I really wanted to like this one but it unfortunately wasn’t for me. My major problem was I couldn’t connect to the characters so I didn’t care to know what happened to them. I also found the plot wasn’t interesting and didn’t keep engaged. I really like the setting though and the author did a good job building the atmosphere. Overall, not my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, and hopefully it’ll find the readers who will love this.

Thank you NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

First thing first I loved the vibes the whole book had. What really set the mood was the small-town-vibes where nothing ever happens. Veryyy similar to the Riverdale Series (first seasons). The way the diner worked as socialization center was something I loved. That and the creepy vibes that the book was able to hold till the end, that was just amazing.

Other small thing I loved was (for me at least) the Top Gun reference GREAT BALLS OF FIRE that made me giggle as if hearing Mav and Goose singing it over and over again.

Now, I personally did find some small problems while reading it.

Taking out the punctuation errors that I found here and there and a sveeekers around chap 32 that I think it's supposed should be seekers the rest of the book seemed edited enough.

The main problem I had with this book was the Show-and-not-tell. At some point I thought I was reading a grocery list out loud without really getting pulled in by the writing, at times repetitive with the same descriptions over and over again regarding the same things. Yes, I get it that Galen Nolan has black fur when he's in werewolf form, and I got it that each time dark magic is mentioned Leona says she hates it. Yes I swear I got it, no need to go on and on without end by repeating it.

Another thing that set me off was the period change, past-present-past and present again chapter after chapter, all that could have been resolved by adding a date at the start of the chapter. Especially since we know the book is set more or less a decade after WWII.

Oh and even here about WW2, when Leona meets Cale for the first time she mentions that the US went to war against Germany and Japan, only that historically speaking it should be Germany, Japan and Italy. So small incorrect historical fact.

Now, I do understand that Leona is the main character, but it's not fair to cut Jewel from scenes where we know she's there. This first happened in the flashback when the sisters go flower-hunting and we're only shown the reaction to Leona's flower, but not a single word was directed to Jewel, especially since we'd just read about Jewel tearing a flower. In this case Jewel was completely forgotten, discarded even from the scene. This happened quite a few time throughout the book.

Taking about the characterisation. I won't say it wasn't well done, but I feel like I couldn't really bond with the characters. Leona is portrayed (and she is, just not always) as a strong woman, but for me strong women are someone that are able to make decisions quickly without breaking down and crying every single time their feeling get strained. Jewel and Cale were my favourite without a doubt and for different reasons. Jewel is someone unconventional within that time, someone who sees the world with different eyes and isn't afraid od showing it. Cale was just the cutest of them all, always trying to help, always stick around when he could and tried to never leave Leona alone.

Last few things that I didn't really appreciate:

•Who the hells calls a d*ck a carrot?!?! Like- What the? Come on >_>
•We were introduced to the character of Granny Kay, wish we'd seen more of her throughout the book.

Will I read book 2? Yes, yes because I'm sure there will be a book 2.

Am I hoping that Cale will come back and have his happy ending with Leona? Hell Yeah. I want them to raise their son and Peggy together, with her finally having a decent father to see her grow up.
3⭐️

Magical murder mystery is how I’d explain this book but it’s also so much more!!

Very suspenseful and witchy I was definitely entertained and couldn’t wait for the next page.

What a ride this book was! This was a really fun and entertaining read!
Think of the TV show "Ghost Whisperer". Then add two badass witches, a crazy warlock, gangster werewolves, cursed ghosts, a smelly ghoul and a vampire. Those are the characters you will meet in this book.

"Root and Bone" started out as a crime story, then developed into a crazy fantasy/horror/ghost story. There's actually room for a cute love tale in there as well.

Sisters Leona and Jewel are witches, and though their domestic lives are hard, they excel out in the field, fighting enemies and dealing with weird ghosts and creepy creatures. A local girl has gone missing, and the town sheriff turns to Leona for help. She can sense things others can't. In fact, Leona can see and talk to ghosts. It doesn't take long before the sisters locate the missing girl, and all hell breaks loose in the small town.

This book was pure entertainment, and I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an e-book copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Root and Bone, you have won my little heart over. This story was fun and entertaining and kept me hooked throughout. Set in a quaint small town, there is a brutal homicide that takes place and rocks the lives of the townsfolk. Feeling like Charmed meets Gilmore Girls meets cozy mystery, you better get settled for an enjoyable read.

Leona and Jewel live in the small town of Ames and know that the cops will not be able to solve this murder, thankfully Leona and Jewel are witches and know there are supernatural events tied to this murder. The author is able to write wonderful people in the town that you fall in love with and just want full chapters of their lives and what they're up to. There is a lot going on in such a short period of time that keeps the reader engaged. I do hope there will be more to this series as the author definitely built in aspects of the townspeople's past that could definitely have been delved into more.

There are some aspects that I feel fell flat and the ending felt a bit rushed, however it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the read and would definitely still recommend this book to others. Thank you NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I had to DNF this one pretty early on which was unfortunate because I was super interested in this one, but I couldn’t get into no matter how hard I tried.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and ARC in exchange for my review.

I loved this story! Think Charmed but set in the past (50s). Leona and Jewel decided to take it amongst themselves to figure out what happened to the missing girl in town. Unfortunately no good comes of what they discover. I had a blast following this dynamic duo figuring out the crimes of their town. I would love to see a follow up story with them!

4.5⭐️ um, wow!!! Such a GREAT book. This story mixes murder, mystery, magic, witches, and so, so, SO much more.
It is the perfect blend of so many different aspects and keeps you engaged from the get go. Amazing!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

When a quiet and small town is racked by a brutal homicide Leona and Jewel know that it won’t be solved by the small town cops. Leona and Jewel are witches and know that supernatural in going on. Ames was a beautifully described regular small town with a little bit of twist, there’s magic here. I think Raney does a great job at describing scenes to really put you in the scenes with the characters. I wish we would’ve had more about Granny Kay and also this “name” no one ever wanted to talk about. I think where this book fell a little flat for me was there was a LOT going on in a short amount of pages. It was easy to get lost in some of the details and especially the plot. The ending felt a bit rushed, but all in all it was a pretty good start to the series and I would read the second when it comes out.

I didn’t hate this but I also didn’t love it. It was enjoyable but didn’t wow me. leona and cale’s relationship was really sweet and I loved the concept of ghosts becoming solid again on Halloween but getting Leona pregnant was a real bummer. Never a fan of the pregnancy trope. I do want to know what the whisper is. Also what were the walkers sacrificing the girls to? Why sew their mouths shut? What does Kay know? Very clearly setting up for a dramatic return of Cale at some point. Seems there was a hint at something magical about Peggy as well. this is definitely set up for a series but I don’t know if I’ll continue with it. I felt like there was a lot of telling and not showing going on in the book. And my questions above could be plot holes or just setting up for the next book but that feels like a lot of work to put on the reader.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending this ARC for me to read and give my honest review.

This story had an interesting premise but I could not attach to any of the living characters. I did enjoy the romance aspect of this book, it was a very small part, but it was a nice break. This book packed a lot of things and action into it, when I feel that things could have been spaced out more, especially if there are more books coming.

Also I think I struggled because of the time period this takes place.

A very random issue I had with this book is that the FMC called her husband's penis a "carrot". I have read a lot of books that call penises a variety of names but I found it very odd to call it a "carrot". That threw me off pretty much for the remainder of the book.

Solid 2.5 stars though because I did like the cozy town vibes and the small romance aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing LLC for this ARC. This is a new author for me and I was pleasantly surprised! The story is about Leona and her sister Jewel. They both have unique magical powers. The story is set during
the 1950/1960s in an Appalachian town. They are trying to solve a murder, and this book has elements of humor and scary scenes, which I really enjoyed.! It seems like this book will be part of a series and I’m looking forward to continuing this story in the future. I would recommend this book and I will definitely read more from this author.!

This book felt like a mix between True Detective, Practical Magic, and Hemlock Grove. I enjoyed parts of this story - especially the creepy vibes. I felt disconnected from almost all of the characters though and found even the main characters to be unlikeable most of the time. I also think I felt disconnected due to the time period of 50s-60s and the dialect. I think this would make for a good tv show adaptation and enjoyed picturing the book in my mind.

I received an ARC from Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, LLC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 stars / 5

The ending makes me think there will be a sequel and I can't wait for that to be true.

Two sisters come together to figure out the mystery surrounding a murder. Oh, and they are witches so there is black magic at play. I am learning that I love when mystery and fantasy crossover and this might be one of my favorite genre mixes moving forward, that and romance and magical realism.

The first half of this book introduced A LOT of characters which I had trouble keeping up with and figuring out who would be important to the overall book and who was just someone we met in a brief moment. Towards the 75% mark, the book really picked up for me and I was getting answers to earlier questions and also having new questions arise (not all of which were answered by this book).

Overall, I think this was a really great start to the series, and for time sake, I hope this is a duology so I can get all my questions answered sooner rather than later.

Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was waiting to read this book the first time I saw the cover of it. It didn't disappointed me. Lovely story line and characters.

Sisters Leona and Jewel are witches and when one of their friends goes missing they use their powers to find out what’s happened finding there is black magic at play and new dark creatures in their southern town. A fast entertaining turn paging read. The ending implies there will be a sequel and I look forward to it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this ARC .

While I enjoyed the story, something felt a little flat about some of the characters. The male characters merely served as obstacles the witch sisters had to work around. They were all unlikeable.

The sisters' relationship was well drawn with some witty repartee.

This feels like the beginning of a series. If so, I hope we learn more about the background of the sisters.

This is a good little Appalachian witchy mystery book. It’s fairly short so there’s not a huge amount of background information or world building but what is there is well written and fun to read. It only took a few hours to read. There are a few aspects I’d have liked to see explored in more detail and some side characters that would have been fun to see with a bigger role to play. There was almost constant action and some of it felt like it deserved more focus but there wasn’t time. We could have done with another hundred pages to space things out and dig a bit deeper.
The Appalachian location was great and I could really hear the distinct accent in my head.
I would definitely read more from this author and more in this witchy supernatural world that she has created.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy to review.

I was very excited to read this book as I was familiar with Jessica’s others books such as Tooth and Nail series and These Violent Delights. I really loved this story as the prequel Spencer Sisters series. Described as Appalachia Supernatural Noir style it really has all the things I love in a story, ghosts, Ghouls, witches, vampires, werewolves. This is a fast paced, jam packed story that has all the supernatural themes a glorious mix of horror and fantasy. I loved the writing style and world building and felt like I was part of the story the whole time.

If this is the first book the prequel series well I am well and truly hooked! I immediately felt a connection to the main character Leona and really appreciated getting a look into who she is and how she is evolving as a witch and strong women, wife, mother in a time when women where most repressed, the 1950s. Dealing with an abusive husband, learning new abilities, solving murders, and dealing with seeing and controlling ghosts I can feel her exhaustion and eventual growth through the story.
I really enjoyed the sisters connection and would love to hear more about their childhoods with granny. The younger sister Jewel is sassy and powerful and their connection is exciting to read. I can’t wait to see that grow. We follow as the sisters start a journey of solving a murder as other mysterious things start to happen.

I feel this book has really set the stage for further stories and can’t wait for the next instalment and delve more into the story. I read this in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down!

I would like to thank @netgalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing LLC for the advanced arc

this was quite a nice read. a witchy mystery taking place in southern america, the book draws you in very effectively and is atmospheric. i liked raney's prose right from the start- it fit perfectly with the overall atmosphere of the book. it feels punchy, somehow? not many run-on sentences, but rather separated into easy to read simpler sentences that get the point across better. i find that with a lot of YA prose tends to run on the purpler side. while not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes a book can be oversaturated with attempts to make writing seem a lot more complex and descriptive than the author originally intended to, and a lot of these descriptions are not naturally written, resulting in forced- sounding writing or repetitive phrasing. root and bone did not have that problem: it was to the point but still knew how to pack a punch.

the register, i feel, is very fitting for the time the book is set in as well. it should not (and does not!) feel modern and is appropriately written as such. the place where the book takes place, southern america, also shines through in the dialogue. it was a nice touch. i believe readers from the states will appreciate this more than i do, though (since i'm not american.)

for such a short book, though, the pacing as a bit off. usually when i say this my complaint is always about the book being slow. root and bone had the exact opposite of that. for a book with only around 250 pages, there was a lot a LOT going on in these 250 pages. it was jam packed, with lots of action from characters but not nearly as much resolution and plotting. so i wish we could've seen more of that.

my only disappointment is the world building. while i do love the coven/ witch sisterhood trope, there were a lot more supernatural creatures that appeared other than witches but we never really saw most of them? they just kind of showed up as a sort of 'hey, we have that' kind of moment and didn't really get much screentime. the magic system was relatively easy to follow along, but i fele it could've used more elaboration (though i do get it, because this isn't high fantasy.)

overall? i did enjoy this and had a good time with leona. thank you for the arc!