I'm not a huge novella person but I really enjoyed this one. I'm not sure how well my typical standards are for novellas due to their shorter nature and lack of plot but for what there was it was great. I did get invested in the characters and the plot. Obviously Underhill wouldn't have had a lot of time for plot and character development but I thought that with the time she had, she did well.

This is a sapphic twist on Eurydice and Orpheus. The premise of this is good, but it is a novella (it's around 160 pages) so it is too short to have the depth that I was looking for regarding characters and world-building. The relationship is already established in the book, so you don't get the character development of them falling in love. I am so not used to the relationship already being established that I was wondering if they were even the main/actual couple (even though this is a play on Eurydice and Orpheus so that is really on me). The first half of this I did really enjoy and I would be willing to pick up other works by the author, but overall, it fell just a bit flat.
We do love the cover however!!

I have to say, this would be excellent for anyone looking for a quick, sweet, fantastical read. Unfortunately, I wish this had been longer so that it could have properly developed the characters, the plot, and the worldbuilding. I think all three of these elements were okay, but could have left a larger, more satisfying impact had they simply been given more time. I didn't let the fact that this is a novella effect my rating, but I'm starting to realize I'm just not really a fan of novellas in general.

I still sympathized with the characters despite my brief time with them, and I loved that - though this had dark and grim moments - this had such cozy, 'curled up on the couch with tea and a sleeping cat in a witch's cottage surrounded by dried herbs, potted plants on a rainy day while my wife is concocting potions and healing salves' vibes. As mentioned by a previous reviewer on Goodreads, this had a similar tone and feeling to Ghibli films. It's whimsical and fantastical, and as mentioned before, very cozy. I liked our main characters and the world they lived in - I simply wanted more and was left feeling only somewhat satisfied.

This was a good book. It did take me a while to get into it, but I did enjoy the read. There were a few things that I wasn’t quite as enthused about.

I really feel like this could have been a much longer story. It just seemed like with some added details and delving deeper into the world would have made this a great read. It just seemed there wasn’t enough to go on.

The characters were decent and I loved the back story for Teagan and Cressidae. If there was more of their love story, it would have really added to the book. And when they are reunited at the end it just seemed short and a bit anticlimactic. I wish the ending had been fleshed out a little more and we got to see more of their loving and passionate relationship when they were finally together again.

So basically my only complaint is that there should have been more. It’s a good enough story to become great with… more. I always love a good lgbtqia+ read, but more so when I get to hear more about their relationship. Just saying…

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I must preface by saying I would have liked this story to be longer. Novellas tend to suffer from a lack of world-building and character-development due to their truncated length (The Bone Way was a mere 162 pages long), a fate which this book suffered from, to an extent. However, it was redeemed by the interesting story. In it, we follow Teagan as she sought to rescue her wife, Cressidae, from the Shadow Realm. I read it in an afternoon and definitely enjoyed it, but not as much as I had hoped I would.

It is touted as a f/f Orpheus/Eurydice retelling, and if that sounds like your jam, definitely give it a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I rushed for an ARC when I heard about a sapphic retelling of Orpheus & Eurydice. I love myth retellings and this novella didn’t disappoint.

The Bone Way is a very short book, but still packs what a long book can hold. I think the pacing was a little off, but I cant judge it for that, especially with how small the novella is.

We need more queer tellings and I’m happy that I got a chance to read this. The cover is beautiful, the writing is lovely and is overall a wonderful sapphic story.

I picked up this book because the description seemed really interesting, and I was in need of a short read. For the first half or so on, the rhythm had some issues, and I dragged myself because the journey was interesting, but the pace was off. But when it got to the last third, the story got so much better and I just couldn't stop reading.

The characters were really interesting. I deeply enjoy stories about couples who are already together for a while, making things different from the usual getting-to-know-each-other books. I also liked how the flashbacks linked to what was happening in the story, expanding the main relationship and the world around them.

In 160 pages, The Bone Way packs a rich atmospheric punch to indulge in one sitting. It was an enjoyable dip into a dark world Holly J. Underhill created, with hints of suspense and everlasting intrigue.
In my reading experience, there wasn't enough time away from the deep worldbuilding to spend on the characters, which seemed to be the forgoing downside of the short story. However, on the bright side, there was an imaginative look to the world, what lies just out of the character's sight, and what they're willing to risk for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful, fast-paced journey for love

Cress, Teagan's wife, has gone to the Shadow Realm in one last attempt to save Teagan's life. Teagan doesn't intend to let her wife suffer through the dangers the journey entails alone so she decides to go there too and find her. Their love for one another is the only thing that can save them from death.

I really loved this novella. First, it's about love, sapphic love and it was absolutely beautiful. It's also sort of a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice and I really liked the vibe it gave off. It was fast-paced, with just the right amount of description to properly depict the Shadow Realm and the different "trials" Teagan had to go through. I loved the different flashbacks of how the two women met, how Teagan ended up poisoned and how much they loved each other. The atmosphere of the book is both dark because what happens is dangerous and deadly, but beautiful because of the love that pushes them to go on. I also really liked the "mythology" part with the Shadow Princess and her backstory of how she came to become what she is. The writing was pleasant and quite beautiful too. I loved Teagan and Cress both. Strong, passionnate and powerful women devoted to one another. I adored their relationship and the way they trusted each other so completely and were to intend to save one another from everything that threatened to keep them apart.

I definitely recommend this beautiful novella of fantasy, love and a dangerous journey to the underworld.

"Teagan knew, even then, she'd follow that smile anywhere."

I enjoyed this book but felt it would of benefited a longer story and more world building. I loved the relationship between Cress and Teagan but I did find all the flashbacks a bit all over the place.

All things considered—this was a fairly decent book for how short it was. The polar opposites queer duo, character development, the non overly romanticize plot, and how the author touched based on death and mental struggles were my favorite portions of the read. Otherwise—a little bland. The writing style wasn’t up to par with what I envision for the novel, like I can't say this book was rich and fluid because it wasn't and there was a lack of chemistry, and dragful scenes that had me skim here and there. Ultimately, this novel has the capability to hold your attention till the last page.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel.

Was really excited for the book, but it was a little underwhelming and I couldn't eep myself interested in it for long.

First of all, I want to thank Netgallley for giving me an advanced review copy of this book, all in exchange for my honest review.

The Bone Way it's about Taegan, a girl who has been bitten by a magical creature from another realm, where she has to deal with the shadow princess so she can live longer, meanwhile her wife Cress had been lost.

This is a short story that is very fast paced, but I don't know if this would have been different the book could have been a little better.

The world that it was created, a world that we barely got to know, and that really doesn't have a lot of properties that were mentioned before.

I was intrigued all the way in the book, but really I was bored, and confused, yeah, this book does have a deeper meaning but I think the book really needs something more to show it off.

I am going to rate it 3 stars out of 5, it is really the best thing, but surely it is not the worst that I had seen.

Thanks again to the publisher.

I enjoyed the idea of this story but something didn't quite click for me. I think I needed more development to really root for the romance, and the flashbacks felt a bit jarring/ confusing.

This book had a very interesting premise, but a very underwhelming execution. The author seemed to almost skip the worldbuilding entirely, making this book feel like the second book in a series. This story was very complex, but the author attempted to fit it into a very short book. The short aspect of this book made the relationships, and character building much less compelling. And the relationship being already established made this much less interesting, I prefer to watch my romances blossom. This book had a lot of potential, but simply missed the mark in my opinion. Definitely still a good book, and a very quick read to anyone interested.

Unfortunately this is a DNF review from me today. I was so excited about the premise of this book, but it turned out to be a lot shorter than I was expecting. The reason I found this difficult was that a lot of the important scenes as well as character backstory felt very rushed through. It made it so I couldn't really connect to the characters and for that reason, I wasn't pulled to finish the story. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

The Bone Way is a novel about two women, Teagan and Cressidae, who go on a journey to save each other from early deaths. Their love for each other is strong and it helps them through their travels. They travel into the Shadow Realm and must complete the four smaller realms to reach the Shadow Princess. Once there, they make a deal, reminiscent of the deal Orpheus and his wife, Eurydice, made to escape the Underworld in Greek myth.

The novella is well written but lacks the world building details it needed to truly establish the story. Each realm is fascinating but needed more love in their creation to let the readers imagine what was happening. The chapters struggled to flow together, feeling like separate stories that left me able to put the book down instead of pushing through. The novella would have definitely benefitted from being written as a novel instead. The short and sweet aspect didn't do the story justice.

On top of the lack of worldbuilding, the romance is left lacking as well. There are flashbacks that help establish them as characters, but the romance feels rushed and almost nonexistent. The romance is merely told to the reader, but not felt.

Overall, this sapphic retelling was 3 out of 5 stars. It would have benefitted from length and details, as well as passion. It is a great concept, but didn't live up to its potential.

I received an advance reader's copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book wasn't at all what I expected. It felt like the author was world-building far too much and talking about all the unimportant details in this short novella. I expected a quick read, but The Bone Way dragged for me.
The tension could have been so much higher. I wanted to care more about Teagan and her wife from the first page before going on an adventure like this with them. I believe that I would have enjoyed this novella if it was a longer novel. Then the world-building would have made sense, and instead of the flashbacks that threw me out of the story so often, we could start Teagan's story at the beginning.
I loved the premise. The idea of the Bone Way and a journey to a dark princess who grants wishes to those who survive is exciting. The creativity and effort that went into the creatures and sections of the Bone Way's world was incredible.
There are others who will adore this novella, I'm sure. I, for one, will look for longer works by Holly J. Underhill. I hope to see more of her delicious world-building at work in a novel that fits its size.

I didn't get that this book would be such a short story, I was more for the synopsis and the beautiful cover. The plot and idea are good, a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, but sapphic! But the overall delivery wasn't the best for me, partially because it is so short, the world building and the character development weren't at all there, which was a bummer since I actually liked the vague idea that I got of it. The romance was also a bummer, I didn't actually feel it, I would like to, because I like the characters but it was rushed.
About the story, Teagan and Cress, a married couple, go on a mission because Teagan is dieing of something... We get it further on the story but it is still confusing as to why it happened. Cress and Teagan got in a big fight before the mission to the shadow realm, which is a very dangerous place, and Cress went alone. We also get to know parts of the lives of cress and teagan like how they met, their studies and a bit about the family, but it isn't much, and again it is more of a tell versus show since there is not much "space/time". While reading the book I felt that I didn't know much about them, and that I didn't really care much either, I found that I just kept reading because it was short.

As a novella, and keeping in mind that it is really short and, obviously as a result of that, underdeveloped, the book isn't bad. I feel that I wouldn't recommend it normally, unless you're really looking for a short story.

The ending wasn't my favourite, the journey wasn't that excited and didn't got me hooked, overall was a medium read.

Rating: 2,5/3 stars

Thanks to Nyx Publishing and the author for this Netgalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think I really over-hyped this in my head because I heard 'sapphic Orpheus and Eurydice retelling' and was immediately invested. It was still good; I found the two main women really relatable and I enjoyed the way their relationship was explored. But I thought the world-building was really lacking (although I understand that this is essentially a novella, so it's a lot harder/not always necessary to do that). I still enjoyed it, but I would say it didn't quite meet my expectations.