Thank you to Nyx Publishing for sending me an ARC via NetGalley!

This was a nice fast read. I love retellings, although I am not so familiar with Eurydice and Orpheus’ tale, maybe I have to learn more about them to understand better this book.
I noticed that Im drifting away from YA nowadays, and I need more/something else to grab my attention. I like that this was a bit different from these days Young Adult books, not as long and heavy, not the same cliché as always, and that it was a f/f relationship. It had a different vibe that I liked. The cover is also beautiful, well done!

I was expecting this book to be a full-length novel, not a novella, and that one is on me. I should have looked more into the details of the book before requesting an ARC. I am not usually a fan of too short fantasy stories because the world-building, character development, and even the plot suffer from the fact that everything is fitted into 100 pages. Sadly, the fact that the story is only 100 pages does affect my appreciation of it and my rating since I find it quite underwhelming.

I know that I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it had been longer. The premise is very interesting, the ideas are there, the characters are not bad, but there is no world-building or real character development, and the romance and the plot are not the best execution-wise. It is a very loose retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Because this is a novella, we don’t really get a chance to know and get attached to the characters at all, so I didn’t really care what happened to Teagan and Cress. All we know is that they are married, that Teagan’s mother died a few years ago, and that Teagan studied to become a healer, that is actually how she met Cress. Now, Cress left without Teagan on a mission into the Shadow Realm that is very dangerous, and Teagan is racing to find her wife before it’s too late. Other pieces of information about them are given as the story progresses, but in the end, we still don’t know much about them.

Another problem that I had is the number of flashbacks in a story that is so short. I am not a fan of flashbacks in stories, to begin with, and considering the length of the novella, I just didn’t enjoy the result. Half of the story is in the past, thanks to the flashbacks, and we discover how Teagan and Cress met, and what pushed them to enter the Shadow Realm. The other half is in the present, as Teagan is racing on The Bone Way to try to find Cress before she gets killed. I just feel that not enough time was spent on either storyline, and there is no real world-building here. Again, this issue would have been solved with more pages to develop the whole story.

The romance between Cress and Teagan is shown mostly through the flashbacks: how they met and what their life together looked like. I was expecting an epic love story, but instead, I read a lot about them arguing, and how Teagan was rushing to save Cress, but I didn’t feel their intense feelings. Their “great” love story was told to us, but not shown, and not developed enough for me to feel anything about it.

Overall, this is an okay/good novella, but do keep in mind before you start reading it that it is a novella and not a full-length novel. I can’t really say that I recommend this story because it was overall underwhelming, and the ending didn’t really satisfy me, but if you really enjoy sapphic retellings and/or are a big fan of mythology, then you might actually enjoy it more than I did.

Firstly, I have to say that the story is a lot of fun: I really enjoyed the modern twist on an old Greek myth, and I am always here for messy sapphics who are quite literally willing to die for each other. I also really liked that this book was happy just to retell this story as a queer one - Teagan and Cressidae are treated like any other couple, and there are plenty of small nods towards other queer identities in the world they inhabit. I had though this might be a more explicitly subversive retelling that tackled some of the various assumptions about gender and sexuality in the original myths, but getting to enjoy a plain, queer reimagining with no homophobia felt somewhat subversive in its own right. I also really liked the relationship dynamics at play, and how neither Teagan or Cressidae are at fault for the breakdown of their relationship (not a spoiler, it takes place before the first chapter), but are both required to confront how they communicate what they need from each other.

Having said all that, this was not a memorable story for me, because it tried to do too much in too few pages, and felt stretched paper-thin as a result. The world-building is flimsy; almost non-existent aside from some basic descriptions of the locations they visit. Obstacles were overcome in mere moments in order to get through the entireity of the plot, and there simply wasn't enough suspense or sense of genuine challenges for the characters. And while I really liked the relationship dynamic, the flashback scenes felt very insta-lovely as we sped through their early time together, while the resolution of their relationship woes felt rushed.

I'd definitely check out more from Underhill, and hope they expand to a longer format, because all the ideas were there, they just lacked the space to give the characters breathing room and do the story justice.

Thank you to Nyx Publishing for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5

First of all, this cover made me pregnant... it's just *chefs kiss*

I loved Teagan and Cress with all my heart, their stubborn love for each other and the flashbacks of their memories together were so sweet. I loved their willingness to do whatever it took to save the other and the conflict that arose from their mutual devotion. Their relationship felt really authentic and the growth they both experienced together through the book felt natural. I also loved their whimsical and witchy life together, with their cats, cottage, and magical spells and potions. I would have loved to read more background about their relationship. Honestly, they're the type of characters I would happily read "slice of life" books about with zero plot! I wish we'd gotten more of their everyday life, as I couldn't get enough of them together!

That being said, this book was a really quick read. It's a novella, so it went by fast, but the plot was also generally fast paced and felt pretty evenly split along their journey. My main reasons for rating this a 3.5 is that while reading it, I just wanted it to be so much longer. Fantasy is a rough genre to fit into a novella, but the plot to this book felt like it needed more depth and world-building. The concept for this book was so interesting that it could have easily been a full length novel and I would have eaten it up. I was dying for more context into the Shadow Princess, and I wished we would have had more time at her palace or learned more about her. I also fell in love with the world, but felt like it lacked depth. At times the plot felt too easy, and the conflict a bit lacking. I wanted a more explosive finale, and a more satisfying conclusion, but I found it fell short.

If this book served as a prequel perhaps, I would absolutely read a follow up book with these characters. It felt like an in-between book in a series, though I would gladly read a whole series about them from this author. The world was so interesting, and the author's writing was so lush and beautiful that I would love to read something in addition to this. I am definitely looking forward to what this author does next, as I see so much potential in this short novella, and I hope we see more of Teagan and Cress in the future.

The strongest thing I can say about this book is that it was okay. The idea was good, execution mildly disappointing. It was definitely creative, but the writing style bored me to tears at some points. It felt underdeveloped and dragged out at the same time. The development of the story was interesting, but the development of the characters felt too on the nose.

3.5 stars. 5 stars for that cover though.

Another novella with that problem of - I wanted/needed more. It's difficult to throw flashbacks into a novella because the story itself then is inevitably not meaty enough, because there's simply not time for it. This led to the problem of too much telling instead of showing. If this Sapphic Orpheus/Eurydice retelling had been fully fleshed out into a novel, I could see this being a potential five stars.

The relationship was sweet but difficult to buy into their passion for each other and why they would risk their lives for each other when we weren't given enough time to really be ingratiated. The journey into the underworld was interesting and creepy but not dark enough with a lack of attention to detail, and what detail was given left me wanting for more (I want to learn more about the monsters!). The princess was intriguing but again, I was left wanting to know more about her and how/why she got to wear she was.

Still - I read this one in one sitting and enjoyed what I got. Recommended to anyone with a penchant for mythological retellings.

Thank you Nyx Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

2.5 stars

I saw the cover and the synopsis that said f/f retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice and immediately wanted to read The Bone Way. I like that this is a novella, the story moves and wraps up smoothly. The worldbuilding, setting and the creatures were crafted smartly. Teagan and Cress's already established relationship was sweet, though I wish we'd gotten more of their interactions during the flashbacks. It did fall short for me. Nothing really stood out in particular, I found myself wanting the Shadow Princess to be given more depth, the worldbuilding to be explored more and the ending was underwhelming.

Thank you Nyx Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC!

The Bone Way ended up being a bit disappointing. The cover art is amazing and the blurb was what sold me initially to pick this one up. I personally felt that the set up of the book was what threw it off the most. Maybe the flashbacks could've been combined to a chapter at the beginning to make the reader care more. In a full length novel it might have been okay. I did love the witchy vibes, but in the end I didn't care enough and the characters were a bit too flat for my tastes.
I almost feel like that this would've made a good comic or fairytale graphic novel instead of a novella.
I would try other works from the author in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Nyx Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn in when I saw the terms Greek retelling, LGBTQIA+ & SFF mentioned in the book description. Plus look at that cover. Honestly, it’s stunning!

First of all, even though it was a 3 star read, I really mostly had a good time with this book.
It showed some serious potential in terms of plot, the world and the characters. But in the end it all fell a little short for me. It might because it being a novella or just because of the choices the author took with the delivery of the story.

“But she hadn’t been raised to turn away from someone in need, no matter how afraid for herself she might be.”

In this book you follow Teagan on her quest to rescue her wife Cressidae. She went to the shadow realm, to find a way to save her spouse from a lethal poisoning. The story is loosely inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s centered around the journey through the shadow realm and the romance between Teagan and Cress.

“Teagan felt the magic all around her, the energy from spells that crackled through the noise, the scent of harmona in the air.”

I think the strongest part of this novel is it’s atmosphere. You felt really immersed in the struggles the protagonist faced in the different parts of the “Underworld”. Especially the mental toll they took on Teagan.
I also really liked the stark contrast between the happy, protected world the couple came from and the cruel shadow realm.

“The dead were always starving, waiting for those fool enough to get past them without protection.”

One of the things I struggled most with were the flashbacks. I felt like they didn’t add too much to the story. They also made the already low page count just feel too short. I feel like starting the novel with a prologue instead, would have made me invested from the start and made me care about the characters more.

I actually liked the characters but they lacked a bit of polish. I had the same problem with the romance. An already established relationship is an interesting concept for a romance story, but you still need time to get to care about the two lovers. There was a lot of telling and not too much showing of the affection between Teagan and Cress. Like I said earlier, if the relationship was established in the prologue the quest would have had more gravitas as well. The “throwing into action” kind of start to a story has to be done just right in my opinion. I had the exact problem with R.A. Salvatores “Homeland” aswell. I just didn’t care about what happened just yet.

I also felt like the writing seemed a little fanfiction-esque. But if you’re not bothered by a more juvenile writing style, you probably won’t have an issue with it. I sometimes felt it was too much.

I can still warmly recommend this if you like a quick atmospheric read and don’t expect a close retelling of the original material.

So this took me a while because I had to re-read it, due to not realizing that this was a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice with a Sapphic twist, amongst others. I was actually going to just stop reading it because the story starts so bleakly, with Teagan (who is the Orpheus character, I think) right smack dap in the middle of her journey through this world's version of Hades, The Shadow Kingdom. I wasn't connecting the bleakness with the original, so I was constantly thinking of how sad and dreary everything was - even the flashbacks were bitter sweet.

Aside from picking apart what the story beats matched with the original groupings of the story (I found out there's a lot, but most people use Virgil's version in their retellings because it is so darn sad), I was constantly wanting to know more. There's so much world in this little novella that I wanted to keep finding out about, but because of the length of the book, it laser focused on Teagan and Cressidae. They're two powerful witches who were tragically separated after Cressidae disappears one day in the search to cure Teagan's terminal disease. We find out later that Teagan saved Cressidae's life, but was injured in the process. The injury was cursed, and Teagan as been dying ever since. Through their world's old stories, Cressidae thinks she found the cure and went questing after it but didn't tell Teagan who was more resigned to her fate.

It's a bit messy with the events of their past being told in flashbacks along with the current, terrible adventure. I would have liked to have been given some of that backstory closer to the beginning of the book, since most of the more relevant bits are explained near the middle of the book. It would have helped break up the utter helplessness that was prevalent in the beginning. What, with one lover dying and running after the other, whom we don't know the exact fate of until later? Whole lotta sadness to throw at people.

The Orpheus and Eurydice story often gets really good retellings like with Mulan Rouge, and Hadestown. I'd say this is a solid retelling and a pretty creative one at that. Cressidae has a ton of agency as Eurydice, but, she also has a little of Orpheus in her, too. Teagan has characteristics of both, as well (see what I mean, picking apart the story?). It's really interesting, and certainly deserves a larger page count. But alas, it is not to be, and instead you get a lot of story crammed into a small space with not enough room to breathe.

If you want a sapphic retelling of Eurydice and Orpheus. If you want a story that can be a bit creepy and really emotional. If you want a fantasy world with understandable and good world-building. if you want a quick read. If you want a great love story that defies death. Then this book is for you.
It's easy and quick to read. The characters are so great, even the villains, like you, understand them. I've read this book in one day, and now I just want to re-read it. It was the perfect book to end pride month.

I got an arc from NetGalley and Nyx Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you both for that!

And honestly? I enjoyed reading this story.

The story has a great premise and starts off in the heat of everything: Teagan’s wife missing. But I also like how the story explored Teagan’s past with Cress every so often in flashback chapters. That was a great touch to develop the characters. Each new part of the Shadow Realm brought wonder into the story. I also love the power in Teagan's words, and how Cress is a strong character that can stand on her own.

My only complaint was that a few parts feel like some details were missing, which made the story feel a bit rushed. And it slightly got a bit cliché toward the end. But those are minor.

I'm a sucker for fantasy worlds, and I really liked the different creatures and the journey through the Shadow Realm.

8/10. Would love to buy a paperback of this book for my shelves now.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

**2.5/5 stars**.

The Bone Way loosely retells the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It largely follows Teagan, who, for the majority of the novel, is travelling through what is known as the Shadow Realm to find her wife, Cressidae, who is there to make a deal with its ruler in order to save Teagan's life.

Honestly, I was really looking forward to reading this, but unfortunately it did kinda fall flat for me. I think the main issue I had was that it lacked development. I think part of this is down to the fact that it was a novella – while I have nothing against novellas, I feel that in this case the book was perhaps too short for the story it was trying to tell as there was a fair amount of journey-ing but not enough world building or character development.

Overall, the aesthetic was cool and I loved the concept of this but I did honestly expect a bit better. The writing style didn't particularly stand out for me and I didn't care too much about any of the characters, but this doesn't mean that there aren't elements other readers would enjoy, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it if they thought it sounded like their thing, considering it's a relatively short read.

In general this was a sweet sapphic retelling of the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but in the end it lacked in certain areas.

The romance between the main character and her wife was mostly established through flashbacks, which I'm not a huge fan of. Furthermore, there was almost no apparent worldbuilding. I never got the feeling that I could immerse myself into the world because the descriptive part of the story was entirely neglected in favor of a lot of "action".

The writing style in general was nice, but nothing groundbreaking. I did get a little annoyed with the author's habit of starting almost every paragraph with the main character's name.

Nevertheless, the main character was very enjoyable and easy to root for. It took me some time but I came around to the ending after a while. I did expect something a little different though.

Likely drawing inspiration from (several) mythological tales of people braving the land of the dead in order to save the life of the one they love, "The Bone Way" presents the journey of Teagan through the Shadow Realm as she seeks her lost wife, Cress. Said Shadow Realm is a relatively interesting melange of various elements, and I liked the way that the tale played out: it felt very much in keeping with those old myths, while still being its own thing.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4085550334
Blog: https://mgthacker22.wixsite.com/librarymouse/post/the-bone-way

I was very excited about this book. I love fantasy and as a member of the LGBT+ community, I love any book that can fit both my preferred genre and have representation. I loved the plot and I even really liked the characters.

But to me the execution of the idea just wasn’t very good. There were basically no descriptions in this book, and most of the writing is just action. If the author had taken more time to flesh out the descriptions- yes she hears the bones, but what do they sound like, yes there is a creature but what does it look like-I would have liked it a lot better.

If I wasn’t reviewing this book, I would’ve stopped reading at the end of chapter two. The writing style just didn’t allow me to enter a reading imagination theater.

Long story short: I loved the idea of it, but was really let down by the writing.

3.5/5 stars

A sapphic Orpheus and Eurydice retelling novella.

Teagan woke up one day that her wife, Cress, is missing. Cress has traveled to the Shadow Realm to bargain with the Shadow Princess - a being who bargains with those brave enough to seek her. Teagan determined to save Cress, follows her in the Shadow Realm. Both must face their past and the realm's horrors if they want to make it out alive.

Only 162 pages but The Bone Way managed to create an intriguing world, and the characters are likable. This is a straightforward read; there's a well-laid-out plot right from the beginning - go to the Shadow Realm, find Cress, bargain with the Shadow Princess, and go home.

The writing style was easy to follow and poetic at times. The backstory of the two protagonists, the world, and the Shadow Princess was interesting. It added depth to the characters which is remarkable as this is only a novella although the world was a bit underdeveloped due to it being short.

My only issue was the placement of the flashbacks. It made things a bit confusing because there was no indication that it was a flashback.

Overall, The Bone Way is a fast, easy, and enjoyable read I finished it in one sitting. I recommend it for fans of Greek myth retelling and those looking for a short read.

Thank you, Nyx Publishing and Netgalley for the galley. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

The Bone Way is a short and sweet novella, a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, but with a bit of a twist. It’s an easy read, one you can get through in a single sitting, but ultimately, it didn’t really stand out for me.
It doesn’t try to tell too expansive a story, and leaves you satisfied with what it has told.
In general, when I’m reading, I find myself struggling when a relationship is already established, but here I didn’t have that. I think it’s because what the book does well is give you enough of their backstory for you to root for them. And it probably also helps that you’re introduced to them in a moment where things aren’t all that peachey in their relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley and NYC publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

That was ok. I don't think this book was really my cup of tea. Objectively it wasn't bad but I didn't exactly enjoy reading it. Its a very quick read but it was sort of just meh for me. The majority of the story takes place with the MCs internal monolog and flash backs and the story over all felt a bit anticlimactic. If you are into Greek retellings you might enjoy this but this was sorted for me

This sapphic retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice was a fun and pleasant read. The main characters were likeable and it was easy to cheer for their relationship, however the prose was quite basic. I often found the descriptions somewhat lacking and the dialogue was mismatched - sometimes it felt like it was being spoken by characters in a traditional fantasy, and other times it was Buffyspeak. Overall a good read, though one with nitpicks.