2 stars.

I have to be honestly this book set itself up WAY too high for me. The beginning chapters were like reading straight out of the history book. There's establishing a family tree and background and then there's a 6 hour presentation on ancestory.com. This leaned more towards the second. But besides just that, there were so much HYPE and build up but the story just crumbled. Perhaps this would have been better off as a series. I was getting lost over and over again. Too many side plots, too many magically but not quite magically things happening in a book that just made everything feel so mundane and boring.

“They cannot burn every single woman, tempting though it might be.”

This was such an interesting read!

All the Murmuring Bones is about a girl named Miren, who belongs to a family that once prospered because of a deal struck with the Mer. Over the years, however, the family has become unable to keep up their end of the bargain and have fallen into decline. Miren’s grandmother is determined to restore their glory, even at the price of her granddaughter’s freedom but Miren is determined to choose her own path in life.

I loved the plot of this book. It genuinely read like a fairytale and I highly enjoyed the way the story was told. I really liked the little secrets about Miren’s family and their history that were uncovered throughout the story as well, as it added another level of intrigue to the novel.

While we meet many characters in this book, its main focus is on our protagonist, Miren. We follow her journey throughout the novel, watching as she deals with whatever obstacle is thrown her way. I really enjoyed reading about Miren. She’s clever, determined and constantly underestimated by those around her. I love the way she takes control of her life and does whatever is necessary in order to be free. I also liked that, despite growing up starved for love and affection, she still ensures to be kind to everyone around her.

I liked the writing. One thing I especially loved was the creatures that are scattered throughout this book. We meet Mer, Kelpies and ghosts and witches and spell craft are also constantly mentioned. This created such a magical setting and I wish we had seen more of this element. The world building fell short to me, especially as I could never even pinpoint what exact time period we were in so certain things kept pulling me out of the story. It just felt extremely surface level. The writing on a whole, in fact, fell a bit flat. As much as I loved Mirren, I still felt unable to truly connect with her and there were times in the book where I had to really push through.

Overall though, I really liked the vibes of this one and I’d certainly recommend it to fans of fairytales.

I have had a streak of amazing reads so far in 2021. So when I say that All the Murmuring Bones is absolutely, without a doubt, my favourite read of the year so far, know that this means this is truly a special read.

All the Murmuring Bones follows Miren, last of the true O’Malleys. The O’Malleys are an old, mysterious family, unafraid of making dark deals to ensure their line’s prosperity. When one of these dealings sees Miren’s freedom at stake, she takes her future into her own hands, even if it means leaving all that she knows behind.

This is exactly the kind of fantasy novel I love best. Dark and rich, the writing here is the literary equivalent of velvet. The worldbuilding is also absolutely beautiful and so well-balanced; the author never resorts to info-dumps in order to immerse the reader in her world. Instead, the novel’s universe unfurls piece by piece as Miren’s journey unfolds. At first, in fact, there’s very little to suggest this novel isn’t set within our own world at some unspecified point in the past, but as the story wears on, it becomes clear that we are very much in a fantasy world, filled with witches, assassins, mermaids, and every manner of creature in between.

While I adored the atmosphere of this novel, the heart of All the Murmuring Bones is Miren. While not without her flaws, Miren is a strong young woman, not afraid to fight for what she wants and her values. Her journey made for extremely compelling reading for me, and I loved watching her grapple with her identity outside of just being an O’Malley.

Another really interesting element to both the plot and the worldbuilding here in this novel were the short stories interspersed throughout the main plot. Part folktale, part O’Malley family history, these stories made for fascinating building blocks to explain Miren’s family’s past, as well as the universe she exists in. The author mentions in her author’s note that these stories are versions of some of her own earlier short stories, which just further compounded that I definitely need to get my hands on more of her works!

I have nothing but glowing words for this wonderful modern gothic tale. Anyone who enjoys dark fantasy with hints of horror and plenty of folkloric elements would be doing themselves a disservice by not picking up All the Murmuring Bones.

Described as a “dark gothic fairy tale,” this book will definitely appeal to those looking for a unique approach to fantasy and fairy tales.

Thank you @netgalley and @titanbooks for the eARC. I just hope I can capture my feelings as clearly as the tone, syntax, and aura of this book captured the imagery of the tale.

I typically start with my thoughts on the author’s approach to characterization; however, in this case, I must start with the language. When I first started reading, I felt, literally felt, the tones of regal, classic novels. There was a sophistication in the presentation of the history of the O’Malley family and their Seafaring empire that just made me think 1800s self-made royalty. I pictured big ball gowns and candlelit castles.

This language continued throughout the book, but it became a little more modern as the plot line was rolled out and developed. But in no way is this a bright and colorful book; it’s dark and brooding. As I played the action in my head, it always appeared like there was a creepy haze. But, oh, the gothic, eerie atmosphere is intricately woven into the story as well that you can’t help but enjoy it.

The first few chapters were a little slow moving, and there were points where the book almost felt like a different novellas. I wasn’t sure where the author was going with it all with the slight feeling of disconnection I was experiencing between the events in the three different settings. But, these pieces did all come together in a page-turning climax. I felt fulfilled and satisfied with the conclusion, which isn’t always how I feel.

I had a little bit of a love-hate relationship with Miren, the protagonist, though. I was intrigued by the legacies that bind to the mistakes made from long ago generations as she is the last “pure” O’Malley. I appreciate her wisdom, quick thinking, and intuition. She’s pretty good at playing “the game,” too, and she has many opportunities to showcase this talent. However, there were major moments and events that should change a person’s life which are just presented in a very nonchalant fashion. A few scenes ended, and I was just like, “That’s it? Really?” I wondered if Miren had any emotion.

There are mer-people and zombie-esque beings and subtle, hidden magic. There is lore and family legends that even members of the family try to cover up. It has a myriad of characters with secrets and motivations. It has hidden identities and agendas. Don’t forget it has really mean, revengeful mer-people. What's not to love with all this?

All The Murmuring Bones will be released on March 9, 2021, and it is totally worth adding to your 2021 TBR list. It’s different and unique, and that made it refreshing, in a dark sort of way. I may look twice before I jump into a lake from now on.

It’s an easy 4 out of 5 stars for me.

As a frequent reader of dark short stories, prolific author Angela Slatter has popped up on my radar a couple of times, and I’m always impressed by her ease in weaving the magical with the horrifying. I have a huge soft spot for anything involving the sea, and the mysteries therein, so All the Murmuring Bones was a must-read.

The O’Malleys have had a strangle-hold on their community for as long as anyone can remember. The family’s riches and success, seemingly without logical explanation, have ensured they have established the reputation of fear and respect. However, the O’Malley’s fortunes are failing, and there are only a few remaining “true” O’Malleys remaining.

One of the last O’Malleys is Miren, an unfortunate young girl, abandoned by her parents, and left to live with her strict grandparents. Eager to continue the family line, Miren’s grandmother tries to force Miren into a marriage with her violent cousin. Understandably, Miren is having none of it, and having found some hidden letters from her mother to her grandfather, heads off to discover the truth about her parents.

Miren sets off on a quest where she encounters murderous merfolk, disgruntled ghosts, young werewolves, all while constantly trying to evade her cousin’s relentless pursuit. And that’s just a quick summary! This epic adventure unfolds in such an exciting way. Every chapter contains at least “OMG!” moment.

Slatter creates such a vivid world, I was instantly engrossed, and could visualize every step of Miren’s journey. The interwoven folk tales, taken from Slatter’s Sourdough world, are disturbing enough to be completely believable. No spoilers, but a story about three children going to a sea cave, convinced me that this was absolutely my kind of book.

Miren is a complete badass. What a memorable character. Her tenacity and heart make her utterly believable and relatable. I really hope Slatter’s upcoming 2022 novel, Morwood, is a continuation of her journey. The Slatter shared universe? Yes please!

I think fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s amazing Mexican Gothic will love this book. It’s a great mix of fantasy, horror, and drama, with an incredibly strong central female character.

I am so grateful to Titan for allowing me to read an ARC. I cannot wait to force this book into the hands of everyone I speak to.

3.5/5 stars

Thanks for NetGalley and Titan Books for letting me read this book early. All opinions are my own.

All the Murmuring Bones is a creepy book in the best way. It is unsettling in the way you might expect from a book about sea creatures and family debts.

A.G. Slatter manages to create a low-fantasy world full of ghosts, witches, and sea-creatures that still feels like the world we know. The book is slow at first as you are introduced to the complex world but it picks up about a third of the way in and from there you won't want to put it down.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to friends who like fantasy and myth (and quite possibly to friends who don't). Although, I'm not sure if I would recommend it to people who live alone (it was scary sometimes!).

The writing style of this author feels similar to that of Alexandra Bracken. I love the story idea and it was very well executed! The dialogue is real and would definitely encourage me to read more by this author.

The fact that I read my way through this one in less than 48 hours says a lot—this is a fascinating, detailed, and just plain good book.
It was full of the aforementioned details, which I loved; the world-building drew me in and left me wanting even more. Additionally, the main character was very likable and relatable, and I found myself almost as eager and frustrated as she was in her effort to escape her circumstances. Mired was a very likable lead, and I can’t wait to re-visit Hob’s Hollow! 4/5 ⭐️!

I have to say I was a little bit disappointed with this book. After seeing the cover and reading the synopsis, I was so excited when I got accepted to read this as I thought the storyline would go in a different direction than it did.

The very first chapter felt like a bit of a backstory to the O’Malley’s and I almost feel like it would’ve been labelled better as a prologue. The overall start of All the Murmuring Bones was slow, and I wanted a bit more action to begin with to get me hooked into the story. The story picked up for me in the second half and I enjoyed that a lot more than the first. As I said earlier, it was not at all where I thought the story was going to go. Whilst the mer were weaved into the story, they did not have as much involvement as I thought they would, which was one of the things I was looking forward to. This book involved more running away from the mer than actually dealing with them. If you are reading this for mermaids, then in my opinion it is not worth it, as that is not what this book is about.

‘There was something not quite right with the O’Malleys: they didn’t fear like others of their ilk.’

Despite this, the story was interesting and unique. I liked the folkloric elements and the involvement of the kelpie, and also witchcraft. However, these felt more like additions to the story than major players. I enjoyed the world building aspect and created images in my mind of the beautiful but dark mansion, compared to a better lit mansion in the second half. The writing of this was beautiful but not necessarily something I’m used to, as I found the pacing to be quite slow, which made me lose interest at different parts of the story.

‘They cannot burn every single woman, tempting though it might be.’

After Miren’s grandfather dies, her grandmother, Aoife, plans for her to marry a distant cousin, Aiden, in order to keep the O’Malley bloodline strong. Aiden is very handsy and controlling and Miren is completely against this marriage. I liked the storyline of Miren escaping wicked men and becoming her own strong independent woman, which continued through to the end of the book. I felt like there was a sudden change in Miren’s character from the first few chapters where she appears in a way submissive. After the announcement of this marriage, she begins to take on aspects that are normally seen in morally grey characters, (which I love). This book felt like a journey of finding yourself, independent to your family, and creating a story for you.

‘It makes me wonder how can anyone escape such creatures when all waters in the world are joined?’

There were some twists that I was not expecting that helped maintain my interest. However, I found this hard to follow at times and it did not grip me as much as I wanted it to. I think my expectations for this book were too high as I was left feeling disappointed when it did not deliver the amazing book I wished to read. This book had so much potential, and I did enjoy it but I didn’t love it. For people who like slow paced, beautifully and intricately written books, this is for you!

Thank you to Net Galley and Titan Books for giving me a free ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book started off slowly with a lot of lore and stories about the powerful and well feared O'Malley family. In order for the family to continue to prosper they needed to feed at least one child to the mer. Miren's grandmother was hoping to finally have a child produced to give to the mer by tricking Miren into marriage.

The description and storytelling in this book is very well thought out and described. The background detail is very thorough and gives you a good idea of how Miren became the women she is. I felt the story was a little slow at times and would build up to moments that did leave me underwhelmed. Such as Miren finding out what happened to her parents. For me there was just too many unanswered questions at times. However this book did a very good job a telling stories and keeping me interested by doing that.

This is a book packed with so much story. At first I wasn't sure what to expect and it took a second to get immersed in the story, but as I kept reading, the story and the lore grew slowly and steadily. When you think you've found the climax, you're surprised by a new one a few chapters later. "All the Murmuring Bones" gives you all your dark fairytale desires-just like the fairytales used to-from ghosts, wights, merpeople, and even more. I loved how so many classic and creepy creatures were woven into the story, making it seem like an old tale, but new.

It all begins with Miren, the loss of her grandfather, and a deal their ancestors made with merfolk. When Miren is to be married to a cousin to keep the family lineage intact, she is forced to make choices about who she is and where she is meant to be. She proves to be a very strong and interesting protagonist, as we learn new things about her life and see her change and twist as she has to reckon with these challenges. The creatures and people she meets along the way keep the story involving and mesmerizing.

If you grew up on tales of unicorns and mermaids, and enjoy the long-ago fairytales with dark sides, like Grimms', then you might want to give this book a go!

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Long ago, the O'Malleys made a deal with the sea.

The firstborn was to always be protected, wearing a silver bell around their neck and a brand on their hip to mark them.

The secondborn was to be given to the church, so that the people of their community wouldn't fear them.

The third, the spare, was to be given to the sea in exchange for wealth and prosperity.

Miren is the last true O'Malley remaining. After generations of inbreeding to keep the family blood pure, the once great O'Malleys have been whittled down to just a single heir. The tithe is overdue and the family fortune has been lost.

Her grandmother Aoife keeps her in near-seclusion at the family home of Hob's Hallow. Aoife plans to restore the O'Malley name by marrying Miren off to a rich man who will give her lots of children so that the ritual may continue as before.

Miren is resistant to being pawned off like this, and she certainly does not want the old sacrificial ways to continue. All she wants is some semblance of control over her fate and a place she truly feels at home.

Escaping the weight of her family name is more difficult than she could imagine, however, and she must face the fact that the sea will eventually have its due.

-----

I had very little idea of what to expect of All the Murmuring Bones. The cover and the promise of mermaids certainly drew me in. Eventually I came to realize this was quite the gothic historical fantasy. One part The Bear and the Nightingale and another part Alias Grace, perhaps? I'm still trying to sort out my exact thoughts on this.

On one hand I loved the atmosphere. The merpeople as well were delightfully creepy. The stakes that Miren faces feel truly high, and I was rooting for her throughout the whole story.

On the other hand, I had a hard time grasping what this novel really wanted to be. The start is a bit slow - we open at a funeral and Miren spends a lot of time in her near-empty family estate. I knew there were merpeople going into this, but that's about as far as I expected the fantasy element to go. As the story progresses, however, Miren very casually faces many other mythical creatures and uses spells (despite stating many times that she's not a true witch). I'm not necessarily against that, but for the first third of the book I was under the impression that we were in a much more realistic world than that. There was also an automaton that, while interesting, left me scratching my head at what the point of it was. It felt like the author had a lot of interesting ideas but not all of them meshed well.

I will say, however, that I really enjoyed the last half of this story. The mystery was really intriguing and it was interesting to watch Miren finally get the chance to come into her own. I can't say much else without spoiling it, but while I struggled to get through the first half I found I couldn't put it down in the second half.


Thank you to NetGalley and Titan books for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The cover caught my attention with this one. I am a huge fan of literary genre writing and the gothic genre really showcases some of the greatest examples of psychological writing with layered characters.

What is extra special with this is the mix of folklore into the gothic setting – it feels natural and not forced.

I loved the imagery that Slatter creates. The language really sings and flows but I felt the internal dialogue in places was laboured and overly long. I did find myself skimming across some sections. The pacing felt a bit odd in places and so I found myself re-reading and wondering if I was missing a beat – was this intentional? A story-telling mechanism? I couldn’t tell.

A solid 3/5.

Sometimes, all you need to break with tradition is a lot of will. In Miren O’Malley’s case, it takes a lot of will and for a lot of people to shuffle off their mortal coils. In A.G. Slatter’s wonderfully untraditional fantasy novel, All the Murmuring Bones, we get the story of the very last of the O’Malley clan. The family was once powerful, ruling over land and sea from their great house. I’m not sure if it would make the people of Breakwater feel any better if they knew that all that power came from a diabolical bargain with magical creatures, but I know there would’ve been a lot more pitchforks. Miren, however, is not particularly interested in rebuilding the family fortunes. She’d be just as happy if the great house fell into the raging sea.

All the Murmuring Bones begins at a funeral. Miren’s grandfather has just died, one of the last of the true O’Malleys. Miren expected that the death would be just another nail in the family coffin, so to speak. Her grandmother and icky cousin, however, have different ideas—ideas that Miren is very much opposed to. As the plot starts to ramp up, we get snatches of stories that slowly explain where the O’Malleys got their power from and fill in some of the details of Miren’s magical world. I loved every bit of it. Slatter’s imagination is brilliantly original, borrowing from a bunch of European folk tales to create something refreshingly new.

The first third or so throws so many obstacles in Miren’s path that all she can think to do is run away. Before her grandfather dies, Miren quietly works around her grandmother’s dictates. Without her grandfather around, Miren’s grandmother gets bolder and a lot harder to ignore. Miren is forced to find the courage to strike out into a world she has largely been sheltered from. Not only does Miren have hidden depths, she also has all the knowledge that she’s collected from years of reading stories that help her when she encounters a kelpie, a trio of ghosts, and a village tucked away behind a hedge.

Like so many books that I fall in love with, I wanted All the Murmuring Bones to be longer. I wanted more of the magical world Slatter created. And I absolutely wanted more of Miren’s adventures. She is a fantastic character who, in spite of all the incredible things around her, is quietly competent in the face of a whole lot of scheming. This book is amazing!

The premise of this book set my expectations especially high, as I was intrigued by how it was described as a dark gothic fairytale involving witches and mermaids. However, I was disappointed as the book ended up being something else entirely, and did not live up to what I thought it would be. Despite that, there were some parts of this book that I enjoyed, though several bits of it felt slow and dragged a lot while I was reading. I also had trouble connecting to the main character, Miren, which also ended up affecting my opinions.

I just loved this mythical dark story.

The beginning of the book didn't grab me right away, but I found that the story has a certain cadence and rhythm to it that just lulls you into the story and then before you know it you are lost within the pages and you can't put it down.

There are stories within stories in this clever and dark mystery within a dark fairy tale type setting. Although it is definitely not your average fairy tale.

I found this story extremely satisfying and I could almost re-read it immediately upon finishing.

Definitely a 5 star read and my favourite book so far of this year.

This book made me think of a patchwork quilt sewn with dark magic with all those little-whimsical stories embedded in the main plot. I love its gloomy atmosphere. Miren is a strong, independent, and clever girl. But at first, I couldn't guess her age range, I thought of her as a little child.

Strongly recommended to the readers who love some dark stories and want to read something to give them goosebumps!

All the Murmuring Bones will be published by Titan Books, an independent UK publisher. I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All the Murmuring Bones is a gorgeous book, with some of my favorite gothic horror elements: once-great family now fallen, mysterious homes, marriage (threatened, in this case) to a terrible man, family secrets. Added to that are fairy tales and magical creatures, and a protagonist who just wants to live a life of her own. I'm not used to seeing the gothic and the fairytale side by side in this way (mysterious family house! protagonist is granted a boon in exchange for a kindness! another mysterious family house!) but I could definitely get used to it; the two of them aren't so different as all that. They each have their formulas, and each allow for liberties.

I really liked that Miren was running too something as much as she was running away. It gave her journey a fixed point, and it also gave her a more solid and interesting (to me) motivation. And for all that she tried not to be like her family, her moments of ruthlessness were a joy to read. Miren is fairly distant- she grew up mostly alone, and the story isn't about the power of friendship and community- but I thought that added rather than detracted to the character. I can see how some people might find that off-putting, though.

I definitely thought there would be more mermaids, and possibly selkies. They're present, but in the same way ghosts are in gothic novels. There is a selkie story, and it's wonderful, but it's not the plot of the book. Once I got into the story, though, I dropped that expectation, and, while I would never say no to more of Slatter's creepy mermaids, I will admit they weren't needed. I could have done with more horror, as well, but again, the story worked perfectly well without it.

The prose is gorgeous and very flowing- I'm glad Slatter likes writing this sort of fairy-taleish fantasy, because her writing is great for setting that sort of atmosphere. Also, the title is really cool. I'm happy I read this, and I'll definitely look to check out her next book (and also her short stories- I've read one or two but not any of the ones that are set in the same world).

A.G. Slatter’s debut novel is one of intrigue and mystery. I must admit that it drew me in rather slowly, because I couldn’t quite figure out what type of story I was reading, but after the first few chapters I was simply swept away my Miren, her old family stories, and the world she moves through, so like and unlike our own. A world populated by all the creatures that lurk on the edge of stories.

The tale follows Miren, a young woman who lives at Hob’s Head, a great stately home built on a cliff by the first O’Malleys hundreds of years before. They built and prospered, because of the deal struck with the mer in the seas below, but in the present, in Miren’s time, their glory has fallen. Their ships do not return, their property lies in ruin, and they no longer produce many offspring due to the years of inbreeding. Miren is the last true O’Malley left, and when her grandfather dies she is determined to find a way out of Hob’s Head and her grandmother’s schemes to rebuild the family fortune through her. Not wanting to be sold as a prize, Miren runs away, chasing a family secret she stumbled upon in her grandfather’s library, and along the way her path crosses many others, such as a troupe of performers with a surprising act, an imprisoned kelpie, vengeful ghosts, and a hidden village around a lake of salt. She is running not only from the future others have chosen for her, but also from the past she had no say in, as three mer haunt he through her journey, with the cryptic phrase: ‘When you are gone then we will be free.’

The book is narrated in first person by Miren, and she is the one the reader has most contact with – the world and all its other characters are seen through her, but I didn’t find this limiting at all. She is a fascinating character, who manages to be kind as well as independent and self-serving. She is the perfect heroine in a world in which men expect women to simply bow their heads in obedience, and I love her cunning, her story telling, and her little magics.

This book has the feel of an old folk tale in many ways, though the text itself is full of stories remembered by Miren from the old O’Malley book, which lends to its credibility and pads the world out more. I’m sure that this book will sit on my shelf, whispering its stories to me, and that when I return to its pages once more I will find even more incredible little details that I missed the first time, and I greatly look forward to anything else of this kind that A. G. Slatter might write.

Mermaids, kelpies, and ghosts, oh my! All the Murmuring Bones by Hannah Mathewson is the latest fantasy book to be released by Titan Books, and is full of dark and Gothic atmosphere.

The book tells the tale of Miren O'Malley, a young woman who's grown up in the sheltered confines of Hobs Hallow, the ancestral home of her family, the once rich and powerful O'Malley's. When the family was young they commanded fear and respect, their vast wealth and fierceness making them one of the strongest groups around; but over the years their bloodline has dwindled, and with it their fortunes.

Miren is the 'last' O'Malley, the last member of the family born with the name, and the strongest claim to the blood. Over the centuries the family has expanded and the bloodline diluted, and whilst there are many who can trace their family back to the O'Malley's, Miren is the last of them. With her parents dead, she's been raised by her fierce and at times uncaring grandparents, but when her grandfather dies it begins to unravel things.

With their debts mounting and their home falling into disrepair her grandmother, Aoife, hatches a plan. Miren is set to marry her cousin, Aidan Fitzpatrick, a rich merchant who has promised to clear the O'Malley debts and restore the family to a position of power. The only problem is, Miren doesn't want to marry Aidan.

The initial set up to All The Murmuring Bones is an intriguing one, and readers are introduced to this ancient family when they're at their lowest point. Once commanding great power, able to oppose the will of even the church, the family is a shadow of what it once was. Despite this, we see some of the greatness they used to have in Aoife, an imposing woman who still acts like she power and position to command anything.

Despite having grown up under her influence, Miren is very much unlike her grandmother, and is used to the somewhat simple life she has. She doesn't crave power, or want the finest things, and sees the last remaining servants at Hobs Hallow as friends, if not family. She's a kind and decent person despite the things she's been through; and because of this those around her consider her weak, an easy pawn in their games.

This is one of the things that I really loved about Miren, the fact that at the beginning of the book people like Aoife and Aidan believe that they can do whatever they want, that they can force Miren to be anything they want, but are so wrong. The readers quickly get to discover that there's a whole lot more to Miren than we first realise; and it's little surprise considering the woman who raised her. Miren knows when to fight, when to deceive, and when if necessary strike out at others. She has a strength that she likes to keep hidden, one that makes her dangerous.

When events begin to spiral out of her control we begin to see this power that she has when she confronts her grandmother, when she defies Aidan. We see the defiance that lies beneath the surface, the woman who has learnt from her grandmother to never be a pawn in another's game, and who chooses to take matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, she's never fully in control, and when Aoife is killed and she's trapped in her home with her future husband she takes the only course of action she can, fleeing.

This is when the book takes a very different turn, as Aoife sets out to track down her parents, who she has discovered never actually died. From here the book becomes a story about her journey, and the dangers that she encounters on the way. Not only is this one of the more exciting parts of the book, and further continues to show the strength that Miren has, but has some incredible world building in it too.

We'd had hints of this before this, of some of the creatures that inhabit this world, but it's not until Miren sets out to find her family that we really get a sense of the kinds of creatures that are out there. Mermaids, kelpies, ghosts, and the undead are just some of the creatures that she encounters on her journey.

There's a constant sense that we're only ever seeing the very surface of what this world has to offer, that there's a lot ore hiding in the shadows, just out of sight. Thanks to the things that Miren comes across, and the stories she tells along the way, we get a bit of a hint of just how frightening this world is. But it's not this that does the most world building, but the fairytales we hear along the way. Occasionally recounted by Miren to others, and other times simply remembered from her childhood, we get to see glimpses into the dark and twisted tales that she grew up with.

Where other books are happy to let readers discover things as they are encountered, or perhaps offer reams of background information and expository narrative All The Murmuring Bones takes a different, much more interesting approach. By showing us the stories that Miren, and others, grew up with we're seeing not just the kinds of things that inhabit this world, but the way people there are raised. They grow up hearing these stories, learning about these creatures. It's no surprise then that it feel like a much darker and more dangerous place, where everyone seems to be on their guard; it's because they've been raised since childhood to fear what lurks in the waters, the forests, and the dark corners of the world. The casual way that we learn there's a kingdom of vampires in a neighbouring country isn't even shocking come that point, because of course there are places like that in this world, where the dead and the monstrous rule all.

I adored the way that Hannah Mathewson interwove these moments of history with the narrative, and it meant that you never knew what was coming next, or what was important. Were these simply stories being told to pass the time, to reflect on this history of this world, or were these things that Miren was going to encounter and have to deal with? The book always managed to keep me guessing what was coming next, and the fact that by the time Miren manages to find the village where her parents settled there was still a good chunk of the book left took me by surprise. I was so sure that the book was going to be about her journey, the adventures she had on the road, that I never expected that there was going to be so much more to it than that; and that the dangers and mysteries had only really just began.

All The Murmuring Bones managed to pack in a ton of content, it wove a story that kept evolving and changing, yet never felt too ridiculous or far removed from what came before it. We got to know an incredibly strong and interesting female lead who demonstrated a variety of guises over the course of the story, who was able to demonstrate all of her strengths and prove that she was more than worthy of being a hero to aspire to be. It was a book that I was sad to see finish, because I'd come to love every moment of it.