Numerous plot twists and vivid detailing keep the reader engaged, as do well-developed characters, though the main character was somewhat clueless. There's a lot of back and forth with the past and present. Normally I really enjoy that, but it was a bit jarring on occasions. and I had to flip back to see if I missed something. I liked the fact that the author didn't feel the need to have a HEA ending.

Hm. I am sitting here. Listening to quiet and sad music and feeling quiet and sad.

I didn’t realize when I picked this up that it is definitely a horror novel. I don’t know that I’ve really read anything in this genre before, which is wild, but also I’m glad this was (probably) the first. There is some romance, but around that, it’s creepy and horrifying consistently. As someone who doesn’t like those feelings, I swear it was not bad. It was super well done. I imagine in a novel full of darkness and trauma, you need something strong to burn through all that heaviness and fear, and James, Peter, and Wyatt’s bond felt like Inosculation. By the end, I believed that they were like three trees that had grown together and merged into one. That removing any one from them would be like living life thereafter with only ⅔ of your body.

SPOILERS:
Did Pedyr die thinking Wyatt was about to be killed or forced into a similar life of slavery? Did he die thinking his sacrifice was in vain? Did he die on this side of the “sky” and live on the other? Did the beast find him in that place? What about James? Did he live forever thereafter and watch Wyatt grow old and die? Did his body rot and collapse or did it gain some kind of magical powers? Did he even survive the day? What about Wyatt? How do you recover from Trauma like that? What do you do forever after with that amount of power curdling in your veins? Are there other gateways? Other beasts? Or was there always only one? Was there any fallout during the night of the open gate when some things DID come through? What happened to the Widow?

I have so many questions. But I only care to know the answers because they (Peter, Wyatt, and Jaime) were so real. It all felt real. The lonely property in Maine, the cairn of stones on a lonely grave, the weirdo protective mama goat, the many different facets of terrible fatherhood…this story was told WELL, and the author took care to make sure there weren’t too many unbelievable plot holes.

Highly recommended to people who can handle a bit of fear and trauma and sadness and complex relationships with some very fucked up shit… this is the best book I’ve read yet from Netgalley.


Review posted to Goodreads.

3.5

I was granted the opportunity to read and review Your Blood, My Bones as an ARC. This is an honest review ans reflects my thoughts and opinions on the writing of the book.

I loved Kelly Andrews "The Whispering Dark" and was excited to get to read more of her work. While I didn't hate this I found it difficult to get through the first half. Really the first quarter as Wyatt makes a lot of really ridiculous decisions.

Over time, the story improves. More answers are provided, the characters develop, and we even see some familiar characters (If you read The Whispering Dark). I do want to make sure I state that I'm a big fan of Kelly Andrew's writing style. It's so descriptive and beautiful that I really feel immersed in the story. That doesn't mean, of course, there aren't a few holes.

What I liked: Other than the writing style I did enjoy James' character. I liked seeing the cameo of the characters I loved in the last book. I liked the variety of creatures.

What I didn't like: there are a lot of unanswered questions for a standalone and some things that couldve been acknowledged or addressed sooner. Wyatt also makes some stupid decisions.

There are some Spoilers Ahead so to tie up the review: I liked it. I didn't love it. Do I think someone else will enjoy it? Yes. Absolutely.

For example: there's a phone on the farm that doesn't work. Somehow she is able to get a call on it. But it isn't said that she attempted to try to use this phone afterwards until way later.

Then there's the Bone collector who she tries to invite in which makes no sense to me.

Then there are some Spoilers ahead:

Then there's: why does she have this raw magic? How does James' body grow to that of an 18 year old if he's dead? If he didn't actually die then how did he end up buried? Why did her mother wait so long before someone actually did something? Why didn't Joseph tell Wyatt that Peter was dead? He could've used it as fire to have her kill him sooner? Why does her blood rot things but her power raw can grow AND rot? 🤔

So many questions.

It's been weeks since I finished this and I'm still not over it.
I should've listened to everyone who already read an advance copy and said this book ripped out their heart.
ma'am, HOWDAREYOU

Your Blood, My Bones was beautiful, tragic, haunting and utterly gut wrenching.
As always, Kelly Andrew's prose is gorgeous. Once I started I couldn't put this down, even reread the first chapter several times because I just loved the way she set everything up - the characters and their pasts, their relationships, the tension, the angst, the magic, I couldn't get enough.

I love Wyatt, Pedyr and James so much, my heart broke for each more than once. Kelly has created such nuanced, well fleshed out characters with complex relationships that had me hooked right away.
The romance is one of the things that broke me and that's all I'm gonna say.
I absolutely adore the fact that YBMB is in the same universe as The Whispering Dark. I almost cried when we got reunited with Lane, Colton and McKenzie—I missed them so much.
And here I'm going to mention that reading TWD will definitely give a better understanding of the magic system, you won't be lost without that knowledge of course but I strongly encourage reading TWD first.

I don't know what else to say because I don't wanna give away too much but I just want to mention that Your Blood My Bones is what I expected Together We Rot to be more or less. but where TWR was lacking, YBMB more than made up for it.

If you love exquisite prose, dark fantasy, friends-turned enemies-turned lovers, creepy vibes, magic with body horror and small town setting you should definitely read this.
I'll read anything Kelly Andrew writes.

Your Blood, My Bones is an interesting story that reminds me of The Old Guard, with a sexier overview. I appreciated the darkness of the story intersecting with the main character's relationship, which was understandably chaotic and complicated.

I couldn't put this book down. I didn't have a handle on how the story would likely end and looked forward to each revelation. I did not expect the ending. Overall enjoyed reading something darker and spookier than I usually read.

Thank you Scholastic Press and NetGalley for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Wyatt Westlock is returning to her childhood farm after her father's death set on burning it down. As she's dousing the house in gasoline, she discovers her childhood best friend turned nemesis, Peter, chained in the basement and left for dead. Peter is exceptionally good at dying. He's done it countless times. He can't quite nail the sticking part and resurrects each time. Upon discovering him, Wyatt learns that she comes from a long line of wardens, trying to keep the dark, ancient forces that lurk in the nearby woods at bay, wards that are crumbling since her father's death. The only way Wyatt can reinforce the wards is by working with Peter. The only way Peter can end his curse is by killing Wyatt, the last living Westlock. When their other childhood friend, James, arrives, matters get even more complicated, reinvoking an old dynamic between the three of them.

Your Blood, My Bones is set in the same world as The Whispering Dark and has the same lush, atmospheric writing, but instead of dark academia, it's cottage-core horror. Kelly Andrew nailed the setting and vibes, and I loved the dynamic between Wyatt, Peter, and James. The tension between the three of them! And that ending!! Ahh - I'm still thinking about it! I was also pleasantly surprised to see Lane and Colton from TWD make an appearance. Though don't worry if you haven't read TWD. While it helps to understand the concept of lay lines and walking between worlds, Andrew does a good job of explaining it in YBMB.

If you liked The Whispering Dark, read Your Blood, My Bones! If you never read The Whispering Dark, but you like cottage-core horror, read Your Blood, My Bones!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for giving me an ARC. All thoughts are my own.

80/100 or 4.00 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story. I am staying at four stars because the story did drag on in the middle section. I had a good time with this and I think the ending was better than I was expecting. This is my second novel by this author, and I am going to check out every new release by this author.

4.5/5 stars! I love Kelly Andrew’s work! I really did love seeing the character development through this story. However I didn’t feel like the plot really sped up until halfway through the book, which is when I got to the point of not being able to put it down! I loved Peter so much! I wish the ending had turned out different but I still adored the book!

It might be the lack of protein I've had today, but I just finished this book, and my hands won't stop shaking. 5 stars.

In all seriousness, Andrew creates such a visceral narrative that I found myself being sucked in right away. I already loved her first book, The Whispering Dark, and her sophomore novel lived up to and then surpassed all of my expectations.

What a great read. The dark atmosphere with the 2 characters and their backgrounds leaves you wanting to keep reading. As their relationship unfolds, the harder it was to put it down.

First thing from this author I had ever read, and I will definitely be coming back for more.

As expected, Kelly Andrew wove together a deliciously dark romance that had me hooked from start to finish.

The depth of the characters with their past and present woven together with trauma and lies was beautiful.

I hadn’t put the names together before, but when Lane and Colton showed up, I was delighted. The doors in the sky was such a cool allude to The Whispering Dark and I was happy to see my favorite characters.

This book was a gloriously haunting tale bringing magic and horror together. I would read it forever if I could.

I really wanted to like this book, but honestly, I just couldn’t connect with the characters. They seemed to change from scene to scene. And the banter between the mc and his love interest was excruciating to read.

Completely loved this book, this was my first time being introduced to the author and I have to say I will be reading more of her books. The ending made me cry, but also the writing was amazing and the plot was easy to follow. Scifi with a bit of horror. The romance was everything and I just loved it. I have no other words.

A captivatingly intricate tale of love delving into loyalty, fate, and the shadows we hide within ourselves. While the start was sluggish, once the pace quickened, I found it impossible to set aside. This book was expertly crafted, it elicits feelings of fear, intrigue, insight, and a unique sense of romance.

I want to thank NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review as well as the author for this free copy.

Thank you for an ARC copy of this book.

This was a beautiful book. It was so unique and not like anything I’ve read before. At the beginning there was a lot of switching between timelines which I found a bit jarring at first. But it was important for the story and the farther into the book I got the more hooked I became.

This is really an incredible growth story and part of me doesn’t even have words to describe it. It was creepy, and intriguing, and almost like fantasy mixed with horror mixed with true crime. There were so many twists and surprises it really kept me flying through this book.

An absolutely beautiful story about the danger—and necessity—of choosing love in the face of horror. Andrew crafts three teenagers who are as flawed as they are compelling and forces the reader to bear witness to their rise and demise. One of the best books I've read this year; I wouldn't be surprised if it dominates bestseller lists in 2024.

This book was SO good. I was scared of the dark and unable to put it down even when it was keeping me up at night. The writing was beautiful and tragic and full of longing! Parts felt a little “out of the blue” but it all came together in a heartbreakingly hopeful way.

I really wanted to like this one but I couldn't for the simple fact that I couldn't read it.

There were no accessibility features which baffled me because I've had other books on this site that all had at least 2 accessibility features. I'm not picky, I just need one but alas, there were none. The font was incredibly small so reading with eyeballs was not going to happen. I tired using apple's screen reader but the way the book was formatted, it didn't go from chapter to chapter like I was expecting, instead, it cut off in random spots and I couldn't figure out where to restart every couple minutes.

I got about half way through (part III) before I gave up trying. I was expecting a romance but instead, it was a horror that wasn't scary or atmospheric. I'm not really sure what this book was trying for but I feel like from what I read, this fell really short.

Surprisingly exposition heavy for a book meant for a younger crowd. It surprised me. I imagine it will go over alright with young adults, probably a three to four star range.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the ARC.