Your Blood, My Bones is a dark horror mystery with a fantasy twist and a teeny tiny bit of romance. The focus is very much on the characters and building them up, which meant that at times the book felt pretty slow. I didn't enjoy this pace and overall didn't like the book as much as I'd hoped to as a result!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy

***ARC received from Scholastic Press and NetGalley for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

Wyatt returns home after the death of her father having been away for years finding Wyatt hanging in the basement. Setting of a beautiful and sad story about trust, friendship and the sacrifices we make for others.

I loved all the characters so much. Wyatt, Peter and James all bring something unique to this story, they all have their own struggles. Wyatt is a conflicted character, who came with a single minded intention that gets blown up the minute she meets her childhood friend. I loved Wyatt, I loved her struggle as she tries to find her place in this world that she has been thrusted back into. She deals with a lot of self doubts as her magic is so far out of her control having already hurt others with it. I did wonder sometimes how Wyatt didn’t notice some of the things going around her but maybe she does. And Peter, sweet and sad Peter who is desperate to break a horrible loop. I loved how conflicted he was as he slowly reconnected with Wyatt and James, burdened and haunted by the terrible things that he did and what he blames himself for. As much as he wants to be free he doesn’t want to do it at the expense of his friends. His conflict through out the book as he comes to realize what he must do is some painfully beautiful. I also adored James as well, his relationship with those around him isn’t always the healthiest but he cares for Wyatt and Peter.

The writing in this book is beautiful. The decrepit house comes alive as it is slowly eaten up by the forest feeling the confines of the walls as the characters do. I love how atmospheric this book is. The horror elements of the book are definitely more of the psychological than the gross out horror, fitting well with the rest of the book. They do briefly leave the main setting of the story and as much as I understand why I didn’t really want them to leave the house as the scenery of the book is such a huge aspect of the story.

This book is a very character driven story, while there is some actions sequences they are few and far between which is completely fine with me. Much of what makes this book such a beautiful read is seeing Wyatt and Peter rebuild their relationship while still keeping secrets from each other. Neither is fully honest and open as they work on the trust they have in each other. Its so sad watching their progress and expected setbacks as they worked through years of trauma, many years in Peter’s case. We get to see some of Peter’s backstory and its as sad as to be expected.

The ending of this book is achingly sad even if it was expected and basically really the only plausible ending it was still so sad yet still to me gave a bit of hope for a happy ending. There was a bit of a stumble for me at the end, yes it was a build up to this but I don’t know if it really needed it seeing how this is such a character driven story. The ending would have been okay without it.

I just highly recommend this book.

Absolutely tragic and beautiful. Kelly Andrew's writing sucks you in from the very beginning into this thrilling and haunting tale. I loved the gothic atmosphere of this book, and the unexpected turns it took. There were a few parts where I felt disconnected from the characters and found myself questioning their motivations, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

It took a bit for me to get into the book, but I really liked it. It seemed more Thriller to me than romance, but it was very well written. It kept me engaged, had a lot of twists & was an easy read.

Two years ago I read Andrew's debut novel The Whispering Dark and fell in love, so when I saw she had another novel - a companion novel to it even - coming out I was super excited, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Andrew's sophomore novel is a fascinating mix of gothic romance, eldritch horror, and urban fantasy that she mixes together into something very wholly her own. Her prose is beautiful, and the emotion she manages to wring out of her writing is nothing short of magical; I'm also sending her my therapy bill because THE AUDACITY! That old song, "shot through the heart, and you're to blame" fits perfectly here. While there are a few cliches here, the main one being the fact that cellphones somehow don't work on this one particular farm, and a mid-book twist I did see coming I really don't have much to complain about. Every now and then I was a little confused about what exactly was transpiring, which led to some backtracking from time to time, but nothing bigger than that. In all honesty it just made me want to revisit both The Whispering Dark and this book (preferably back to back, since they do connect) at some point in the future so I can really savor them both. I was also thrilled to find out that this book is going to be the B&N April YA book club pick, so I'm certainly going to be hand-selling the crap out of this one no doubt. The fact that more people don't know about Andrew and her books is a damn shame, and I'm certainly going to do my best to remedy that at my store.

Kelly knocked this one out of the park. Your Blood, My Bones is the perfect mix of fantasy and gothic horror (definitely leaning more towards fantasy). Following Wyatt as she makes her way back to the farmhouse she just inherited planning to burn it to the ground we watch a story of friendship, loyalty, and fate unravel before our eyes. Wyatt returns to Willow Heath and finds her one of her childhood best friends, Peter, is still there. She hasn’t heard from Peter, or her other childhood best friend James, in five years but suddenly the three of them are pushed together once again. We watch as Wyatt learns the truth of her seemingly strange childhood in the present day.

I adored this book so much. Kelly has such a way for writing well rounded, complex characters that you immediately find yourself attached to. I found myself worrying about every character whether they were on the page for a paragraph or we were fully immersed in their POV and thoughts. Wyatt, a fiercely loyal friend who just wants to have everyone be okay at the end of the day. Peter (Pedyr), who despite the horrible cards he’s been dealt always continues to make sure others are dealt better even if he suffers more. James, who somehow knows everything but is still here to be a relief in tense times. Every character is so fleshed out and they all have such insane srcs.

Kelly also does a great job setting the scene, I felt this exact same way with The Whispering Dark, she writes gothic settings so well. I cannot picture anything in my head it’s blank space up there but I FELT every wind chill, every echo in her writing.

The only place I struggled is how some of the world building wasn’t fully explained and I am #dumb so there is that. Every storyline wrapped up so well in this book which I find rare in stand alone fantasy, I somehow always need more to explain the ending.

This truly is a homerun for Kelly. I can’t wait for everyone to read it.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing me with this eARC!!

Actually insane. I don’t even know what to say besides that this was one of the best books I’ve read this year. It was thrilling from the beginning to the very end, and full of twists I didn’t see coming. I couldn’t put this book down, and basically read it in full over a 3 hour sitting. This was dark, but not overly creepy. It was everything I ever could have wanted from the description and more. Every aspect of this was perfect, from the romance to the entire plot and side characters. I was basically skimming the ending because I just had to know what happened next. The ending was insane by the way. Your Blood, My Bones was such an amazing book and I think anyone considering reading it definitely should! I look forward to reading anything else by this author. I feel like a lot of books are written quickly just to have as many tropes as possible, almost like fast fashion but in publishing. However, this definitely was not that. This was clearly very well thought out and planned, which made it all the better. Your Blood, My Bones deserves way more than 5/5 stars. I’ve given many other books a 5, and this is way beyond that. This is the kind of book that you can read over and over again to find new details you missed before.

“𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥.”

Wyatt Westlock has come home to put the past to rest. Following the death of her father, she returns to the farmhouse she grew up in, surrounded by the dark forest and the secrets that live there. It’s in the basement that she finds the answer to the questions she didn’t even know she had, the lost love she thought she’d left behind, and the catalyst that changes her entire world.

To say I was excited to be approved for an ARC by NetGalley and Scholastic for this book is definitely an understatement. Thank you for the opportunity!

Kelly Andrew has crafted yet another gorgeously gothic tale in her sophomore release 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙈𝙮 𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨. Set in the same world as 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠, this haunting story of discover and first love delivers a heart wrenching, spooky cottagecore story set in the Maine countryside. Brimming with a “there’s something in the woods” energy, this novel is a great foray into sunlit horror. If you enjoyed 𝘼 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 by Ava Reid or 𝙈𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙘 by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, then this book is for you! 5★

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew is a YA Horromance with atmospheric prose and three-POV characters. Wyatt, Peter, and James were all raised together in a small town but have been separated by their parents and school. One night, Wyatt finds Peter chained up in her farmhouse and learns that he is semi-immortal and her family has been killing him for decades to keep the darkness of the forest at bay.

What I really liked was the way the interiority was written. There were callbacks to the lipstick Wyatt wears (Dahlia red) and each POV character felt very different. Peter’s chapters were my favorite for the yearning and melancholy that jumped off the page, but Wyatt’s were a close second.

Your Blood, My Bones is full of longing and exploration of growing up and first loves. Wyatt has been in love with Peter almost her whole life and Peter has to kill her, but he is also attracted to her. James loves both of them and his friendship with them adds layers to their history and the darker elements of the story.

The fantastical elements lean more horror to me on the broader Speculative genre scale. I can see an argument for it being dark fantasy, but the atmosphere plus the way the darker elements were described felt closer to The Witch rather than Damsel. The horror elements are intertwined with the romance aspects, putting it firmly in the emerging Horromance subgenre for me over the Romantasy genre.

I would recommend this to fans of darker love stories, readers looking to dip their toes into Horromance, and fans of YA who are looking for more horror-leaning atmospheres.

This was tragically beautiful. It's not my usual story because of how the ending went but the overall creepiness of the story and the prose was excellent. There were some moments I found it difficult to follow logic but it's a bit psychological in that sense but it was definitely a very lovely read. Just wish it didn't end like that

4.5/5 stars

This book was an amazing and unique read. The dynamic between Wyatt, Pedyr, and James was very interesting. You get to see how their young relationships compare to being thrown into such an intense situation.

What I found to be interesting was the immense power Wyatt had and how it would just explode out of her, never getting a chance to really see her control her abilities.

This book did not end the way I had expected it to, I felt heart broken but not betrayed by the ending. The ending had me close to tears.

I am a sucker for a beautiful book cover, and this one definitely drew me in.

Your Blood, My Bones is a devastating gorgeous novel that wrapped me up in the atmospheric tragedy that is this stunningly beautiful book. I loved it from the first chapter to the last with it’s heartbreaking, yet perfect ending. I can’t remember the last time that I sobbed my eyes out but this book had me completely immersed in my feels. One of my favorite books of 2024, I can’t recommend it enough. The writing is some of the best that I’ve ever read, the characters drag you under and the entire story itself is just. . .sublime.

Thank you Netgalley and Scholastic for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tried so hard to get into this book, but the more I read the more confused I was. The pacing was slow and it felt like there was a lot going on, but not any explanations. This books was outside my usually type of book so it could just be me, but this wasn’t for me. I stopped at 47% because I couldn’t keep going.

A beautifully paced book, with a masterfully crafted story. There was a great sense of familial bonds long broken, with wistful thinking back on the good days. It was devastating and scary, while also beautiful. Perfect for the dark cottagecore lover, or anyone that desires to run through a meadow.

Phew, Kelly putting me through the emotional wringer with that ending! I'm so torn on how to rate this book because so much of this was perfect and what I love, but THAT ENDING??? HOW DARE SHE????

There are a couple other things that I felt ambivalent about (1. James is only ever truly experienced via flashbacks and I felt no emotional attachment to him except that these characters routinely told me to and 2. Wow, this girl screams a LOT lol). Outside of those two things, I was swept away by this gothic, cottagecore horror romance. Because that's truly what this is - it's lush, full of blood and flowers, and a slow burn of intense pining between our two main characters (who also get dual POVs!). It's clear Kelly is a talented writer, and I just love the way her prose can build a rich setting and intense feelings. Despite feeling unsatisfied with this book's ending, I'll definitely be reading anything this woman writes.

Long story short - I liked the book, but probably will not do a re-read. As other reviewers note, this author has a wonderful way with words. I might be an oddball, but I like looking up words I'm not familiar with and increasing my vocabulary, even during casual reading. I initially picked this book because of the title (on the nose) and pretty (to me) cover. I got a bit confused by the age of main three characters during present tense, but I think that was due to me reading in over a few days, instead of one chunk. There was one particular flashback that I thought could have used a break, as I had to read it several times before realizing it was back in present tense. I liked the moody, almost dreadful, atmosphere, but I felt like there would be a bigger climax. I also wanted more "feels" for the ending, but I don't have the slightest idea what I would change. I am unsure if this is a standalone or going to be part of a larger series, but I would not surprised either way. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to receive an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic for the opportunity to read this book. This is my honest opinion.

4.5/5

Dark, tense and gothic. If you like the Netflix Sabrina the Teenage Witch with dark witchcraft and things like that this is for you. There isn't anything "scary" it's just tense and has very well thought mystery to its plot. I live Wyatt and Peter and their dual pov. They have a wonderful backstory and the world is very descriptive. The lack of characters help really develop Wyatt and Peter and their inner thoughts. Wyatt backstory isn't to me as strong as Peter's. The ending is intense and things can tend to be predictable. Overall a great gothic story.

Okay, so I just finished this book and omg I'm a mess! The book, the ENDING hit me right in the feels. I haven't cried over a book for a long time but this got me. It was worth every tear though and I can't wait for this to officially drop so I can force all my friends to read it and share in the emotional rollercoaster.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Scholastic for the opportunity to read an ARC. Your Blood, My Bones was spooky, gut-wrenching and so much fun to read. I loved reading about Wyatt, Peter, James and all the others. I honestly have never read a book like this before, but it was so unique to me. The cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait till release day to pick up a finished copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this. The vibes were creepy, whimsical, and dark. The way the author writes is incredibly immersive. It's both haunting and beautiful. The main character had a spark that I loved about her so much. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Read if you love:
- Creepy atmospheric vibes
- Mystery
- Slow-burn romance
- Fantasy-horror

4/5