Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book! It was absolutely amazing. I was sucked in from the very beginning. This book was completely different from any other book I have ever read. The story was so enticing and kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters had so many layers to them. The mystery and suspense was fantastic. I’m excited to read more by this author! Well done!

I received ARC from Penguin and Netgalley, who I give thanks for giving me a chance to give an honest review for a book that was on my TBR. This is a third person, psychological horror, and this authors first attempt at YA.

The horror was amazing. I am a fan of gore and horror and this even got to me a little bit. TW; blood, bodily harm, and unintentional gaslighting. The horror also reflected and aided the plot. The plot twist was interesting! I was constantly guessing what was real and what wasn't, just like Josephine.

Speaking of the characters, they were written so well. I loved the relationship between Josephine and her family, but specifically with her sisters. All the dialogue was very real, especially the sibling bickering. Within the horror and discomfort, there was actually some well placed humor. I found myself laughing at how Josie and her sisters fight or make fun of each other which broke the tension.

The only criticism I can pick at is that there were times that the plot took turns that seems awkward in the moment but was explained later. Without spoiling, I will say that the example that comes to me in about half way into the book when Josie gets emotionally closer to a non-family member. It is explained in the end but did not quite connect in the moment.

I love a good YA Horror novel when I need a break from adult horror and House of Ash and Bone checked all the boxes. It still had a lot to offer in regards to horror, not holding back, which the genre tends to do for YA sometimes, so I loved that. This is definitely a dark and twisty story.

Spooky, dark, and chilling YA horror story. Josie and her family are invited to come stay at her fathers long lost aunts home after inheriting it. When they arrive at the home everything is perfect, the food is perfect, the rooms are perfect, not a single thing is out of place.... except to Josie. No one in her family seems to even be able to hold on to a memory for longer then 5 minutes and Josie quickly realizes a dark force inside the home is controlling her families minds and has dark ulterior motives.

This was a great horror novel for a younger audience. It does feel a little rushed towards the end, but this is meant for a younger audience and that wont be an issue with them. This story definitely created a spooky mental image as you read and is great for some shivers in the night.

House of Ash and Bone
Author: Joel A. Sutherland
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Publication Date September 5th, 2023.

A family from Amherst, NY inherits an old, creepy house in the middle of Vermont and decides to spend the winter holiday there. Seventeen-year-old Josephine must protect her family from Dorcas, the ghost of a witch who died three hundred years ago. I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book. The author's vivid description created an eerie and immersive atmosphere that sent shivers down my spine. The plot was a rollercoaster of suspense and unexpected twists. This book could easily be adapted into a horror movie, love The Conjuring" vibes I got from it. The main character Josephine's journey of self-discovery is beautifully portrayed by the author, making her a character you can easily root for. Overall, if you are looking for an introduction to the horror genre or if you are an avid horror reader, you will love reading "The House of Ash and Bone"! I want to thank Net Galley and Penguin Random House Canada for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really well done young adult horror. I sometimes find young adult horror to be too cheesy, but I felt like this one did a good balance. I did think it was a little more of a slow burn than I would have liked. The big twists at the end were pretty predictable but I still found it to be a creepy, haunting story that I devoured in one sitting. Josephine and her family have been struggling but when her father gets the news that he has inherited a house from his great aunt her parents decide to test it out by going and visiting for a week to see if they like it. Josephine doesn’t need her special talent of hearing peoples thoughts to know that this will likely become their new home. But it doesn’t take long for Josephine to realize there is something wrong with the house and there is something there haunting them. Unfortunately her family doesn’t notice anything and if they do they forget about it instantly. It’s up to Josephine and any allies she can meet to try to save her family.

House of Ash and Bone is an interesting coming of age story set against a backdrop of hauntings and witches.

Josephine's family has just inherited a house at the perfect time and when they arrive, it seems like the perfect house. The Jagger family is smitten, almost like they're under a spell. Josephine finds out that not everything is what it seems and has to save her family.

I will say I really enjoyed the last 30% of this book the most. The beginning and middle felt like they didn't really know what they wanted to be. Sometimes the dialogue felt forced and almost middle grade, but the next paragraph would have quite a few f-bombs. The end really did being it together though with some fun twists and a fast paced fun ending.

This is a dark book that has well developed characters. I love how the author chose to end the book. A very well done book that I would recommend! Special Thank You to Joel A Sutherland, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.

A family inherits an old creepy house in the middle of Virginia. Seventeen year old Josephine has to protect her family from Dorcas, the ghost witch who died three hundred years ago.

I was blown away at how much I loved this book. Sutherland’s vivid descriptions created an eerie and immersive atmosphere that sends shivers down your spine. The plot is a rollercoaster of suspense and unexpected twists. Josephine’s journey of self-discovery is beautifully portrayed, making her character you can easily root for.

If you’re a fan of dark, atmospheric fiction with paranormal, this book is an absolute must-read.

Put this book on your fall/Halloween TBR this year!

Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have soundly realized that horror is simply not my genre, especially YA/Middle Grade horror. This book tried to take on too much between the million magical/supernatural aspects and side characters. I think a lot of it could have been paired down and still kept much of the excitement of the story. Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We are giant horror fans in this house. But this one just did not work for us. It dragged for everyone who read it and the story at large was just kind of boring. I think this one would work better for the very high middle grade or low young adult crowd.

I am fully in my YA horror era right now so I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The twists had their own turns and I felt like I was seeing things myself while I read it. I loved Josie and her sisters as well as the family dynamics which led to such a creepy atmosphere. This is definitely a great horror story even if I would have liked a little more character development (but I usually want more character development from books). A bone-chilling read that is perfect to compliment those upcoming fall vibes.

Thank you to PenguinTeen Canada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was not for me.

The writing style seemed to lean into telling many details instead of showing them, and unfortunately hurt my enjoyment of the overall story. It is good and creepy at certain points, and doesn't shy away from blood which I always appreciate, but I just found that everything seemed to just be, there. The characters felt like cutouts with a few interests glued to them instead of actually being fully realized people. I just did not become invested in any struggle or plot point as they seemed to be introduced simply to be introduced. All of it made for something that made the book just not my favorite. Of course, this truly stems from personal opinion and I am sure others will love it!

I could not get into this as much as I thought I would be able to. The comparison to House of Salt and Sorrows is what enticed me, but there was nothing similar.

Thank you to you NetGalley Tundra Books and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review. The following opinions are my own.

This is my first Joel A. Sutherland novel. I was too old for his Haunted Canada series when he was writing them. So this was my chance to get a feel for his writing. This book was definitely for a younger audience than me. But I'll also say that it didn't feel as strong. There were a lot of characters who seemed like filler and 2 dimensional. There was also a lot of focus on what a character had for breakfast. A lot of pages dedicated to that. Which I found a bit strange to say the least. I'm beginning to think I have a very specific idea of what I like in my horror. Maybe I'm just too old for this particular book.

So first I love love gothic landscape style books and this was definitely one of them. I loved the ghosts as well. One thing that I’m not a fan of is the third person but if y’all like it that’s perfect you’ll love it. I may read this again around “spooky” season or summerween 3.5/5 ⭐️

Boo!

Did I scare you? Well I hope so, it would be a fraction of how much this book spooked me! I am a self described scaredy cat and I'm not afraid to admit it but this cover was just to beautiful to pass up. I read it over the course of a week (my fragile heart couldn't take much more then that) and found that it made me hit all of the emotional beats it was after while keeping me entertained enough to fight through the fear!

Josephine Jagger is a seventeen year old girl who has strange abilities... She’s a talented writer but she has voices in her head and when her family moves into a new home they inherited in Vermont, the line between reality and fantasy begin to blur for Josephine. She begins to see more shadows and hear whispers. Then she begins to see the woman, a woman who is in shadows with long hair and pale skin... and her name is Dorcas and she’s the witch who died three hundred years ago. Dorcas was summoned to consume the entire family in order to rise from the grave. I’m normally a huge fan of witch stories and horror stories but unfortunately this one just didn’t grip me. I just wasn’t that interested in the story and the writing style just didn’t work for me. Sadly I just found myself wishing the book would end already. Despite the fact that it didn’t work for me, if you like witch stories give this one a go maybe you’ll have a better time with this one than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed this YA spooky read! I received this ARC through Net Galley for an honest review.
Johanna has special abilities she can't control or understand and things only get worse when her family take a trip to visit a gothic old house that they inherited over Christmas. Laurence the ghost was interesting and Dorcas, yikes!
With roots in the Salem witches, this book was suspenseful and kept me guessing. I loved the cover, that is what drew me in. I would really want to read this around Halloween and it just might make it to my yearly spooky reading list. The only thing I didn't care for was the story being told in the third person. I think a first person point of view from Johanna would have made it better. 3.5 stars and a definite Halloween read.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Josephine's family has unexpectedly inherited a home in Vermont from their great-grandaunt. The Family has decided to celebrate Christmas there to check the lifestyle of that particular small town, moving there permanently is also an option as the financial situation is tight. No one knows that Josephine has special abilities that are not even in her control and she had made a mess in the past and doesn't want to repeat it. Something is bothering her, that new house has shadows lurking in the corners and the atmosphere is shady. Except for Josephine, everyone loves the house and everything about it. She has to single-handedly figure out the mystery and save her family.

I avoid reading Horror as I don't get the point. I decided to try horror this year so decided to read it plus cover was interesting. This book is directed toward a younger audience so I get why some things were in a certain way. But I still think that story was dragged. Many characters felt like filler especially the younger sister and so many pages were dedicated to her day-to-day eating habits. The story was catered to the audience who preferred suspense over a fast-paced story. In a nutshell, this book wasn't for me and I skimmed it a lot.