I was waiting to read this book the first time I saw the cover of it. It didn't disappointed me. Lovely story line and characters.

Sisters Leona and Jewel are witches and when one of their friends goes missing they use their powers to find out what’s happened finding there is black magic at play and new dark creatures in their southern town. A fast entertaining turn paging read. The ending implies there will be a sequel and I look forward to it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this ARC .

While I enjoyed the story, something felt a little flat about some of the characters. The male characters merely served as obstacles the witch sisters had to work around. They were all unlikeable.

The sisters' relationship was well drawn with some witty repartee.

This feels like the beginning of a series. If so, I hope we learn more about the background of the sisters.

This is a good little Appalachian witchy mystery book. It’s fairly short so there’s not a huge amount of background information or world building but what is there is well written and fun to read. It only took a few hours to read. There are a few aspects I’d have liked to see explored in more detail and some side characters that would have been fun to see with a bigger role to play. There was almost constant action and some of it felt like it deserved more focus but there wasn’t time. We could have done with another hundred pages to space things out and dig a bit deeper.
The Appalachian location was great and I could really hear the distinct accent in my head.
I would definitely read more from this author and more in this witchy supernatural world that she has created.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy to review.

I was very excited to read this book as I was familiar with Jessica’s others books such as Tooth and Nail series and These Violent Delights. I really loved this story as the prequel Spencer Sisters series. Described as Appalachia Supernatural Noir style it really has all the things I love in a story, ghosts, Ghouls, witches, vampires, werewolves. This is a fast paced, jam packed story that has all the supernatural themes a glorious mix of horror and fantasy. I loved the writing style and world building and felt like I was part of the story the whole time.

If this is the first book the prequel series well I am well and truly hooked! I immediately felt a connection to the main character Leona and really appreciated getting a look into who she is and how she is evolving as a witch and strong women, wife, mother in a time when women where most repressed, the 1950s. Dealing with an abusive husband, learning new abilities, solving murders, and dealing with seeing and controlling ghosts I can feel her exhaustion and eventual growth through the story.
I really enjoyed the sisters connection and would love to hear more about their childhoods with granny. The younger sister Jewel is sassy and powerful and their connection is exciting to read. I can’t wait to see that grow. We follow as the sisters start a journey of solving a murder as other mysterious things start to happen.

I feel this book has really set the stage for further stories and can’t wait for the next instalment and delve more into the story. I read this in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down!

I would like to thank @netgalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing LLC for the advanced arc

this was quite a nice read. a witchy mystery taking place in southern america, the book draws you in very effectively and is atmospheric. i liked raney's prose right from the start- it fit perfectly with the overall atmosphere of the book. it feels punchy, somehow? not many run-on sentences, but rather separated into easy to read simpler sentences that get the point across better. i find that with a lot of YA prose tends to run on the purpler side. while not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes a book can be oversaturated with attempts to make writing seem a lot more complex and descriptive than the author originally intended to, and a lot of these descriptions are not naturally written, resulting in forced- sounding writing or repetitive phrasing. root and bone did not have that problem: it was to the point but still knew how to pack a punch.

the register, i feel, is very fitting for the time the book is set in as well. it should not (and does not!) feel modern and is appropriately written as such. the place where the book takes place, southern america, also shines through in the dialogue. it was a nice touch. i believe readers from the states will appreciate this more than i do, though (since i'm not american.)

for such a short book, though, the pacing as a bit off. usually when i say this my complaint is always about the book being slow. root and bone had the exact opposite of that. for a book with only around 250 pages, there was a lot a LOT going on in these 250 pages. it was jam packed, with lots of action from characters but not nearly as much resolution and plotting. so i wish we could've seen more of that.

my only disappointment is the world building. while i do love the coven/ witch sisterhood trope, there were a lot more supernatural creatures that appeared other than witches but we never really saw most of them? they just kind of showed up as a sort of 'hey, we have that' kind of moment and didn't really get much screentime. the magic system was relatively easy to follow along, but i fele it could've used more elaboration (though i do get it, because this isn't high fantasy.)

overall? i did enjoy this and had a good time with leona. thank you for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The sleepy town of Ames is shocked awake by a brutal murder. A la True Detective this small town is rocked by the brutal, religiously over toned murder of a young woman. Leona and her sister, Jewel, find themselves the only ones capable of solving this murder. The reason? They’re the only two in town equipped with magic and, in Leona’s case, able to see the dead. As the pair pick their way through the murder case, more mysteries begin to reveal themselves. The sister’s are headed for an unavoidable face off with true evil as they race against time to prevent any further murders. Root and Bone is an examination of sisterhood, class divide, witchcraft, independence, and facing off against abuse.

From what I could discern this book takes place around the 1950s or 60s, the story is packed full of retro details from jukebox tunes to pin-up curls to sassy slang. I do wish there had been a more concrete date given, I felt as if I was missing out on some of the societal implications by questioning which time period this occurred.

This book is very dialogue heavy and characters have unique colloquial styles. While I read I could hear the regional specific accent flowing throughout with ease, giving each character a specific sound and personality. Raney seems to have a never ending source of inspiration for character sound, look, and backstory — keeping her story fully staffed and varied throughout.

While there are pieces in place to create the foundation of a series, I couldn’t quite connect with Root and Bone. The characters, while varied, felt a bit flat. It was like looking at the surface of a pond, I could tell there was more depth beneath but I couldn’t breach the surface to get there. Some of the folklore characters (ghosts, ghouls, etc) felt shoe horned in as well. I was overwhelmed by the amount of different spectral creatures introduced that were then written into a corner. I found myself questioning how magic and society were supposed to be interacting with each other. I wish there had been a bit more of an explanation as to why some people knew Leona was a witch but then were shocked that other witchy things existed as well. The laws of magic felt rubbery and flighty too. There was never a true enumeration on how and why sometimes magic could just decide to not work, other than what feels like a shrugged, “Sometimes that just happens” type of vibe. To me, there are areas throughout this book that could have used a bit more description to buff it up and less round robin dialogue.

I do think if you’re a fan of witchy stories and true crime you’ll probably enjoy this book.

Interesting Applachian fantasy, but it felt a little unfocused. Certainly not bad, and I loved the characters, but not my favorite, I'm afraid. Thanks to NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, LLC for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really into fantasy or witch books but I saw that the ARC was available and decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did. This book was about a witch who is trying to solve the murder of a young woman. The world that this author was able to create was very impressive and not hard at all to follow along. I found the main character a bit annoying sometimes but I didn't like this book overall. This was my first time reading from this author but I'd like find more books from her.

I very much enjoyed this story! If you like Practical Magic/coven sisterhood with murder mystery, ritualistic sacrifices and hauntings then you will too! The southern dialect and banter between characters added to the charm. I am so thankful for this opportunity!

I devoured this book in one day. I loved the magic in it as well as the mystery element to be solved. It was a page turner and the author had me loving the two sisters. I will for sure recommend to customers as well as fellow reader friends. Such a good read, sad I finished it so quickly

Thank you, NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, LLC for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This witchy murder mystery was a fun read. Right away we meet our witch Leona and find out about the disappearance of a teenage girl who was murdered. With her sister’s help, another witch: Jewel; Leona needs to find the girl and who killed her before another murder occurs. Unfortunately, this does happen and now our witch sisters are racing to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The town is quaint and everyone knows everyone and their business. Strange wicked things are lurking about and no one knows who is behind it. Of course, the witches are looked at with disdain even if they are the ones trying to save the town.
The story was fast-paced with an array of characters: ghosts, werewolves, a ghoul, a supposed vampire, and our lovely witches. I enjoyed the flow of the story but felt like it fell a little short on the details and plot lines. There was a lot of action but sometimes it felt like a little bit too much. Like too many things being squeezed in. I wish there was a bit more of the powerful witchcraft and more of that “voice” Leona kept hearing. I wanted more backstory on the “name” no one wanted to say, who was leading the brothers? Are they all the same person? I also wanted more of Granny Kay, I know the story was about the sisters and their powerful bond and magic but still wanted more of Granny. I loved the way Jessica wrote about her cottage and the town as a whole. It was very descriptive and I could visualize everything. Not sure if this is part of a series but it ended in a way that could be a potential cliffhanger but could just be the end of the book. I was left with questions but not life-altering.
Lastly, there was a sweet closed-door romance… I won’t say more. But it did add a cute little reprieve from all of the action and detective work.

Strange but captivating
Leona and her sister Jewel are witches in post WW2 rural America and they become embroiled in a murder investigation when the victims ghost attacks Leona
Leona and Jewel are very different characters who also have different types of magical powers, one of Leonas is that she can see and speak to ghosts but both sisters want to do what’s right and protect both themselves and the people around them which I liked and which came across strongly
I enjoyed this book but at times I did find it slightly disturbing, then again it is a horror, but there is a lot of domestic violence which I don’t think really added to the story and it did lead me to struggle more with the characters and bonding to them. For me, whilst some things came across well, others didn’t and although I was hooked and unable to put it down, there were issues with the book which did impact a little on some of my enjoyment of it
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a different kind of story full of magic and mystery that will keep you reading