I went into this book expecting a witchy, dark, southern gothic YA novel with spooky magic. And while it certainly took place in the south and had magic, it never quite came together for me.

The characters were underdeveloped, and all blended together, even our protagonist. There was very little to distinguish them, and the details we did get were told to us, not shown. The side characters were more interesting than our protagonist, and the romances were awkward.

The writing style wasn’t my favourite, either. An attempt at purple prose that feels a bit self-important but isn’t as beautiful or impactful as it thinks it is. Not only that, but the writing was so vague I was left not knowing what was happening until a scene was almost over, and even then, I wasn’t sure, sapping all the tension from what were, I assume, meant to be scary moments. Of course, there is a way to write a hazy thriller with unanswered questions, but this wasn’t it.

The magic was unevenly incorporated, and the world-building was so non-existent that it was never clear if magic was known to exist and in what capacity.

This book at an interesting concept at its core, and I see potential in the author, but it needed more editing and reworking to live up to its potential.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC for review, and thank you to the author for providing an extensive list of possible triggers at the beginning of the book.

Trigger/Content Warnings: suicide, guns, mental and physical abuse, dental trauma, animal death, blood, gore, death of a parent, taxidermy

Yay! It's time for more paranormal reads (seriously, I love all the releases that drop around September/October every year). Time to dive into Wake the Bones, written by Elizabeth Kilcoyne.

Laurel Early has spent nearly her whole life on this sleepy little farm. She left for a little while – to chase an educational dream she ultimately abandoned. Now she just wants to be left alone to her work (tobacco hand and taxidermist). In truth, she wants to forget all about the boy she loves.

The past won't stay dead, no matter how much we may want it to. In Laurel's case, this is a bit more literal than most, as a creature has once again returned with the intent of courting Laurel.

If you love odd (read: unique) reads full of fantasy and lusciously written prose, then you've got to check out Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne. For me, the writing is the biggest standout of this novel, with the plot and characters taking second place.

Before I get too deep into my review, I should mention the darker themes of Wake the Bones. This book covers postpartum depression and animal death. So it is not going to be suitable for all readers!

The ethereal and gothic vibes of this novel are on point. They're strongly supported by Kilcoyne's writing style, which feels more lyrical than not. It's the perfect setting for a darker plot and was enough to let my imagination run away.

It is worth pointing out that it felt like something was missing from Wake the Bones. It should have been a novel I loved with all of my heart. But instead, I merely liked it? Not that this is a bad thing. But it did have so much potential.

Not what I expected, but still enjoyed it. The atmosphere of the book is creepy, but there is a lot of "normal" things/issues happening in the book. Quick read, there are a lot of interesting aspects and horror imagery, but some parts were slow. It was fairly well done, and would love to see her dive more into the horror aspect.

With walking bones, rising evil, death, abuse, and a terribly disillusioned drowned ghost among other eldritch things, this is definitely one to have on board for spooky season. It’s much more lyrical than a typical horror novel though and encompasses magical realism and literary fiction too. Wake The Bones is a haunting mix of fantasy and horror with Laurel making a living off of what the dead leave behind. I really enjoyed this. I would recommend reading it in a few sittings to completely immerse yourself into the eerie atmosphere of the writing. My only complaint is that the romance portion just didn’t work for me at all. I found it to be a little bland. It could be because I've read a bunch of rom-com's lately, but, all in all, if that's my only qualm over the book, I count that as a win. Will definitely recommend.

This story is so character-driven, and it is utterly human and haunting.
The supernatural world was gory, eerie and unsettling with the bones and decaying monsters.
But the connection between the two, for pacing and writing, didn't reach the same level as the characters and genre, so it sadly lost the magic.
Please look for TW!!!

I am a bit ambivalent about this book. It had intriguing concepts with the bone monsters and the devil but to me it wasn't very well fleshed out. Things were kind of vague with Christine and Laurel's powers (and even her mother, Anne). I could definitely feel the dirt and grit of Dry Valley though and understand why Isaac wants to leave it. That would not be a place I wanted to live. It was a strange mix of action and then long bits where nothing really happened, The ending was a bit vague too and I am not sure if I missed out on something or it wasn't explained clearly (about Ricky who I wasn't a fan off because of some stupid decisions).

It wasn't bad for a debut novel but I wasn't crazy about it either.

After really, truly, trying to enjoy this book, I decided that Wake The Bones wasn’t for me. I didn’t find myself connecting to any of the characters or wanting to know what the next page offered, even with the suspense and horror written throughout.

The writing is very beautiful. The language used is fascinating and it pushed me grammatically. I always appreciate work that makes me think, that makes me feel my brain in my skull.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy!

Laurel Early wanted to leave her small town behind, but after realizing college wasn't what she thought it would be, she's back on her family's little farm in the heat of Summer. Little does she expect, the farm has awakened and strange things seem to be calling out to her. Even her taxidermy bone pile has walked away, her farm feels alive and somehow eerie as if the safety of home is no longer...safe.

This novel has very rich descriptions, a creepy atmosphere and something about it that made me unable to look away. It is a very slow burn, but still grabbed me from the early chapters. I wasn't the biggest fan of the characters, with the exception of Laurel, mainly because they felt like typical YA character. They felt more like set dressing, as though Laurel and the Farm, which is 100% a character, were really the reader's main focus. This whole novel felt spooky and you could feel the humid summer. While I do admit it wasn't my favorite read of the year, the very fact that I could not put it down is enough for 5 stars. The novel will leave the reader thinking about it long into the night. Good debut.

I always love to read spooky novels. This one initially caught my eye due to the cover and the blurb on Amazon. Laurel is relatable and show growth throughout the book. The storyline was a bit messy and lost me a few times but, overall, I enjoy Elizabeth's writing style.

Omg just in time for spooky season I read this book and it had me on my toes. If you’re looking for a creepy disturbing book for fall that you will BINGE. Look no further.

I would rate this book 4 stars. I thought it was great. I was intrigued the whole time. I could not put it down. It is slightly disturbing at some parts so I would check the trigger warnings.

I like the characters and I also like the plot. I thought the author did a great job painting the picture in my head.

This book was pretty creepy and it would be a good book to pick up for this spooky season.

This weird, twisty story was exactly what I was looking for! It's creepy with just the right amount of suspense to keep you hooked and reading more. I loved, loved this book and can't wait to see what Kilcoyne comes out with next.

I really wanted to like this - I have been wanting to read more horror, and this sounded really interesting. Unfortunately, the execution didn't work for me. The horror seemed to rely more on body gore and blood and animal death, which I don't particularly care for, and the plot didn't seem to make too much sense. I also feel the author was trying to write both a contemporary fiction novel and a fantasy horror novel in one book, and so some of the changes in scenes were a bit jarring. The characters weren't bad but I felt none of them really had much depth, and I didn't like that the only female character besides the lead was nothing more than a plot device. Overall, I just struggled with this one, and it just wasn't for me.

Wake the Bones was a really weird but interesting book. Like the weirder things got the harder it was to look/walk away from it all. I'll admit that Laurel was a strange character too. Mostly because she was a taxidermist and I don't think I could do that myself. It's definitely a me and not you situation.

After meeting her, and the rest of the characters, we start to dive into the mystery of it all. Especially when we dive into the hauntings and the devil. I had so many questions and thoughts floating around in my head while I was reading this. Things and situations never went the way I thought it was going to go. Which is probably why this is such a good book to digest within a sitting (or two).

Towards the end, I had a feeling not everyone was going to make it but I'm just basing that off of all the horror movies I've watched before this. It was still really weird, interesting, and entertaining though. I'm really happy that I got the chance to jump into this around Halloween because it's a spooky book that everyone deserves!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “Wake the Bones” by Elizabeth Kilcoyne. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

For some reason, I had this book confused in my mind and thought it was fantasy? It’s more contemporary fantasy taking place in a small southern town. The setting really shone in this book. I feel like I actually visited this town because the descriptions were that detailed but not in an info dumping way. This story had a lot of horror elements which aren’t my favorite in stories but I thought the author found this interesting blend of setting and horror elements that made this book feel like nothing I’ve ever read before! It was somehow an ideal summer read but wouldn’t be out of place on a spooky season TBR pile.

There are a lot of POV switches which I was sometimes a bit confused by but looking at the story overall I think they worked. There’s also some drug use and the horror elements aren’t really something I go for in books but I would definitely recommend this to fans of spooky tales. I feel like the ending could be kind of polarizing but again I felt like it worked for the story.

I would absolutely pick up another book by this author! The setting and descriptions were so strong. I’ll keep an eye out for their next book for sure.

4/5 stars

thank you to netgalley for giving me this arc and for me to give a honest review

i didn't mind the premise of the plot, seemed to have promise but i can't tell if its a "its not you its me" situation because i couldn't find myself to care about the romances and in fact, both just felt like they were sudden. one of the adamant that he wasn't going to tie himself to the other but did anyways. the characters weren't too bad, but also i just didn't find myself caring for them much. the magic element of the world did feel really sudden so once the plot had involved the magical aspect, i did admittedly lose quite a bit of attention.

A dark and atmospheric tale, a young woman longing to uncover the secrets that have been holding her back, a intimate look at buried lies and how the truth affects our lives even when it comes from deep within the past.

I wanted to love this one so badly, but I was just so bored. I also couldn't get into the writing style, and the romance took away from this book's creepy aspects.

DNF @~20%

Unfortunately, this was not my cup of tea, but I am not the biggest fan of horror. Based on the professional reviews this is a book that I would buy for a teen collection to round out horror.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this book! It was super fast paced and I absolutely flew through it. It was very unsettling but that's what I loved about it. Super great weird, and gothic YA !