𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔— 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅’𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒃𝒚𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆, 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒇𝒇-𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓.

😈

Having read Kelly's debut, THE WHISPERING DARK at the end of 2022 and being in awe of the world she had created, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read the next in this connected series.

MY BONES, YOUR BLOOD is an intensely dark and vividly immersive YA gothic fantasy with curses, paranormal entities, minor horror, and a slow-burn childhood friends-to-lovers romance at its core.

We first met Wyatt in TWD as a supporting character, now she has returned to her childhood estate following the death of her father to burn it to the ground. When Wyatt finds Peter, her first love chained up in the basement, all the dark secrets of her family's history start to unravel and the truth about Peter's existence won't be the only immortal being she will have to face to get out alive.

Something I remember being a little off balance within Kelly's first book was the (overuse?) of metaphors. I didn't feel that with this one at all. In fact, I was so drawn in and encapsulated by the story, that I was a little emotional when it ended. There are plenty of creepy moments to give you the tingles and Kelly's beautiful prose is perfect for book lovers who love to annotate.

If you read THE WHISPERING DARK, you'll also be happy to know that Lane and her "sleep paralysis demon boyfriend" Colton - and Mackenzie make an appearance too.

Thank you to the team at Hachette and Netgalley for allowing me to read an early copy of this gem.

I was very excited to get this ARC from netgalley as it was a special edition book i was getting in a book box , let me start by saying i love the cover.

I was hooked reading this book and couldn't stop until i finished it . ( get your tissues)
would recommend this book to another who likes Gothic Ya romances .

I would love to look at other books by Kelly as i really enjoyed this one

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.

If I was going to give this book a different title, it would certainly be American Gothic. This was such a fun, creepy little book, with just the right amount of heartbreak and magic. I thoroughly enjoyed it, much more than I expected to. FMC Wyatt is headstrong and has one foot stuck in the past. MMC Peter has lived hundreds of lives and yet he's the oldest he's ever been. This was a book that straddles multiple genres - magical realism, thriller, horror. The vibes are honestly immaculate. If you enjoyed Andrew's first book The Whispering Dark, keep an eye out for some familiar faces too.

The world was rich in creepy imagery and at multiple points caused shudders at how invested I got in envisioning this book's world environment. This was a cursed forest done right, and the hints of multiple genres kept this from being just a horror tale. The homestead of Wyatt's farm undertakes drastic and magical transformations throughout the book that subtly keeps the dark decay of the situation, both physically and emotionally tracking along nicely, and I was impressed by how the house worked well to represent the strength and fragility of the characters' hope and destruction. The ending, whilst tragic, had the right level of culmination to all the previous actions, and I was satisfied enough with how this wrapped up.

I enjoyed this read, and am glad that Kelly Andrew has written another book in such a style, a great improvement on the last one I read from them, so much so that I hope to read more of their work in the furture.

Achingly beautiful dark fantasy with a heartbreaking romance!

This was a gorgeous read from start to finish. The prose is so lush, the imagery so vivid, the plot so tragic that I spent my reading experience stressed to the limit while also admiring the immaculate vibes. It read like a fucked up 'Tuck Everlasting' in the best possible way!

This is horror, this is dark romance, this is looking back on the halcyon summers of your youth but Uh Oh, something is Desperately Wrong Here. It's those childhood friendships forged in iron, revisited and pushed to breaking point. It's blood cults, witches, and eldritch monsters lurking in the shadows.

I can't recommend this enough!

"Your Blood, My Bones" dives into the gothic horror realm, following Wyatt Westlock as she returns to her ancestral home after her father’s death. The discovery of her childhood friend, Peter, chained in the basement sets the tone for a chilling narrative. As Wyatt uncovers unsettling truths about her family's past and Peter's semi-immortal curse, the story weaves a tapestry of deceit and destiny.

"The book 'Your Blood, My Bones' really drew me in with its promise— "A seductively twisted romance about loyalty, fate, the lengths we go to hide the darkest parts of ourselves . . . and the people who love those parts most of all.." And while it delivers on atmosphere, nailing those moody, gothic vibes, it didn't completely hit the mark for me elsewhere.

The lack of a well-defined magic system left much to be desired, with the rules of this dark universe feeling underexplored and vague. However, the atmosphere? Spot on. The gothic elements? Absolutely my cup of tea. But something about the way the story unfolds just stops it short of being a book I'd love. I really wanted to connect more with Wyatt and Peter, feel their fears and root for their fates, but I just wasn’t there with them.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this arc via Netgalley and Hachette Australia; in return for a review. Although I was given this opportunity all thoughts are the my opinion and what I feel is a truthful rating for me. Please remember not everyone's tastes are the same and I may like something you might not and vice versa. I will try to keep spoilers free best of my ability. Again thank you for this arc and thank you to the author for imagining this.

"He could have told her she was dead wrong -- that he'd studied her for so long, for so many years, that he knew her like a sailor knew the sea. That he felt the shifts in her moods the way a lightkeeper's knees ached before a storm."

Your Blood, My Bones, to me was devastatingly beautiful. It hit all the right notes for me, to really leave me thinking. Because of this before we make it to the begining we will start at the end... The ending was haunting, sad, beautiful and poetic; it also had me crying while at work( I had my e-reader read it to me, Kelly Andrew, you owe my therapist some money.) The ending had me feeling all sorts of ways. It shattered me. I was upset. I was horribly sad. I was happy, I had hope and that was dashed by Andrew but the beautiful way my dreams went down in flames, has me forgiving her for making characters, two really that I just connected to on so many levels! I saw a younger version of myself in Wyatt and Pedyr, I guess a hint of James thrown in. To have a connection and feel as you read the emotions and be so immersed into the world Andrew paints with each word, every syllable was something I don't always experience in books. She nailed it for me. Andrew, said in her acknowledgements that she felt as if she were Wendy Darling as a child and she had a band of Neverlanders (Honestly same, I think thats why I connected so much with this, it felt just like how she described she wanted it to be.) This was already on my BOLO list for picking up but now I have read it, it needs to join my little home library!

“Loving Peter had always felt a little bit like poking at a bruise. Impossible to stop, even when it hurt. But nothing had ever hurt quite as badly as this — kissing him at the world’s end, surrounded by a living monument to all their wasted time.”

My Blood, Your Bones is a YA gothic horror modern fantasy with a splash of romance. To me and made sort of true-ish in the acknowledgements this is sort of a Peter Pan like modern remagining. Think witchy magic, folklore monsters, immortals with a very spooky and haunting aesthetic with a pinch of cottagecore as the pixie dust. I would totally watch a movie or TV show based on this book by the way, but let's dive back into the review shall we?

"Your family whittled him away bit by bit, until he became sharp and unfeeling as a weapon."

The book follows two primary characters, and one secondary. Wyatt, Peter (Pedyr) and James (Jamie). The book is MPOV with chapters at the beginning being Wyatt and Peter only, towards the middle/end chapters from Jamie's POV are added.

Wyatt, our MFC is part of the key to a secret, her family has kept hidden. Upon the death of her father, she is drawn back to the place she once called home, Willow Heath. This beautiful farmhouse, on acreage that bordered the woods is the setting for this tragic tale of woe. Coming back brings a flood of memories back, of a young Wyatt running about the woods and fields two little shadows her best friends, James and Peter. One whom her mother seems to not like or be afraid of yet, she cares for him like a part of her lives him, Christmas and Birthday gifts and so on, up until she drags Wyatt from the house kicking and screaming and moves her to another place permanently and she never sees her shadows again really. While going through the house deep in thought she is drawn to the basement, where she finds bound by chains, our MMC Peter.

“He didn’t want to tell her that most curses looked like gifts, at the start.”

Peter, isn't like all the other boys, normal boys, you see Peter in all his lifetimes had never grown up until now. Wyatt, isn't even sure of where he came from, just has known him as one of her best friends, an orphan boy her father has looked after. Peter holds a secret and it is linked to the one Wyatt's family holds. She is the key to it all and only she can change the past, right the future and help unlock the chains that bind Peter.

The character development between these two is impactful and fulfilling although I wish the ending was a bit less bitter-sweet. It is definitely a sorrowful happy ending.

Lastly is James, he wasn't really fully around until about part way towards the end. A lot of flashback scenes with him. I wasn't connected to him as much as our main characters. He isn't from the area Willow Heath is in, he is from across the pond, the UK. His father drags him to the states, to where Willow Heath is located, Summer after Summer. For reasons I shall not spoil. Though I do think what happened for him was very sad and added to all the tragic things in this book.

Overall I truly enjoyed this haunting tale. If you like horror, supernatural, remaginings or retellings this one is definitely for you. I definitely am picking up a physical copy to add to my shelf. It was a big 5 star read from me. I have The Whispering Dark on my shelf and has been on my TBR I definitely need to give it a read!

This book was so unexpectedly spooky, I got the chills within just the first few chapters of reading.
I really loved the storyline and the unique plot it had! It gripped my attention and this was my first time reading a gothic YA/horror-esque book.
The characters were all really complex as well and the prose was wonderful. My only gripe is that Wyatt could have been fleshed out more and shown to the reader rather than simply being told that she was this powerful being.

I really wanted to love this story. It sounded amazing but the execution didn't do it for me.

Your Blood, My Bones is a paranormal/gothic romantasy which follows the story of Wyatt Westlock who has recently inherited her families farm much to her dismay. But during her final walkthrough of her childhood home she finds her childhood friend, Peter in her basement, strung up in chains and left for dead. Peter has a secret unbeknownst to Wyatt, he has suffered hundreds of deaths at the hands of the Westlock family as he is semi-immortal. The only way to break him free from his curse and return him to his family is to kill the last of the Westlock line, he has to kill Wyatt.

Like many reviewers, I really wanted to love this. The plot sounded really interesting and had a strong beginning but it quickly fell apart and felt like it wasn't amounting to anything. The ending was also very confusing and rushed. I also really liked the atmosphere this book gave but again it didn't really go anywhere. I'm also very confused why this is branded as a romance? These two characters had zero chemistry or tension.

This can also be said about the characters. I really liked Wyatt and Peter in the beginning and felt that they were going to be solid, well described characters. However, they quickly fell apart and ended up very two-dimensional. Another thing that really annoyed me that another reviewer also pointed out is that Wyatt is meant to be the most powerful person in the world but that's literally all that's mentioned. It isn't expanded on or explained well. We're just told, "this is Wyatt, she's powerful," and that's literally it. No explanation of why or what she can do, just yeah she's powerful.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Aus and NZ for sending me a copy of this one to review. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I wanted to but I hope others will enjoy this one more than me.

- Gothic
- Dark, haunting, magical, tragic

"Your Blood, My Bones" by Kelly Andrew is an absolute gem of a novel, seamlessly blending elements of mystery, romance, and fantasy. Andrew's writing effortlessly draws readers into a vividly imagined world where the boundaries between reality and magic blur. The characters are beautifully crafted, each with their own depth and complexity, making it impossible not to become emotionally invested in their journey. The intricate plot keeps you guessing until the very end, and the lyrical prose captivates from start to finish. Andrew has created a truly enchanting tale that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page. If you're looking for a mesmerizing read that will sweep you away to another realm, "Your Blood, My Bones" is an absolute must-read.

4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC to review. All thoughts are my own.

The American Gothic vibes of this story were spot on. The balance of spooky vibes, magic, and tragedy were all executed so well that I was a little lost when I finished the book. I adored the vibes of Andrew's debut novel but felt it lacked in execution at points, so I was pleasantly surprised by how fleshed out Peter and Wyatt felt as characters. Their personalities and actions suited this dark world well, and I enjoyed small details blossoming once more as they reconnected over their decades-long cohabitation and obsessive nature with each other. I also found the side characters - both new faces and familiar to further the twisting intrigue the deeper I got into the cursed farm and the centuries-old boy connected to it. The creepiness of the villains elevated the read, and I found myself in equal parts understanding their beliefs and wishing for their demise.

This isn't my usual style of book to pick up, but I felt rewarded by the neverending twists and horror-appropriate plot devices. The world was rich in creepy imagery and at multiple points caused shudders at how invested I got in envisioning this book's world environment. This was a cursed forest done right, and the hints of multiple genres kept this from being just a horror tale. The homestead of Wyatt's farm undertakes drastic and magical transformations throughout the book that subtly keeps the dark decay of the situation, both physically and emotionally tracking along nicely, and I was impressed by how the house worked well to represent the strength and fragility of the characters' hope and destruction. The ending, whilst tragic, had the right level of culmination to all the previous actions, and I was satisfied enough with how this wrapped up.

I'm convinced that Kelly Andrew has found her niche of creepy fantasy with strong horror vibes here and hope to read more like this from this author in the future.

Your Blood, My Bones is a stunning addition to gothic/horror YA literature selections. Written by Kelly Andrew, author of The Whispering Dark, her new novel follows the lives of three people – Wyatt Westlock, Pedyr “Peter” Criafol, and James Campbell – as well as the estate of Willow Heath. Wyatt, heir to the estate, has the responsibility of care thrust into her hands when her father mysteriously falls ill and passes away. Armed with twisted memories and conflicted feelings, Wyatt sets off to Willow Heath with one thing on her mind: burning it all down. However, her plans are thwarted when she finds Peter strung up in chains in the basement. Confronted by old memories and cryptic comments from James and the weird, cloaked men on the estate border, Wyatt needs to search through their early lives at Willow Heath and the unnerving nature of her father’s secret society. Can Peter and James be trusted? And can Wyatt piece together the mystery unfolding before it’s too late?

Andrew’s prose is magnificent, setting the perfect pace for the thrilling events that occur. As much as this was a gothic YA, the mystery and magic involved evolve the story into a psychological thriller, making you wonder whether you can trust what is right in front of your eyes. A gripping page turner, perfect for fans of magical gothic horror.

Wow, where to begin… Kelly’s writing drew my in from the beginning, I was hooked. I went through all the emotions with the one and now don’t know what to do with myself! At times I just wanted the story to move faster, but I am an impatient person!

This was a heartbreakingly beautiful story following Wyatt as she discovers her dark family history that involves her childhood friends Peter and James. It’s a blend of genres with romance, supernatural, horror, with some mystery and suspense.

Honestly I’m still processing what happened by the ending definitely destroyed me 🥺

Please check the trigger warnings before reading ⚠️

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC through NetGalley. My review is my honest opinion on this book ✨

Your Blood, My Bones was such an addictive read. I didn't want to put it down. It draws you in right from the very start and keeps you page-turning as you absolutely need to know what happens next.
It is lyrical and beautifully written. The story is atmospheric and haunting, and I loved the slow burn romance. I wanted to be in these pages. I wanted to be with these people, and I can not wait to read more by Kelly Andrew.

Many thanks to Hachette AU/NZ and netgalley for letting me read an early copy of this. I absolutely need to physical copy for my shelf!

Imagine inheriting your childhood home, only to find your best friend chained in the basement – turns out he is immortal and his only chance at freedom lies in your death. This unsettling premise sets the stage for Wyatt and Peter's story, a chilling exploration of sacrifice and twisted bonds.

This book captivated me. Its tragic romance, complex characters, and a haunting magic system created a truly immersive and suspenseful experience.

I really loved Kelly's story in In These Hallowed Halls, I didn't even realize till about half way throigh that it was the same author so obviously I like the way she writes.

Highly recommended if you crave:

Dark fantasy
Tragic romance 💔
Atmospheric storytelling

Thank you to @hachetteaus for making the ARC of 'Your Blood, My Bones' by Kelly Andrew available on @netgalley

Five years after her mother took her away from the estate of her now-dead father, Wyatt Westlock returns to the place where she grew up with her two best friends, Peter and Jamie, only to discover that Peter has been trapped in her home this entire time. Her discovery that he intends to kill her starts her on a path to unravelling the dark history of her family and the land upon which they've lived for generations, as well as coming to terms with a frightening power that's been growing inside her.

The first two-thirds of this book has an unsettlingly gothic feel to it, which sets a perfect backdrop for the dramatic tension that unfurls between its lead characters and the surrounding landscape. For as little as actually happens in this much of the book, it doesn't feel like it, as the tension continues to be ratcheted up and more information is doled out, piece by piece.

Then, trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible, there's a change of location that feels very much like a record scratch, which the book is ultimately able to recover from for the big finish, but which still felt like an unnecessary interlude. I understand its purpose, but oh how I wish some other method(s) had been used to achieve the same result. Preferably something that gave Wyatt a bit more agency in the story, where she otherwise seems to be something like a leaf caught up in the flood caused by the actions of other people, both friend and foe.

I also wish that the plot device of withholding information hadn't been leaned on so heavily. Especially when the revelation of that information often had fewer consequences than the hiding of it.

If this sounds like I disliked this book, that's actually very far from the truth. I wanted to give it five stars for the longest time, and even think that it would have only taken some minor changes to the plot to get me over the line. As it stands, I still strongly recommend reading it.m, and I'd love to be argued into giving it a perfect score. For now, though...

Rating: 3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic Press for this ARC!

At the very beginning I was prepared to give this book a 5 star. It had me captivated, spooked and curious to know more. The way that Kelly articulates her words is phenomenal , her internal vocabulary must be out of this world huge, however I think in this instance it may have been her demise as I found a lot of things to be unnecessarily descriptive.

Towards the end of part two and the beginning of part three I found it to be a little slow. We kind of just got presented this magic system, but no backstory into how it actually worked. I would've loved a more in depth background into that, rather than chapters and chapters of Wyatt and Peter arguing over the same thing and making up again.

The book is described as a Gothic Horror, but I'd say this is more a YA horror set in an eerie farm house.

All the cons aside, the story as a whole was tragically beautiful. I loved the romance between Wyatt and Peter, I loved the beast! His character creeped me out and all the little things that were happening that had no logical explanation such as the landline phone ringing.

This was well done, however I feel as though it could have been less focused on the back and fourth and more on the magic/world building.

3.5 stars from me!

3.75 stars

“Wyatt didn’t doubt that monsters were real. She knew they were. She knew, too, that they didn’t lurk in forests, the way Peter seemed to think. They didn’t have fangs and fur, sharp teeth and crooked talons. They looked like a girl with summertime freckles and strawberry hair.”

ARC provided by NetGalley (all thoughts and opinions are my own)
Publishing date: 24/04/2024
Hachette

Thoughts…
This was a gorgeous YA fantasy that had an eerie atmosphere, gothic vibes and just the right mix of friends/enemies to lovers that I needed.

I am a huge mood reader, and recently I’ve been really reaching for gothic, creepy, and very atmospheric reads, and this really gave me all that and more. I loved our characters, their friendships and the way they interacted. It gave me a huge found family vibe. I loved Wyatt and learning what her magic is. Peter gave me all of the vibes I needed in a quiet and mysterious male lead, and I just loved how his character developed throughout the book. Don’t even get me started on my boy James. I am a sucker for a side character, and James just had me in a chokehold the entire time 🤭

I loved the plot of this story as well. I loved the idea of a reluctant working relationship between Wyatt and Peter, as they tried to stop the world from essentially ending. I thought Andrew did a great job of progressing the plot from one point to another, whilst giving both characters a good amount of growth and self-discovery. I’m also a sucker for dual POV, so I loved getting to see into both of these characters heads throughout the book. For me (personally), the ending just broke me. I just sat on the couch for a while and went “how dare you?” I’m still mad about it, but frankly that marks some great storytelling.

I’m excited to pick up The Whispering Dark sometime in the near future, and can’t wait to see what Kelly Andrew comes out with next (I have some thoughts on who I’d want focused on- but that’s just me 🤭)

Wyatt Westlock must return to the farmhouse she has just inherited; the very same farmhouse her mother ran from, together with Wyatt, five years ago and never returned to. She has one plan: burn it all to the ground. But when she finds a childhood friend, Peter, chained up in the basement and left for dead, she finds that she has more questions and puts off her acts of arson.

Your Blood, My Bones haunts me to my core. I finished it twelve hours ago and I cannot stop thinking about it. Andrew has weaved a story of heartbreak, horror, fantasy and romance and used it to break my own heart in two.

You follow along with Wyatt, who is discovering the mystery of Willow Heath and of Peter, the boy who has died over a hundred times but is still standing before her, and his quest to kill her. When their former friend James shows up, Peter is wary but Wyatt is glad to have a voice of reason. And boy, how does that spiral out of control. I loved seeing the relationship between these characters and their struggles to come to terms with what they are now, compared with how they saw each other five years prior.

When I say I cried at the end of this one, I bawled. It was gut-wrenching and my standards for stories have risen incredibly after this one. The story was gorgeous, the characters are complex and nuanced, and the good slow burn romance is something that I yearn for in every story.

As I have come to love, Kelly Andrew's writing is absolutely beautiful and I love her story telling. I fell in love with her writing during The Whispering Dark, and this has increased it tenfold. She is one of my newest auto buy authors.

🍃 cults
🍃 body horror
🍃 friends to enemies to ???
🍃 “went into the woods and came back wrong”
🍃 three former friends trapped in an old farmhouse
🍃 gothic horror vibes

Thank you to Hachette Australia & Gollancz for an e-arc of this one, all opinions are my own.

4.5
When Wyatt Westlock returns to her family farm, she intends to burn it to the ground. She didn't expect to find Peter, her childhood friend, chained up in the basement. What follows is a haunting journey through memories of sun-soaked summers and childhood daydreams while nightmarish beasts stream out of the forest, desperate for a way through the wards and into the world.
Kelly Andrew has perfected the voice for gothic fantasy. The prose is hauntingly beautiful, even when Andrew describes something that fills the reader with dread. I didn't expect to find this book so captivating or so unsettling. The sense of place is immaculate, and the feeling of returning to childhood friends and finding everything different than how we remembered it was a surprising gut-punch.
The only thing keeping this from being 5-stars for me was the stakes. While they are present throughout the book, I didn't feel much escalation through the midpoint. The challenges Wyatt faced were repetitions of what we'd already seen, with perhaps a slight uptick in danger as the wards began to fail, but this was enough to make these moments feel distinct. Andrew's prose carried the novel and the expertly crafted character relationships kept me going where the external stakes started to flag.
Overall, I adored this book and will be raving about it for months to come. I might get myself a physical copy when it comes out! If you're a fan of A Study in Drowning, gothic fantasy and fantasy-horror, this will be right up your alley.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars
No spice

“He tasted like a tragedy. An end, before they’d even begun.”

“He didn’t hate her. He loved her so much that it was like holding his heart outside of his body.”

A gritty, gory, complex, and utterly heart-wrenching gothic fantasy that will have your hackles raised and leave your soul aching by the end.

Kelly Andrew just ripped my heart out of my chest and buried it in a grove six feet under. I need to sit in a dark room and contemplate my life for a while, because I feel absolutely ruined by this book.

How can I begin to explain how heartbroken I am for every one of these characters?! I hope that ending was left open to interpretation the way I think it was. I’m choosing to live in denial even if it wasn’t.

I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this book before, certainly not something that encapsulates so wonderfully that childhood adventure-time nostalgia, but wrapped in a dark twisted fantasy that rots from the inside out. I’m not sure how it managed to do both these things all at once but it just made so much sense.

The main trio of characters were perfect, I can close my eyes and picture them so vividly - how they smile, how they talk, and how they exist in space. The writing in this book and the descriptive language used was so beautiful, mixed with the cottage core vibes I was transported into a different universe. It was captured so perfectly I could feel the foliage creeping off the pages.

At times, the pace was slow and some plot points didn’t seem critical to the storyline. Some of the more action-heavy scenes were harder to decipher exactly what was happening, when the descriptive prose got in the way of plot clarity. I often had to re-read pages to figure out what had happened. This is really a minor point, and didn’t take away from the reading experience too much.

I read this not realising it was set in the same world as her other book, The Whispering Dark, with some character cameos. You definitely don’t need to have read that book to enjoy this one. A fantastic read all round!

Tropes:
🕷️Star-crossed friends to enemies to lovers
🕸️Forced Proximity
🕷️Cottage Core
🕸️Dark Gothic Fantasy
🕷️Slow burn
🕸️Cults & Ritual Sacrifice
🕷️Multi POV