Loud as Bones

This was a nice twist to a classic vampire story.. This was my first time reading DG and I am definitely a fan now after this.

Rating-🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 I read this for day 24 of my October gothic/horror challenge and I loved it!! Iris has been working on a book with vampire lore, but when the monsters she’s spent so much time writing about turn out to be real, her entire world falls apart. After losing the love of her life, she’s left trapped in a decaying house with two vampires, held captive and subjected to their horrific whims. The house she once imagined as a safe haven becomes something entirely different, filled with bones, skulls and memories of the dead that refuse to stay quiet. I was hooked by this. I love a haunted house story, I love vampires, and I REALLY love psychological horror that makes you question everything you’re reading. The atmosphere was brilliant, and I adored the writing style. There’s something so unsettling about never quite knowing what’s real, what’s supernatural and what’s happening inside someone’s mind. SPOILERS BELOW Right, I need to talk about the consumption theme because I am OBSESSED with it 😂 One of my favourite things about this book is how the house is described as alive and consuming right from the beginning. It immediately establishes this sense that the house is more than just a setting. It’s something hungry. Then we have the people who consume Iris, and eventually ‘Agatha’ herself becomes the same. I LOVE THIS. The way that idea runs through the story is brilliant! It’s not just about the literal act of eating or feeding; it’s about the way the house, the vampires and the characters all connect through this same idea. There’s something fascinating about watching the line between the person being harmed and the person inflicting harm becomes blurred and the writing makes it even better. D.G. Woods doesn’t need to spell everything out for us. The imagery is there throughout the story, and I love being able to look back and recognise how these details fit together. The vampire lore was another highlight for me. I genuinely kept questioning whether these people were vampires or cannibals. I was constantly trying to work out what was happening, and I loved that we weren’t given absolute certainty until so late in the story. The reveal with the coffins and their own earth was SO good. Keeping native soil is such an old vampire tradition, and I loved seeing that detail incorporated into the story. It’s one of those little pieces of folklore that makes vampire fiction so interesting to me.I also loved how the uncertainty fed into the psychological horror. I was questioning everything alongside the characters, never entirely sure what to believe. That feeling of not being able to trust your understanding of what’s happening made the whole thing so much more unsettling. And THEN THE GIRLFRIEND CHEATING?! 😭😂 Because apparently everything else wasn’t enough! That betrayal was a whole separate kind of horror, and I was NOT ready for it. Ultimately, this was a five-star read because I enjoyed it so much. The writing was beautiful, the atmosphere was fantastic, and I loved how the different elements of the story connected. But the thing that really stuck with me was the way the author explored consumption and the transformation of the people caught up in it. I love horror that gives me something to think about, and this gave me plenty. I could happily talk about the symbolism in this book for hours. I absolutely loved it 🩸🖤

This novella was beautifully written. I enjoyed everything about it.

This is one of those stories that was too short and too long all at once. It's absolutely enthralling and completely hideous all at once. The end for me was perfect. Be very aware of your triggers before you start this.

The writing was gorgeous and the story was terrifyingly good. My only gripe is that there was a bit too much sexual content for me, but that’s just my personal taste. Otherwise, it was a fantastic and addictive read 🖤

This is my first DG Woods novel or in this case novella. This was dark, twisted novella. Has your questioning everything, whats real whats all in your head. This was a great dark ride.

Haunting. Dark. Beautiful.🩸A romance so dark, it's almost black as the night the main characters surround themselves with. There's something about the way Woods writes that enthralls you from the start, that makes you feel the beauty in the pain. That makes the world not seem so dark, even as it's decaying right before your eyes. Her words are so poetic, the world painted in such a way that you can't help but submerge yourself so completely in the depths of despair and beg for more. You keep reading, hoping there's a light at the end of the tunnel but if you're a fan of any of her other works you know that a HEA isn't guaranteed so you're kept on your toes from the first page to the last. I absolutely loved the ending of Loud As Bones, as much as I loved the rest of it. From the very beginning, you're thrust straight into the life of Iris. Depicted so clearly it's as if you're transported into the very pages carrying her, as if you've become her. Her captors cruelty knows no bounds and their reign of terror seemingly had no end in sight and yet despite that, the smallest parts of me felt for both of them in their own way. Villains with such complexity you were left dangling from the ceiling wondering which way was up. As a long time fan of DG Woods, I can honestly say that Loud As Bones is not only my favourite of her works but an absolute masterpiece work of fiction. Thank you for giving me so many unique worlds to dive into head first. Please, don't ever stop. 🦴 *ARC Review however all opinions are entirely my own.

As soon as I finished it, I had to pick up the next book by D.G. Woods. Loud as Bones is a quick read, but absolutely packed with character and incredible atmosphere, through prose that is able to manipulate the reader in the same way our protagonist is manipulated and twisted by the home invaders. Even though we can fully grasp the absolute horror of this situation and have no doubts that what these people are doing is pure evil (even when getting to know their histories) we start to buy into their actions. It's a true feat of writing ability to not cross that line in trivializing the horror going on for a sensationalized adult material, and D.G. Woods achieves it. The story never shies away from the corruption going on, because that's what it shows it as: a troubled and hurt woman being pushed over the edge. This does not validate violence toward others because of past trauma; it is an honest look at someone crumbling under the weight of it and eventually giving in and being a part of the system that molded her. Loud as Bones is dark, poetic, gory, and manipulatively sensual, and the perfect start to spooky season reading.

The writing was lyrical, but it often felt so focused on the prose that the story became disjointed and the momentum suffered. I also struggled to connect with the main character, whose emotions and motivations felt underdeveloped.

I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author. I sat down to start this, and ended up finishing it in a single sitting. It reminded me of a Dowry Of Blood in a way. But ooh this writing style is so good