Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

The Witches of Bone Hill lends itself towards a macabre fantasy that plays with some romance and horror themes. It's the type of book you read twice. The first time you're speed reading to confirm your theory in a classic case of "Who done it?" and the second time to pick up on the elements that Morgyn has woven across the narrative to tie together the whole story.

There was some beautiful descriptive prose along with evocative writing that makes you feel the pulsating ache in your own temples. However, I do think there are some rough stylistic changes in the writing that stand out. In the beginning half of the book, we're really inside Cordelia's head, for better and worse. We see the world through her eyes and Morgyn spends a lot of time building this universe for our narrative. There are explicit references to Cordelia's hidden talents and a focus on building our the ghost element. Honestly, the author does too good of a job making the reader fear the house, insomuch that its a hard transition to see it as anything but devious and vengeful. The issue I think stems when we start to segue outside of just Cordelia's thoughts/memories and more action starts to take place on the page. As a reader, it felt like now that the author had something substantial to forward the plot line, they lost the thread of their earlier narrative.

My recommendation would be to either go back into the earlier chapters and address the writing style to mimic the ending or flush out more of the mentality and atmosphere of the house after we start to expressly understand who the villains are. Also, add in some contextualization for the romance piece. It's a straight up tease and as a grown woman, I don't want a decorative sentence that closes out the paragraph. You made my head ache for CHAPTERS, give me something that gets my pulse going and some blood in my cheeks with Gordon.

The Witches of Bone Hill

By Ava Morgyn

Morgyn’s novel begins like a typical work of “women’s fiction”, with the main character, Cordelia, the victim of a bad divorce standing in front of the Texas house she has had to sell. In the middle of trying to supervise a move, she gets a call from her sister Eustace. They have, it seems, inherited a house in Connecticut, from a relative they never knew.
When Cordelia and Eustace (where do authors get these names?) decide to go to Connecticut and see the house, the novel turns decidedly gothic. The house, where they are simply dropped off, is a haunted mansion. There’s a smell from roses that aren’t there. And a tooth in a drawer that rattles itself.
From there it gets even creepier. I’m afraid I’m going to chose not to review this book publicly. I’m sorry. I so enjoyed a magical reality book I read just before this one. But Morgyn’s book is more of horror story I think than tale of witches and magic. I do apologize. But I just can’t keep,reading it. I’m sure it will give me nightmares.

The Witches of Bone Hill is a great fall book! Lots of magical realism and intrigue are in this story. This author has a way with words that keep this novel engaging.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This definitely edges closer to horror than witchy rom com.
There is romance, creepy magic, a murdered mother, ancestral home being inherited along with finding their magic.

It was great. Definitely reminded me of Practical Magic with the sisters and their dynamic.

Cordelia’s live is falling apart with her philanderous husband, mounting debt and moldy house so when her sister tells her they need to meet at their great aunts house to plan the funeral she hopes she can unload the house for some money and save herself. But they definitely get more than they bargain for with Bone House and it’s secrets.

I enjoyed the darker edge to this and they bonds between the sisters. The romance wasn’t necessarily needed but I really like Gordon so it worked for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an eARC.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this as an ebook from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: This was okay. It's about two sisters who find out they have inherited a strange family estate along with the odd magical powers. I liked the beginning of this but thought the way the story played out was a bit predictable and boring. I also just never really enjoyed any of the characters that much.

Cordelia is going through a very rough divorce and has been forced to assume a lot of her husband's debt; despite her booming business in real estate she is running out of money. Then she gets a call from her older sister Eustace (a hippie cannabis grower from Colorado) who tells her that their great-aunt has left them an estate. They never knew their great-aunt but Cordelia sees a possible escape from her money problems and jumps at the opportunity. Upon arrival they find that not only is the house haunted, but their family (which they have been estranged from their whole lives) has some very deep and disturbing secrets. When Cordelia and Eustace start to see changes in their own bodies and powers as well, they know something crazy is happening and Cordelia's plan to sell off the estate has to go on hold until they solve some deeper mysteries.

There isn't anything blatantly wrong with this book I just found it a bit scattered. There are almost too many things going on for the plot. Coedelia ends up with a gangster after her who is trying to collect on her husband's debt; strangely this issue kind of goes away and then comes back at the end. This just didn't need to be in the story. Then there is the side issue about the groundskeeper whose mom died on the premise of the estate; Cordelia develops a relationship with the groundskeeper so he serves as a romantic interest. Still, the whole back story about his mom felt a bit superfluous and the romance feels half-baked as well. I felt like a lot of these little plot branches really detracted from the overall creepiness of the rest of the story.

I did enjoy the hauntings and the mysteries the sisters uncovered on the estate in the beginning of the book. However, some of the turns the story took towards the end, with competing heirs really took away a lot of the supernatural mystery and pinned a lot of things on one evil character. I found this anti-climatic, predictable and just all in all disappointing. I think this story could have built to a much more intriguing and impactful ending.

The writing is fine but there were some parts of the story where the pacing was a bit slow. I just felt like the book ended up a bit jumbled with too much going on. There's a lot of potential here but it fell flat for me.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was okay. The premise here and the beginning of the book was pretty good. I was drawn into the story right away. Then the book lost me; there were too many things happening at once and too many plot points thrown in that were supposedly important but then were quickly brushed aside and forgotten. I never engaged with the characters well and found the ending really predictable and boring. I don't plan on picking up any books by this author in the future.

A perfectly witchy, spooky Spooky Season read that has abundant vibes, and a few little flaws holding it back from its full potential. 3.75 stars rounded up.

Honestly, this book has everything that I could have wanted for fall: Witches, restless spirits, a positively delicious spooky Victorian mansion I would move into in a fraction of a second… even a credible love interest. The vibes were spot on, but unfortunately there are a few things that undermined it for me. Even more unfortunately, they start right at the beginning which held me back from really getting into this book quite a bit.

Since this is the very initial setup, I’m not sure they qualify as spoilers, but beware if you’re sensitive to such things. Our main female MC is supposed to be a super successful real estate agent sadly going through a divorce… and yet she is absolutely incapable of saying no or taking any action resembling self-preservation. The estranged husband commits identity theft on her and she’s like ‘oh no, how will I pay back all the money he fraudulently borrowed in my name?’ She has seemingly never heard of a credit freeze, a police report, a lawyer, or the word no… which seems very unlike any real estate agent. I get that this is because the author is putting her in a position to set up the rest of the story, but it was so poorly done and irrational that it took me completely out of the story and made me dislike this ridiculous woman for fully the first half of the book.

Secondly, there are just… SO MANY similes and metaphors. Like so many. Like a bizarrely distracting amount that an editor should have culled. It was so distracting, again, especially in the first third of the book.

Halfway through the story really finds it’s legs and I fully got into it, but it’s unfortunate that it’s luster is dimmed by the rough parts at the start. On the whole though it was a perfect seasonal read, and I appreciated that it was bloodier than a lot of witch stories but the squeamish may have issues.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin for an advance copy and a chance to read it ahead of release day!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. When I started this I completely forgot what it was supposed to be about other then it being about witches with some romance thrown in. I am so happy that I went in a little blind. I got a book involving the paranormal, a mystery/thriller, some slight horror and some romance. All things that made this book amazing.

My only minor complaint is that the person behind everything is completely obvious. What is supposed to be the twist I guess is good but not gasp worthy to me.


4.5 stars

As children, sisters Cordelia and Eustace Bone never stayed in a house long enough to establish stability. Their mother, Maggie, seemed to be running from something; protecting her children by keeping them in the dark about who and what they were. Now, as adults, their mother is dead, and they have each received news of their inheritance of the family manor, Bone Hill, located in Connecticut. For Cordelia, this might fulfill her desperate needs of quick cash and a place to hide, as well as provide answers about her mother’s choice to keep them away from the only stable family that could have helped them in the past.

“This place, with its Gothic sensibility and family history, might hold the only answers she could hope to find about who or what their mother was, why she left, and what happened to her. Answers that Cordelia might not survive without. Answers that terrified her as much as the questions which spawned them.”

Cordelia’s mother made it a point to instruct her about her headaches, and her interactions with the paranormal. First, there are the rules concerning ghosts: don’t look at them; don’t speak to them; and don’t sing to them. Second, she must be aware that there were parts of herself that she couldn’t trust; parts that would be her undoing if she ever looked a ghost in the eye. However, once she enters Bone Hill, she begins to see ghosts who are trying to communicate with her. What are they trying to tell her? Should she listen? Do the sisters have powers that link them to Bone Hill; powers that might get them labeled as witches? Is this the reason why her mom never wanted to come back?

There’s something for everyone in this story about legacy, family, estrangement, acceptance, and ghosts (emotional and paranormal); all with a healthy dose of romance.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Content Warnings: Blood, animal cruelty, animal death, murder, and death.
Mention of: suicide, rape, cancer, and infidelity.

OMG what a perfect fall read!

I'd call this a cozy, low stakes, witchy fall book. I say cozy/low stakes because the "twist" was kinda obvious from the start...but I almost feel that was intentional 🤷🏽‍♀️...to give us those horror movie moments of yelling at the characters with the info we know that they should know.

We do get a romance but this book is definitely more about two sisters bond, finding themselves, and uncovering years of family secrets.

This book gave me all the same feels [warm/magical/family legacy/secrets] that I got when I read "In the Shadow Garden" by Liz Parker.

As the weather starts to shift us into Fall, aka the best season, and you're looking for a book to cuddle under a blanket with while sipping on a hot mug of tea...definitely get your hands on this book when it releases!

The Witches of Bone Hill is a great witchy suspense novel!

Sisters Cordelia and Eustace Bone inherit their great aunt's home in Connecticut. The issue - they didn't even know they had a great aunt. Their mother raised them away from family, and they both believed that there was a reason she had left all of those years ago. But now both are facing crises - Cordy has a cheating husband who now has the mob after her for his debts, and Eustace has been diagnosed with cancer - so they jump at the chance to go to the house, even if Cordy just wants to sell it to pay off the mob. The sisters had a falling out recently, but now they are both happy to be back together.

The house they inherited is more mansion than mere house. The lawyer tells them that to inherit, they must live in the house and keep it up. While Cordy's plans to sell and get out are over, she still needs to pay off the mob. She tries to sell an antique clock, but the house won't let it leave (the appraiser's car is hit by a large branch falling).

The problem is, the Bones are witches, and even though they haven't ever really practiced, strange things have happened all of their lives. Cordy deals with horrible headaches. Supposedly, being in the house will heal them - it healed Eustace's cancer - but they can't leave, or they will get sick again. Strangely, Cordy's headaches don't get better when she gets to the house, at least not all of the time. But Eustace is becoming a domestic goddess, baking, growing plants, healing animals, and Cordy is controlling the weather, seeing and talking to ghosts, and predicting the future.

There are more questions than answers for the sisters to figure out, and a very sexy groundskeeper who is willing to help them. What happened to her ancestors? What is the magic that binds them to this house, and how did their mother survive all of those years away? Who is trying to keep them from taking ownership of the house?

Some of the twists I saw coming, while others were a surprise. But even if I knew some of the answers, the story was very entertaining and exciting.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Get your comfy blanket and hot apple cider ready. This is a perfect Fall mood book to snuggle up to if you’re looking to scratch that spooky vibe itch. The story centers around two sisters who have been estranged for the last 5 years and both way down on their luck, when all of a sudden they discover their new inheritance via an aunt they never knew they had. As they begin their stay the history of their heritage begins to unfold along with the hidden powers buried within them.

Great read for the upcoming Halloween season. I definitely found myself unable to read this one at night because I would get so spooked. The writing is absolutely superb! It’s getting 4/5 stars only because it seemed to drag in the middle quite a bit but definitely picked up again in the last third. Also, did we really need Busy and that mob storyline?

This book was very clearly not for me. It was a bit disconnected. A scary house, family secrets and an immediate obsession with the groundskeeper.

This was just too predictable to me, sometimes for reasons I thought very goofy (like the family motto, in the most obvious Latin that could possibly exist, that somehow takes the main characters multiple chapters to figure out, and other similar "mysteries") and other times for reasons I found wildly dumb—<em>multiple</em> times the sisters <spoiler>wrote off the only possible character who could be the bad guy, as the bad guy, because they thought he just didn't have bad enough vibes</spoiler>. The romance wasn't stellar, but reasonably fine, and the horror and the spooks were quite good.

Practical Magic meets The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina. The Witches of Bone Hill is a magical novel about starting over, the strength of family and the ties that bind, and, of course, witches. The Bone sisters have returned to their ancestral home to claim their inheritance after the death of their estranged great aunt, but will they survive long enough to receive it?

This book gives off heavy Alice Hoffman vibes from the very beginning. There's witches and sisters and romance and a spooky house and a strong focus on the meaning of family. It's a slow burn right up until the very end, when everything seems to happen all at once, but it managed kept me engaged and reading through the wee hours of the night.

The things I loved about this book: The humor, the relationship between the two sisters, Eustace (she's really a fantastic character), the Nordic mythology, and the witchy ancestors who provide assistance from beyond the grave. It's atmospheric and creepy without actually venturing into (what I would consider to be) horror. The conclusion is satisfying and the story is wrapped up without any loose ends.

The things I didn't love quite as much: Animal cruelty (not by the main characters but definitely present) and the unnecessary romance (why does there always have to be a romance with a sexy “bad boy” in these type of books?!). There were also times when the story dragged a little and I felt like the sisters were just rehashing the same subjects over and over.

Overall, though, I found The Witches of Bone Hill to be an entertaining and enjoyable read. The subtle humor is what really made the book for me, and the scene with Cordelia and her ex-husband in the kitchen was really top-notch.

Final rating: 3.85 stars, rounded up. If you liked Practical Magic or novels of a similar vein, you'll probably really enjoy this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

This was such a good read! So many twists and turns filled with betrayal, magic, secrets, and revenge. I loved the story of the Bone Witches and I recommend this book!

a perfect witchy read that is a perfect mixture of spooky and cozy. There was some mystery elements to the storyline that kept me engaged. I probably could've done without the horror part, but overall it was a decent read.

If you're looking for something to kick-off spooky season, this is a good pick! I mean who doesn't like to pick-up a book about witches discovering secrets.
It's lightly creepy (majorly for some, but I have a high threshold for creepy) and intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m having a tricky time approaching this review—and not because I didn’t enjoy The Witches of Bone Hill, it just wasn’t at all what I expected. Cordelia Bone’s life is in shambles when her estranged aunt passes away and her and her sister Eustace are forced to return to their ancestral home where they’re have to face the secret their mother hid from them their whole lives. This book has a lot of horror elements and some gore moments. I think I pictured more a Charmed sister dynamic but we never truly get to know Eustace. The beginning of the book felt really slow with a lot of long descriptive paragraphs, but it picks up a lot as these women start to unravel more truths about the house and their family. Cordelia’s romance with the groundskeeper was a light touch too but I feel like his story felt unfinished. There’s a lot to unpack in this book and the story is very atmospheric and the mystery is engaging. The ending is action-packed and hard to put down and it’s a great creepy mystery for spooky season.

I believe I picked this up as a "Read Now" thinking that it would be a novel that I would enjoy. The description seemed to tout it as a terrifying read. It didn't even come close to being spooky.

The novel was pretty boring for me. I probably expected to be terrified enough to keep me up at night. But that didn't happen. And I didn't quite understand the Mafia angle of the story. Really? It just took away from the handful of paranormal discoveries.

I didn't care for any of the characters, except for maybe Gordon, the property caretaker. He was one of the few that had a "normal" name, unlike the main characters Cordelia and Eustace. Those names didn't bother me at first, but as the story progressed, I just started to get annoyed at them.

By 42%, I was just about over and done. So I skipped to the last few chapters to see if there were any redeeming qualities that could compel me to carry one. Sadly, those last few chapters are what sealed the novel's fate as I was dismayed at the outcome. An unfortunate one star DNF.

I received a DRC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

"Ava Morgyn's The Witches of Bone Hill is a spellbinding, romantic novel about family secrets and two young women who discover they're Nordic witches.

Cordelia Bone's meticulously crafted life and career in Dallas are crashing down around her thanks to a philandering husband with criminal debts. When her older, carefree sister, Eustace - a cannabis grower in Boulder - calls to inform her that the great aunt they never met has died and they must travel to a small town in Connecticut to deal with the estate, she sees an opportunity to unload the house and save herself.

But once there, the sisters learn they are getting much more than they bargained for. The Victorian mansion they stand to inherit is bound in a dynasty trust controlled by their late aunt's aging attorney, who insists they retain and inhabit the house but keeps them in the dark about the peculiar rituals of their ancestors. Not to mention a sexy, tattooed groundskeeper with a shrouded past who refuses to leave the carriage house and a crypt full of dead relatives looming at the property line.

As both women grapple with their current predicament, they come face to face with a haunting family secret, the truth of what happened to their mother, and the enemy that's been stalking them from the shadows for generations. In a twisting torrent of terror and blood, the sisters must uncover the power within them to heal their fractured relationship, reverse their mysteriously declining health, and claim the lineage they wanted to escape but now must embrace if they are to survive at Bone Hill."

I'd totally take a large Victorian mansion, cursed or not.