The Bone Houses 

By Emily Lloyd-Jones

Blurb: 
Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family, and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?

Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

Review: 
I decided to download this book because Lauren received it in a book box and I liked the sound of it and the cover was quite intriguing. 

Overall, this book is a nice quick and easy to read, I'd possibly go to rate it as a middle grade book rather than a young adult. I just felt that it was not exactly young adult for me but that's my opinion.

So the two main characters in this book are called Ryn and Ellis. Ryn is a grave digger and lives in this small village on the outskirts of the forest. Ryn has lost near enough all of her family, she has her brother and sister left to look after. More bone houses are appearing int he village even though they used to stay in the forest where the magic used to happen. A bone house is when a body comes back to life after death.

I won't go into too much details about Ellis's life either because they are discussed quite a lot throughout the book and it allows you to grow a connection with each of the characters. Basically, he was abandoned as a baby and was found by a Prince. He is then trained up as a map maker and adventures into the village where Ryn is, this how they meet.

These two characters are really well developed and I love how they are done. I also love that the story doesn't have any side plots really and it is 100% developed. There was a lot of mystery included in this book and a lot of old tales that are supposed to be just stories. So I really liked that aspect of the book.

At the end when we discover more about Ellis it really confused me and I'm not entirely sure about him anymore. I think I may have to read that part again so I can get a better understanding. But then at the same time because of the ending and it being a stand-alone it doesn't really bother me as much as it would if it was part of a series.

Within this book there is obviously a lot of deaths, some violence, grief and a tiny bit of romance. I'm not entirely sure why this book doesn't meed the 5 star rating to be honest. I've possibly just naturally lowered the rating because I didn't think it was full young adult. But like I said before I don't know how you'd make it more young adult, I just felt like the book was aimed at a younger age.

Favourite Character: Ryn

Read: 13/10/19 - 16/10/19

4 stars out of 5

written by Sammie