This is the perfect spooky season read. It has all of the things I love in books: witches, court drama, necromancy… what more could a girl want?

This was so interesting! The concept was unique and I know readers will love it. I do think there could be areas for improvement, at times it seemed to drag.

I wanted to love this but it was way too cerebral for me. I found it hard to follow. I found the fragmented consciousness an excellent idea but difficult to execute.

DNF- did not finish. Couldn't get into this one despite the spooky creepy vibes. Will try again at another point.

In this house we support sex workers and don't stand for the vilification of them. This sounded super interesting, but in the end it just wasn't for me.

I gave this 3.5 stars. It was sometimes hard to follow. It felt like it was the second book. I would have liked to know more background information. I liked the aspect of multiple personalities that they were all created to guard the main personality. The topic of bone garden was pretty interesting to go in the backyard and have actual bones sticking out. I could have never guessed where it had gone at the end. I like the bizarre aspect in the book, especially with the brothel.

The author will drop you in the deep end and you will at least twice despair that you're never going to understand what's going on. (Political cloak and dagger plus who-done-it will not help with this feeling.) You'll figure it out, but you'll still keep learning new things about the world up until the end.

Napoleonic sci fi with rail guns, psychics, and.... whatever it is that Charm does. I'm not in a position to speak learnedly about DID but I think they have similar aspects. She peels off different aspects of her personality to protect her main psyche, but then they work for her at the brothel she runs because they're also physically different people. The Emperor dies just after psychically compelling Charm to find out who did it and kill them, so that's a thing. Then there's the war. Wars. One hot, one cold, one more or less resolved so long as nobody breaks it.

Everybody has a dark side, so be prepared to feel betrayed by characters you thought you could like. Except for the Duchess/Commander Flashheart character, upon whom you should place all your affection without regard.

The world is grim, and content warnings for sexual violence (offstage and on) pedophilia (offstage) and suicide, possibly some others.

I’ve tried for a while to find words for this book, and I’m struggling for something other than unique. This was a dark, twisty tale, definitely not for the light of heart.
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Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did not get to this book and as a result am removing from my list. I ended up selecting other books to read instead. This review is not a reflection of the story, but rather shows that this was not high on my TBR list, which is a factor in itself.

Thank you Tor for my copy!
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One of the most unique books I have ever read. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading. Would recommend to my followers!

Atmospheric and haunting— two words I’d use to describe this unique book. I haven’t read a book like this before and it was right up my alley. I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author.

I LOVED this book as a personal read. I have a few students I know would appreciate this story, but the world building.and storyline may be too complex for most to understand. I enjoyed the sex worker spin, the darkness and the beauty that this author created.

With a style reminiscent of Tanith Lee and a world as complex and byzantine as M. A. Carrick’s, Sara A. Mueller spins a tale of magic, identity, politics, and hidden pain. The Bone Orchard is difficult to describe in terms of premise or plot because so much of the reading experience involves following the development of unreliable narrators who may or may not be the severed aspects of a single person. But who that person truly is and how much autonomy the other aspects possess pose questions that Mueller reveals gradually and with consummate skill..

We know that severe early trauma increases the risk of dissociative identity disorder, formerly called multiple personality. Suppose, then, that it were possible to create a synthetic version of yourself, using bones grown on trees, for example, a “you” that would bear that unbearable pain? Or take away your shame upon herself? At what point would you cease to be you? How many aspects of yourself must you lose to become someone else, and what would be left?

From the very first pages, I was enthralled by The Lady, Charm, Pain, Pride, Shame, and Justice, and how they each survived (or perished) in the game of ruthless, often lethal magical politics. I especially loved how each found a wellspring of compassion in her burden, especially Pain. The unexpected love story was like a chocolate left on a pillow.

Mueller writes that it took her many years to create this story, and the care she took shines through the depth and complexity of the world and its people. All too often, a debut novel that is the product of long development is followed by another that is comparatively rushed by early success. I hope Mueller is given the same scope for her next novel. If The Bone Orchard is any indication of what we can look forward to, it will be a treasure. She is definitely a talent to watch.

Definitely check the content warnings before reading this one but wow! Such a stunningly beautiful dark and lush read! The plot and premise was so unique and executed so perfectly, an easy five stars!

I want to first start off by saying that aesthetically this book is gorgeous. I am someone that loves darker covers with hints of beauty and I could not have designed a better cover. Also as someone who battles a few mental illnesses, and am tired of seeing a theme in books where mental illness suddenly becomes the catch all explanation for people doing bad things... I am so appreciative that this author did not take that easy way out. Because I am a strong believer that while yes there are situations where mental illnesses contribute... sometimes people are also just bad people all on their own. On the subject of bad people, I also loved how you couldnt even trust your own opinions of characters a lot of times in this book. There were so many characters who had my heart just to break it apart piece by piece which I think shows brilliance on the authors part. Overall I adored this book. It was gothic it was lyrical it was haunting and it was everything my nightmares could want and more. This will definitely not be my last book by the author.

I almost did not finish this book, it was hard for me to get through, but I decided to finish it. I do not think I disliked this book because of anything major, I just did not get along with it like I should have. However, I loved the concept and think if I read it at a different time I would have had a better reading experience. Overall, I was just... confused? The writing style was difficult for me to follow at times, and I had a hard time truly comprehending all of it. But, again, I still rate it high because I think this was a *me* issue. There are some really interesting themes and I do think I would still recommend it, but just with the caveat that people should take their time with it.

However, I will be buying a physical copy because LOOK AT THAT COVER. Whoever designed that needs a RAISE. That is GORGEOUS.

The Bone Orchard sounded great, and this one 100% lived up to its promise. This was a very dark, adult fantasy/murder mystery. It’s full of political intrigue, and just a dash of romance. There are quite a few darker aspects to this book though, so I would look up content warnings if you need them.

Charm was such a fascinating character, I loved seeing how her story unfolded. The best comparison I can think of for this book is that it’s like an onion - there are so many layers and subplots, and each reveal just shows you another deeper layer of the book. I would not have expected so many of the events that happened, but they all made complete sense in context.

Overall, this was a dark fantasy novel that totally sucks you in. I can’t wait to see what Mueller writes next!

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you to Macmillan Tor and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

If you're a fan of Gideon the Ninth, this is your next obsession! (Be sure to check trigger warnings!)

I was immediately intrigued by this world and wanted to know what was going to happen but also I wanted to know more about Charm and figure out her world and her story. She is such a compelling character right from the start, but she continues to get more complex and even more relatable, and I loved watching her story.

The fact that this story deals with dissociative identity disorder is something that makes it extremely complex (and at times confusing) but I think it was what gave the story its depth and meaning. The way that each bone ghost is made to deal with a specific part of Charm's history and trauma is so telling and so true to the disorder.

The plot was a bit predictable at the end, and I'm not sure that if I hadn't read reviews and figured out that it was about DID that I would have really understood any of it. But overall I really enjoyed the lush world and the way it deals with the story and healing of DID.

If you're a gothic fantasy lover, definitely add this to your list!

"You’ll find that what you can bear increases a great deal when you are not offered any other choice."
"I tore myself apart so they wouldn’t destroy me, but I can stand it now."

Charm is a necromancer witch, taken from her homeland and now held captive by the emperor of Boren. Her prison is Orchard House. Behind the house is the Bone Orchard, trees that grow bones from which bone ghosts can be grown, meticulously arranged and reanimated. Charm is also the emperor's mistress and a madam, providing her bone ghosts to those to seek company with the girls that aren't real. On the emperor's deathbed, he tasks Charm with finding his murderer and deciding which of his sons is worthy of the throne. In exchange, Charm will be granted her freedom.

This book was great to read at the start of spooky season; necromancy, mind control, and ghosts all packaged in a beautiful gothic setting. The concept of this book is great, I loved the idea of the bone ghosts being the personification of a character trait (Shame, Pride, Justice, Desire, and Pain). I can't say too much without spoilers. While the idea is fantastic, the execution of the narrative was a bit lacking. It was difficult to follow at the beginning and it was hard to understand all of the various subplots. But, everything does come together in the end and I really enjoyed it.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor Forge/Tor Books, and the author for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***