In this novella we follow Teagan as she goes into the Shadow Realm to find her wife, Cressidea. Teagan herself is almost dying because of a poisonous creature's attack. Cress went to the Shadow Realm to try and save her. It's a beautiful story of love and how it prevails above all else

I absolutely adored the romance! They really do love each other and you can easily tell that. This is a pretty quick and easy read. It's still very enjoyable despite it's shortness.

This was written very well, a balanced mix of present day events and flashbacks. The flashbacks were very cute and I would've loved to see more of Teagan's and Cress's everyday life.

My only "complaint" is that this could've been longer and fleshed out more. This isn't unusual with novellas. There are a few places where I wished we could've gotten more details.

Overall, I definitely recommend to anyone who wants a short, sapphic, fantasy read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Nyx Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is supposed to be a re-telling of Eurydice and Orpheus, however, it did not feel like it. I suppose it is more of an imagining of the Greek Myth or more of the myth's formula put into a different setting. I saw another reviewer on Goodreads talking about how this novella could be translated into a Ghibli film and after reading it I could not agree more. It is a quite quick read (it is a novella after all) and it is simplistic. I really liked the "I love my wife with every fibre of my body" trope this piece exudes. However, I did not really feel any emotional connection with the characters and I was not the biggest fan of how the ending was so quickly resolved.

3.5 stars. My favorite part of this book was by far the cover. The contents weren't awful, even enjoyable, but not outstanding.
I think the length of this book caused a lot of the problems that I had with it. There just wasn't enough time to connect with the characters or fully explore the magic, story, and relationship. I actually really liked the plot and world; however, everything felt rushed, I couldn't fully appreciate either, and they overshadowed the characters. Additionally, the author throws the reader right into the middle of the story. While there are flashbacks, there isn't any exposition, which didn't work very well, in my opinion. You know you're supposed to care about Teagan and Cress, but you don't get any time with them before they're suddenly in mortal danger, and it doesn't make you feel anything.
Also, the Shadow Princess was such a pushover, and I absolutely could not believe that she would just let them go for literally no reason. I did like her and almost wished the story was about her instead, but her actions were so out of character compared to everything we know about her.
<spoiler>The ending was pretty unbelievable, especially since this is an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, but whatever. While I was rooting for Teagan and Cress, I think it would've worked a lot better if it ended in tragedy. </spoiler>
Overall, it wasn't bad, but I think the author has room to grow in their writing.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way impacted my opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing.

The Bone Way is a loose retelling of the Orpheus / Eurydice myth. A short, sweet read exploring themes of grief and the lengths the characters will go to in order to ensure the safety of those they love. It follows Teagan as she pursues her wife Cressidae into the Shadow Realm after she goes missing, in an attempt to bring both of them safely back home. It isn’t a smooth journey by any means, but it was an enjoyable one.

I very much enjoyed the sweet sapphic relationship at the heart of this story. I like seeing established relationships in stories and this was no exception. The love between Teagan and Cressidae felt very real and I was rooting for them. They’re very much an opposites attract pair, with Teagan providing a calmer nature to counter Cress’s more fiery temper.

It was a fairly quick read – I finished it in a couple of hours – and not too stressful. Perfect for if you want something a little lighter between books or to ease the tension of something darker. If anything, I thought it was a little too short. Some parts would have benefitted from being fleshed out a little, but I think that comes with it being a novella and might be more down to my personal taste.

Overall, a very enjoyable read.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and it was a lovely surprise to discover that ut's actually secondary-world fantasy - for some reason I'd gotten the impression it would be set in our world.

Unfortunately, I found the writing style very clunky and even cringe-worthy in places - it sometimes felt like a younger child was trying to tell me a story rather than an adult writer. The vibe created by the prose often didn't match the tone of the scene, so scary moments really didn't feel scary, etc. On the flipside, the dialogue felt strangely formal and stilted most of the time.

I think some of the problems actually came from its short length; if the book had been longer and the story allowed to take its time, it might have worked better. As it is though, it was majorly disappointing.

I absolutely devoured this novella in a few hours, and I've never felt so content after reading something short. As a fan of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, I was beyond excited to see a f/f reimagining of their story. I read the blurb and saw the cover and just knew I had to have this story in my life, and I really wasn't let down. It was well written, but also had writing that was easy to digest -- even during scenes that were less fun to read. Going in, I knew I was leaving with my heart broken.

Unfortunately, I had to knock a star off what is an almost perfect story. I felt that details were wither withheld or just went over my head, and I would've loved to see so much more of the history, even in such a short book. The motives of the villain were never quite revealed, her intentions a mystery even upon completion. It does leave her present in my mind, but it's also a thing I feel could have been added in. But this is my only complaint for the whole thing.

I'm a simple girl; you tell me it's a quick and easy novella following an Orpheus-and Eurydice-inspired quest Teagan embarks on to save her wife, I inhale it in practically no time at all. Because it's a novella, it's not particularly complex, and things tend to resolve fairly quickly and simply, but it made it easily digestible and took only a couple sittings to breeze through it. Sometimes, you're just in the mood for a simple, sapphic, atmospheric quest that feels like it could be a short animated movie (complete with a little cottage full of plants, freshly baked bread, and cats), and this is the perfect read for it!

The Bone Way is a wonderful novella. It follows Teagan as she follows her wife Cress into the shadow realm who is trying to find the cure to poison that is infecting Teagan. I loved the characters and their interactions with each other and wished there had been a little more of that.
I felt the writing was very nice and it seemed to flow from scene to scene without breaking its flow. The theme of grief and healing was throughout the book and I found it to be very comforting in he way it was talked about.
The villain, the shadow princess, was the weakest part of the book in my opinion. It felt like you never really got to know or understand her. She never felt threatening in anyway as well and just didn't work as the villain for me.

Overall a very enjoyable book to read 4/5

Every novella I read leaves me with the need for more. 'The Bone Way' tried to pack so many things in its 100 pages, it couldn't satisfy me in any of those. From the main characters personal struggles like grief, the worldbuilding, romance, action and the characters: it was all rather clunky. I didn't feel any chemistry between the women and had the feeling the relationship to Teagan's mother was way more present in the story.
Overall it read very young, which didn't fit the dark and sometimes gruesome parts, but made the novella a very quick read. The Bone Way was also quite interesting to read about and I liked it as a Orpheus and Eurydice retelling.

I always struggle to rate novellas because there's so little to judge but i enjoyed that one, it's no a bad book at all. It wasn't what I expecting as it not actually a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice but inspired by it only.
The worldbuilding was enough for a novella, there was enough to answer most questions. I liked their relationship and that drama was not in between of them but the two were fighting together to be stronger.
The pacing was really quick, we could feel it was a novella and what I"m disappointed with is the final fight being so quick and a let down.

I would still recommend that book, it was a nice read I enjoy

The Bone Way delivers as a breezy fantasy romance, though a few issues prevent it from meeting its full potential. The novella, which can easily be read in a day, tells the tale of Teagan, who follows after her wife, Cress, to the Shadow Realm in search of a cure for Teagan's magical illness. For such a short book, Underhill provides ample character development and relationship growth between Teagan and Cress, and it's certainly a breath of fresh air to see a happy sapphic romance where no one dies and a main cast of characters made up exclusively of women (the only man is mentioned in passing in a story told by one character to another).

However, at certain points the writing delves into "telling" rather than "showing," and while I understand that any fantasy book is going to need a bit of exposition, it goes overboard at times; common uses of contractions like "it'd" read a bit strangely as well. Also, this may be nitpicking but I'm really not sure as to why the book is called The Bone Way - "the bone way" is just one part of the journey from the mortal realm to the Shadow Realm, and though it is the site of the final confrontation between the leads and the villain, I can't discern any major thematic significance of this location in the Shadow Realm in particular.

Overall, The Bone Way could be stronger, but as is it's a cute, light fantasy read.

I was excited to read this book, but sadly i got disappointed. It wasn’t a bad read, but I personally didn’t really enjoy it:/
It feels like you got put right in the middle of a story and i actually checked if i wasn’t accidentally reading a second book without knowing. However, it’s a standalone.
I didnt like how the story was constructed and it was very rushed.
I also couldn’t connect to the characters. At least, the relationship was cute and i liked the different kind of monsters.
(thank u netgalley for the e-arc!)

Thank you to Nyx Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Bone Way by Holly J. Underhill is a reimagining of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. (If you’re looking for a strict retelling of the story, this story is not a direct translation of the myth.) This story follows the journey of Teagan and her quest to the Shadow Realm to find her wife, Cressidae. The main character’s journey is lush with descriptions of the Shadow Realm and the hiccups along the way as she faces the horrors that cross her path. The story is an endearing sapphic tale, showcasing what the two strong women will do to have love prevail.

This novella, though short and totaling only a bit over one hundred pages, checked a lot of very important boxes for me. The descriptions of the environment fully transport you right into the journey with the main character. There were parts of the story that truly enchanted me with how lush the descriptions were. As a reader, being able to immerse yourself in the environment is important, as the story itself loses its charm if there is nothing there to support it. It wasn’t too dialogue heavy, but at the same time, the story didn’t rely solely on descriptions, either. The balance made it feel as if the story had a very natural flow and kept me wanting to pick up the book to continue to read.

While the story was somewhat straightforward as it was a short novella, the enchanting telling of that story itself made the story charming. There were parts of the story that allowed the reader to get a glimpse of flashbacks to add to the emotions and build up of certain events, which created a very lighthearted atmosphere at some points. As I continued to read these flashbacks, I often was hoping for more of these moments. With such a short novella, it is understandable that there was not, as the story needed to continue to progress.

The build up to the villain felt fulfilling, though a bit underwhelming as I started to finish the story. Granted, there was not much time to build up and then get a detailed resolution, so for what it was, I was happy with it. Every piece of the story felt as if it had purpose, which made the novella flow nicely. There weren’t many scenes that felt wasted to me, as each moment was pivotal to how the book would flow and would eventually resolve.

Overall, I enjoyed The Bone Way, and I would definitely recommend this to any of my friends that are interested in a reimagining of this type of myth or any fantasy lovers alike. The relationships between the characters, the descriptions, and the whimsical environment were absolutely lovely and well developed despite the short length. I definitely will be keeping my eye out for more stories by Holly J. Underhill, and I hope to see more stories like this in the future!

If you’re interested in The Bone Way, it releases June 26th, 2021! I highly recommend this to any and all of my friends and I hope you all give this lovely story a chance.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really loved the premise of the story, but I really hated the writing. The story felt rushed and I didn't feel like I got to know either Teagan or Cress until like midway through the story. The book was only about 225 pages and I felt like it could have been longer and that would have given it more time for the plot to develop. I entered the story and I was pretty confused within the first couple of pages because it felt like I'd been dumped into a story in the middle of it and it expected me to catch up. It also threw a lot of terms at me and didn't really ever come back to them? There were a lot of monsters with names that showed up like once and then were never mentioned again. I really liked Cress and Teagan's relationship once we got to learn more about it and see them interact but I never felt like I got enough of it. This was the first queer fantasy books that I've ever read that didn't focus on developing the romance as a part of the plot. Here, they're married, so there's no courtship or anything - it's devotion to someone you love already. I really loved this aspect of the story. I think overall what annoyed me the most was that the whole thing just felt so rushed. It could have been a lot better if the author had just delved more into the emotions and took more time to explain things rather than push the story along so fast. I loved watching Cress and Teagan interact but we didn't even get that until literally 3/4 of the way through the story. It felt like Teagan was going on a quest and we didn't even really know why. I certainly don't feel like I would have known why Cress left to go on the quest unless I'd read the summary of the book. 2 stars for the married gays. Overall not fantastic but short enough that you could just read it for the gays and move on.

I just reviewed The Bone Way by Holly J. Underhill. #TheBoneWay #NetGalley

Unfortunately this book was a no from me. I really enjoyed the setting but I couldn't care less about the characters.

I'm torn between giving this 2 or 3 stars.. This was pretty much just ok but i recommend if you're looking for something to kill time and liked the premise..

trigger warning
<spoiler> being orphaned, grief, terminal illness </spoiler>

When Teagan wakes up, her wife, Cress, is missing. She knows exactly where the love of her life went - and why.

This novella is a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydipice, you know, the musician who went to the underworld to get his love back, and sang so beautifully Hades was swayed. But he didn't manage to fulfill the conditions of the deal, and never left the realm of death.

We have a world in which everybody could be a witch. Most people have basic abilities, and since Teagan's mother was a witch by profession, she was apprentices and learned the same skills. Another thing that seems to be accepted in this world is homosexuality.
I repeat: We have a fantasy novel with queer protagonists and their sexuality is not what forms the plot! Yes, sure, those stories need to be talked about, but I face queerphobia and discrimination most days, so it's nice to have a break from it.

I liked this one, and will look out for further works by the same author.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Oh, to be a lesbian witch, living in a small cottage in the lush forest with my two cats with my beautiful, artistic, brilliant wife, who also happens to be a witch. Yes, I might be dying of some black magic poison, but I feel like this is a fair trade.

The Bone Way was one of my most anticipated releases of the year ever since it first got announced. First of all, I'm (obviously) always a sucker for sapphic books, even more so if they're reimagining old fairytales and myths. In this case, the story is inspired by that of Eurydice and Orpheus, which is one of my favorite Greek myths. Secondly, look at that cover. Just... take a second and soak in its beauty. Now that is art. Lastly, Nyx Publishing's last release stole my heart and breath away, so I had incredibly high hopes for this. I'm sorry to report that those hopes were not entirely met, but that's probably also my own fault for hyping this up a little too much in my own mind.

The concept of The Bone Way was rather simple, but nonetheless amazing: split into two parts, with the first one describing the perilous journey through a dark realm, paralleling the underworld, and the second one trying to escape said plane of existence again. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters, I adored their established relationship, and I think their motivators and internal conflicts worked incredibly well.
That being said, I think the execution suffered under the books' length at times. I think that this could easily been a full novel, and I would have loved to see some of the ideas be developed a little more. This affected pretty much every area of the book for me: the pacing felt a little too quick, the conflict was resolved too easily some of the times, characters lack depth and nuance that would have greatly benefitted them. Due to these issues, the book did feel a little surface-level to me: I really wish it had delved deeper into the story, the backstory, and the interpersonal relationships as well as the (subversion) of the mythology. This had so much potential to become one of my favorite books, but it sadly just couldn't deliver for me personally.

Still, I think The Bone Way is a nice, moody read that I recommend you pick up if you're interested in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Nyx Publishing for the ARC! 4 stars out of 5 stars, a cute sapphic read.

A queer near-fairytale retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, it's undoubtably soft, and reassuring-- look, these two love each other. It truly shows in every sentence and paragraph, in every story. The snakebite is given new skin, as is Orpheus's inability to pay attention to his wife-- and it is so, so very gay and soft. I enjoyed the story, found the relationship sweet and true, and I liked the character growth we were able to see for both.

However, it felt incredibly white. In my read, I noticed were only two canonical characters of color, and neither had a name (admittedly, only about five other characters had names, and these were characters who were there for one line). I feel as if slipping more names into the book might have helped it feel more grounded, especially with the importance of an unknown name being relearned.

It took me about all of 3 seconds to add this to my tbr when I a) saw the cover and b) read this it is a sapphic retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.

I enjoyed my time reading this novella. It was entertaining, emotional, whimsical and beautiful from the first page to the last. It's set in a Ghibli-esqu world where steam trains and airships travel, but soft cottages, gardens and fluffy cats are always around the corner. Howl's Moving Castle aesthetics all the way. Even the Shadow Land (the underworld land where our characters travel) has it's own set of darker whimsy that shines through.

This book is about a married couple, Teagan and Cressidae. I feel like the less you know about the plot and the circumstances of the characters, the better. The backstories slowly unveil themselves in a quite beautiful way, so I think that going into this book fairly blind is best.

Because this is a novella, this did not have as much depth as I would have liked. Some of Underhill's writing also clashed a bit with my personal taste, but that is just a personal preference. Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this tale of whimsy, love and family, and I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are interested!