The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones | Spoiler-Free Review

"Monsters were unrestrained, unbound, and beautiful in their destruction. They could be slain but they would never be truly defeated."

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones is a YA fantasy horror novel based in Welsh mythology. The book follows two characters: Ryn, the eldest daughter of the town's (missing) gravedigger; and Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past. When these two meet, a series of events unfold in a tragic way, and they must combine forces to try and stop an old curse from ravaging the land, once and for all. 

This curse causes dead bodies to rise again. These bone houses, as they are called, typically don't wander out of the forest that conceals the fae realm, Annwvyn. But when they start attacking Ryn's village of Colbren, she knows that she must find a way to break the curse. 

I found myself really enjoying this book as I read it. It started out a little slowly, establishing the world and the characters, but once I got a third of the way through, the pace really picked up. It had a similar vibe to the original Grimm's fairy tales, with that magical writing and underlying horror elements. In fact there were a few chapters that had chills running down my spine, which was refreshing to see in a YA fantasy novel. 

I loved Ryn and Ellis as characters. The book was third-person POV, but it switched between Ryn and Ellis as the narrators. They each had their own distinct voices, but the writing style stayed the same, so it wasn't disorienting as we switched POVs. Ryn was very tough and fiercely protective of the people she loved, and Ellis was curious about everything. Also, Ellis suffered from chronic pain from an old injury in his shoulder, and I loved the representation of that. Either Emily Lloyd-Jones also suffers from chronic pain, or she did very extensive research, because that was a spot-on representation. I appreciated that Ryn didn't treat Ellis any differently once she found out about his pain, and that she made the distinction that his pain didn't make him weak. It was definitely nice to see, as someone who has chronic pain themselves. Their chemistry naturally progressed, so I was actually invested in their romance.

"She reminded him of an ocean - beautiful, with enough salt to kill a man." 

My favorite thing about this book by far was the Welsh mythology. As far as mythological retellings go, you hardly ever see Welsh legend, so it was super refreshing. Plus, having Welsh ancestry, it was an extra little boost. I recognized a lot of the creatures mentioned, like the afanc and the pwca, from stories I was told as a child. I also loved all the mentions of the love spoons, a Welsh tradition I find particularly adorable.

All in all, I thought The Bone Houses was a well-rounded YA book. It had a little bit of everything, so much so that if you're a fan of YA books in general, I highly recommend giving this one a go. 

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.