This was a beautifully haunting novel about friendship, love, and family. It was full of rich settings and beautiful descriptors. I was engaged immediately and held throughout the novel. I always invested in the characters and what was happening to them. Edited flawlessly. I 100% recommend this book. 5/5.

I loved the story and the world building. the characters had good traits and good flaws. everything felt really well done.

Wow, what an impressive read! Especially considering the chances the author took with the unique mixing of genres.

Supernatural elements, mysterious, romantic, and horror!!!!! I really was not prepared to love this so much. The writing is gorgeous and had me wanting to soak in every word. Also, the world-building is pure genius and brings this tale to life in a magnificent way.

The characters were definitely the heart of this book. Particularly, the romance between Peter and Wyatt was an emotional overload. I recommend picking this one up!

Out April 2, 2024!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Your Blood, My Bones is a dual POV following Wyatt and Pedyr (Peter). Wyatt has inherited the dreadful and dilapidated estate of her late father and wants to burn it to the ground. After one last trip down memory lane, Wyatt walks the inside of her childhood home. When she enters the basement she finds Peter, chained up and left to die. Peter’s only goal is to end the Westlock line to free him from the imprisonment of the property and Wyatt is the last of the family.

I am soft DNFing this book. After 70 pages there is next to nothing going on in this story. It feels very much like I walked in 30 minutes late to a movie. I actually had to double check to make sure this wasn’t a second book in a series because the beginning is very disjointed. I may not be the right audience for this book. Wyatt has little to no reaction to anything going on. She finds her childhood best friend tied up in her basement and barely blinks. She has the strangest assortment of people show up and just goes back in the house. A man turns into a bird on her porch and she just closes the front door and carries on with her day. The phone in the house doesn’t work but for some reason her other childhood friend, James, seems to call it without any context but she can’t call her mom because her cell phone doesn’t have service?! The pacing is glacial and the main characters being lobotomy survivors (not really but their personalities are about as exciting as one) just does not give me the excitement to continue on at this time. I may try it again post publication if the reviews continue to come in overall positive.

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew is about Wyatt, a woman who just inherited her fathers house after his death. She comes back to burn down the house and her past only to find her childhood best friend chained in the basement. She learned more than she ever expected to of her family legacy and the past that is now haunting her.
This book gave the exact vibe I was expected and was excited for. It was a slow beginning and took a while to connect to the characters but it was good by the end. The creepy nature horror was great and as someone who loves cryptids the introduction of many different creatures just made it that much better.
The connection between the characters is how you get to know the characters. They show their connection in their current state instead of you being able to see how the connection grew. This can get confusing however since the main character's feelings about her relationships tends to flip back and forth very rapidly. They have a complicated and beautiful connection.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes an eerie and creepy horror. The suspense will grip you and you will be emotional by the end. The story is deep and emotional so be warned and happy reading.

Another great novel from Kelly Andrew!

Your Blood, My Bones shines in its character dynamics. I felt extremely immersed in the relationships between Wyatt, Peter, and James. Some of the lines about their friendships were so beautiful.

I loved the romance in this, but I was left heartbroken at the end.

Not every piece of world-building is explained in this, so if you don’t like going off vibes, you probably won’t enjoy this. I wish some elements had been more thoroughly investigated, but I do still love a vibey read like this.

Kelly has some beautiful prose in this one; she creates such visceral feelings in her writing.

If you are nervous to go into this because of the horror descriptor, don’t be! I am a big scaredy cat, and I had no issue reading this.

Thank you for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I went into this book thinking it was a horror book with a touch of friendship, magic, and romance. I can’t say I was wrong, but I also can’t say I was right because this book did happen to be all of those things, but the list makes it sound small when my feelings towards this book are anything but small. (Any book that makes me cry like this one did, is NOT small.) I will not ruin the book by explaining why I was a crying mess, but I will forewarn you the ending is something that will stick with you long after you shut the book and have tried to move on to something else.
This was my first read by Kelly Andrew, but it won’t be my last. The writing is phenomenal, even with some flowery prose, and I found myself hanging on to every word and searching for the foreshadowing to see where I was being led. Some authors struggle when it comes to describing longing, love, devotion, devastation, and most emotional connections and this isn’t something Kelly Andrew has any trouble handling. You not only understand the emotions of the characters you are journeying with, but you find yourself feeling their emotions right along with them! The balance struck between suspense and supernatural was also expertly handled so you constantly felt just a bit unsettled even during the calmer parts of the novel. Really, I can’t say enough nice things about the writing style.
This story is character driven at its core. A horror novel doesn’t always go over well with everyone when it focuses more on the connections between the characters and the readers connection to them, so please don’t pick this one up looking for big scares and gore… but go into thinking about the feeling of dread you get walking down an unlit unfamiliar hallway at night to get a glass of water and you hear something shift behind a closed door. Think dread, not gore. The characters in this tale are Wyatt Westlock, Peter, and James all of which are very well developed with decent backstories and relatable faults and struggles. If you have a heart, you will care about this crew! First kisses, adorably quippy banter, gut wrenchingly soft moments, and the constant worry of it all falling apart will have you hooked.
Wyatt: Our main character. A striking female who fully believes her only purpose is to ruin and rot everything around her, but just desperately wants to be loved. Wyatt needs therapy and healing. Wyatt also needs to be hugged and given the softest blankets and pillows to snuggle with while she works through all her feelings – and she has a lot of feelings.
Peter: I loved this broken broken boy. Pale and quiet and desperate beyond measure to belong to someone and to have someone belong to him. If your heart doesn’t melt for this poor forgotten creature, maybe you don’t have a heart because every time we were pulled into his life and his emotions, I felt tears begin. His dreams were so minuscule in comparison to the world and yet so out of reach. It was UNFAIR. I loved him. Everyone should love him, even when he’s broken and awful, you should love him.
James: It took me some time to feel like this character was fully necessary to the story and I was wrong in ever doubting he belonged. James finished this trio, and he was so intricate to every part of the story. The book describes the three like trees growing so close together their roots entwine making them into one. It’s a perfect description. I may not have loved James as much as Wyatt and Peter, but I loved him.
I desperately want to write paragraph after paragraph explicitly detailing the romance in this book or quoting this book because some of the lines were truly swoon worthy or a complete gut punch to the soul, but again, I have no intention of spoiling this book for the next reader and there will be readers, there will be so many readers. (Just one quote, if you will allow me, “He didn’t hate her. He loved her so much that it was like holding his heart outside his body.” Who do I think will love this book: Fans of light horror with creeping monsters lurking in the forest, fans of magic, romance readers who truly care about the morally grey characters, fans of love and hate relationships, and fans of “they could have lived without each other, but would it have really been living”.
I am so glad NetGalley allowed me to read a copy of this before it was published in exchange for my honest review, because honestly, I loved it. This book and these characters will be my companions for quite some time.

Kelly Andrew knocked it out of the park. Again. If I could, I would give Your Blood, My Bones a million stars but five will have to suffice. I read this months ago but haven’t been able to write a review because every time I do, I inevitably end up wrapped in a blanket at a loss for any coherent words or crying while scrolling through my (million) kindle highlights. So let’s try again.

The book begins with Wyatt returning to Willow Heath, where she spent summers as a kid, prepared to burn it to the ground. Instead, she finds Pedyr, one of her childhood best friends (more) shackled in the basement, while James, the third member of their summer childhood triumvirate calls begging her not to trust Pedyr. The three of them reunite, caught in a cycle of magic and sacrifice and love and belonging and betrayal and eldritch horror.

Wyatt, Pedyr and James are my everything. I love the way the memories of the summers they spent together were interspersed with the present. The prose is beautiful and haunting. It sinks under your skin and makes you want to lay on the floor (I did several times). I also screamed and cried and cackled and wanted to throw my kindle across the room. Which is really what I’m looking for out of a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for this e-arc!

wyatt westlock has just inherited her childhood farmhouse, and plans to burn it to the ground. but she finds peter, her old best friend, chained up and left for dead in the basement. peter, who has died many times on the property, can’t stay dead for long, but also can’t fully live. the only way for him to break the cycle is to end the westlock line.

i loved kelly andrew’s the whispering dark and story in in these hallowed halls, so i was very excited to read this book. the premise was brilliant, and the book itself exceeded every expectation i had for it. i loved how kelly andrew blended the horror, cult, and relationship dynamic aspects. this is a book you will not be able to put down!

side note: this reminded me a lot about together we rot, which is a compliment since i really enjoyed that book, too! (please take this as an “if you liked this, read that” statement!)

Thank you so much to Scholastic for approving me for the Netgalley e-arc of YOUR BLOOD, MY BONES. This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions, based on the unfinished early copy.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

YOUR BLOOD, MY BONES was a fantastic ride for me. Kelly Andrew wove romance, thriller, mystery, and supernatural horror together in a spellbounding tale of cryptids, witches, friendship, and love.

This character-driven story moves along at a moderate pace which allowed for excellent tension, for both the bone-chilling horror and the slow burn of romance. Kelly also does a beautiful job of blending the events of the past with the current on-goings of the present throughout the book, allowing us more insight into both Peter and Wyatt's choices, some of which were heartbreaking to watch. I was continually on the edge of my seat and biting my nails from how well Kelly pulled us along in this book.

This book features:
☆ Trapped in an old farmhouse
☆ Creepy woods
☆ "Went to the woods and came back wrong"
☆ Friends to enemies to lovers
☆ Coven and cults
☆ eldritch creatures
☆ Who can be trusted?

If any of this is your vibe in YA Horror, then I absolutely recommend this book. I loved it!

Kelly is such a beautiful storyteller. I was in love with The Whispering Dark, but Your Blood, My Bones is even more gorgeous and I literally cannot express how much I love her prose and the story she told in YBMB!

First, I'd like to start off by saying that I was so fortunate to receive an ARC of this book!

<i>"There's a Welsh word I learned in school," said James. "Hiraeth. There's no direct translation for it in the English language, but it means a deep longing for a home you can never return to."</i>

Where do I even begin...I had to take a moment to stop crying before I wrote this review. This book will definitely be in my top three releases of this year! Everything about the story was so morbidly haunting in the best way possible. Kelly Andrew did a phenomenal job creating an atmosphere in this story that left me wondering what was going to happen next. I started this book one night and then I hunkered down on Sunday, reading it nearly all day because I couldn't stop.

I love stories that have limited characters because things are much easier to follow and feel more intimate. The dynamic between Wyatt and Peter was everything to me. I loved that their lives were shown in the past and present, but it all bled together so well. Not to mention I love the way that James was weaved into the story in an equally heartwrenching way as everything else. I loved all three of them so dearly, and while the ending was the only way possible...I couldn't help but cry over it!

This will be a book I recommend over and over again!

“There’s a Welsh word I learned in school,” said James. “Hiraeth. There’s no direct translation for it in the English language, but it means a deep longing for a home you can never return to.”


Gothic
Scary forests
nature emotion magic
Childhood friendships
Angst
the price of immortality
Adult men on power trips 🙄


Kelly Andrew is the queen of writing YA fantasy that will leave you in a puddle on the floor. Her writing is descriptive and beautiful (even when describing gross things). Endlessly quotable and I highlighted so many parts!! The reveals keep you reading and engaged. Even though the ending is foreshadowed you still have to see how it plays out. The one downside is the magic isn’t explained super well so you just gotta go on vibes. I found myself a bit confused at some parts but also reading an eARC formatted weirdly might have been a contributing factor. I will definitely be rereading this once I can get my hands on a physical final copy 🙌


Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic for the eARC.

Your Blood My Bones is a YA horror book that combines elements of Evil Dead with The Cabin in the Woods minus most of the gore.
18 year old Wyatt returns to her family home after a five year absence and the death of her father to find her former best friend Peter chained up inside the house. Wyatts father has been keeping some big secrets from her including the fact that Peter had been sacrificed by her father and generations of her family over hundreds of years to prevent a hellmouth from opening up on their property and destroying the world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am giving 3.5⭐️/5. I liked this book and its creepy atmosphere vibes. While I liked Peter, Wyatt was just ok. She was a final girl but technically the only girl. She had no idea what was going on but wanted to be in control and dictate everything that was going to happen.
I did enjoy this book and to post about it on my social media (TikTok and YouTube) closer to its release date in April, but I would not purchase a copy of this book for my home library.
Video Link to review added 3/25/24

5!!! MILLION!!! STARS!! When I tell you I am sitting here writing my review through STREAMS OF TEARS I AM NOT JOKING!!

This book absolutely wrecked me and emotionally devastated me! I will never recover!! I am sitting here shaking and crying like a small dog!! And I loved every single moment of this book and need everyone to read it when it comes out!!

This book is the perfect blend of fantasy and horror and I could truly go on and on about how much I loved it but I’ll try and keep my thoughts somewhat coherent. To start with, the writing in this book is absolutely exceptional!! I was highlighting things every other page bc I was constantly being punched in the gut (in a good way!). I felt like I was there, experiencing everything the main characters were seeing and going through (which is why I now cannot stop crying!)

We follow Wyatt as she’s returned home for the first time in five years. She’s Going Through It™️ when she arrives home and her plan is to burn everything to the ground. Her plans however, change quickly when she discovers Pedyr (Peter) is still there. Growing up, Wyatt, Pedyr, and James were extremely close. They did everything together, it was the three of them, always. But after Wyatt’s departure from home, she hadn’t heard from Pedyr or James that entire time. As Wyatt spends more time at her childhood home, we get to unravel the mysteries and some of the weird things that happened when she was younger, as well as delve into the friendship that was forged between herself, Pedyr, and James. We then get to see how this plays out in present day and how the three of them must work together in order to stop greater forces of evil at play.

I truly loved the plot of this book, I was fully engaged and didn’t have a moment where I felt bored or thought the pacing was off. Truly though, the stars of the show are the main characters. I love them so so much and I just want peace and happiness for them!! We have Wyatt, a strong willed woman who feels her emotions so strongly, and so fiercely, and hasn’t let anyone take that away from her. She’s fiercely loyal and just wants to protect those she cares about. We have Pedyr, who has been through SO so much, truly he deserves so much better! He can come off as cold or cruel because keeps his cards close to his chest, but deep down, he loves so deeply and he just wants rest. He just wants to be at peace and at home. We have James, who is a textbook of knowledge, who doesn’t take himself too seriously, and can lighten up any situation. Even with external forces pressuring him, James remains *good*. He won’t let others make him into something he doesn’t want to be.

I truly couldn’t pick a favorite so don’t make me!! I love them all!!

What really impressed me about this book as well is how well everything was able to be wrapped up. Sometimes I struggle with stand-alone fantasy books because I feel like there’s usually just too much going on and it’s hard to come to a conclusion that feels satisfying. But Kelly NAILED this book completely!! The pacing was perfect, the characters were fully fleshed out with full characters arcs, the conclusion wasn’t rushed at all, and was wrapped up in a way that made sense and was satisfying (even if I am still crying over it). This truly is a perfect book to me, I want to start rereading it immediately because I can’t believe it’s over.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing me with this eARC!!

Do you want emotional damage? This is the book for you.

This book is gonna be on my mind for a while. It's been days since I finished it, and I want to reread it because I love a book that hurts me.

I loved the storyline progression in this book, how we get little flashbacks and reveals of the past but we're always left wondering and wanting more. This book made me feel greedy, jumping at every crumb Kelly Andrew gave us. The relationship between three childhood friends: Wyatt, Peter, and James was so interesting and I loved this trio. The angst and tension between all of them was perfect to me.

The plot and pacing felt really good to me, and there wasn't a point where I was ever bored with this book. I also felt like there was really no wasted space, which is so refreshing. This is labeled as fantasy and horror and romance, but it's not like anything I've ever read in any of those genres.

It's so hard to put into words why I loved this book so much, but it really was SO good, and so painful, and so beautifully written. If you read this please feel free to yell in my DMs about it.

I didn’t really understand what was going on, but liked the dark vibes. . Clearly the vibes were intriguing enough for me to power through to the end. I was really hoping that by the end all would come together.. but nope. I just didn’t get it.
I’m still very appreciative of the author, Scholastic Press, and Net Galler for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the e-arc of this book.
This is my first Kelly Andrew book and it did not disappoint. It was really immersive from the first chapter and I enjoyed the way the duel timelines were done. This was part mystery part fantasy part romance. All the elements worked well together.
There was an atmosphere to this book that was a constant state of dread that left me feeling like I was in the story. My only problem, is that I kept asking a lot of why questions, and I feel like I didn't get the answers I needed. Things weren't as fleshed out as they could have been and I think some more world building and character development would have really pushed this story into 5 star territory. The writing style and plotting was decent. As well as the pacing and dialogue, so that is why I can firmly give 4 stars to this book. I am definitely going to be picking up her other books after reading this one.

Book Name: Your Blood, My Bones
Author: Kelly Andrew

ARC
Thank you to NetGalley and **Scholastic | Scholastic Press** for an ARC of Kelly Andrew’s Your Blood, My Bones

Stars: 5
Spice: 0 (YA)

Standalone (seems like there may be a world connection to her earlier works
Fast Paced
Dual POV
Fantasy Horror with Romance Subplot

- Thoughts.
- Cryptids Galore
- Evil Cult
- Horror Lite
- Magic system
- Unease and Tension on Every Page
- Insane Tension Slow Burn Romance
- Tragic
- Dark
- big themes of Nostalgia, Grief, Moving on and Overcoming Trauma

Must read Kelly Andrew's blacklist starting now! This book was creepy romantic and engaging and God did I cry!

I LOVE horror and all of its lovely, and grotesque, sub-genres. This "twisted romance" was so much more than I thought it would be, and that's saying something since I already knew I would love it from just the summary alone. I will say that people shouldn't go in expecting fluffy romance and to be aware that this is definitely in the horror genre, but I hope that doesn't deter people from giving it a shot. if you want a different type of romance novel, I would highly recommend giving this a try!