Thank you to the author, Xpresso Book Tours and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

«Be careful. The Shadow Princess isn't known for honest deals.»

An Orpheus and Eurydice retelling with two women as main characters instead of a man and a woman.

This book tells the story of Teagan, along with her love story with Cress, her wife. As it is a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, there is a journey to find her loved one. But will she be able to come back? Will they be able to come home?

Everything in this book is told in a way so beautifully written and its characters feel so real. These were two of the things that I liked most about this book: the way the author writes is so appealing and exquisite to read. I've read a lot of books with the way the author describes Teagan's space and feelings. And it is difficult to achieve things like that, to be able to write in such a delightful, artistic way.

I've found really interesting the history of witches, and it did really make me want to know more about it. It is the same with the Shadow Princess's story, the prince's story and their kingdom. I wouldn't mind if the author decides to write about them... The Shadow Princess's story seems to be a great, enjoyable reading!

It is a lovely, magical story about two women who love each other with all their hearts, and who are willing to risk themselves in order to protect the other. Teagan, who said she was not going to marry. Cress, the woman with a beautiful soul that enchanted Teagan's heart.

To tell the truth, 'The Bone Way' has became, at the moment, one of my favorite books this year.

#TheBoneWay #Netgalley

Synopsis:
Teagan’s wife, Cressidae, is missing. She has left for the Shadow Realm, a kingdom of the dead filled with untold nightmares—and the only place that can save Teagan from a lethal poison that’s killing her slowly. It is ruled by a princess said to make powerful deals with those brave enough to find her, and Cressidae has gone to bargain for Teagan’s life. Cressidae has forgotten one very important thing: no one makes it out on their own.

Despite the risks to her own safety, Teagan is determined to save her wife—and perhaps even herself in the process. The princess of the Shadow Realm, however, doesn’t let mortals roam her territories without opposition. In this thrilling fantasy novella, Teagan and Cressidae must face both the horrors of the Shadow Realm as well as their own past

Review:

Thanks so much to netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
This was a short, slight fable that was fun and enchanting.

What a very odd little novella. It was written as if the author was lusting for the life these two MC's had, even though they were constantly in peril. the story was interesting, though I didn't feel that it drew anything from the Orpheus myth. I don't think I'll remember this book at all in a couple months, but it still gave off lots of aesthetically pleasing vibes.

I loved this novella so much - it has such a lush and whimsically fantastical setting, mystical forests and lush kingdoms, and yet such a dark story. Knowing it is a retelling of Orpheus' journey into the underworld to reunite with his dead lover Eurydice, I spent the entire story (though, especially the second half) waiting for something to go wrong for our protagonists Teagan and Cress, waiting for the moment where everything ends in tragedy. And I was so relieved, borderline euphoric, when everything culminated and I saw sapphics get their happy ending. I loved this novella completely, and am definitely forcing it on a friend or two.

This novella is inspired by the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. I like that it had some of the myth, but was also quite original in itself. I liked the characters of Teagan and Cressidae and their love for each other is really wonderful. I felt for Teagan and her frustration with Cressidae sometimes, but I also understood why Cressidae was acting like that. Their love is just so pure and sweet and it was the driving force throughout the novella. The world-building confused me for a moment, but it is explained throughout so I was able to understand it well.

This was a quite short read, and sometimes novellas are a hit or miss with me, so maybe this is just a me problem, so while I enjoyed the story, I wasn't really attached to the main characters. It was fast paced to the point it was maybe too fast paced? Also, I noticed that there were instances that there was more on tell rather than show. There was a lot of build-up in the first part and the middle that kinda fell flat by the end as well.

Anyway, I still enjoyed it, and if anyone's looking for something quick and fun then I recommend this book!

This was an okay read. I was really looking forward to this book. I love fantasy and I love retellings (this is a sapphic twist on Eurydice and Orpheus) but this wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I don’t feel that my time was wasted, it was a fine read, but it just had too many things in it that I’m not a fan of. On the plus side, the cover is great!

My first issue, which was a smaller one, is that I did not realize that this was a novella. While I like novellas in general, I am often not a fan of short fantasy stories. I like meaty fantasy with lots of world building that you can really sink your teeth into. While I did not expect this to be like epic length, because the premise was lightly based on a myth, I did expect this to be a full-length book. I didn’t reduce my rating just because this was a novella –since it was my own fault for not realizing it soon enough- but what did affect my rating is that I felt like the book needed more pages to really develop the story. It really needed more world building and more time to understand this “great love story”.

My second issue was two problems put together. One was about the flashbacks and the other was the romance. If you follow my reviews you will already know that I really suffer with flashbacks. It’s rare that I find them to work well for the story and it is hard for me to enjoy reading them. And in this case, I really struggled with understanding Underhill’s choice of using them in a novella. I just don’t think there is enough time in a shorter story to make flashbacks work well. Half of the story was in the past, the other half in the present, and it did not feel like enough time spent on either storyline.

My problem with the romance connects into the flashbacks since three quarters of the flashbacks where used to tell the romance, with the last quarter used to tell the tale of another character, a princess. The flashbacks all together would not have been enough time to really tell the romance so it really didn’t work dividing them up. This is supposed to be an epic love story of two women who would face death for each other, yet I never really understood why they would. There was a lot of precious time spent on showing the characters arguing and in the end we are more told of this great love story and not really shown.

Since I have a lot of complaints, you might be wondering why I still gave this 3 Stars –which is an average/okay rating in my reviews. Well the answer was that even while I didn’t like certain story choices, I thought the writing style was good. I found the book to be readable and it kept my attention. I thought some of the danger was too easily overcome, but I did care enough to keep reading to get to the end. And finally, my rating is compared to other novellas that I have read and this is definitely an average novella.

The premise is great, and this had a lot of potential, but it just was not enough to completely get there. While I was rooting for the characters, I didn’t care as much about them, in this life and death situation, as I should have. And since this was a love story, I needed to feel that great love more. In the end, I can’t recommend this but I would not say stay away either. This is a reasonably priced story so it might be worth a try if you are a big sapphic retelling/mythology fan.

I really enjoyed many aspects of this story, particularly the world building and the mythology surrounding the Shadow Princess. The world that Teagan journeys through is very well fleshed out and interesting, and her journey home a good spin on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.

The only thing that didn't feel as fleshed out as I'd like was Teagan and Cress's relationship, considering their love for each other was the reason things happened as they did. Their backstory is told in flashbacks throughout the book, but I still didn't feel like I really knew much about Cress by the time we met her in the current timeline halfway through.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this story.

MY RATING 2,5/5 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Her wife was gone, and her dagger too, and she didn’t know if she’d ever see either again”

This seemed like it was going to be a really fun, quick and easy read, and it had some pretty interesting moments throughout it. However, I sadly still struggled with connecting with the characters and the story.

Before I begun the book, I had thought we’d get to see more of Teagan and Cress being together and helping each other get through the Shadow Realm. However, it took almost half of the book for them to meet each other again in the Shadow Realm. I also thought the many of the conflicts were handled a bit to easily, so we never really got to see the characters really struggling with getting what they wanted.

One thing I thought was really interesting was when they met the Shadow Princess, and I would have loved if we had gotten more background information about why she did the things she had done.

Overall this story was pretty quick and had some interesting moments throughout it.

Filled with whimsy and danger, Holly J. Underhill’s debut novella, The Bone Way, is a reimagining of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that follows Teagan on a life-or-death adventure through the Shadow Realm to save her wife. I love Greek mythology so I was super excited at the chance to read an advanced copy of a retelling featuring sapphic leads with an interesting twist on the original tale, but it ultimately fell flat for me for a few reasons.

While I did enjoy the story, I didn’t realize it was a novella until after I’d requested it, so the format of the book kept me from fully loving it like I was expecting to. This easily could’ve been written as a full-length novel since there were so many great additions to the original myth and I would’ve loved to explore each setting more. With hot air balloons, casual magic, and heavy cottagecore vibes juxtaposed with the eerie, harrowing, and treacherous Shadow Realm, the world was quite interesting! But since The Bone Way was so short, many aspects felt surface-level like the plot, characters and themes. Underhill would’ve had more page time to delve further into the areas I mentioned and flesh them out more if it were longer. It’s hard as a reader to connect with the story and characters as a whole when everything moves at a lightning-quick pace.

For a novella, I think the author did a great job with the worldbuilding—it tends to be hit or miss because there isn't enough page time to create something expansive. She gave just enough information and kept it simple enough so that it was immersive without leaving me with a million questions at the end. Plus who wouldn't love to read about a Ghibli-like world populated with witches and magical inventions? I also liked that there were brief touches on themes of grief and recovery spread throughout the novella that added depth to the characters and their relationship.

If you're looking for a quick, sweet retelling about two women who'd go to hell and back for each other I'd say you should give The Bone Way a try. Despite me not loving this novella, I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for her future work since this was a promising start!

Wow, this was beautiful. The Bone Way is a reimagining of the tale of Eurydice and Orpheus, but it’s also feels so original in the way it builds the different parts of the Shadow Realm. I also really loved the complicated aspects of the Shadow Princess, and how she went from savior to villain to forgotten myth. I loved how much Teagan and Cress love each other, and the lengths they’d go for one another, but I also really appreciate how their journey along the Bone Way forces them to realize they need to live for themselves and their own dreams as well. This was a quick read, and I really enjoyed it. The world building is fascinating and the love between Teagan and Cress is obvious in words and actions.

As soon as I heard this was a f/f retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, I wanted to read this book. I love mythology and this particular tale (and I love the musical Hadestown too).

This is not a long book but there are so many emotions packed into it! I cried a few times, and just, felt for them. Teagan and Cress' love is what makes this story. It's their love for each other that makes the possibility of them saving each other, and I love their love.

I also really liked Wystira, the world they live in, with its Goddess and witches, and more particularly, the life they lived, in a small house at the edge of the woods, with two cats, making potions and spells. Isn't that the dream life for you and your wife? (Honestly, I would love to read more about this world)

We also get some flashes of the past, Teagan and Cress' meeting, their wedding, or just their lives before the journey to the Shadow Realm and it just reaffirms of their love for each other.

And, as with myths and retelling, you spend the entire time wondering if this time it will all end well or if history will repeat itself. You can never know. But you hope.

Thank you to Netgalley and NYX Publishing for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

First: this cover is stunning and it was so hard to say no too. Let’s just say Teagan and Cressidae are living my dream, honestly. Being a witch? Living the cottage core lifestyle? Yeah, sign me up. That’s all I want.

This book was nice. I enjoyed it! I loved the concept and the characters. It was easy to follow along. It was a quick read. My only issue is the ending. It felt so abrupt. It was rushed, and very clumsy to me. I absolutely adored every else. The characters, the arc, the ideas and this concept. The idea of making Euridyce and Orpheus gay is peak of talent. I still think this was an excellent book, just a little too rushed for the end!

When I read that The Bone Way is inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, I was so excited. Sadly, the book fell a little short for me. Maybe it was the length, but there was a definite dearth in characterisation and I just couldn't get into the story like I wanted to. The love between the characters felt superficial and I just couldn't care less about what happened next. Everything was too convenient and things got resolved way too easily at the end (if you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice you would expect a tragic story but not in this one. Unfortunately.)

Anyway, I'm not sure how I would rate this one. Reads more like a fairytale for kids.

** I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

While I definitely enjoyed this quick read featuring sapphic leads on a quest to save each other, The Bone Way fell short in many of the ways novellas typically do for me. I was expecting an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, but beyond the "traveling to the underworld to bargain for a loved one's life" there is little in common. I think it was an interesting exploration of grief, especially in the way that the protagonist must traverse different areas of the Shadow Realm in order to reach her goal, each presenting a unique trial that targets her trauma and regrets. The final classically inspired challenge of not touching each other during their travels back to the living did not feel nearly as a suspenseful as it should have for several reason.
(1) Novellas tend to be a hit or miss with me because the short format makes it so difficult for me to form any sort of attachment to the characters or believe the often contrived and sudden wrap-up of the plot. This happened with The Bone Way. I picked it up specifically for the sapphic romance, and, while Cress and Teagan were undoubtedly cute together, I could not get interested in their relationship. It's hard to develop a complex dynamic like the one they have in such a short period, but the constant jumps in timeline and the relatively few interactions they have within the novella made it difficult for me to get emotionally attached.
(2) Underhill introduces so many fascinating concept, especially, as I mentioned before, regarding themes of loss and grief. Yet because the plot has to move along at a lightning pace to fit within the novella format, none of them get explored nearly enough.

While I did not fall in love with this novella, I would definitely still recommend this to others who are looking for more sapphic fantasy or a quick, easy read.

When Teagan finds herself slowly dying from an incurable poison, her wife Cressidae desperately journeys to the Shadow Realm to bargain with the Shadow Princess of legend. Now Teagan must follow after her to try and save both their lives, facing countless tests of her resolve along the way.

I’m a sucker for beautiful covers and as soon as I heard The Bone Way described as a sapphic reimagining of Orpheus and Eurydice, I just had to get my hands on it.

However, I was underwhelmed by the story itself.

Perhaps because the story is inspired by a classical hero’s journey, the plot is simple and the characters themselves are quite one-dimensional--especially the Shadow Princess.

I also have issues with the story’s pacing. I feel like the lengthy flashbacks disrupted the main storyline's momentum. Not to mention, the story’s conclusion wrapped up incredibly quickly with little explanation.

While I found some aspects of the worldbuilding intriguing--like the fusion of magic with technology--this wasn't explored much. I feel like there was a serious missed opportunity there--especially since Teagan is an inventor. I would have been cool to have seen Teagan put more of her creativity and ingenuity to use in order to overcome obstacles.

Overall, The Bone Way spins a cozy but milquetoast fairytale.

I was gifted a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Bone Way is a quick ready, at less than two hundred pages with a fast paced, simple plot. I read it in one sitting, and had fun! A Sapphic Eurydice and Orpheus retelling, this had a lot of potential but fell somewhat short for me. I loved the world building and wish it had been stretched out a bit longer and given more room to develop, especially with all the flashbacks and the potential subplots, I wish this would have been the first in a series or a much longer book. Would definitely be willing to read more from this author though

This short, gorgeous novella packs a punch and I'm so glad I was able to read it. In the land of Wystira (seriously, even such a beautiful name), we follow Teagan and Cressidae. Teagan wakes up one morning to find that her wife is missing. She knows immediately where she has gone: into the Shadow Realm to try and find a mythical princess and save Teagan from the poison sweeping through her body which will soon kill her. Teagan only has Cressidae's journal written from weeks of research and a traditional song to guide her:

"Past the Bone Way,
Where the dead rest hungry
Through the Sky of Lost Dreams
Where souls wander forevermore
Down the River of Sorrow,
Where water drowns the mind
Up the desolate Mountain,
Where monsters roam the halls
To the deathly palace
Where the Shadow Princess waits within."

This is clearly inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and you can tell. That myth holds a special place in my heart because it was the legend that got me interested in mythology so I was ecstatic to see a sapphic retelling. Rather than rely solely on the myth, Holly J. Underhill takes it as inspiration and makes it her own in his novella. We have what feels like a fully actualized land with magic, roles, education, infrastructure and its own stories and mythology behind it.

On top of these, we have a fierce set of characters. Teagan is the one we follow through the majority of the novella but Cressidae is present and her personality shines through. They are a touching couple and it is so refreshing to see such a bold display of sapphic love in a fantasy story. I *do* wish there was more to this but that's just because I enjoyed it so much. I'd be really interested in seeing what else Holly Underhill writes.

Book review- The Bone Way

A sapphic novella showing the path Teagan must take to find her lost wife Cressidae and the challenges she faces throughout. As well as battling life and death Teagan will stop at nothing to get to her lover.

First of all I would like to explain that this is a very short and quick book to read. There wasn’t any world building or introduction in this, and the start of the book could be confusing. One thing I kinda disliked about this book was how fast it moved. I love fast paced books but I felt as if as soon as something happened, it had ended.

Other than that I found it an easy read especially to get out of a reading slump and also with the plot based around the love of each other. It should be noted that it is not a book following their relationship, it is following the journey Teagan takes through the shadow realm to get to Cress.

There’s quite a few flashbacks to the past which I sometimes loved but sometimes just felt confused about in all honesty. And I thought the shadow princess was very unlikeable but that is her purpose anyways.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the strength of their relationship. I feel like it could have been a lot better with more description and world-building in it as everything was rushed through. I would recommend as a short read to lgbtq+ fantasy lovers.

Tw- Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent (off page)

“Death is your companion, always and forever.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Nyx Publishing for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

When Teagan’s wife decides to enter the shadow realm alone in an attempt to save Teagan’s life, she’s furious. But she goes after her anyway. Teagan goes through the realm, driven by her love for her wife and the stories of the princess who rules it who is said to make deals with the brave soles who make it to her. Teagan and Cressidae must face the horrors of their journey in order to make it out not only alive, but together.

This debut novella by Holly J Underhill was a delightful little read. I mean Greek retelling but make it gay and witchy? What’s not to love!?

I was instantly transported into the world of this book with its quick paced story. I loved that it started right in the action but had a few flashback scenes to allowed the story to bloom. The imagery throughout was SO nice and really brought it to life. I felt like I was going on the journey with Teagan and was truly rooting for her by the end. For a first publication, Underhill has produced a beautifully written piece. I’ll definitely be looking out for her future works.

Teagan and Cress’ love was so enthralling and lovely and soft. Underhill done an excellent job showing just how far these two characters were willing to go for each other. The strength of their love is something I hope to have one day (without the death defying journey and poisonous injury, of course). One quote from the first few pages is “As Teagan looked around, she saw a goddess of her own.” (in reference to Cress) I MELTED. And if the love story doesn’t draw you in, characters cats are like their children which was an adorable addition.

I wish there was a little more involvement of Teagan’s brilliant ideas as an inventor which had surfaced towards the end of the book. I feel it would have boosted the story just to see that side of her more while she struggled through the shadow realm and really done jsutice by her character. Hence why I deduced a star.

This book will be published tomorrow (June 26th) and I would really recommend you give it a shot so you can experience this wonderful tale. Do it for the gays, people!

This arc was provided by Nyx Publishing, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

TW: death of a parent (in the past), terminal (fantasy) illness, mention of (fantasy) incarceration, and harm to (fantasy) animals.

3.5

I don't need to know much about a book to add it to my tbr. You tell me it's a sapphic retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and I'm there.

The Bone Way is a novella about Teagan and Cress who venture into the Shadow world to save each other. And that is all you need to know!

The writing has a fairytale-esque feeling to it and I genuinely wanted the best for them. It's also beautiful to read about a supportive and loving relationship; they aren't perfect by any means but the love is true.

Since it's a short read, I don't want to give too much away. Please know that this was an entertaining and heartbreaking story, and I highly recommend it!

Now I'm just going to sit here and wait to find someone who would go to the underworld for me. Real-life could never!

~I received and eARC of this book through net galley in exchange for an honest review.~

3.5⭐️(rounded up)

This novella is a sapphic reimagining of Eurydice and Orpheus. It follows the main character, Teagan, who goes after her wife Cressidea that left for the Shadow Realm. Teagan is suffering from a mortal wound she received from a fantasy creature, and Cress has gone into the Shadow Realm to try and save her by making a deal with the princess. The only problem is that no one ever returns from the Shadow Realm, and so Teagan goes after her in an attempt to save her wife.

I really enjoyed this book as I loved the relationship between Teagan and Cressidea, who are both incredibly stubborn, and I really loved the concept of the Shadow Realm! I also really enjoyed Holly J. Underhill’s writing style and the switch between flashbacks and present time. I think the flashbacks really helped to understand the characters more considering there was a limited number of pages in the book.

Although I do like that this was a short novella, I felt like I couldn’t really connect to the characters as much as I would have liked to. Therefore, I do think this would have been nice as a full book as it would have been interesting to explore the world building and characters further.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a quick and light fantasy read without the commitment to a 600-page book or a full series.

CONTENT WARNINGS for the book: death, grief, violence