The Cold Is in Her Bones

Neglected as a child, Hulda only wanted her family's love. Instead, she watched as they doted on her sister, making sure her beautiful hair was brushed and braided, while Hulda's remained a snarled mess day after day. Searching for comfort, Hulda turned to the forest, spending her days playing in quiet solitude. She began to befriend the snakes in the forest. They whispered their names to her, tangling themselves in her hair and wrapping her in the comfort she longed for. But her parents began to view her as an outsider. No longer just a neglected child, she was seen as a monster. A girl possessed by demons who could speak with snakes. When her parents and village struck out at her, the curse of Medusa began, passing down through the generations, driving young women insane.

Milla watches as her one and only friend succumbs to the madness of the curse. While everyone around her believes it is useless to try and save the cursed girls, Milla refuses to give up hope. Alone, Milla will discover the source of the curse and will do whatever she can to stop it.

This was a slow-paced novel. If you are looking for a lot of action scenes, this is not the book for you. I tend to need action to keep my attention, but this book was an exception. While the story was slow to develop, I was captivated by Arsdale's style of writing. She has a way of painting a picture in your mind with her words. The way she describes the settings is beautiful. She provides a darkly poetic world, filled with heartache and redemption.

But even with a beautiful writing style, I can't ignore the fact that there was too much filler. The girls would tell stories that held no importance. There was also a time where the main character stayed in one place without progressing the story. This all served to stall the story and I wanted to skip ahead to forward the plot. The ending was also a bit anticlimactic for my taste. It was an ok read, but I doubt I would revisit it.

~Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!~ Girls who run from what frightens them don't get what they want.The Cold is in Her Bones is a loose retelling of Medusa's story. I was expecting a lot more Greek influence, to be honest, so I was a little disappointed. It feels much more like a fairy tale of the British/German type, and the setting is very obviously inspired by that era, not ancient Greece. Maybe it was just me! Oh, and I was expecting snakes of the creepy variety. Um, there's ONE. Well, one at a time. And they're CUTE, not creepy.A specific place or time is never given, so it feels sort of like a historical and sort of like a fantasy world. The writing itself is intriguing, though it seems a little jerky at times. In the beginning we start off with one character, and then we never see her again until much, MUCH later. So that was a bit odd.Overall, this is a story of a girl, Milla, growing into herself and not only accepting herself, but seizing her personhood with both hands and lighting up her world. She refuses to be a “good girl” – though not at first. At first she, like many of us, is sad that she cannot be the daughter her parents want and tries very hard to please them. I absolutely loved how she eventually realized her own power and potential and threw off all the societal expectations.I really wasn't sure what to make of the old woman, or Milla's brother, or even what I was supposed to think of Milla's parents! It was just all very...well, “floaty.” I felt very much like I was drifting along trying to puzzle the pieces together. I felt really sorry for Iris and, much like Milla, only wanted to help her.I would read something by this author again. I just think this story needed a little more direction and polish. The writing was good and the tone was great. Just...needed a little more.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram

Probably more like a 2/2.5 but I'm being generous.

I've just finished reading this but I honestly couldn't tell you anything about the plot other than ‘I guess this is a YA medusa retelling and there's something about demons in there?'

It's slow, it doesn't make sense at times, characters are referenced and I had absolutely no idea who they were and how they were meant to influence the plot. All in all this book is going to be completely forgettable to me in probably a week's time.