Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for the chance to read this one!

I'll have to start by giving major props to the narrator. Totally upped the horror vibe by 1000%! There's no way I would have enjoyed the book as much as if I had read it myself simply because of that. Excellent, excellent job. Overall, very good book, but it did get super confusing in parts and I had to go back and listen. It was essentially the reading equivalent of feeling like you walked down the stairs and missed a step.

I loved this one. It was dark and creepy just like I like. I didn't want to stop reading. Laurel and her friends Isaac, Ricky and Garrett have such a strong friendship. The magic in the story was so neat. I cannot wait to read more from this author. The narrator was great. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not usually one for narrative fiction audiobooks as I have a habit of getting distracted and then I miss crucial plot points; however, I really enjoyed listening and had an easy time staying "tuned-in" to the story. I appreciated Laurel as a complicated character and the speculative nature of the spooky goings-on at the Early farm. Some of my favorite spooky books present the supernatural elements in such a way that it is unclear if they are real or being imagined by characters. This book did a great job of keeping me wondering about what was happening and why. Bonus points for a great narrator that captures the southern drawl nicely.

I am so glad that I had the audiobook format of WAKE THE BONES because life has been so busy lately that I’m not sure I would’ve read as much this month otherwise.

I enjoyed this story and thought there were a few suspenseful moments, and the narrator really helped bring the creep factor up.

*many thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

4.4 stars

WOW this was one gothic atmospheric treat!

If you like genre bending LGTBQ+ YA body horror/mystery in southern settings you will probably enjoy this book.

It is one of those "odd" books that readers either love or hate. Actually, I didn't give it 5 stars because in its "uniqueness", doesn't quite fulfill the expectations of any of the genres it touches. But I do have to say it is hard to review without spoiling the experience (nor so much the plot) so I recommend you just jump into it!

For me this book was all about the atmosphere. There was not one minute I didn't feel I was going through one of those spooky carnival rides.

I'm sure this is a book I will reread because there are philosophical layers to it and to the characters that I want to enjoy when I'm not so much immerse in the horror!

I really recommended it!

As a thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Wednesday Books , I write this review on Elizabeth Kilcoyne’s debut novel “Wake the Bones” The novel follows Laurel, and her journey to reconnect with her family’s history. Laurel has always known a history of magic existed in her family and now it is her chance to unravel the magic laid in her past and create a new future for her loved ones and herself. The novel’s atmospheric setting added to my enjoyment of this novel. Narrated by Bailey Carr, they added their full and textured voice to its atmosphere and lured the reader into continuing with its story. I would definitely look forward to other works of theirs. As for the audiobook, I give it a full five out of five stars. As for the story I give it a strong 3 star rating on goodreads.

This is a story about a living dead girl.

This book was one of the few I read this spooky season that legitimately unnerved me. There was one particular point that filled me with so much dread it was difficult to continue reading- which is exactly what I want in my horror! This was also a story about magic, & the kind of love that transcends the bounds of a lifetime. I loved it!

Thank you so much @netgalley & @wednesdaybooks for the e arc & @macmillan.audio for the audio listen!

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio version of this book.

I am so into audio right now, I honestly just started listening this year. I know this review was a long time in coming. First it wasa YA book,, some are good, but most, I'm too dated (my age) to read all these of age books. Anyway this one was not like that, but I'm giving it 3 stars only because I couldn't remember the characters when my friend asked me about it. Easily forgettable for me, but I listened throughout so 3 stars.

I wish I could tell you about it, but I forget.

I enjoyed this book while I was listening to it, but I think I forgot it all the moment I was done. The country setting was good, but the characters didn't feel very distinct to me. They weren't memorable. This book is creepy and had some great moments, but the characters themselves were bland.

I think this story as a whole is reasonably creepy, especially the person reading the audiobook version! She really knows how to take her voice to far, very creepy ranges. I felt that the plot itself was a bit strewn-together & was confusing enough that it all had to be re-established to the reader near the end, and I still can barely tell you what I just read.
Some good points I enjoyed about this book; the audio as I mentioned before. the complicated but ultimately soul-freeing relationship between Isaac & Garett, the fact that I didn't hate Laurel as a character or dislike any of the fundamental choices she made. This is a great book to read if you like some creepy small-town/ranch vibes, there are some wonderful works of horror that center around that horror aesthetic, and I think that this book embraces that background beautifully. I enjoyed feeling some semblance of relatability towards the characters, having grown up in a small town with friends being childhood friends, one of the friends having wished for an escape only to end up right back in the tiny little town, it is very reminiscent of real small-town mentality, and that was very relatable.
But yeah, the story kind of takes itself right down the gutter about halfway through, the plot is promising until it starts to collapse on itself, the stakes that are set up at the beginning of the story no longer matter by the end, as a reader it's a bit confusing trying to figure out what I'm actually supposed to care about big-picture. If you just discount the last 85% of the story, I thought it could have warranted at least three stars. But given how completely underwhelmed and confused I was by the end, it's a two.

I was really intrigued by the concept of this book, the southern gothic small town magic vibes have been making a beautiful resurgence recently. This didn’t hit the mark for me though. Really lovely characters but the pacing needed work

Wake the Bones is fantastic! Being from Kentucky, I loved the setting and it really did give me all the vibes of the Kentucky hills and small towns. The characters were believable, interesting, and relatable. I loved their relationships to one another and their struggles. It was a nice blend of real small town struggles and magic. The magic and supernatural elements to the story were wonderfully Southern Gothic. The audiobook was particularly fun to listen to - I loved the narrators voice for Laurel. It sounded like home. I definitely look forward to more from this author. This book is probably going on my list of favorites for the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 39% - I couldn't continue, I had no idea what was happening and had absolutely no connection with anyone in the book. The animal/beast reminded me of the twisted ones by T. Kingfisher but I wasn't enjoying myself.

The audiobook was given for review by Netgalley.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in return for my honest review.

About 30% in, I was still waiting for the “horror” and it still didn’t surface. With some witchy potential, it fell apart. It became more like a romance novel, I just couldn’t get into because I was waiting for the horror and fantasy fiction.

There were great reviews, so don’t take my word for it. This just wasn’t for me.

So to be clear, I’m going with 3 1/2 stars rounded up. I usually go with a half star if I keep flipping back and forth between ratings. That’s totally what’s going on here. I just liked it for the most part, but there were times that I really liked it too. Laurel is our main character and she is kind of a creepy girl. I mean, she uses animal bones to make things and talks to the dead. But that also makes her interesting to read about.

The other characters, and there weren’t really that many others, were also pretty interesting. I like Christine with her strange abilities, and Isaac with his heart, and Ricky for being the hometown boy sort. The characters together make up a good cast that you get caught up in.

The small amount of romance was fun too, nothing major and not too exciting. But that’s because the main focus is the freaky stuff that starts happening. There were a few moments where I was cringing because of the creepiness that is this book. It’s not really scary, but like the, oh hell no, type of creepy.

And there was one part that made me shake my head because, really?! Did that seriously just happen?!?! Cause I didn’t believe it, as a reader, not for one second. If you want to know what happened, here’s the spoiler… (view spoiler) Anyway, other than that I liked this one.

I recommend this to those who enjoy a creepy YA read. I do recommend the audiobook btw. It made things a little more eerie I think.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Elizabeth Kilcoyne for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This book gave me the practical magic vibes and I can’t complain. It was witchy with the magic use and even the plot felt pretty light, It was good. The characters were all likable especially Laurel. Laurel does a creepy hobby but she is very sweet. The narrator did a good job with the dialogue as well

Bummer! This book started out so good, then it fell apart and became a boring repetitive romance novel. This book had so much potential with the set up with the witch elements, but then it petered out and only had that in the book sparingly.

I'm not a fan when a fantasy horror novel gets hijacked by constants love hate relationships. I get it, one boy likes the other boy, but the other boy is afraid to come out to everyone. It just gets boring to me. I want to horror and fantasy elements.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Macmillian Audio and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book just wasn't for me. I started the audio and got about 25% of the way into the story, but just wasn't able to follow and kept getting confused. This doesn't mean this book won't be perfect for someone else, it just didn't up being for me.

I was told this was a thrilling tale of horror. Where? I didn’t see it in the 34% of the audiobook I listened to. Laurel Early grew up in a small tobacco growing town. She escaped town to attend a university in the big city of Ohio but dropped out for bad grades. In her free times she likes to taxidermy. This book took so much time in the set up. We had to find out about her friends, her hobby, her uncle, and her bones. It finally got interesting when she finds her old taxidermy castoff bones in a pool of fresh blood, but that interesting point was followed by more dullness. Then there is the car accident and chase by the weird blood and bone creature that even a gun will not stop, but now everyone thinks she is crazy and making it up. The DNF point for me was on the next meeting with the creature. The “I want to be in you, eat you, devour you from the inside.” I had to listen twice. And I was done. I love the Nine Inch Nail song, where these lyrics feel like they were taken from, but I was not enjoying this story. It wasn’t horror or thriller enough. It was boring, then it was just “Nope”.

This YA horror novel certainly delivered on a creepy atmosphere and some downright disgusting/horrific moments. The writing was really beautiful and well done but this was a pretty middle-of-the-road novel for me. I didn't feel any great sense of connection with the cast of characters, though they were interesting most of the time....and we love representation in YA right now but do the queer characters always have to be the ones dealing with trauma/abuse/and be the ones that don't make it to the end of the book?? At some point we have to start doing better. I also struggled with the loose 'magic system' that really verged more on the side of magical realism than true magic or paranormal standards. For the premise of a haunted farm and having to return to your family home after running away from your choices in life (i.e.. college for the main character) to being haunted by your dead mother, to actually having your fascination with collecting bones becoming useful, this story had so much promise. Unfortunately it just not a perfect execution. I am, however, intrigued to see what the author writes next.