The Bone Drenched Woods by L.V. Russell is a beautifully eerie tale that lingers long after the last page. The writing is lush and lyrical, painting a world that feels both mythic and deeply personal. I was drawn in by the forest's creeping dread and the sense of quiet sorrow woven through the narrative.

The slow-burn pacing worked for the most part, though there were stretches where the momentum lagged just a little. Still, the payoff was worth it—emotional, unsettling, and strangely tender. Some plot threads could’ve used more clarity, but the dreamlike quality of the story makes it easy to forgive a few loose ends.

If you're into folk horror with a fairy tale edge and don’t mind a story that favors mood over action, this one’s definitely worth the read.

A totally atmospheric story of sins and payment from a village doomed to repeat its mistakes. From the beginning of reading this novel, I could tell it was going to be a wonderful novel. There was plenty of folklore and death to entice any horror lover to continue reading. The imagery and feeling throughout this book was that there was danger for everyone in the village. Woodsman, boatmen and women were not safe from the creatures in the woods. Just the description alone of entering the forest would be enough to keep anyone from taking a chance to explore the woods. Hyacinth was a person that cared naught for the opinions of the villagers about her heresy. She had been sent away from her home by the people of her village so she did what she liked. While others tried to label her a witch, she kept true to herself and denied their claims. This village suffered from such bleakness that I agreed with Hyacinth when she asked if their village should be home to children. The ending of this sad tale was just as bleak as the whole book. Excellent read.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. Folk horror is my jam and this was right up my alley! For me this read like a dark fairytale. It was like if brothers grimm and the Salem witch trials had a baby with a dash of unsatiated monsters and a wonderful hound. Hyacinth was a character I believe a lot of people can relate to. A woman with a predetermined path that was never hers to choose. A life plagued by not fitting in with her society's standards and trying hard to break free from the bonds that held her down. Elder Reed gave me Ramsey from GOT vibes (much tamer but still) and I LOVE the "he gets what's coming to him/feminine rage trope". I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys witchy/spooky/culty/gruesome rituals. This would be perfect for a fall/Halloween time read

This is a great gothic folk horror novella steeped in atmosphere and eerie folklore. Russell’s writing is haunting, perfectly capturing the dread and beauty of the natural world. I couldn’t put it down!

Perfect for readers who enjoy dark folklore and
Atmospheric horror. Quick, chilling, and unforgettable.

Such an amazingly spooky atmosphere! Creepy masks are one of my favorite tropes in horror, I think. Everything that happened was so tragic with so few happy moments in between--which is exactly how I like my horror.

While I didn't find this to be scary enough to sufficiently creep me out or keep me up at night, it did have great moments that made me feel grossed out. How people used everyone's bone was disturbing (I don't mean that negatively). I liked that there wasn't really a visual description for the Teeth. Keeping things vague leaves it up to our imagination, which can work to make things more frightening. In my opinion, The Bone Drenched Woods is scary more in a thought-provoking way than anything else. Also, the reason Sorrell got kicked out? Oof.

I really enjoyed all the complicated relationships in here. It was a quick read that held my interest, and I really enjoyed Hyacinth's character. She needed that backbone and sass when dealing with these people.

The book did leave me wanting more, but I thought the ending was fitting.

A creepy, visceral and bloody folk-horror, telling the story of Hyacinth, who lives in a village surrounded by woods filled with unspeakable creatures. The only way to temporarily satiate their uncontrollable hunger is to offer sacrifices and perform rituals. It's a grim existence for Hyacinth, and you feel this bleakness like you might feel grit between your fingers, through the atmospheric writing.
On the whole I found this a chillingly effective little horror book.

Talk about creepy and gives the chills.

This one accomplished both. It is also the perfect read for fall.

This book was honestly quite strange! I loved how cultish and creepy it all was. I didn't know how this was gonna end at first, but I really liked it. I kinda hoped for more for our main character, but I still enjoyed the journey. I definitely would reread this around Halloween time. I thought the atmosphere was cool, and it truly was mysterious and scary. I loved this!!

THIS WAS SO GOOD. The creepy woods, the gothic atmosphere, this book had it all. I want this world to continue!

I'm confused. Because the concept behind this was cool and the cover was sick, but I'm left feeling entirely apathetic. The end was disappointing as there was quite literally no explanation. I think this relied wayyyyy too heavily on vibes and sacrificed actual content. Because there were incontinuities. There was a world that wasn't built at all. There were so many cool concepts but so little that was actually interesting. I'm glad this one was only 230 pages

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

It hurts to say that I DNF’d this book at 60% and it had less to do with the actual book and writing and more to do with my inability to connect with it.

Let’s start with the good, and there is plenty of it in this book. It’s the atmosphere, the setting and the mystery. Set in a in small, isolated town surrounded by the woods and haunted by the malignant ‘Teeth’, Hyacinth must adhere to her cult like rituals to keep the evil at bay or risk being sacrificed to the Teeth. There is a real sense of foreboding about the hungry and violent Teeth. Even as a reader there is the feeling that they’re watching Hyacinth and waiting.

Russel does an immense job at painting such an eerie town. So much so that I couldn’t help but picture the story as muted and diluted colours in my head, despite no indication from the text. I could feel the cold damp misery as a reader.

I think one of the best things about the book is the mystery. What are the Teeth? Why do they hunger for humans? How do they pick their pray? Where did the lore and prayers come from? How do the Elders come to their positions? Is anyone safe?

But unfortunately this also leads into one of my disappointments of the book. We just don’t know the answer to any of these. At least at the 60% mark. In fact readers have really learnt nothing about the Teeth, or about why Hyacinth is worthy of being the protagonist. Just where is her story going to go?

Hyacinth is the antithesis of a strong female, despite her supposed sharp tongue; meant as an indicator that she is willing to stand up for herself unlike other women in this oppressive town. In fact Hyacinth makes no sacrifice in the story. She repeatedly makes bad decisions that affect others not herself and she never falls on her sword. Someone else takes the blame. Equally all her decisions are selfish and never for the betterment of others.

And, oddly enough, the stakes felt pretty low. Readers are shown that these pockets of cultish civilisations are oppressive, quick to judge, quick to punish and even quicker to sacrifice. Yet, Hyacinth repeatedly goes against the grain (purposely), she ignores the rituals that the others believe will keep them all safe, she ignores the rules of propriety and she disregards her place in the hierarchy. But there is never a consequence to Hyacinth. She is never the one to be punished for her wrongdoing.

Hyacinth is a character with no substance and while I am interested in the mystery, I am intrigued by the world and I am impressed by the atmosphere, I just cannot connect with Hyacinth and I found myself not wanting too. And so, a DNF at 60%.

Perfect for lovers of “The Grace Year”.

The Bone Drenched Woods left me speechless. This book hooked me from the beginning and captured me with every page. Full of religious scrutiny, our main character Hyacinth knows all to well that rumors of sins will leave you dead. Monsters lurk around the villages and in order to keep them satiated, sacrifices of all types are left for their enjoyment. Sins will send them yearning for more blood, and where religion can keep you safe, those around you are more ready than ever to turn their cheek to a neighbor for one more day of safety.

Thank you Netgalley, Quill & Crow Publishing House and L V Russell for the eArc of Bone Drenched Woods.

Oh I'm a sucker for folklore drenched in atmospheric terror, especially when it involves Women, witches and female rage. If that's something that floats your horror boat, this book is for you. If not, push the boat out, experience bone and teeth because I bet you will engage with this book.

L V Russell has a beautiful way of writing, building the atmosphere of The Teeth and the woods that surround this small village that Hyacinth occupies. Steeped in rituals of carving bones, Elders wearing animal masks and warding off the spirits of the woods ( The Teeth )if you are unlucky enough to be caught by one. You are stripped bare, skin sloughed off your body and even though the writing isn't particular gory. It paints a wonderfully eerie and terrifying picture of existential dread.

The characters in this book are fairly well developed and felt flawed, raw and real. There is some interesting dynamics between Hyacinth and Albelia and it almost felt like there was something between these two characters that was unspoken? I would have been interesting to see this friendship develop more on the first part of the book. Hyacinth herself is very strong willed, sometimes at detriment of her emotional standing, but how else are we going to get to female rage of how she is treated. And it did. I felt a multitude of emotions through the book, especially the undertones of patriarchy, gaslighting and Women who have healing knowledge branded as Witches.

For me, there was a few bits that I felt were a little underdeveloped in the world building and yet, I would still be terrified if I was plonked into this village surrounded by a wood or the sea. This would make such an atmospheric audiobook if L V Russel ever went in that direction, especially with the right narrator.

4 stars

I really really loved the vibes and feel of this book. It would have absolutely been five stars if not for a few small plot holes.

So A+ on the horror. The first chapter gave me goosebumps. I thought the author nailed it with the horror aspect and it's got a bit of folk lore as well. As for world building, and character development I would give it a C, because I felt like a lot of things were not explained. I felt like this book didn't give us a back story as to how they got this way. I think 3 stars is perfect for this book.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book and the lore and protagonist were so freakin' interesting. I was fine with the superstitions not being explained fully at the beginning because I thought they'd be revealed throughout the book - however, nothing. I still had questions about their practices and reasonings.

While the book was strong, I felt the author had a lot of issues with consistencies and, often, the dog was present when he was supposed to be elsewhere. I am definitely interested in reading more from this author but I feel this one needed more time at the editors.

The Bone Drenched Woods by L.V. Russell is a story for those who like overlapping of cosmic horror and folk horror. Think The Ritual by Adam Nevill but more inspired by Lovecraft. I was reminded of The Village (in a good way), The Witch and Midsonmar (but with unnamed horrors lurking in the fringes). As with my three mentioned films, Bone Drenched Woods is about a small village with a female protagonist (Hyacinth) who is called away from her unrewarding but familiar life. This thing that calls her away from the conventional will challenge her place in society and even her morality. This will ultimately allow Hyacinth to try to break away from the expectations thrust upon her. As with the three films I mentioned, the ability to find solace may come with a price.

In the villages, the Wwodsmen and Boatmen are the people tasked with keeping the unseen monsters held at bay. The villagers also use human and animal sacrifices to appease the deities while also serving as punishments in the strict yet pious society.
As the monsters begin to encroach farther from their hiding places into the village, Hyacinth and her fellow villagers must figure out who or what is to blame for the increase in attacks.

Enjoyable read here. As one who isn't in love with the Lovecraftian and cosmic horror, I found the blending of folklore to be grounding and much more entertaining. I will be keeping an eye out for more by L.V. Russell.

I really wanted to like this one and it has some elements of good horror but it ultimately fell flat. The writing style also made certain passages confusing and I found myself rereading often. Overall it was fine, but forgettable and I wouldn’t recommend.

Hyacinth’s story drew me in immediately. Her worried is haunted and harsh. The monsters are in the woods surrounding her home but also permeate her society and rituals. When the Teeth take her father and she’s traded in marriage, Hyacinth travels to a new village in the edge of the forest and also bordering the sea where more monsters lurk in The Deep. Now the Teeth, the Deep, and the village elders all demand their pounds of flesh from Hyacinth and the rest of the village in this oppressive world.

Thank you netgalley for this E-ARC.

I was so excited to get my hands on this and read it, however I personally found it lacking when it came to world building and character development, this unfortunately led me to be unable to fully connect to the characters. Whilst I appreciate the aspects of folklore horror which is a genre I truly enjoy, I found this book to lack in certain aspects. A promising book but poor execution