A young woman loses her love to the deadly forest only to find herself forced to watch her father die and then be forcibly married off to a man she doesn't want and made to move into a village she does not care for... but in her new home the monsters have followed her... and it hungers for her calling to her... and as the villagers become more suspicious of her the closer the monster comes to consuming her. This book was odd, like it had a ton of fantastic horror woods vibes but just didn't know exactly what it wanted to be or to go. Hyacinth's journey throughout the book is muddled. I really just... felt like it was a load of nothing. Like I learned nothing new, Hyacinth got nowhere, and it just ends. The romance was not there and I guess the only thing that really got me was the horror elements from the forest but even that isn't fully explored and I wish it was. Its a weird atmospheric weird but if you like books with not a lot of story but just vibes, I'd give it a go.

Release Date: April 15, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

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I'll be honest, the book cover alone drew me in. And I'm glad I took a chance on this horribly wonderful book!

It is creepy, mysterious and has just the right amount of gore. My only qualm is the FL, i just could not gel with her. But even saying that, I really do recommend this book!

Writing: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Characters: 3/5

Thank you to Netgalley, L.V Russell and Quill and Crow publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.

**Note: this review is also posted on Goodreads**

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This was a difficult review to write. I really wanted to like this book. It has an interesting title and cover, and the description promised mystery, dark secrets, and strife, all with a feminist twist. That being said, and evidenced by my rating, this fell very flat for me.

I’ll start with the good. There are a lot of promising aspects of the setting and themes of this book. A simple and quiet village nestled in the woods contrasted with an insidious religion - and hulking, violent monsters just beyond the tree line that create a sincere need to follow that religion. There’s a lot of visceral imagery that consistently adds to the aspects of horror throughout the book. The idea that the sacrifice of your family and neighbors, and their very bones, can keep you safe is compelling and could drive an interesting and meaningful plot.

Unfortunately, there was more bad than good done with these premises. Character development throughout the story is completely lacking. Even when someone seems to grow or change in some way it never lasts, and they revert back to who they were earlier. If information is revealed that would show them in a different light and reveal more about the world around them, it might happen for a page or two, and then it’s as if it never happened.

There is never a full or satisfying explanation of the setting or events that happen in the story. Even seemingly important (and overt) foreshadowing from the first few chapters is glossed over and unrealized. Stemming from this, and further contributing to it, the plot points feel entirely contrived. If someone needs to be somewhere else, there’s suddenly a cultural practice that means they have to go there. If they need to meet someone, that person appears around the corner.

I found the editing throughout this book to leave much to be desired. There are a number of typos, minor for the most part, but consistent throughout the novel. Timelines don’t match up for parts of the story – something happens at nightfall, and then later that day, something happens all afternoon until evening. There are oft-repeated phrases, words and visuals. Peoples’ noses constantly touch when they’re speaking closely, the sun is always creeping over or through or on the trees, everything drips or seeps. These are frankly mistakes that I do not expect to see in an edited and published book.

My final gripe with this book was the promise of feminist themes. The female protagonist is barely capable of making a meaningful decision or taking any real action throughout the book that isn’t short-sighted and self-serving. Even if she voices an idea, she is happy to stand back and let a man take the lead and see it through. She has little to no respect for other women and their decisions. If this book passes the Bechdel test, it's by a razor thin margin.

Without a consistent setting or any real character arcs, the Bone Drenched Woods heaves itself kicking and screaming by its angsty bootstraps to an unsatisfying conclusion.

Thank you to Quill & Crow Publishing House, NetGalley & L.V. Russell for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5 stars.
Genre(s): horror.

Overall impression: a dark, bleak and gory horror novel with incredible world-building and beautifully lyrical writing. It felt like I was there with the characters, covered in a layer of dirt and blood, watching the horrors of folk legend and sacrificial rituals unfold.

Tropes:
➵ Defiant FMC
➵ Animal companion
➵ Forced marriage
➵ Flawed characters
➵ Female rage
➵ Witch hunt
➵ Whispering villagers
➵ Masked men
➵ Rituals & human sacrifice
➵ Something is in the woods
➵ Sense of dread
➵ No one is safe
➵ Gods & Goddesses
➵ Botanical horror
➵ Isolated village
➵ Secrets & betrayal
➵ Everyone is a sinner
➵ Not everyone survives

⤷ Plot:
The storyline was fairly mundane - following the early days of Hyacinth's forced marriage, exile, and attempt at survival in a small isolated village. She had to navigate her new life and learn to adjust to the whims of the Teeth and the Deep. Despite the simplicity of the overarching plot, the novel was packed with folklore, rituals, sacrifices and gore, which kept me fascinated until the end.

⤷ Characters:
Hyacinth was a very strong FMC that dared to question the oppressive patriarchy in her small village. She rebelled against the brutality of the elders, which had innocent people maimed and slaughtered to appease ancient gods. Whilst she didn't save the world, she took control of her own life and encouraged other women to do the same. In that, she had some character development but not much.

The villagers demonstrated the dark side of human nature. They were sinners to their core and were quick to blame their neighbours for their misfortunes, resulting in witch hunts and murder. A couple of them had some character development and were swayed by Hyacinth but most went through their life only knowing misery and fear of the unknown.

⤷ World-building:
The world-building was so in depth, it felt like I was in the forest experiencing the horrors with the characters. I'm glad I wasn't there IRL because I definitely wouldn't have survived long in such a cold, damp and unforgiving place. The whole village felt creepy and there was a sense of foreboding lingering throughout the entire novel. It kept me positively hooked because I wanted to know if any of the characters made it out alive. I liked that the Teeth and the Deep weren't described in as much detail as the rest of the world. Instead they were these grotesque shadow/animal hybrid creatures that took sinners from their beds in the night. It made my imagination go wild!

⤷ Writing:
The descriptions were all so lyrical and beautiful, which contrasted strongly with the dark content of the story. It wasn't too descriptive to the point that it slowed the reader down, which is good because I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen next and binged the book in a couple of days. I would definitely read more of L.V. Russell's work in the future because she did such an amazing job at crafting a beautifully dark and gruesome horror novel, unlike anything I've read before.

'' 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐇𝐲𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡,'' 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. ''𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐚𝐤𝐬, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐲."

3.5 ⭐ , rounded up to 4 ⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Raw Dog Screaming Press and L. V. Russel for the ARC. 🖤

If you're a fan of folk and botanical horror, you're gonna like this one.
It's a very atmospheric, unsettling read - very reminiscent of "The VVitch" by Robbert Eggers and "Slewfoot" by Brom.

I love Hyacinth and her family as characters, and, of course, I loved Faolan and was so worried by the introduction of a canine companion and what its fate could be in this world.

The concept of the Teeth and the Deep was very interesting to me, and despite popular opinion I enjoyed the mystery of it all. It made it seem Lovecraftian, unknowable, undefeatable, uncomprehensible to the human mind.

I did have a few issues with the end, as it felt rushed, and this is why I couldn't give the book a solid four stars. Every character in the second village felt flat, with little depth, and the whole final boat scene (you'll know it when you get there) seemed pointless given the true ending of the book.

It was still a very good read, but didn't stick the final landing for me.

I'm fully convinced this was a book about a cult & you can't convince me otherwise...the sacrifices, the masks & the rituals I mean come on!

this has so many things that I love in horror. there's witches(or is she), creatures lurking & watching from the woods & the sea, gothic vibes, & even a little bit of female rage.

the writing is lush & really pulls you in quickly. the atmosphere is creepy & the horror bits throughout were tastefully done, not too gory or over the top, making it a perfect read for someone new to the genre.

the writing is lush & really pulls you in quickly. the atmosphere is creepy & the horror bits throughout were tastefully done, not too gory or over the top, making it a perfect read for someone new to the genre

my oooonly issue is I really wish we got more background on the Teeth & The Deep & some more female rage. other than that this is a good, quick read.

I DNF about three chapters in. This was just too dark for me. I was intrigued by the world building and the description. I didn't realize this was also tagged as horror when I picked it up. Other than being the wrong audience, the writing was good and the story was interesting. I think the trigger warnings need to be more detailed, specifically - from those first few chapters- child death and mutilation.

In this bleak atmospheric book, horrors await in the woods, in the sea, and even in the villages themselves.

The world in here is dark. It's a place of cruelty and fear. Not just from the eldritch creatures in the woods and sea but the people themselves have sharp edges, willing to sacrifice family and friends for their own safety or, in some cases, for their own entertainment and stature.

After her father is hanged for a supposed "sin" she committed, Hyacinth is forced to marry a cruel despicable elder within her village. As custom dictates, they must now travel to a distant village to begin their married life, if they can make it through the woods unscathed. Because hungry bloodthirsty creatures do abound and they take what and who they want despite the people sacrificing each other to satisfy their hunger.

In their new village it's even worse. Hyacinth's willful and forthright attitude doesn't sit well and as townfolks start being eaten, they believe her to be a witch, a heathen, a heretic to their beliefs. Can she find a way to save herself from the creatures both unnatural and human alike?

I love that this book is set firmly in the world the author created. There's no "this is actually a dream" or other surprise explanations. This world is bleak, the creatures disturbing and horrifying, and it runs with feminine rage in the form of Hyacinth. This is a place where women are subjugated to men and anything less than compliance is a sin, worthy of sacrifice.

It's bloody and has a lot of fantastic characters whose narratives all make up the bigger story. It's a short novel also but the author used every word to stay on course and create this dread inducing folk horror- ish tale that you'll want to read through as soon as you start. I highly recommend it.
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Folk horror meets gothic horror in this short read. It’s creepy and odd. The FMC at times can be a bit annoying or frustrating, but who isn’t. It does feel more a book of horror for horrors sake at times, however, the writing is captivating. It draws you in. No one can say the writing style is poor, if anything.

This a book of superb fantasy horror atmosphere. If you wanted a book set entirely within the Wood from Naomi Novik's Uprooted, this would be a solid candidate, and that creepy wood is paired with an equally creepy ocean just for good measure. I loved the atmosphere of the town Hyacinth found herself sent to, and the building tension as the townspeople face the ever-growing threat of the Teeth and the Deep and become more and more convinced that Hyacinth is a witch whose sins have brought this (increased) terror upon them.