I was really intrigued by the beginning of this one, and really looking forward to diving into the story. Unfortunately it got darker than I expected quicker than I expected, and in a way that felt disjointed and confusing rather than intriguing and curiosity-building....

I found all of the characters irritating and their behaviors odd and unlikely,and found myself suspending too much disbelief too early on to feel connected to the story. I love a good dark atmospheric tale, and don't mind horror, but this one felt gruesome for no other reason than throwing in curve balls. This one wasn't for me.

This is a book that grows on you. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once the plot got rolling I was hooked. I really enjoyed how the mystery unraveled and kept me guessing. The inclusion of ancient lore, the supernatural, and gore upped the enjoyment factor for me.

There is some light romance I found really cute, but the highlight for me was the relationship between the sisters. It was sweet and humorous in typical sibling fashion. My only complaint is the character John deserved a good punch to the face.

This is would be a perfect fall read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Wow, I really liked this book! Magic, mystery, suspense, romance, and a dark and spooky atmosphere, this book has all the hallmarks of a great mood read, and it’s absolutely fitting that it is due to release at the end of September.

I will admit that the main character, Cordelia, could be a bit irritating a couple of times and her poor luck and dire circumstances at the beginning of the book seemed incredibly contrived and over the top (mafia boss, really?), but honestly, those were minor hiccups for me. The rest of the story and the magical world the author created was just so imaginative. I loved the way the sisters reconnected and interacted with each other. I loved the Norse influence, the house that had ways of making its will known, the ghosts of family members past, all of it!

I wish there’d been a little more effort in developing the relationship between Cordelia and Gordon, which felt, if not like insta-love, then at least insta-love adjacent. Again, that’s only a minor complaint. This story was just such a fun and transporting read, I was compulsively tapping those eBook pages until the end. If you’re looking for a great Halloween mood read this year, look no farther!

Trigger Warning: some gore described in moderate detail, which is why in my genre listing above I said it was horror-ISH.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Summary
Cordelia Bone and her sister have not spoken in 5 years, since Cordelia married a sweet talking, identify thieving, cheater – of course Eustace knew this, but her sister would not head her warnings. Present day, Cordelia is drained of her dreams, money, and safety and she receives a phone call from her sister. Apparently, the sisters are heirs to a family estate in Connecticut and must venture there in hopes of helping with the finances and finding out more about their family history. While there, they discover bone chilling experiences and unravel their family history in a way they never expected.

Big Picture Plot
The Bone sisters must return to their inherited estate and investigate the family history to learn more of how to acquire their modest financial inheritance, and the mysterious death of their mother. The ghosts of their ancestors are haunting them and threatening their lives, the sisters make friends and enemies along the way while also trying to rekindle their sisterly bond.

Individual Character Musings
Cordelia is grappling with childhood trauma, the recent loss of her business, her finances, her husband to her younger assistant, and come to terms with the person she has shoved down for the last five years. Cordelia’s character development is not necessarily the focal point of the story; however, there were so many different experiences that she endured, that it became the focal point.

My Take
I find myself trying to reconcile my love for YA and NA fantasy while also trying to enjoy adult fantasy. I think Morgyn did a good job of molding together adult themes and yet still bringing a bit of mystique to the story. I was definitely not prepared for the creepy sensations I would experience while reading the book… but I am not mad about it! Overall, I enjoyed the story and enjoyed being able to predict some of the plot twists, but also be surprised by some.

Content Warnings: Death of animal, mutilation of animal, death of human by animal, mention of rape, death, spells, bones, ghosts

Would I Recommend?
Yes, I would recommend this to those who like a bit of suspense, but like being able to figure out a bit of the mystery before it unveils itself. Also, to those who like witchy vibes and secret family histories.


Rating: 3.5 stars

This is a spooky and chilling story of two women who inherit their aunt’s ancestral home and discover all sorts of strange and eerie ghosts and characters. They seek to uncover the mysteries of their deceased mother and of their ancestors. Beware: there is a grizzly animal event. A really engrossing novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.
Witches, yes sign me up.
Have never read anything by this author, but the book cover and synopsis drew me in.
Am so happy I was granted a copy to read and review.
The plot setting and most of all the characters made me fall in love with this book.
You will too. Will be reading more by Ava Morgyn!
Five stars. Recommend? YES!

Overall I really loved The Witches of Bone Hill, and instantly got sucked in. Unfortunately about a third of the way through the pacing slows down a bit and I found myself getting bored.

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn is a complex tale of two sisters, their mysterious family history, and the danger of claiming their legacy. Morgyn has written an intriguing story, with complex characters and a story that keeps you turning the pages.
I found the book somewhat slow to start, but it was compelling enough to keep me going to the part where things really took off. The family secrets are peeled back layer by layer, and revealed slowly for both the sisters and the reader. It is, at its heart, a story of family, albeit with a paranormal slant, and all of the good and bad that comes with it, both in the past and the present.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheWitchesofBoneHill .

Cordelia is down on her luck - her husband cheated, left her with unimaginable debt, and she can't sell her home to recoup her costs because now it's full of mold. Then she and her sister learn that their great-aunt has passed and left them with the family estate - which they must visit to claim. Upon arrival, they learn they've inherited much more than just a house - and realize they must fight some dark forces to claim their birthright.

The first third of this book is a great introduction to the characters and the plot. It sets the atmosphere well and I was genuinely creeped out as they first explored the home and we start to see the sisters' gifts. But the second two thirds of this book fell flat for me - character development almost stopped, the romance came almost out of nowhere and didn't really grow from there, and certain elements of the plot didn't quite fit together. This book has a lot of interesting bones (pardon the pun), but didn't fulfill the promise. Interesting magic, good creepy atmosphere, some gripping antics, but overall I was left scratching my head as I worked to fill in the missing details.

I don’t mind supernatural type books, so that didn’t bother me in my mystery book selection. I just felt it was missing something, and dragged on a bit. It could be me. However I don’t think this is the one for me.

* This isn’t a book genre I would typically choose (suspense, ghosts) but I surprisingly enjoyed it.
* The mystery was great - there were enough twists to keep me from figuring everything 100% out.
* It felt a bit dragged out at times but not to the point where I’d stop reading!
* There is an unnecessary mob threat that sort of cheesed up the storyline.

Overall the book kept me intrigued and wanting to finish it as quickly as possible to understand the mystery of the Bone witches! That definitely warrants 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I made the mistake of judging this book a teeny bit by the cover before I started reading. I was expecting a corny little fantasy romance with cutesy witches and such. What I got was an exciting mystery with family secrets, witchcraft, sizzling romance, and bone magic. What more could a girl want!!

The story begins with half of our sister protagonist duo Cordelia as her real estate business and personal life are set in a dumpster fire by her shitty soon to be ex husband. Amidst all this personal drama, Cordelia finds out that her mysterious aunt has passed away, and left her, and her sister Eustace as heirs to her fortune and fancy manor hidden away, Bone Hill. The two sisters venture to the manor hoping to sell it and make a profit (thereby solving some of Cordelia's woes) but they get way more than they bargained for. Moving to Bone Hill unlocks family drama and secrets the girls had never been told about by their mother. Together Eustace, Cordelia, and the handsome mysterious groundskeeper Gordon begin to unravel the secrets of the Bone family. I will say I was expecting thrills and a little gore, but this was a bit gorier than I anticipated, not an issue for me, but if you're squeamish about gore, especially animal related, you may have some issues with parts of this book.

For me this was a read that I picked up and couldn't put down. The dynamic between Cordelia and Eustance was so fun, sisters who were distant reunite once more type of vibe. I loved both of their distinct personalities, it was really fun to see them interact. I also loved the magic system in this book, and the heritage of the Bone sisters, it's really a unique twist that I haven't seen done in my time reading witchy books (which is a lot of time). Magic was a win for me, characters, beautiful and gothic atmospheric setting, and dynamic side plot romance!! Sometimes in books like this the romance feels crammed in, Morgyn has seamlessly woven a story of family, magic, and love. Doesn't hurt that the love interest is fioooneeeeee and tattooed, we love to see it. Overall I would recommend this to lovers of Practical Magic, The Craft, and A Discovery of Witches. Pretty much anyone who likes a cozy witchy story would enjoy this. Rated 4.5/5, rounded down to 4/5 for Goodreads!

Disclaimer: This is my honest review and opinions in exchange for the ARC from NetGalley,

What more could I ask for in a book.. This has witches magic and ghosts! I love a good mystery that includes the paranormal and this well written atmospheric novel gave me everything.

Thank you NetGalley & St Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Witches of Bone Hill!

I really enjoyed this. It was so atmospheric & descriptive - there were plenty of parts during the book where I was spooked out! I loved the descriptions of the magic, this eerie mansion home, & the relationship between the two sisters.

Cordelia & Eustace Bone are reunited after 5 years when their estranged Great Aunt passes away. They learn they’re about to inherit a huge Victorian mansion - but it turns out they may be getting more than they bargained for. I loved the romance subplot between Cordelia & their sexy tattooed groundskeeper, Gordon!

Overall, this was slow paced, but it really worked as it all came to a head towards the end of the book - which was exciting & intense! Great book & I highly recommend to all who love atmospheric, mysterious settings with witches, magic, & the love between two siblings.

I will be posting my review to Goodreads & my bookstagram closer to pub date!

*There aren’t any published trigger warnings, but please make note there are graphic scenes of animal abuse.*

This would be a perfect Halloween read. It has ghosts, witches and dark magic, There's a gothic horror feel to it. Two sisters inherit a Victorian mansion that comes with a tragic family history. It's creepy, atmospheric, and full of mystery and suspense. I found it really hard to put down once I got about halfway through. That said there are some disturbing events that almost made me stop reading a couple times. I'm a mood reader and I didn't realize this book was going to lean into the horror genre as much as it did when I chose it. I was not expecting some of the more graphic descriptions of gore and mutilation. I really wanted to know what was going to happen though, so I stuck with it. I'm glad I did because it was a good story. I was satisfied with how it came together. I enjoyed the writing.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I struggled to get into this book so it took me a little bit longer to finish it. I’m glad I came back to finish the story. After the first few chapters it grabbed my attention and I couldn’t put it down! Definitely a must read!

The overall premise of this book but the right spooky and compelling notes: sisters taking over a mysterious estate and becoming entrenched in a troubled family history. I was definitely interested! However, once I got into the story, it did not hold my interest fully. The characters felt a little flat, and I had trouble getting invested in their individual stories.

Where the setting was rich and detailed, the character elements did not match that height. The romance element did not have any significant build up, and I didn’t necessarily have anything to latch onto in order to really root for it. We’re outright told the motives for the primary characters, but things never seemed to develop beyond surface level, and there is a massive unraveling and info dump at the very end.

While this story had a lot of potential, the execution felt a bit disjointed. There were elements (Busy and the mob?) that, while explained, felt completely out of the blue and unrelated to the rest of the story. I wanted it to have just a bit more meat on the bones of the story and pull a little more emotional weight. 3⭐️

A big thank you to Ava Morgyn, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC of The Witches of Bone Hill in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a wild ride from the beginning to the end. While it’s classified as SciFi / Fantasy, I think it should also be tagged as Mystery and maybe even Horror. This is a suspenseful story about two sisters who are down on their luck who inherent a sprawling, seemingly sentient, historical estate from a family their mother kept them ignorant of their entire lives. Their mother, along with almost every female member of their family, has died in gruesome and brutal ways, and Cordelia and Eustace need to get to the bottom of why in case they might be next. Through their hunt to understand their family’s misfortune, they accept the sisters learn to accept their magic and place in this long line of Bone witches.

This was a wonderfully written story, which had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The characters were compelling, and the plot moved quickly and not unnecessarily. Again, I went in expecting a cozy like fantasy (the cover is a seemingly cute, harmless picture) but wound up in a murder mystery. If you’re squeamish, there are some vivid depictions of gruesome murders and nasty scenes, but I would say it‘a not enough to be considered full horror. I really enjoyed this read!

Magical mystery in small town CT. Superstition and secrets and witches, along with ghosts that get into the game. Complex tale with just a few characters, focus on the mystery and the past. Knocked a star due to Cordelia's repeated gross errors of judgement, kind of became annoying.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book! First, let me just say the writing was beautifully descriptive. The author paints such a vivid narrative that I could not only see every detail in my mind but I could hear it too. The Witches of Bone Hill is a spooky, supernatural read about two estranged sisters (Cordelia & Eustace) that come together after receiving an enormous inheritance from their great aunt. An aunt that they didn't even know existed. Along with the house on Bone Hill they also learn their heritage and family history. Cordelia, who is trying to wrap up a divorce with her cheating husband is desperate to sell and cash out in order to pay off a debt to the local mafia that her deadbeat husband bailed on leaving her responsible for the repayment in their eyes. Eustace has simpler needs and just wants to find a place to call home. A lot is on the line for both sisters as it becomes clear that someone wants to stop the sisters from accepting the inheritance and all it entails. With the help of a fox, a smoking hot groundskeeper and a few restless spirits, Cordy and Eustace must figure out who is lurking in the shadows trying to derail the solution to both of their problems. I would have given this 5 stars (it gets 4.5) only because of a couple instances of animal abuse. That was not my favorite part and I didn't see any trigger warnings. I received a digital copy of this book from Net Galley in return for an honest review. I really did enjoy the writing, the story line and the characters. It had a great pace and some spectacular plot twists.