I thought this was a cool concept, but unfortunately it failed in execution. I liked the prose and atmospheric writing, but that was about it. There was a lot of telling and not enough showing in the writing. There was no world-building or explanations for anything. What are the teeth? Why do they carve bones? How did this all start? Character development was nonexistent, and the protagonist was insufferable. She was her own problem, always making the situation worse for herself. The ending left me unsatisfied with a multitude of questions.

"Share the stories, keep the faith, bring the bones, carve the bones. There was nothing beyond that."

ˋ° *⁀➷ Rating: 2.5/5 ✰

The Bone Drenched Woods is a gothic fantasy about superstitious villages trying their best to stay safe and "pure" in the face of all the hungry and evil nature spirits that crave their flesh. It has interesting cult-y vibes and I would've loved to learn more about the villages and their beliefs/practices, as well as just general knowledge about the world, but unfortunately that just wasn't happening here. The writing was decent, and the characters served their purpose, but there just wasn't anything really grabbing me here honestly.

Even though this was a short book, I struggled to finish it. It was definitely creepy and did a good job keeping everything mysterious, but it honestly felt pretty aimless, and that only solidified with the ending. I tend to like open-ended stories with lots of room for interpretation, but this just felt a bit too open, and overall there was a lot of messiness with the story. There was even a plot hole scene with the dog - it seemed like Hyacinth left him behind while running from her house, but then suddenly she was mad at someone else because the dog was supposedly at their place the whole time. I'm not really sure what happened there, but it made the book just feel a bit sloppy.

Closing thoughts:
Decent if you enjoy reading books with the sole purpose of creating a spooky atmosphere, but if you're looking for a strong story or multifaceted characters then this probably isn't for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and not sponsored in any way

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this novel.

This one gripped me from the beginning. The cultural traditions of the villages, the tangible feelings of hopelessness and despair, the monstrousness of the Teeth and the Deep, the extremism of the religion governing this world and Hyacinth's fight to find her own place in it, free of these concerns and the obligations placed on her by this culture--the symbolism and visuals in this book were so visceral. I think this novel posed a really great question--is there really nothing more to life than suffering? And I think that is what Hyacinth was trying to find; something more than the bleakness of the life laid before her.

If you like a whole lot of world-building, this is probably not the book for you. It kind of just immerses you into Hyacinth's world from the start and leaves you trying to figure things out, which personally worked for me in this novel. I think I was also okay with it knowing that this was a stand-alone and not part of a series, and there's only so much world-building you can do in a stand-alone without inundating the book or making it really long. I think the author did a great job of building Hyacinth's world for the reader without focusing too much on the world alone instead of Hyacinth and the others as characters. I do wish there had been a bit more a backstory for the Teeth and the Deep provided to help give the reader a bit more understanding behind the rituals and religion of the novel, but overall I think the lack of it works because I believe it lends an air of mystery and horror to them and not knowing where they came from or the drive and motivations behind their takings.

I also wanted to see a little more of a resolution between Morgan and Hyacinth and felt a little like Hyacinth got cheated in the end. I was a little confused by the ending and wasn't sure of its meaning, but maybe that was the point. Either way, I really enjoyed this novel; it's a little outside of my typical genre as I don't tend to lean towards horror novels, but when I read the blurb of this one it quickly piqued my interest. This one was a quality step outside of my comfort zone and I am so glad I was able to read it.

🖤 Feminine rage
💀 Folk Horror + Cult Vibe
🖤 Dark & Haunting
💀 Yearning
🖤 Beautiful Prose

I would say that this is not a very plot-forward story... it's more of a slow dismantling of our protagonist and her wicked surroundings.

I enjoyed it so much.

Hyacinth lives in a blood-drenched world. If you aren't claimed by the teeth (which are giving a little bit of eldritch abomination + deity), you could be burned for being a witch, hung for breaking the village rules created by bloodthirsty elders or left to fester as sacrificial food, for the birds and the teeth. But that's alright. Human bones are collected and carved to keep the terrors away.

This story is very eerie and unsettling throughout. You can't help but root for Hyacinth despite the blood-soaked world she calls home. The world-building + setting is purposefully ambiguous because it's more about how we can succumb to wickedness through fear than it is about getting from point A to point B. Is there a moral high ground when both sides are wicked? Is it really wicked to punish those who offer their neighbours on a silver platter for sins created and outlined by men? The writing is stunning. The story is very quotable, and I found myself frequently highlighting passages that resonated with me.

If you're looking for a concrete story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, this might not be the right choice. But if you want to lose yourself in the horrors and a little bit of ambiguity, I think this is a wonderful choice. It's dark and gruesome, but also oddly... lovely.

Carve the bones.

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓰𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓵 & 𝓒𝓻𝓸𝔀 𝓟𝓾𝓫𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓗𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴. 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓸𝔀𝓷.

~

"𝓓𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓸𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓱, 𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓭, 𝓸𝓻 𝓵𝓸𝓾𝓭. 𝓓𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓫𝓻𝓪𝔃𝓮𝓷 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓯𝓾𝓵, 𝓱𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓻𝔂. 𝓑𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂, 𝓫𝓮 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓮𝓽, 𝓫𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭. 𝓞𝓫𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽."

"𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓼, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝓫𝓮𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷 𝓰𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓸𝓸𝓻𝔀𝓪𝔂, 𝓫𝓮𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼. 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓼𝓸."

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for providing me a copy to review.

I wanted to like this more than I did but it was just okay for me. I really enjoyed the vibes and setting of this gothic story, and I liked how unlikeable the characters were, even though I didn't particularly like anyone. Honestly, I found the Teeth/Deep and their purpose and the sacrificing kind of confusing. Personally, I like to know what a book's plot is but this book didn't seem to have much of one. I think the ending suited the book and the main character's journey.

A creepy world built on fear, patriarchy, religious devotion, and an ominous god that hunts them
This Folk Horror is such an eerie, off putting, gruesome story. The FMC doesn’t believe the fearful devotion instilled into them, especially the women. She’s fiery, demanding, head strong and cunning
The story is very much like a folk legend- no defined story, just a way of life ; with commentary on human nature to find a belief in higher powers and also human nature to weaponize that entity- preying on the weak

Thank you Netgalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

L.V. Russell’s “The Bone Drenched Woods” is a visceral plunge into folk horror, a genre that merges nature’s raw power with mythic terror—and this book executes it with both eerie precision and poetic rage. Think of a blood-soaked fairytale where secrets rot beneath the soil and women are punished for daring to speak.

Set in a grim, coastal world ruled by the monstrous forces known only as the Teeth and the Deep, the story follows Hyacinth Turning who is a defiant, sharp-tongued woman whose refusal to conform makes her a target in a village where noncompliance is met with bloodletting and sacrifice. After a brush with death and the traumatic loss of her father, she’s forced into a politically convenient marriage and exiled to a remote seaside community even more ominous than the one she left behind.

Russell’s prose is rich and atmospheric, perfect for the setting and tone established throughout the book. The world she crafts is deeply sensory: mist-heavy woods, salt-stung air, and bone rituals that feel ancient and terrifying. The villagers wear hare-skin masks, chant incantations that feel like spells or curses, and follow eldritch traditions that make your skin crawl. The story thrums with dread from the first page, and the sense of unease only deepens with every chapter.

At the center of it all is Hyacinth, who is unapologetically messy, angry, and fully human. She’s not the “strong female lead” archetype; she’s louder, rawer, and far more complex. She may be a bit unlikeable at first as she makes some frustrating decisions throughout, but it’s this emotional authenticity, this refusal to sand down her rough edges, that makes her so compelling. Her relationship with the brooding outcast Morgan simmers with bisexual longing, while the ghost of her lost love Abelia lingers hauntingly in her dreams, adding both romantic and emotional depth to the story.

The story does stumble a bit in the middle, caught in a loop of Hyacinth’s inner turmoil that slows the momentum. And while the lore is fascinating—the Teeth, the Deep, the rituals—there’s a frustrating lack of explanation. Russell leans into ambiguity, which adds to the dreamlike dread but may leave some readers craving more clarity. Is it magic? Myth? Madness? The story doesn’t say. It just is, and you’re either willing to be swept away by it or left knocking on doors that never open.

Still, the power of “The Bone Drenched Woods” lies in its mood and message. It’s a furious scream against patriarchal control, a gothic ode to the “bad girls” who burn instead of bow. It’s not about finding safety but surviving in a world that wants to silence you, and maybe, just maybe, finding your own kind of monstrous power in the process.

Overall, I recommend this book for readers who crave lush horror, rebellious women, and the poetry of blood and bone. “The Bone Drenched Woods” is a haunting, hypnotic read that will keep you thinking long after you finish the story. Just don’t expect answers—only echoes.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy to review.
All opinions shared are my own.

*Please check the content warnings before reading this book*

Wow!! Genuinely enjoyed my time with this one. The world itself is creepy, gross, and cold. For readers who don’t mind gore and body horror, this one would be a good addition to your fall TBR.

The story follows Hyacinth and her journey through marriage to a village elder, traveling to a separate village plagued by the Deep and the Teeth. Human sacrifices need to happen to keep these forces at bay, but what if they stops working?

I LOVED the imagery we got of the Teeth and the Deep, I just wish there was a bit more exploration into them. You see Hyacinth struggle against the rumors of her being a witch, while being the wife to an elder. The tension between the two because of their sins while trying to protect one another for their own safety is an interesting dynamic given the world they live in. She was unapologetically herself throughout the whole book, but you see her mature as the story progresses, especially after she arrives at her new village.

I do wish we got more of a structured timeline so I could have a better grasp on the time gaps between certain parts, but it was still an enjoyable read. Overall, I think folk horror was done well throughout this books, but it wouldve thrived with an extra 100-150 pages and some dates included at the beginning of chapters.

Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me with a copy!!!

This is a short horror book that follows our main character Hyacinth in a village surrounded by terror, death and eeriness. This has an interesting premise and was very atmospheric. The woods and the village felt alive and ever present.
However, I wish this had more of a plot as we are not working towards anything in the story, we just follow the character move through her days in this terror without a bigger overarching cause or search. While following Hyacinth, it also wasn't a character study, nor did it explore her in an in-depth, engaging and unique way. I wish we had gotten more flesh on the main character and the others in the book because they felt rather flat and generic. I also wish that we had more explanation and knowledge on the world. While well-built, it didn't answer or try to speculate on why the world was that way or the causes. It's really more a book on vibes to explore the world and the set, but I needed it to have a structured plot, stronger main characters or to be much scarier and horrifying. It was still a fun read overall; I just left it wanting more answers and more structure.

This was a spooky, atmospheric book. I really enjoyed the VVitch vibes, and the spiky heroine captured my heart from the beginning. A quick and immersive read!

This is a creatively written book, that at times borderlined on being confusing. The whole book is a mood but there was not much to the plot. This is a must read if you liked The Mist, or if you are into an atmospheric vibe following a FMC who was raised in a forest cult.

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

Hyacinth is a mouthy woman in a world where women with thoughts and opinions are hanged or burned for being witches. The village people are warned to keep in line for fear that The Teeth will come out of the woods and devour them and their wickedness. After tragedy hits her family, Hyacinth finds herself wedded to a monster of a man, who is also an Elder of her village. After the wedding, she is shipped off to live with her new husband in a neighboring village by the sea, which introduces a new fear into Hyacinth’s life - The Deep. Hyacinth must toe the line between being obedient and being herself, while keeping safe from The Teeth and The Deep.

The Bone Drenched Woods is a fantastic work of women’s fiction. It is atmospheric and terrifying, while also being smart and witty. Hyacinth quickly became one of my favorite women in fiction and I couldn’t wait for the next time she pushed back. I found myself smirking right along with her. I found the ending satisfying and I was glad to see it stayed true to its horror/fantasy elements.

There were a few noticeable typos or timing issues in the book that probably should have been caught in editing. For example, the Elders call Hyacinth by another mistress’s name a couple of times in one scene. In another scene, the dog is mentioned as being present but then is missing the next day. However, it didn’t change my opinion of the story. This is one of my favorite reads this year.

A review can be found at the links in my bio.

Hmm. I spent the first 40% being confused, but still intrigued. I spent the last 60% also confused, but utterly bored.

Nothing is explained here. Nobody knows why things are the way they are. It’s just how it is. I found Hyacinth to be really unlikeable. She made poor choices, and other people were killed for it. And then she continued to make bad choices. There was no character development. It was just bad things happening and the same actions causing more bad things to happen. I was expecting much more than what I got from this

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for giving me an ARC of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

3.5/5 stars

I was drawn to the cover of this book and decided to pick it up because I enjoy atmospheric, haunting books from time to time. While I do think this book had some strong points, it ultimately felt a bit lackluster and left me wanting more.

I would describe the overall atmosphere of the book as more unsettling than scary. While there are absolutely gory elements and body horror featured heavily throughout, I never found the book to be genuinely scary (and I am very sensitive to these things!). Instead, I felt vaguely uneasy with the horrors described and simultaneously repulsed while wanting to know more of why it was happening.

L.V. Russell did a great job of creating an eerie world that immediately drew me in. The first few chapters were very strong and made me excited to learn more about the world--specifically, what are the Teeth and why are they there? There was also plenty of vivid imagery and the prose was beautiful and leant to the overall haunting nature of the book without being so dense that it was a slog to get through.

While I was hooked by the first couple of chapters, I was disappointed by the fact that this book ultimately lacked any real plot. After the inciting incident, I was confused as to what the purpose of the story was. It felt very meandering and, while I do enjoy character-driven stories, said characters still need some purpose for the book to be engaging.

I was also left wanting more from the world building. The Teeth and the Deep are fascinating concepts and the driving force behind everything in this world, but nearly no information is given about them, nor is there any real explanation behind the cult that Hyacinth, the main character, has grown up in. The whole time I was reading, I was desperate to learn more about the world.

The relationships between the characters had the potential to be interesting, but the dynamics weren't explored enough to be satisfying. It was easy to predict what the characters around Hyacinth were going to do, and how their relationship to her and each other would develop. I wouldn't have minded this fact if time had been spent examining and fleshing out these relationships, but it was all kept very surface level. We were told that characters loved or disliked each other, but never given any real evidence to believe or feel invested in their dynamics.

There was also a major plot hole in the last part of the book that I'm surprised slipped through during editing, as it is a contradiction of an important detail that ultimately leads to the unravelling of everything at the end of the book (apologies for being vague, but I want to avoid spoilers!). I am unsure of if this is fixed in the final published version, but it was present in the advanced copy I read.

Finally, and perhaps most bizarrely, this book was quite short (under 250 pages) but felt as though it lasted longer than it needed to. Despite this, I also wish it had been longer so that we could have had more details about the world.

Overall, I rated this book 3.5 stars because it was atmospheric and eerie and evocative. If you are looking for something purely based on vibes and aren't concerned about in-depth world building or plot, I think you would probably enjoy this book. I don't regret reading The Bone Drenched Woods, but I'm also left feeling unsatisfied at the end of it.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book!
This story really did transport me into a creepy, eery, and gloomy world filled with constant fear and honestly left me on edge. Set in an oppressive, cult-like society, we follow a girl named Hyacinth who is essentially a bit of an outcast. I LOVED the atmosphere so much! I felt like I was in the village with Hyacinth, feeling eyes from the woods on me, the stares from the Elders, and tasting the salty sea air being drawn in from the Deep. I was definitely fully immersed.

The FMC Hyacinth, I loved. She has a very curious personality and isn’t afraid to question the ‘norm’, which obviously, to everyone else comes across as rebellious, but does Hyacinth care what they think? Nope, and that’s why I loved her. As for the other characters, I didn’t really like any of them… I feel like maybe I ‘should’ve’ at the very least liked Morgan, but no, I just wasn’t interested in them and found Mistress Yarrow very annoying. Although, I will say, Faolan (the dog), his instant connection with Hyacinth was cute and how he sticks by her at all times! I want that!

My only criticism is, I felt as though majority of the action was towards the end. The middle of the story lacked a plot and so I would’ve liked to have seen more earlier on. That being said, the author did an amazing job with this story, it is very immersive, and such a cool and interesting concept! I would definitely recommend!

I picked up this book from the Read Now section purely because of the cover, and I was pleasantly surprised. This book was amazing!

I loved the haunted feel of the book, both with the mysterious forest and the ocean with creatures that will gnaw your flesh off your bones. The creepy atmosphere of this book was amazing, the bloody rituals and sacrifices, carving and carrying bones for survival, not knowing what the teeth and deep actually were and why they were hungry.

Hyacinth was a great FMC. She was fierce, always stayed true to herself and never apologized for who she was. All she wanted was a life (and death) of her choosing, she didn’t want to settle just for a simple life, she wanted to live.

This was very bad. It was kind of The Hunger Games, but witches, and very, very bad. Characters were paper thin, their motivations were insentient and chaotic, but no worse than the rest of this, which was also all very bad. One nice thing: If we want to use to bone metaphor, which, why not, there are the bones of quite a fine novel here; but nothing else: no sinew, no connective tissue, no skin.

The bone drenched woods sucks you in straight from the beginning. With its folklore horror storytelling telling vibes. What lurks in the woods is terrifying, they believe the only way to stay safe is to feed the woods.

Beautifully written gothic horror. I devoured every page, feeling sad when I reached the end. It held me in equal parts fear, horror, pain, loneliness and awe. A stunning novel, and one I will gladly refer to friends consistently. Well done!

Got this arc for review on Netgally.

Dark, short and atmospheric. It's a story that dosent give a lot of answers or explanations, yet pack punches and make you feel. I rarely read a book that feels so atmospheric. Felt like an cold gloomy autumn day even if it was a light spring day.