The bone houses – ARC review!

Title: The bone houses.

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones.

Format: E-ARC.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Page count: 239.

Release day: September 24^th 2019.

Genre: YA, fantasy.

Rating: 3 stars.

*Thanks to Edelweiss for providing this ARC!*

What is it about? (Summary from GoodReads)

Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family, and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?

Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

My thoughts:

When I requested this book, I just thought it looked interesting, I did not have many expectations. But then I saw so many people hyping this book up, before they even read it, and I got so excited to read it! But unfortunately I was slightly disappointed. This is not a bad book at all, it’s just that after everything I heard I expected more!

First of all, many people describe this as horror, I disagree! I cannot watch horror movies at all, because I’m too scared. And there was no point in this book were I felt scared! There is a small description of a skeleton, I think that was the ‘scariest’ thing. Of course there is also fighting, but I would not call that horror either!

This book did have a dark vibe hanging over it, which I really enjoyed! It takes mostly place in a forest, and you have these bone houses. Which really give a dark atmosphere, and that is really well done! I think the world-building might have been my favourite part of this book!

For the characters, I liked them, but they felt a bit.. simple (?!) at times. They didn’t develop a lot throughout the book. But they were definitely interesting! I got a bit annoyed by the male character complaining about something near the end of the book, it just felt unnecessary. Trying to not spoil anything here ahah

Plot wise, I liked the overall plot! It was like a small adventure or quest, which I always like! But there were some twists, that were very obvious!

So overall I really loved the world-building and the writing style! And I think the characters and some twists could have been done better!

Since I did really enjoy the writing, I’m interested in reading some of her other works! Maybe ‘the hearts we sold’, let me know if you read that, and if it’s worth it!

Happy reading!