Skip to main content

Member Reviews

Kelly Andrewโ€™s in Your Blood, My Bones was so well written, it has me immersed in the book within the first few pages. The atmosphere of the book is chilling, which is what I like most. The romance will leave you emotional and hanging on every word. I truly enjoyed reading this book due to the uniqueness of the story.

Was this review helpful?

This book had me hooked from the get-go and did not let me go!

"A seductively twisted romance about loyalty, fate, the lengths we go to his the darkest parts of ourselves...and the people who love those parts most of all."

When Wyatt gets the news that her father has passed, leaving her the owner of his homestead, she never expects to go back only to find her childhood friend Peter strung up in its basement.

She definitely isn't expecting the secrets she uncovers.

Romance meets cottage core horror in a very Midwest-gothic setting, complete with magic compacts and eldritch beasts.

I really enjoyed this book, especially once Wyatt begins to understand and accept what is happening around her. Without giving spoilers, the scene where she sees the pictures of James half in shadow? Just wow. The imagery painted by Kelly Andrew's writing is so immersive I could swear I was seeing it for myself.

4 stars!

Was this review helpful?

Gripping. Emotional. Horrific - in the richest & most supernatural way. This is a story that I will not be forgetting for a long time, Andrew did a wonderful job in crafting a unique and intriguing story that you do not see in the current horror landscape.

Thank you Netgalley and Scholastic for the digital ARC!

Was this review helpful?

Ah! I enjoyed this story so much, actually. The writing was gorgeous and poetic, and the dynamics were complex + very raw. On top of that, I really enjoyed the lore + horror imagery. This is definitely a book that's re-readable. A win for horror/tragedy fans like myself. I can't wait to buy it when it officially comes out. ๐Ÿค  (In fact, I've already pre-ordered it.)

Was this review helpful?

Kelly Andrew does it again. This book is everything--spooky, dark, romantic, atmospheric--and ties together perfectly with Andrew's gorgeous prose. I want to literally eat her words with a spoon and let them take over my body. I love the Whispering Dark tie-ins as well--this installment expands the world and makes me that much more excited for whatever comes next.

Was this review helpful?

The language in this book is just delicious. The language is so visceral and really crafts the rot taking place in the house, the farmland and also in Wyatt's relationships. Kelly Andrew is an excellent writer who really brings you into her world.

I loved the complicated dynamics between Wyatt and Peter, and the addition of Jamie added more layers. I think where I struggled a bit was in the middle, when it just seemed like Wyatt and Peter were going in circles around each other. And then in the last third, some new characters, or only briefly mentioned characters, got brought in a way that suddenly made them crucial to the plot. It did not feel authentic, and felt like the author was trying to piece all these ingredients together but it did not come out in a cohesive dish.

Overall I give this a 3.5 rating, rounded to 4 stars. The problems with pacing and plot warred against the rich description, the VIBES, and the intriguing characters in reviewing the book. I recommend this to anyone who loves dark fantasy or "horror light."

Was this review helpful?

Solid 4.5 read for me. It was so close to 5 stars but I tripped up on some of the unreliable narrator stuff and a bit of an unbalance in the story but honestly that was mostly minor (and that's from someone who usually dislikes unreliable narrators)

Wyatt has returned to her family home in rural Maine. Her father has died and she plans to burn the farm to the ground. Her mother had taken her away a handful of years ago leaving Wyatt angry with her father. But when she arrives, she finds her childhood friend, Peter, chained up in the basement, suspended from the ceiling, left for dead. Only Peter can't die. Her family and the magical cult that grew up around them has been ritualistically murdering Peter for more years than Wyatt can wrap her head around.

Peter (Pedyr) should have died back in the colonial days but his father made a deal with the darkness in the woods and he was revived, made immortal but his deaths feed the beast as well. They're trapped together. Peter is now as old as he's ever been allowed to get (late teens)

The story is told in alternating points of view (his and hers) going back and forth between present day and their childhood along with the third kid in their trio: James, the wealthy boarding school kid who summered there with them. Both boys had their crushes on her. Wyatt had no idea the destruction she wrought when she was taken away.

Now the monsters in the wood want out into the world and with Wyatt's father dead and his magic failing, it falls to her and the boys to stop it. Only there's something wrong with her magic and she has no desire to learn what her father did to keep back the dark (hint, the title of this book is fitting).

I think, for me, one of the scariest parts of horror as a genre is there is no guarantees everyone will make it to the end. In romances you know they'll get their happy ever after. In mysteries, the sleuth will solve the case. In horror, we expect people to die (the last girl isn't a trope for nothing). Truthfully no one should survive this book. The horror both interesting and just that dangerous.

It's not the first time (even in the last few months) I've read the horror from the woods. That's a trope in and of itself, but it is done very well here. I very much liked Peter. Half the time I wanted to slap Wyatt hard but she does rise to the occasion. What I tripped over, isn't so much the unreliable narrator (both are) in so much as around mid way we learn that Wyatt is magic on both side and boom, suddenly there's this whole other side of the family who becomes important with now warning and that bugged me.

Overall, I did really love this (and wow, that cover!)

Was this review helpful?

I laughed. I cried. I screamed. I had the sudden urge to fall in love with an eldritch terror.

This book exists in the same universe as the whispering dark - and thereโ€™s even a few small cross overs! It is much more of a gothic horror where whispering dark was a gothic dark academia. This book is SPOOKY, but itโ€™s a great intro into more horror adjacent stories with a lush setting, amazing characters and a goat.

Was this review helpful?

I've actually been done with this book for a while now but I had to let it sit and resonate with me because this book's prose and ending stuck to me and really REALLY injected itself into my system. This book was melodic with bite and was tragic but sweet. It hurt, but it felt transpondent. When Peter died, actually ACTUALLY died a part of me went with this character. I was so happy that the author decided to resurrect Jamie because if they hadn't I don't know where I would be because I grieved *so* many times for Peter but when it was final it wasn't grief, it was heart sorrow. For me this hit hard because personally my mom was really sick my whole life and almost died 3 times and when she did? I felt like Wyatt. It wasn't real. She would come back from it. But she didn't. Peter didn't. I can't give this book enough stars and enough public image. I will be telling EVERYONE I know about this book. BRAVO Kelly, BRAVO!

Was this review helpful?

Add me to the list of people crying their eyes out upon finishing this book. "Your Blood, My Bones" is a haunting masterpiece that left me emotionally shaken and utterly captivated. Kelly Andrew's writing is nothing short of phenomenal, with her ability to craft vivid visual scenes matched only by her talent for instilling an unsettling and creeping dread that resonates in the very marrow of your bones. Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Heartbreakingly amazing!! I didnโ€™t want to stop reading it. I am really hoping to get a physical copy so that I can do a reread. Thatโ€™s how much I enjoyed this! Will be recommending to all of my friends!

Was this review helpful?

This book had me bawling my eyes out at one o'clock in the morning. The pain of that ending is something I will never get over. But WOW what an experience. The writing is just phenomenal. I hang on Kelly Andrew's every word in this. Not only her ability to set a visual scene, but to create unsettling and creeping dread you feel in your very bones. But where it really took my breath away was her ability to write and convey and express feelings that I would never have had the language to articulate. Just absolutely immaculate.

Was this review helpful?

Wyatt Westlock hasn't been home in five years, and she intends for her homecoming to be nothing more than a goodbye--she has every intention of setting the place ablaze and never looking back. But on a last walk through the place, she discovers her childhood friend, Peter, trapped in the basement. And over the next few days, she begins to realize that her family's history is much darker than she ever realized. As the nearby forest grows closer and the wards around the house begin to fail, Wyatt and Peter try their best to harness Wyatt's magical powers to save themselves and the house. But the secrets--Wyatt's, Peter's, and so many more, including those that belong to the land itself--stand in their way, growing into monsters of their own.

Your Blood, My Bones is hauntingly beautiful (and beautifully haunting). I'm an absolute baby when it comes to horror, but I couldn't put this down. I loved the characters and the magic and the prose--truly everything about this book. I hadn't read Kelly Andrew's first book but I will be doing that immediately.

Was this review helpful?

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

Your Blood, My Bones, by Kelly Andrew, is a dark paranormal romance about three childhood friends who struggle to survive the sins of their fathers. The book is separated into three parts. Part 1: The Homecoming introduces Wyatt Heath, who returns to her familyโ€™s farm after her fatherโ€™s death, and uncovers a horrifying secret that had already claimed the lives of both of her childhood friends. Part 2: The Stranger shows exactly what it takes to keep the dark at bay, and the horrors lurking within said darkness. Part 3: The Solstice illustrates the light beyond the shadows, and how, despite everything thatโ€™s happened, Wyatt and her friends are still willing to sacrifice their own selves so that the other may live.

Pedyrโ€™s monster was my favorite character. I loved its sinister presence, and how I had to keep questioning whether or not it was on Wyattโ€™s side, or even Pedyrโ€™s for that matter. I also enjoyed how it tricked me into thinking it had a humane side, before showcasing the violence within. Speaking of which, I also liked Pedyrโ€™s POV, no matter what light he was in, cowardly or otherwise, as well as the relationship he shared with Wyatt and James. It was parasitic, a sense; despite the bond they shared, Pedyr was supposed to give Wyatt up so that he could join his mother, and James was supposed to sacrifice Pedyr for the sake of his own life. It was a promise that the monster had taken advantage of, and when none of the three could fulfill it, it came crumbling down. In my opinion, it was a rather excellent demonstration of how we inherit our parentsโ€™ burdens, and one that Iโ€™d like to see more of.

Regardless, I especially liked this parasitic relationship extended to the cult and their barbaric practices. Itโ€™s the age old lesson that no one seems interested in learning; absolute power corrupts absolutely. It happened when the cult attempted to take control of the forest, when they used Pedyr to further their own cause, and though they may have stopped for a short period of time, they were still ready to continue, if only for the sake of their own egos. It seemed that Wyattโ€™s father had a point, when he asked his own daughter to bury the legacy they left behind. And another thing; typically, fathers want the family name to continue, even if said fathers were awful to their children. Moreover, as elegantly put in American Horror Story: Coven, parents see their deaths in their children. But Wyattโ€™s father had something different in mind. He put Wyattโ€™s safety and well-being above his own memory. Itโ€™s a terrifying thought, especially when youโ€™ve thought about what you wanted to leave behind (or if youโ€™ve engaged in existential therapy at all), so it was a brave thing he did.

That being said, I couldโ€™ve done without the romance, and the relationship between Wyatt and James was more than a little off-putting in my opinion. Still, I enjoyed the book, and would give it a 4 out of 5 stars

Was this review helpful?

After reading The Whispering Dark, Kelly Andrew became an autobuy author for me and I was so excited to hear Your Blood, My Bones is set in the same world (and we got some cameos!). When I got approved for the NetGalley e-ARC, I immediately started reading it (sitting on the entrance line at NYCC lmao)!

This book was as perfectly dark and bittersweet as I expected. Wyatt, Peter, and James peeled back the sinew of my heart and nestled in together for a bloody lodging. Itโ€™s actually hard to write this review without spoilers because in order to describe the love and friendship between these three I have to reveal the longing between immortal Peter and witchy Wyatt, and the heartbreak knowing that one of them must die to save the otherโ€“and the world. James, the faithful, British best mate who betrays his father for the love of his friends, and who in turn is victimized by the man who was supposed to care for him, finds redemption through Wyattโ€™s unbelievable power and together, the friends stop the encroaching eldritch darkness, making every sacrifice along the way. As per TWD, this story isnโ€™t completely calamitous though, and those who survive leave us with a bittersweet conclusion that is the best one could hope for in a world of human sacrifice and the unbreakable bond between true friends and true love.

YBMB is, of course, all the stars, and all the tears, and all the feels.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC!!

That ending broke me, I was not expecting that at all! This book was an absolute gem! I havenโ€™t been left speechless by a book in a while!!

Your Blood, My Bones was beautiful, spooky, and tragic! The writing in it was so beautiful; Kelly Andrew words were simply just perfection!

The characters were so fleshed out and Wyatt reminded me a lot of myself. The world building was just chefโ€™s kiss as well.

This book gave me goosebumps but in the best way possible!!!

Was this review helpful?

I loved the book as an early twenty year old, but I would recommend it for some of my older students I stead of my middle school students because of some of the writing takes a little more effort to understand.

Overall, itโ€™s a great tie in to The Whispering Dark, but stands out enough to where it can be itโ€™s own stand-alone novel.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic Press for letting me review an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a 3-3.5/5 stars for me. I really wanted to love this story, but did not feel connected to the story or characters. It took me until about 35% of the book to feel rooted in the world. I did like the ending. While this book was not for me, I do think it would be an enjoyable read for anyone wanting a gothic, horror, fantasy read.

Was this review helpful?

โ€œ๐˜ฟ๐™ค๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™˜๐™ง๐™ฎ.โ€ ๐Ÿช“

This book. This beautiful, tragic, devastatingly perfect bookโ€ฆ
I am completely, and utterly broken. ๐Ÿ˜ญ

โ€œ๐˜ฟ๐™ค ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™ก๐™ž๐™ ๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™จ๐™š๐™š? ๐™Š๐™ง ๐™™๐™ค๐™š๐™จ ๐™ž๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง๐™ง๐™ž๐™›๐™ฎ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช?โ€

Let me start by saying I donโ€™t usually read horror. Iโ€™m a baby. ๐Ÿ˜… But this book, gripped my soul from the start. ๐—œ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฟ. ๐Ÿคฏ It was creepy at times, but I couldnโ€™t put it down. I could tell within the first 20 pages that it was going to be a 5 star read. ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ

โ€œ๐™”๐™ค๐™ช ๐™ก๐™ž๐™ซ๐™š ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™™๐™–๐™ง๐™ , ๐™—๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™„ ๐˜ผ๐™ˆ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™™๐™–๐™ง๐™ . ๐˜ผ๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™„ ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™จ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ก๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™ช๐™ฅ ๐™ฌ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ง ๐™„ ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™š๐™–๐™จ๐™šโ€

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด- Easy, it felt instinctual. I donโ€™t know how she made it seem so real without intense info dumping. I felt like I was there.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€- Multi-dimensional. I felt like I KNEW them.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ- Slow and intense. It was just enough. I was on the edge of seat, crossing all of my fingers, and toes for them.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ- Heartbreakingly perfect. They became my best friends.
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ- Beautiful, descriptive, and easy to read.

I feel like I just woke up from a fever dream, and Iโ€™d like to go back to sleep. Iโ€™d like to go home. ๐Ÿฅบโค๏ธ

โญ๏ธ ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€
โญ๏ธ ๐—ฆ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป
โญ๏ธ ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†
โญ๏ธ ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ
โญ๏ธ ๐—ฅ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€
โญ๏ธ ๐—›๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป & ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ
โญ๏ธ ๐—•๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฐ
โญ๏ธ ๐—–๐˜‚๐—น๐˜
โญ๏ธ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†
โญ๏ธ ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฐ
โญ๏ธ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ

Kelly Andrew is a new instant buy author for me. Sheโ€™s a freaking genius. Stop reading my review, and go pre order this book. NOW!

๐—ง๐—Ÿ๐——๐—ฅ
The book has ripped my soul in half, and rendered me speechless. It was magical, whimsical, thrilling, and absolutely perfect. You NEED to read it.

And to Kelly I have only one thing to sayโ€ฆ
๐—ก๐—ข๐—ง ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜ ๐—–๐—›๐—œ๐—–๐—ž๐—˜๐—ก๐—ฆ!! ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿคฃ

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher, for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

i will read anything kelly andrew writes! i loved this book so much! more detailed review to come :)

Was this review helpful?