The Bone Houses

Pacing was very challenging.
Characters were flimsy.
World-building fell short.
Plot devices were over used and largely one-dimensional.

I don't see the hype. Some points in the plot were great and then immediately forsaken, others were funny, but mostly it was dull. Another reviewer called it “too slow and too fast” and that's spot on. And that's too bad because I'm always rooting for strong female leads.

This was such an enjoyable journey with these two. I really enjoyed the setting in Wales with the woods and mountains, etc. Ryn and Ellis learn so much about themselves and the world while also battling for what is right and best. Lovely.

Nog een Owlcrate-boek dat al te lang in mijn boekenkast heeft gelegen en dit was een winnaar!
Ik hield echt van het gezapige tempo en de griezelige, beklijvende, herfstachtige sfeer. Dit is echt een uitstekende metgezel voor donkere oktoberdagen, of zoals het was toen ik het las, zeer sombere en bijna koude augustusavonden.
Hoewel het plot een beetje voorspelbaar was en het tempo een paar keer haperde, heb ik dit boek met veel plezier gelezen.

Make no mistake: “bone houses” means “skeletal zombies.” If I had fully realized that at first glance, I might not have picked it up; I'm not a zombie fan. That said, I love how death and the dead were handled in this book–thoughtfully and practically, without becoming in-your-face gross or scary.

And I loved the characters. That's always the main thing for me. :) Their relationships are steadfast and sweet. The actual quest/mystery of the story was straightforward at first, but developed into something deeply meaningful.

Overall, despite being a total wimp, I found it enchanting and moving!

For more of my reviews, check out my blog.You all know how much I loved [b:The Drowned Woods 57314572 The Drowned Woods Emily Lloyd-Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1633709742l/57314572.SX50.jpg 89695727] when I read it earlier this year. Pretty much immediately went and bought Emily Lloyd-Jones's previous novel, The Bone Houses, as soon as I was done. I kept putting off reading it, though, because it seemed like the perfect book to read for Halloween. I was right.The Bone Houses is about medieval zombies, pretty much. A bone house is a dead person that is still up and walking around. They can't talk, or eat, or do anything like an alive person other than...wander around and try to hurt people. (Spoiler – not all the bone houses want to hurt you!) Ryn – our main character – lives in a tiny village seemingly in the middle of no where, surrounded by a magical forest. The bone houses generally stick to the forest, until one day...they don't. Surprise!The rest of the book is trying to figure out what magic causes the bone houses, why they're suddenly coming out of the forest, and attacking the village. Ryn and her companion, Ellis, venture out on a quest to find some answers. Ryn is a no-nonsense young woman, and I loved her ability to do just whatever she needed to so things got done. Ellis is a little wishy-washy at first, but his backstory is really profoundly well done. And I can't NOT mention bone goat. What an amazing animal companion. Loyal even unto death. The Bone Houses is a book about death, mourning, and how love does not fade when someone passes. This book made me cry more than once, but in a very healing way. It also made me hug my son so, so tight. I loved this book.

[MY RATING] 9.4/10
[SOME SPOILERS AHEAD IN ALMOST ALL SECTIONS]
When I read the sypnosis, I KNEW this was gonna be something that was up my alley. I am so happy that I picked up this amazing book, I loved every bit of it, and could not put it down because it was so good!

[PLOT, WRITING, WORLD-BUILDING & PACING]
[BIG SPOILERS AHEAD IN THIS SECTION]
- The worldbuilding in this novel is so well done. With how everything was described, I was able to picture the little town Ryn stays in, how the bone houses looked, how intimidating the forest could be and more, with clarity. I really enjoyed the bits of lore that was found throughout the novel as well– as a reader, it felt like a believable world to go on a journey on with protagonists. The pacing was just right, and it was accompanied by great writing to make the reading experience more enjoyable.

- It would've been nice to expand on the lore involving the other mythological creatures, eg. the pwca and tylwyth teg, and actually get to see the characters interact with these named creatures on a closer basis.

- However, I was quite confused by some parts: When Ryn was telling Ellis the story of the cauldron, I thought it was a story that dated hundreds / thousands of years ago. So it felt very strange when all of a sudden the story revealed that Ellis's mother was the woman.. I felt that this could've been explained in a clearer and more believable way.

- I felt that the romance was slightly rushed, and though yes, anyone could see Ellis and Ryn getting together, it felt as if their feelings were very sudden. It would've been nicer if there was more of a lead up / more chemistry building before they jumped into the romance stage.

[CHARACTERS]
[SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD IN THIS SECTION]
- RYN: I love Ryn! I think she's such a strong and independent character, and I really like how she's firm but also gentle towards certain things. Her seeing her father as a bone house was such a lovely moment, but also a moment where I held my breath because !!!!! a bone house is finally good! I was very excited for her.

- ELLIS: I think Ellis is such a great ‘balancer' to Ryn's more outspoken personality. I like how he worked with maps and trusted Ryn all the way! He's smart, emotional and selfless, and I really enjoyed reading about his character in the book.

- THE GOAT: I loved the goat. It was one of the best additions to the novel, and it was so funny and endearing to see its loyalty even after it died! It was such a sweet goat, and it made the novel 2x better with the goat following their journey and fighting the bone houses with them!
May you rest in peace <3

[OVERALL + ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS]
- Overall, if you're thinking of picking up this gem of a book, DO IT. You will smile, laugh, be anxious but also excited when reading the novel. It is a beautiful work of writing, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a standalone adventure romance (ish) folklore-themed story to read!

3.5

i liked this less than i should have on paper, a spooky folklore skeleton story set in wales sounds right up my alley. The narrator was lovely but the story was very slow at times and parts of it were really hard to get through. i had to force myself to listen but i loved the atmosphere. i found the action scenes a bit boring and i wasn't a fan of the romance at all and actually ended up rolling my eyes at a lot of it. The big reveal was one that i picked up immediately so it wasn't exciting for me sadly and i just kept wondering when they would bring it up. i was ready to rate this 2 stars but then it picked up in the last 10% again. i really enjoyed the strong sibling relationships

I CANT BELIEVE HOW AMAZING THIS BOOK IS. It's now a new favourite!!
I recommend this to EVERYBODY. I didn't want it to end, I was at the edge of my seat the whole time but also really relaxed while reading this, I fell in love with all the characters.. just wow.
its a stand alone book but the amount of detail that went into these characters was astounding! I want a whole series of these characters :( I'll miss them so much.
This book will stick with me for a while and I will definitely read this again in the future!
I”M IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK.

Also the best character was Bone Goat. I might of cried whenever he showed up. I love you Bone Goat. I now want a pet goat lol

I really enjoyed this book. It appears to have been inspired by one of my favorite childhood books “the black cauldron”.

I loved it. A strong but still soft heroine, a smart but not smartass hero. A plot twist that I saw coming but still enjoyed reading. Some emotional moments, without getting too deep.

I was intrigued but didn't know what to expect. I sure hadn't expected to like it as much as I did. Definitely an author I'd seek out again. Recommending to people who like fantasy and strong female characters with a touch of romance.

The spook fest continues!

This was fun.