* 4.5 stars *

"The Bone Drenched Woods" is a dark and eerie story about letting fear (and men) dictate and consume your life, perfect to read on a gloomy day.

The most notable feat of this book was the ambiance. This one was such as it made you feel like you were there, stuck in these villages ; the eeriness and desperation just flew off the page.
I must applaud the first chapter which, in only five pages, managed to explain the world, and set the scene and the ambiance smoothly.
Never has my interest in the story wavered, thanks to the many questions I was asking myself, knowing they would probably never have answers to. This isn't a con at all : it added to the eeriness of it all. Although I do have to ask : how do the villages communicate with each other? I understand that our MC, Hyacinth, wouldn't ask herself this, but it kept coming back again and again in my mind.
I did not care much for the characters, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment ; it fitted with the tone of the story. I did however feel empathy towards them, especially the women.
Hyacinth and Sorrell's relationship was really well written : you could feel the tension, the hate, but also the need for each other. But more importantly, you could understand why they had these feelings.
The themes of religion, sin, privilege, fear and control. were very well handled. I wish I could better articulate this point but I can't, so I'll just say this : as someone who didn't try to find meaning while reading, I picked up on the message of the book.

In short, this was a very good book, coherent all the way to the end, making you feel a lot in such a short number of pages.

I loved this book it is definitely my ideal style of book that gives you that creepy spooky vibes that keep you on your feet and freak you out for real.
A must-read for lovers of gothic horror, feminist fantasy, and lush, literary storytelling. L.V. Russell has crafted a stunning, unsettling work that deserves a place on your shelf

The Bone Drenched Woods is proof that indie publishers know what they’re doing, snapping up some incredibly talented authors and amazing stories.

L.V. Russell’s writing is literally *chef’s kiss,* that perfect spot right before prose gets too flowery and purple and is instead a joy to read. Her characters feel as though they’ve been plucked from real life. They’re layered, complex, and flawed, and the main character, Hyacinth, is especially so.

Hyacinth might be my favorite FMC from the books I’ve read with a similar feel to this one (horror, folk horror, mistreated young woman, feminine rage, mysterious happenings). She makes mistakes (big ones!) but she actually learns from them, and she knows how and when to use her rage. She behaves in a way that actually makes sense given her personality, upbringing, and surroundings. Nothing she did felt like it was out of left field and honestly that was refreshing.

The world Hyacinth lives in is fascinating, with all the carved bones used for protection, the worship of the oak trees, and the arranged marriages immediately followed by deadly treks through the dangerous woods. It was all very eerie and mysterious and when I read the book in my somewhat wooded backyard, I felt like I was being watched which was super creepy.

And the men in this book. Ugh. The Elders were just a bunch of terrible men who did what they wanted and dictated the lives of others, much like some men we all may know in the real world *wink, wink, nudge, nudge.* I felt in a sort of vague way like I was reading why we choose the bear: the book. Except the bear is mysterious, terrifying, and hungry woods that will eat the flesh from our bones. And some of us still choose them.



***Thank you so much for the ARC. I’m working on a photo for Instagram, Threads, and my blog. I’ll update with links when I’ve finished and posted it!***

This was an incredible read! I was looking for some folk horror when I found this and this is exactly what I was wanting in a book. In the beginning it kind of gave me “the village” vibes which I was super into but blossomed into this in depth creepy atmospheric culty folk horror gem that I am going to be thinking about for a long time.

This must be the first Horror book I read that had absolutely nothing to cling onto and enjoy the ride. From start to finish, it’s an endless parade of scenes with Hyacinth being subjected to plot demand after plot demand that involved misery and suffering, but much of the suffering is of her own doing, because she’s one unsympathetic, mouthy, uncouth, and brash chit that is usually either courting disaster every time and having others killed or taunting them into killing her. I could never care about what happened to her for one single moment; to me she read like a mouth with two legs, always spouting some "clever" retorts that get her in trouble, that’s how superficial her characterization felt. The book goes by in a scene-dialogue-scene-dialogue straight line that doesn't show much of a storytelling structure.

WOW! Dark and captivating, mesmerising and chilling. I loved this gothic read. I found the writing compelling and breathtaking. Dark and moody, this book will make you think who really are the bad people?

This was an absolutely mesmerising forest rot horror and I loved every second of it. The ending was incredible and it never once fell flat or dragged. Although filled with sadness and despair, the ending made me cry happy tears.

Thanks for the arc NetGalley

It’s been some time since I read any horror books and this book sure was a thrill to read. We are taken to a world were everything is set around the hunger of the Teeth. As long as everyone sticks to the rules no one should get hurt. But things go down bad before you know it. It feels like the village desperately tries to keep the monsters at bay, resulting in a kind of cult like belief that made me think of The Handmaid’s Tale.

The horror aspect was great and it had me hooked from the start. I was a little skeptical cause it is a short read, and it did felt rushed near the end sadly. I really liked that the Teeth and the Deep, that are hidden in the woods and the water are kind of mysterious throughout the whole book. That somehow makes them even scarier.

Hyacinth is a very determined character from the start on and she really made the book for me. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid for what’s to come. That’s all I can say without giving anything away. I feel like some of the other characters felt flat and one-sided especially the Elders and their wives. Her family, including her dog, were just lovely but not much more than that.

Rating: 3 stars
+ Great main character and teeth clenching horror
- Plot was rushed and other characters felt flat

This story is for anyone who likes a horror which leaves some open for imagination, a strong female character and a quick read with high stakes.

This is such a special book. Hyacinth lives in a small village under constant threat from this hungry entity called the teeth. She herself is a wild child who struggles to fit in the strictly religious society that uses violence and fear to control the village. We learn there are other villages like hers, and after losing her best friend and father she is married off to an elder and shipped to a seaside village. There she learns of even more danger, and starts to see even more wickedness.

We see that wickedness and evil are as much human nature as supernatural. And the eldritch horrors that are the teeth and the deep are truly very scary. The mystery surrounding these beings makes them terrifying, but the motivations projected onto them by the elders make them even more so.

Hyacinth feels like a kindred spirit to me. She is under these unfair and oppressive rules that the elders enforce with an iron fist. She toes the line between submission and freedom and often sees horrible consequences. In spite of that, she continues to try to live as authentically as she can. Her rage enboldens and empowers her to make the decision that is finally hers and hers alone. She is a genuine, flawed, but inspiring character and I love her a lot.

Overall, this is an amazing horror novel with the perfect mix of both human and monster, darkness, and power.

I think this wasn't the right time for me to read this. I can understand why people would enjoy this but I just wasn't in the right headspace for it. Being a mood reader can have it's challenges. Will come back to it later to give it another shot.

Hyacinth Turning lives in a village in the woods with her mother, father and sister. Everybody says that Hyacinth is wicked, that she is full of sin and that she will be fed to The Teeth, the monsters that live in the wood and feed on the sins of the village.

One night, Hyacinth and her friend try to run away from the village. Except things do not turn out the way that they should. This leads to a series of tragic events and her actions have consequences that she could never, ever foresee.

She finds herself married to an elder from another village, to his house by the sea. However, here, there is not only the old gods of the woods, but there are the abyssal gods of the sea. And they will take their vengeance.

The Bone Drenched Woods is a wonderfully atmospherical and blood drenched horror set in a pitch black puritanical world where strange monsters live in the woods and creatures hunt in the sea. The world is ruled by fear, not just of the things that haunt the woods, but of the elders that rule the villagers. No one can be trusted. One wrong word can see anyone sacrificed or strung up.

In The Bone Drenched Woods, L. V. Woods takes the reader on a fantastically dark journey as we follow Hyacinth who refuses to follow the rules and conform to the expectations of others.

This was a fantastically creepy read, the atmosphere of the woods and other spoilery settings was really well done! The writing and word choice do a great job evoking the mysterious and creepy elder god-like beings in this world; the vibes are immaculate and I really enjoyed the main character as well, she manages to be smart while still railing against the old men in charge which was refreshing!

Please consider marketing this as a dark folk fantasy rather than horror otherwise I think this book will flop in the horror genre.
While I can appreciate that there are some parts of this book that has some weird, unsettling and grim moments, there’s isn’t enough to satisfy a horror fan like myself. I was really disappointed going through this story and realising that the scare wasn’t coming.

Keep the stories alive, feed the trees, fear the woods, obey the Elders.

“Carve the bones. One for the gate, one for the door, two for the mantel, and three for the floor.”

This was just what I needed to get out of my little reading slump! Thank you Netgalley, L.V. Russell, & Quill and Crow Publishing House for the opportunity to arc read this gem!

The Bone Drenched Woods immediately caught my eye with it's cover, I just knew it would be right up my alley with its dark, gothic, horror type vibes.
& It did not dissapoint! It was beautifully written, and vividly descriptive to the point I felt like I was in the story.
It was slower paced, but still kept me intrigued the whole time.

Hyacinth only wants one thing, a life and death of her choosing. Living in a cult-like village, performing rituals to keep the Teeth at bay, burning witches & hanging heathens and whores, she doesn't know who she should fear more. The village Elders, the Teeth, or her betrothed husband. Hyacinth is full of feminine rage, they call her wild & say she has a wicked tongue, because she doesn't want to be complacent & the Teeth, the forest, they call to her. Her only chance at the freedom to choose lies in the hands of outcasted boatman Morgan, who shares her blasphemy beliefs. Will she find love & freedom with the boatmen? Will the Teeth claim her? Or maybe her dead lover who haunts her dreams? All seem a better option then to be left to the hands of the men in her village

This book was incredible. It was fast paced, and well written. I wasn’t entirely keen on it at the start, but I’m glad I kept going because I ended up loving it. I’m still a little confused by the ending, but that’s okay! I think my confusion is the only thing keeping it from being 5 stars, but I will definitely be getting a physical copy of this.

An atmospheric folk horror, The Bone Drenched Woods is eerie, violent, fast-paced, and fueled by feminine rage. This was so, so much fun; I truly couldn't put it down. Without a doubt, The Bone Drenched Woods is one of my favorite ARCs I've read in a long time. I have a feeling I'll be recommending this one a LOT.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book ,synopsis , cover had caught my attention! While it had a slow start and felt long it had my attention the entire way through and I enjoyed reading it

You know? It was fine. It was serviceable. I had fun. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I think my favorite part of this was the relationships between Hyacinth and her husband, and Hyacinth and Mrs. Yarrow. Like yes, Hyacinth's husband sucks. Profoundly. Fuck that guy. But, he's not inhumanly evil; he still feels like a real guy that right now is posting about pro-natalism and about how awful "western" women are. The tension between him and Hyacinth was really engaging. Similarly, Hyacinth's relationship felt so realistically messy. I love Mrs. Yarrow, justice for her. Deeply unfortunately that I could not give less of a fuck about Morgan Carroway, but you can't win them all.

Everything else was fine. The prose was fine, the pacing worked, the other characters were whatever. I found the ending a bit confusing, but not irredeemably so.

More of a library read for me, but I don't regret reading it. I'll keep an eye out for anything else that Russell writes.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

I really wanted to love this one, and for the most part, it was enjoyable.
L.V. Russel really knows how to portray horror in a way that leaves you disgusted but absolutely intrigued. The horrors of this book are especially interesting seeing as the characters have lived in this horror for all their lives, having grown up never feeling a true sense of safety. The way these characters are exposed to daily business as terrifying as what happens in this book would drive the normal person mad with terror. The vibes of this book are quite cult-y, exploring ritualistic sacrifices, a strong hierarchy within the townspeople and a strange, god-like omnipresence that does not at all care about the desires and lives of humans.
The setting is unique, unsettling and sometimes downright terrifying. Hyacinth as a main character was strong, bold and a delight to read about. This story will keep you guessing whats going to happen and who to trust right to the end.

Unfortunately, it really kept me guessing until the end. The story lacked a clear path. I never really knew what the end goal was and I fear that the author did not know either. The vibes were immaculate, but I missed having a clear end goal apart from "survive".
I liked the, fitting the books overarching theme, quite uncomfortable portrayal of a marriage that really was just a settlement for both characters. I think this serves as a sadly more realistic portrayal of such situations. I did, however, really not enjoy the involvement of other parties, neither did I feel any connection or emotion towards them. Hyacinth claims to have carved the soft parts from herself and relationship wise, this seems to be the case - still, reading about it was quite uncomfortable.
I think the ending really made sense, even though it was not really satisfying
.
Overall, I think the premise of this one was absolutely brilliant, but the execution really lacked a matter of sense or goal. I think this story would have been an absolute banger if it would have been a short story instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this book!

First of all I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere of the world. The descriptions of the Teeth painted a vivid picture and the horror aspects were done well.

I wish the world building and the history was expanded upon a bit more. It gave the sense to me that The Bone Drenched Woods takes place in a post apocalyptic world. I would have loved to learn more about the history of the towns. How do they communicate if they are trapped within the confines of their towns apart from the night of their wedding?

The first half of the book had me hooked. Not gonna lie though I was confused for most of the book. None of the characters really interested me too unfortunately. I was convinced Morgan was an old man for the first half of his part in the novel. Obviously I was wrong, but the way he was written really painted the picture of an old 60+ grumpy man.

Overall though it was a good book. If you enjoy slow burn folky horror this would be a good one to try. It vaguely reminds me of the 2004 movie the Village.