Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The sleepy town of Ames is shocked awake by a brutal murder. A la True Detective this small town is rocked by the brutal, religiously over toned murder of a young woman. Leona and her sister, Jewel, find themselves the only ones capable of solving this murder. The reason? They’re the only two in town equipped with magic and, in Leona’s case, able to see the dead. As the pair pick their way through the murder case, more mysteries begin to reveal themselves. The sister’s are headed for an unavoidable face off with true evil as they race against time to prevent any further murders. Root and Bone is an examination of sisterhood, class divide, witchcraft, independence, and facing off against abuse.

From what I could discern this book takes place around the 1950s or 60s, the story is packed full of retro details from jukebox tunes to pin-up curls to sassy slang. I do wish there had been a more concrete date given, I felt as if I was missing out on some of the societal implications by questioning which time period this occurred.

This book is very dialogue heavy and characters have unique colloquial styles. While I read I could hear the regional specific accent flowing throughout with ease, giving each character a specific sound and personality. Raney seems to have a never ending source of inspiration for character sound, look, and backstory — keeping her story fully staffed and varied throughout.

While there are pieces in place to create the foundation of a series, I couldn’t quite connect with Root and Bone. The characters, while varied, felt a bit flat. It was like looking at the surface of a pond, I could tell there was more depth beneath but I couldn’t breach the surface to get there. Some of the folklore characters (ghosts, ghouls, etc) felt shoe horned in as well. I was overwhelmed by the amount of different spectral creatures introduced that were then written into a corner. I found myself questioning how magic and society were supposed to be interacting with each other. I wish there had been a bit more of an explanation as to why some people knew Leona was a witch but then were shocked that other witchy things existed as well. The laws of magic felt rubbery and flighty too. There was never a true enumeration on how and why sometimes magic could just decide to not work, other than what feels like a shrugged, “Sometimes that just happens” type of vibe. To me, there are areas throughout this book that could have used a bit more description to buff it up and less round robin dialogue.

I do think if you’re a fan of witchy stories and true crime you’ll probably enjoy this book.

Interesting Applachian fantasy, but it felt a little unfocused. Certainly not bad, and I loved the characters, but not my favorite, I'm afraid. Thanks to NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, LLC for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really into fantasy or witch books but I saw that the ARC was available and decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did. This book was about a witch who is trying to solve the murder of a young woman. The world that this author was able to create was very impressive and not hard at all to follow along. I found the main character a bit annoying sometimes but I didn't like this book overall. This was my first time reading from this author but I'd like find more books from her.

I very much enjoyed this story! If you like Practical Magic/coven sisterhood with murder mystery, ritualistic sacrifices and hauntings then you will too! The southern dialect and banter between characters added to the charm. I am so thankful for this opportunity!

I devoured this book in one day. I loved the magic in it as well as the mystery element to be solved. It was a page turner and the author had me loving the two sisters. I will for sure recommend to customers as well as fellow reader friends. Such a good read, sad I finished it so quickly

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

This witchy murder mystery was a fun read. Right away we meet our witch Leona and find out about the disappearance of a teenage girl who was murdered. With her sister’s help, another witch: Jewel; Leona needs to find the girl and who killed her before another murder occurs. Unfortunately, this does happen and now our witch sisters are racing to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The town is quaint and everyone knows everyone and their business. Strange wicked things are lurking about and no one knows who is behind it. Of course, the witches are looked at with disdain even if they are the ones trying to save the town.
The story was fast-paced with an array of characters: ghosts, werewolves, a ghoul, a supposed vampire, and our lovely witches. I enjoyed the flow of the story but felt like it fell a little short on the details and plot lines. There was a lot of action but sometimes it felt like a little bit too much. Like too many things being squeezed in. I wish there was a bit more of the powerful witchcraft and more of that “voice” Leona kept hearing. I wanted more backstory on the “name” no one wanted to say, who was leading the brothers? Are they all the same person? I also wanted more of Granny Kay, I know the story was about the sisters and their powerful bond and magic but still wanted more of Granny. I loved the way Jessica wrote about her cottage and the town as a whole. It was very descriptive and I could visualize everything. Not sure if this is part of a series but it ended in a way that could be a potential cliffhanger but could just be the end of the book. I was left with questions but not life-altering.
Lastly, there was a sweet closed-door romance… I won’t say more. But it did add a cute little reprieve from all of the action and detective work.

Strange but captivating
Leona and her sister Jewel are witches in post WW2 rural America and they become embroiled in a murder investigation when the victims ghost attacks Leona
Leona and Jewel are very different characters who also have different types of magical powers, one of Leonas is that she can see and speak to ghosts but both sisters want to do what’s right and protect both themselves and the people around them which I liked and which came across strongly
I enjoyed this book but at times I did find it slightly disturbing, then again it is a horror, but there is a lot of domestic violence which I don’t think really added to the story and it did lead me to struggle more with the characters and bonding to them. For me, whilst some things came across well, others didn’t and although I was hooked and unable to put it down, there were issues with the book which did impact a little on some of my enjoyment of it
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a different kind of story full of magic and mystery that will keep you reading