This book is different from the ones I usually read and I was drawn to its cover. The story reads like a YA novel and a beginner's introduction to horror.
It follows Mila-May as she finally returns home only to discover that both her brother and sister are missing. The sheriff and reverend show no interest in finding them. Meanwhile Mila hears the voices of those who died in the bog that is alive.
A warning there is substance abuse her mother struggles with alcoholism and she struggles panic attacks.

Spit Back the Bones is, at its core, a haunting story of finding one's self amid brokenness and grief.

Mila, having lost her brother three years ago to the bog that exists on the edge of her hometown, travels home to see off her sister Agatha's last summer before college. When she arrives, she finds out her sister is also missing and probably taken by the bog. Unwilling to lose her other sibling, Mila begins to investigate the strangeness occurring within the town and bog and how both may actually be connected.

While the horror elements are ever present, peeping up at the reader from the pages, the main driving force is Mila, her connections and relationships to the other characters, and her growth. Be prepared for the focus to stay on Mila and her interactions and relationships. The revelations of the mysteries within the town and bog were mostly expected and guessed at, although the climax was pleasantly written and entertaining.

Overall, I would caution those who expect full-fledged horror to be lurking on every page and be the main focus of the plot.

What I Enjoyed:
- Mila is a very relatable and down-to-earth protagonist who is believable... even with the supernatural power she possesses
- lurking horror that has to be slowly digested
- non-human entities given light human-like qualities
- excellently wrapped-up plot

What I Believe Could Be Better:
- stronger horror elements as sometimes the horror seems benign to the main cast
- less foretelling of important plot points or twists that make them easily guessed, taking away from the punch of the climax

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC!

This one reads smoothly, and I really liked the premise and eerie setting here. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t attached to the characters! I believe the audience is marked adult for this one, but it definitely read YA to me. Mila and Roe’s relationship didn’t really convince me, and I’d like to see the dial turned up on both the horror and romantic elements. But all and all, it’s still enjoyable, and I’ll keep an eye out for what the author does next. Thank you for the ARC!

I thought this was a really nice horror story, a great beginner story for someone who hasn't read anything in the genre. the descriptions really made you FEEL all the feelings, the lost, the trauma and the creepy crawlies!

I do think the romance was a second thought. it didn't feel like the two genres meshed that well together! which is disappointing.

overall it was a good read! very thankfully for NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and Turner Publishing Company for this ARC copy.

I don't usually read horror so I'm not familiar with this genre, but this was a beautiful tale of loss, grief, rage (and oh did I love Mila's rage !), and love.

Teagan Olivia King's writing is gorgeous and gave me a very atmospheric reading experience. I could almost feel the dampness of the bog on my skin while reading this book.

The downside of this story, for me, would be the romance. I didn't really believe in their romance for a good part of the book. It got better in the end, but even though I found them cute together, I couldn't really feel the chemistry between them.
Also, there was a bit too much narration compared to dialogue, but it didn't stop me from enjoying this story.

It's a very haunting and eerie tale, especially for those who love character-driven stories, mysteries, and monsters lurking in the dark (and in the water).

I freaking loved this book, it was so creepy and beautifully written. What a banger of a debut novel!!! The characters were great and the pacing was smooth. I especially loved the bogs pov. My full review is up on instagram!

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC! This was a really solid debut, so atmospheric and spooky with a beautifully haunting story. Mila is a really interesting character and you really see the different sides to her depending on who she is with. The writing was phenomenal, and it really didn’t take long to pull me in. Huge congrats to Teagan, I think horror fans will really love this one!

A gorgeously written debut featuring a sentient bog, monsters, and a backwater church hiding sinister secrets, Spit Back the Bones deftly explores themes of grief, generational and religious trauma against a deliciously grimy Southern gothic backdrop. King's lush, evocative prose transports readers to the muggy, fly-infested bog, instilling dread and unease from the get-go. My favorite aspects of this book: the second-chance romance subplot, Mila's fierceness in protecting the ones she loves, the lovely atmospheric prose, and the grounded magic system.

Thank you to Teagan Olivia King and Keylight Books for this wonderful ARC!

Thankyou to Netgalley and Turner Publishing Company for the ARC copy of this book.

The story follows Mila who is forced to come back to her hometown after another one of her siblings goes missing. Townsfolk are going missing at an increasing rate and with her gift of being able to hear the town's bog, she knows it has something to do with the disappearances.

This story was really interesting and I was hooked in the beginning. It was haunting and vividly descriptive. I did feel like the second half did drag on, while the ending (last 10-15%) was very fast paced and action packed.

The small parts of romance in this were cute, but I did feel the one intimate scene didn't really fit. It felt forced and unnecessary to the plot. I don't think the amount of romance present in the book is enough to market this as a horror romance.

Overall, it was an eerie and atmospheric read. Definitely leant more towards being a YA book and I think if the one intimate scene (not that it is graphic) was removed, it would read better as a YA horror novel.

3.75/5 ⭐️

I wanted to love this book so bad but was disappointed. I felt that the romance parts shouldn't have been there and that it wasn't the gothic-horror novel the blurb wants you to believe it is. It's okay just not the book for me.

This isn’t my normal go to, but I am also in the worst reading slump of my life.. listennn.. this was so much fun! It was gross, it was out of my comfort zone but damn I had so much fun. I do wish the romance was more prevalent though!

First off, my dudes, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Turner Publishing Company for the ARC. This book is set to be released on September 23, 2025, which is perfect for the vibes.

Now, the review! I never got bored reading this book, which is a good thing since I’m in a reading slump. I am a fan of horror movies, but I rarely read horror books because they seldom capture the same essence that visual media provides. However, this one delivered. Oh boy, when the blurb said that it’s inspired by Midnight Mass, they meant it! And Midnight Mass is one of my favorite horror series ever. It’s very similar but not identical, so… don’t worry about it.

I may have had a hard time connecting with the characters or caring about the romance here. They’re okay, but not going to be the most memorable characters I’ve read. I do appreciate that romance is not the main plot of this book… okay, I know they marketed it as romance and the romance is there, but it’s not the main star of the show like romantasyyyyyy (ugh I hate bad romantasy) and we have more problems to deal with.

Thank you Keylight Books and NetGalley for this arc. I was very intrigued by this book’s synopsis, however, it didn’t live up to my expectations unfortunately. The beginning started off strong but overall fell flat for me. I really liked how well the author described the setting, supernatural elements, eerie and gruesome atmosphere. The dialogue between the characters felt like a different book and I didn’t feel connected to any of them, even our FMC.

Loved the writing style, but this e-ARC needs to be reformatted. It has very inconsistent indents/text color changes/unnecessary italics and made the story hard to follow. Also, definitely shouldn't be marketed as a horror-romance. There's a romantic sub-plot that distracted from some of the better scenes between the core family members, would be better to pitch as a generational gothic horror novel.

Spit Back the Bones is a moody, atmospheric horromance with lush prose and a vivid setting that practically oozes dread. The writing is undeniably strong—elegant without being overwrought, with moments of eerie beauty that stuck with me long after I put it down.

That said, the tone and character dynamics leaned more into young adult territory than I expected. Despite the adult horror packaging, much of the emotional arc felt like it belonged in a YA novel: the rekindled romance, the angst, the pacing of the mystery. This isn’t necessarily a flaw, but it didn’t quite match my personal taste. I went in hoping for something darker, more adult in theme and execution, especially given the Midnight Mass comparison.

Still, readers who enjoy character-driven, small-town supernatural stories with a romantic undercurrent and don't mind a younger-feeling protagonist will likely find a lot to enjoy here.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

'Spit Back the Bones' is a haunting and atmospheric horror story, featuring a chilling mystery. The eeriness of the setting was easily one of my favourite parts. This book explores complicated subjects such as grief, addiction, familial abuse, religious trauma, and overpowering anger.

The heroine is a flawed person who struggles with strong emotional outbursts. It made sense for her character, especially after everything that she’s lost. Some of her choices could be confusing and she often said the wrong thing. But at the end of the day, she’s young, full of fire, and loves her family.

Mila's relationship with Roe was sweet, if a little underdeveloped. She’s softer when she’s with him and they understand each other. The two of them were already friends before the story started, which helped to make their romance flow smoothly.

The downside to this story is that it could be a little too slow-paced and obvious. Some of that was typical of the horror genre. But oftentimes this book had too much narration compared to action and dialogue. I also would have preferred for the investigation to come up with more results instead of convenient deductions.

This book might be of particular interest to fans of Krystal Sutherland and Ginny Myers Sain.

Typically I hate books where they’re written in real places, but a horror I can make allowances for. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d expected, and actually had a bit of romance which was even more shocking. However, outside of that, it was still good. A haunting thriller, it’s nice!

I am super picky with my horror reads and ratings, but this was really good!

*REVIEW PURPOSELY VAGUE AND SHORTENED TO RESPECT AUTHOR'S RELEASE DATE*

People are continuously going missing in the FMC home town. She hasn't been back in years so when another one of her siblings goes missing she finally takes action and discovers who is really behind the whole mess.

I found it really interesting how the FMC (female main character) uses her powers alongside the male character to uncover the legend behind what's happening and assess the current state of things. The pacing of the book flows smoothly, and just when it feels like it might slow down, the author injects excitement with a monster attack and a possession scene. I especially loved the epiphany and the reveal of the monster’s true identity—it was a highlight.

However, the story lost some momentum near the end. The action and fight scenes were bogged down with too much inner dialogue and unnecessary fluff, which diluted the tension. Also, I felt misled by the marketing—NetGalley and the original listing described this as a "monster romance," but that’s completely inaccurate. There’s no romantic interaction with the monster whatsoever, which made the label feel like a bait-and-switch.

FYI- The kindle file is a complete mess

I absolutely adored the setting of this book. and liked its characters well enough. But I have to admit that maybe I'm getting too old for YA novels. Some decisions and thoughts Mila frustrated me so much. The world is literally maybe ending and you feel up the man you had tons of opportunities with on the ground of the cursed bog? wild choice. Unfortunately there were a few repetitive sentences/words that threw me off my reading flow at times and it was fairly predictable to me, where everything heading but I still enjoyed it. (one more thing: I just can't get behind the idea of the cursed manifesting as worms? like, not the visual for me). I'd say this is for fans of summer sons and the bog wife, if youre in your early twenties. if you're a little older and enjoyed books like beautiful creatures, this might also be your vibe. thank you netgalley and the author for the chance to read this before it's release!

The way that this book starts is so good! I was sucked in and couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. I was practically on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going on, what the vibes were, and if this book was going to have a tragic ending. But then it lost momentum from there.

Around the 47% mark, I started to lose interest. By the time I was 70% in, I was ready for the book to come to a close. I think that the plot needed to pick up the pace just a little bit.

I love the gothic horror vibes that this book brought to the table.

Thank you very much to Turner Publishing Company and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and in no way are influenced by the manner in which I received it.