lucye13's review against another edition
2.0
Should’ve know to dnf when I had to read “she let out the breath she had been holding” twice within the first 10 chapters.
andreacaro's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, I'd like to thank Hallie over on Twitter for making my #bookishwish come true.
This book is dark and deeply messed up.
This book is billed as Dexter meets This Savage Song. I'm gonna be real with you, I didn't like Dexter and I couldn't get through 20 pages of This Savage Song, but I was very much interested in this book. I like horror and the idea of a teenage girl dissecting corpses her mom brings home is deeply chilling. I don't think I had any idea how much until I got into the book.
We meet Nita. Nita is bright and Nita likes to dissect the corpses of 'unnaturals' The synopsis establishes that she has some empathy for beings, but you wouldn't know that from the first several chapters. She is intrigued by bodies, by how they function, and views her victims as little more than biology lessons. Her mom is a different kind of horror - a woman that instills fear in her own daughter, she brings home a live, human boy one day for Nita to dissect so that his parts can be sold off to the highest bidder. Nita isn't able to cut open a boy with a pulse, so she helps him escape; it's a choice that means Nita and her mother have to run and as they flee, Nita finds herself in a cage.
I really like Nita as a character. Really. She's not self-sacrificing, she doesn't make a bunch of silly decisions and happen to get out of her situation. She spends her time in captivity, in this black market for unnatural body parts, reflecting on the choices she's made to dissect people while also trying to understand her own unnaturalness and how it can be used to help her escape.
This is a book about antiheroes, really. It's about how people are imperfect, but they're still people. It's about understanding your own flaws and understanding that maybe humanity isn't black or white. It's also about choosing who you want to be, even when you feel like other people are choosing for you.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There is gore, there are really questionable choices by people. For me, this book was deeply unsettling, if that's your kind of thing. It's one of those horror novels that for me did make me a little scared (not pop-ups in slashers kind of scared), but it took me to a place where I was rattled. If that's your jam, this book is absolutely for you.
ALSO WAS THAT CLIFFHANGER NECESSARY??!
This book is dark and deeply messed up.
This book is billed as Dexter meets This Savage Song. I'm gonna be real with you, I didn't like Dexter and I couldn't get through 20 pages of This Savage Song, but I was very much interested in this book. I like horror and the idea of a teenage girl dissecting corpses her mom brings home is deeply chilling. I don't think I had any idea how much until I got into the book.
We meet Nita. Nita is bright and Nita likes to dissect the corpses of 'unnaturals' The synopsis establishes that she has some empathy for beings, but you wouldn't know that from the first several chapters. She is intrigued by bodies, by how they function, and views her victims as little more than biology lessons. Her mom is a different kind of horror - a woman that instills fear in her own daughter, she brings home a live, human boy one day for Nita to dissect so that his parts can be sold off to the highest bidder. Nita isn't able to cut open a boy with a pulse, so she helps him escape; it's a choice that means Nita and her mother have to run and as they flee, Nita finds herself in a cage.
I really like Nita as a character. Really. She's not self-sacrificing, she doesn't make a bunch of silly decisions and happen to get out of her situation. She spends her time in captivity, in this black market for unnatural body parts, reflecting on the choices she's made to dissect people while also trying to understand her own unnaturalness and how it can be used to help her escape.
This is a book about antiheroes, really. It's about how people are imperfect, but they're still people. It's about understanding your own flaws and understanding that maybe humanity isn't black or white. It's also about choosing who you want to be, even when you feel like other people are choosing for you.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There is gore, there are really questionable choices by people. For me, this book was deeply unsettling, if that's your kind of thing. It's one of those horror novels that for me did make me a little scared (not pop-ups in slashers kind of scared), but it took me to a place where I was rattled. If that's your jam, this book is absolutely for you.
ALSO WAS THAT CLIFFHANGER NECESSARY??!
noceur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i hadn't heard about this book before going into it but it was really good. I loved the characters and the world. It wasn't really disturbing to me but i have read other people's comments so i would suggest looking up the trigger warnings if you're interested. To be honest it's not really a speacial book like the writing and the world-building was pretty simple but it was fun to read and it kept me hooked, the story was interesting. Also that cliffhanger in the end, looking forward to the second book :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Torture, Drug use, Medical trauma, and Cannibalism
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
ashleighbeanxo's review against another edition
5.0
Nita figured everyone in the world had something they did for peace of mind. That crystalline, calm moment when there was no thought, just peace. Some people ran. Others meditated. Nita dissected.
Not Even Bones follows Nita, who spends her time dissecting the bodies of Unnaturals so her mother can sell their body parts on the Black Market. Unnaturals look like humans, but they have different supernatural abilities, depending on what category they fit into. Zannies, for example, feed from other people's pain and can sense people based on their pain. Nita and her mother are secretly Unnaturals and they are unlike any other known Unnaturals. They can manipulate their bodies in different ways, such as healing rapidly and turning pain receptors on and off.
Nita never questions where the dead bodies that end up on her dissecting table come from. Surprisingly, she actually enjoys dissecting. However, when her mother brings home a live specimen one day, Nita is shocked and plans to free the boy. Once doing so, she is prepared to face the wrath of her mother. But she wasn't prepared to be sold to a black market located near the Amazon..
Hadn't heard much about this book going into it, only that is being compared to Dexter meets This Savage Song, but this book certainly did not disappoint. Really enjoyed this book, and loved the crazy world it was set in.
The characters were great. Nita's mother was scary as hell, and I certainly wouldn't want to get on the bad side of her! Or Nita, actually. I loved the friendship between
Spoiler
Nita and KovitSpoiler
romance? Kinda shipping itAt the end, I was hoping it would be
Spoiler
Kovitvampyr's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
jasmindd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
An urban fantasy with mythical creatures, good world building and likeable characters. Quite disturbing though.