'm feed-up with characters who always explains why they find so-and-so attractive, blah blah blah. 

For you how needs a list there are gay, trans, and asexual characters in here.

Retz is the main guy and the youngest brother and he's pretty cool I think. It's tricky to get a feel for him in the beginning as there are two characters in one here. He never really talks about himself much and is almost always living two lives, one for himself and one for Nalem. But you do really feel that he is the youngest brother. Even Nalem is constantly taking care of him and telling him what to do. An understanding of him will creep in throughout the book, both through his own actions and through his brother Jarrod's view and thoughts.

It takes a couple of chapters before you get an understanding of who Jarred is. You get a feel for him along the way but when things become clear it all falls into place and I felt I understood the character more than Retz. I really liked Jarrod, but he's got some serious issues. I feel more emotionally connected with Jarrod than with Retz and I think that has something to do with Retz not being himself 100% of the time. Jarrod, with all his problems, is fully himself. He does not share his body with anyone and has suffered alone for many years. Retz is never alone and always has someone there to comfort or tell him what to do. I almost prefer Jarrod of the two brothers. Almost.

Nalem is an interesting character and information about him is drip-feed into the story and his background slowly unravels. I like how he actually cares (a little bit) about Retz even though he's supposed to be this "I have no empathy, die all!" - type character  He does do some shitty stuff or gets Retz to do it for him, but in the end, I like him too.

Ferris I think is my favourite character. He is Jarrod boyfriend and sidekick. He's funny and charming and they have a constant playful banter going. He does have a problem with his memory, which is a subplot in this book. And might evolve into something more in a later book *hopes*

I think I like all the characters in this book.

No, wait. I'm not a fan of Alexander. He is too far gone into the darkness. The rest is lovable

Writing: The writing style is quick and quirky which I really liked. I can almost hear the writers personality through it. That might also be because the writing style when I read it in my head, sounds like someone I know...

The story is written from two perspectives; Retz and Jarrod's. Both are told in the first person which makes it a lot easier to tell apart. It also helps that Retz has internal dialogues with Nalem, while Jarrod has a boyfriend he talks to and is concerned for. So telling the perspectives apart is easy.

The writing is fluid but sometimes chunky. I don't know if that even makes sense to you, but it does to me. There are occasions when I feel a word is missing for the sentence for it to make complete sense to me, but that could be a writing style thing mixed with my level of English (second language but fluent)

Overall: I thoroughly enjoy this adventure and would definitely pick up other stuff from this author. It was funny, very entertaining and full of weird and wonderful things. But I think the main storyline and the book itself could have been stronger. There was plenty of room for more meat on this skinny thing.

Also considering the title, bourbon wasn't even mentioned before halfway through the book... not cool. I don't like beer.

As I said several times already I really liked this book and I hope this will become a series. The is so much potential with this world and its characters. I can't wait to see what the author does next.