2.5 stars. This didn't really vibe with me. I liked the tightknit friendship and found family aspect and the folklore. The violence was over the top. Too much repetition--especially about toxic masculinity and all the male crying. So much of this was in Spanish with no translation with I thought was careless. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

There is just something in Gabino’s writing that sucks me in from the very beginning. We follow Gabe who has a very close friend who’s mother gets shot dead. Gang violence is not something new in Puerto Rico. All five friends agree to seek revenge for Bimbo’s mother. Meanwhile, a hurricane begins to hit the coast bringing something darker than just disaster. This book is full of love, devotion, violence, deceit, and doom. I could not put this one down. This book has everything. EVERYTHING!

Thank you netgalley and Mulholland books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Review will be posted on my TikTok (@resurrectedbookworm) later this week.

What a thrilling, haunting, and emotionally charged story of revenge!

We follow Gabe and his group of longtime friends as they fight through the every day horrors they encounter in Puerto Rico. When the mother of one of his friends, Bimbo, gets shot down and killed, Bimbo convinces his ride or die friends to avenge her death.

While trying to find information and plan how to get back at the men who did this, Puerto Rico is preparing for what’s supposed to be the biggest hurricane to pass through their towns. Local folklore believes that dark entities and spirit live in the wind and rain of these storms, adding a layer of tension and fear to the already unknown.

The friends begin to lose themselves in the revenge and darkness brought with the hurricane, and become more violent and unpredictable, causing riffs in their friendships and relationships.

I don’t want to give anything else away because this story has so many layers, from gore to ghosts, centuries long cartel power and broken government promises, and myths and dark magic, there’s no shortage of surprises and emotions.

As a fan of The Devil Takes You Home, I didn’t think I would love this one as much, but man was I wrong! Gabino Iglesias knocked it out of the park and I’ll be recommending for years to come. 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for the the ARC. I already picked up a physical :-)

It took me some time to get into this book. It's a violent coming-of-age novel set against a hurricane in Puerto Rico with elements of mysticism.

I'm not sure whether I loved it or just liked it but it was certainly a powerful book. Gabino Iglesias writes beautifully but a lot of it is lost in describing throwing punches and bloody fights. He's in his element when describing the storm or the characters and their bond.

I'll be reading more from him. Thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for the e-copy!

3.5/5

This is one of my most anticipated releases and I am so excited to have gotten the ARC. I think the horror elements of this story were very well done and I enjoyed the setting. I was not expecting the twist and turns and overall had a good time on this ride.

Gabino Iglesias’ House of Bone and Rain sounds like the latest book from Sarah J. Maas, but this is no romantasy. It's a tale of crime and supernatural horror. It's also a coming-of-age story about a group of Puerto Rican teenagers coping with the brutal murder of one of their mothers. In their grief, they make the ill-advised decision to enter a world of violence and vengeance against a fearsome drug kingpin. Meanwhile, a hurricane is about to bear down on Puerto Rico, bringing with it a Lovecraftian evil.

House of Bone and Rain mixes elements of myth and mysticism touching on themes of loss, revenge, and the power of friendship. This is Gabino Iglesias’ best work to date (and yes, I said that about his previous novel, The Devil Takes You Home). His talent as a storyteller is on full display here.

Highly recommended. Note: As should be expected in his work, Iglesias delivers some lines and phrases in Spanish. Don't let it stop you from reading this. It adds a layer of texture to his writing that make them feel genuine. I'm ready to pre-order his next book, whatever it may be.

Thank you so much to Mulholland Books for a copy of this book!

"Murder is a monster that chews up whatever expectations you had regarding death and spits them in your face."

I have not read Gabino Iglesias before but I recognize the cover of his last book from seeing it on Book of the Month and within the book community, I did not have my eye on this book until I saw the cover and the green stood out to me but then in the mini description there was a mentioned of Stand by Me. If you know me, you know how important that movie is to me and just seeing that I knew I had to read it.

I am typically a romance reader but I venture out to other genres just to keep my reading fresh and give variety. So this was slightly out of my comfort zone. I had not expected it to be so violent which was on me. I felt that the first half of the book was much stronger than the second half of the book especially the last quarter of it. I am not one who enjoys when lore/supernatural is brought into stories and this one had it and that is where it lost me.

"Someone is always trying to eat you, you know? We're surrounded by sharks even when we're on land."

The friendship and loyalty in this book was so strong. Those boys would do anything for one another and boy if the series of events that happened in this book didn't test that then I don't know what would. I felt for Bimbo and his pain of losing his mother but I had to imagine in retrospect he would have done things a little differently after her death. Perhaps it's my non violent tendencies or because I did not grow up in the city where it is common to seek vengeance but I am not sure it was worth losing others in the quest to have found her killer.

I will say Iglesias has a way with words and had some zingers that really sticks with you. I was highlight phrases here and there.

This was not fully for me but perhaps it is for you!

3.25

I’ve read Gabino Iglesias’ Bram Stoker-winning debut novel and enjoyed it very much. So I was very excited when I received an ARC for his latest novel. I decided to go in blind, not reading the plot summary because I feel like his books are a real treat if you experience them as the protagonist does, learning on the way. In House of Bone and Rain, Gabe gets lured into avenging the death of his best friend Bimbo’s mother, Maria. Coincidentally, the hurricane that’s approaching Puerto Rico is also named Maria. Residents of Puerto Rico have a lot of trauma when it comes to hurricanes, as mentioned in the book, it devastates whole populations, kill so many, and keeps the island without electricity and water for months.

Prior to the hurricane, Gabe along with his friends Tavo, Paul, and Xavier helped Bimbo gain more info about who killed his mother – but someone is now targeting the friend group, and it looks like Gabe might be next. The horrors of the book are both real and supernatural, as they intermingle and you can’t decide what’s worse, the horror done by humans or the ones brought by the supernatural, because they’re both equally horrifying.

This is a tale of grief, processing colonialism and racism, and coming of age. I love how Gabino writes his characters and how they act how one realistically would, meaning that there isn’t a character that is only good and one that is only bad, they all have good traits but also are heavily flawed because of their loyalty to each other (which I can’t blame them because a strong friendship won’t have you bailing when things get tough). Although this book is fiction, I feel like there are a lot of living situations that the writer experienced himself and it shows, which makes the book even more poignant and powerful.

I recommend this book for those who love fast-paced thrillers with supernatural elements woven into the plot.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

DNF @ 44%
I went into this with different expectations, this is not a bad book by any means but I was just expecting there to be more horror/supernatural elements and now nearly half way through the book there isn't any. This is just not a book for me, so it's time to dnf and move on.

I'm giving it two stars because even though i didn't personally enjoy the story, the writing itself was good.

if you enjoy crime thrillers & revenge you may really enjoy this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for sharing a digital copy to read. as always, my opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gabino Iglesias has solidified himself as an auto-read author for me. This is a SOLID 5-star read! Iglesias is a master at a thrill ride. This book had the same tone as his debut. A group of five teenage boys, living in Puerto Rico, seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered; a doomed tale of devotion and the afterlife of violence.

This book is not just about this. It is also about the situation in Puerto Rico due to colonialism, especially focusing on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and how the United States continually abandons the island. This is done extremely well, and Iglesias does it all by showing us through the characters' eyes instead of telling.

This book also had an incredibly interesting supernatural element to it. It was certainly a surprise for me, as I didn't expect it, but it really works with the story and adds a fascinating layer to it.

The hurricane has made landfall, and it brings something horrific. Like monster storms of the Caribbean, Gabino Iglesias knows how to spin something. Here, he spins yet another cat 5 tale, full of the things that earned him top honors from the Stoker and Jackson Awards.

He brings it home in his latest effort, “House of Bone and Rain,” literally. This story, which starts with the seemingly senseless slaying of a working mother, takes place on the island and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. And like the reign of San Juan’s drug lord, it is drenched in blood and saturated in woe with just enough humanity to keep you reading while you wait out the storm. It is a new story, and I am certain it was ripped from his heart as he wrote it, but the themes are similar to much of his earlier work. It is every bit as violent as it is human, and it contains elements of religious beliefs, the supernatural, and magic—the magic of family and friendship, as well as retribution and vengeance. As for the family and friends, some of the magic is real and some perception. Either way, when this storm passes and you turn that last page, you will find yourself picking up the debris of what is left and, like all great storms, it will stay with you long after the sun breaks through the clouds.

As I still haven’t read this author’s standout novel, The Devil Takes You Home, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. But for as highly lauded as that one was and this absolutely gorgeous cover, I knew I had to pick this one up. Although not a favorite of the year, I ended up appreciating so much about this story and the author’s writing.

For starters, this book is definitely not for everyone. Although not necessarily scary, it is very dark and violent. This largely reads like a revenge crime thriller for most of the book, and the revenge is certainly bloody and gnarly. Although that is what the plot of the book is about, that isn’t really what the book itself is focusing on. The book is really about a group of male friends growing up in a violent part of Puerto Rico where options are limited, and loyalty is above everything else. This leads to them all making a pact that if someone attacks one of them, it is viewed as an attack against all. This is obviously the impetus of the story, but seeing the bonds and relationships between the boys who come to see themselves as brothers was really beautiful and moving. They are all so different, and it seems like they shouldn’t be friends, but there is just this bond that keeps them together and willing to do anything to protect one another. Despite that, the book certainly doesn’t glamorize violence or uphold these boys as noble characters for their actions which I also really appreciated.

There are also a lot of paranormal elements to this story which I absolutely adored. I know they aren’t going to work for everyone, but I was so enthralled by the ghostly visions, the dark magic, and the creatures from the sea. As the refrain in the book goes, “All stories are ghost stories.” This is obviously a sentiment that I wholeheartedly endorse! And the setting of having the events of the story take place during and immediately after Hurricane Maria added so much atmosphere, fear, and confusion to the story.

The ending of this one really took me by surprise and added so much to the overall feelings I had regarding this story. It was not something I anticipated at all, and although I wished it had been fleshed out a little more, I absolutely loved it and what it said about the rest of the story.

House of Bone and Rain isn’t quite as explicitly violent as The Devil Takes You Home, but it has its moments. This story is more tempered by the youth of its characters. They are young men who are attempting to survive their situation, with varying degrees of success. Their lives growing up in Puerto Rico are filled with violence and death and . . . ghosts. Because all stories are ghost stories.

In the last half of the book, the plot took a turn I wasn’t expecting. What was just a tinge of supernatural became more concrete. I really like this aspect; it worked for me because everything preceding it is very grounded.

This was a whirlwind of a story. It starts with the death of a parent in which four young men make a promise that they will avenge her death. Things quickly get out of hand when a hurricane comes rolling in and threatens the boys and their loved ones. The horror starts from page one where you learn a lot about the kind of life these guys were living in Puerto Rico. You could feel the authors voice throughout. I loved his writing style. I also loved the boys friendship/brotherhood. There were some brutal scenes written throughout, very vivid detail! I look forward to more from this author in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for an early copy!

House of Bone and Rain was not what I expected at all. I went into this book blindly and was NOT disappointed. Blending fast-pace action with fantastical lore, this book is difficult to put down.

The story centers around a group of 4 men who get more than they bargained for when they agree to help one of the four seek revenge for the murder of his mother. Immediately, things get out of hand and it just snowballs to a point that you are gripping your seat as you read, waiting for what will happen next. The book reads like a mafia novel - there is blood and violence throughout much of it. House of Bone and Rain touches upon folk tales, santería, and friendship. How far would you be willing to go for your friends? It is fitting that the book has continual references to Elegguá, who stands at the crossroads, as for the much of the book, the main character, Gabe is also at a crossroads.

I would recommend this book to people who want a quick read and aren't afraid of a little gore in their fiction.

I received a free electronic copy of the Advanced Reader's version of this book from Mulholland Books and NetGalley.

I luckily got this book as an arc and first thank you so much. Something that I wasn’t a fan of was the use of Hurricane Maria since i get triggered by it in a way and traumatic.

The story of brotherhood as written by Gabino Iglesias was amazing. You really feel the emotions of Gabe throughout it. The changing of POVs for each chapter felt a little bit overwhelming but it helped in the end.

I would give this book a 3.5

Not sure it was irony or just some strange twist of fate, but I read Gabino Iglesias’s newest book, House of Bone and Rain, while dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. And why would that be ironic? Well because a hurricane factors into this story. This part coming of age story, part story of revenge, part ghost/horror story. When his mother is murdered in the streets of Puerto Rico, Bimbo is devastated. Aided by four of his friends, they set out to get revenge, all while a hurricane nears the island, bringing more than just wind and rain. This is a wild story. If you’re not familiar with Iglesias, his stories can be gritty and brutal and he just has a way of crafting well fleshed out characters, characters that are totally believable, situations you can totally see happening…even the supernatural elements. This one is certain to garner new fans for Iglesias. I’d like to thank Mulholland Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of House of Bone and Rain.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R13ABN5GF3CO6I/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

House of Bone and Rain pulled me in right away, just like The Devil Takes You Home did. Iglesias has a way with words that stirred so many emotions as I read his latest novel. It is a powerful story of vengeance, deep friendships, coming of age, and gut-wrenching grief. Childhood friends Gabe, Bimbo, Xavier, Tavo, and Paul navigate a world where death and ghosts are ever-present while they seek justice for Bimbo’s mother’s murder. Set in Puerto Rico during and after Hurricane Maria, evil spirits are ashore, and their quest for justice becomes a blend of myth and gruesome reality. This is a must read for paranormal horror fans and Iglesias is certainly an auto-buy author for me.

House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias comes out tomorrow 8/6! Thank you @mulhollandbooks & @netgalley for the advanced copy! I really liked his last book, The Devil Takes You Home and I enjoy his TikTok content so I knew I wanted to read this new release!

House of Bone and Rain follows five childhood friends. Our main POV character Gabe, Bimbo (it’s a nickname), Xavier, Tavo, and Paul. It takes place in Puerto Rico, mostly in Old San Juan around when Hurricane Maria happened (September 2017). Bimbo’s mother has been shot dead and they are banding together to find who did it and kill them.

This is definitely a horror book. Definitely violent. Lots of blood and torture and guns and murder! Hurricane Maria happens during the book and that of adds to the destruction and chaos of what is happening and makes everything even more stressful. There’s also a paranormal aspect to the story that adds to the creepiness and takes it to another level. I didn’t see that part coming but it was intriguing and I liked what it added to the story.

This was such a great story!

House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias is a fast paced, pulse pounding dark story.

Childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo are no strangers to death. But when Bimbo’s mother is murdered, he seeks revenge against a powerful drug kingpin. As the group plans their move, a storm brings dark, supernatural forces, blending myth with their grim reality.

I have been wanting to read a Gabino Iglesias book since he announced it on social media. I was intrigued to read this story because as a Puerto Rican myself the fact the events on the book take part during the hurricane season in Puerto Rico grab my attention immediately.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Mullholland Books and NetGalley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!