this book... i really wanted to love it! I reallllly loved the prologue, i wished the whole book was like that. The plot was really off after that prologue, the pacing suffered and the characters felt like they lacked as well. The snakes were my favourites!!

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This dark fairy tale is very loosely based off of the Medusa myth (read: Snakes in your head, snakes in your hair, snakes just about everywhere). I would have almost rathered it not even mention that it was inspired by Medusa because The Cold Is In Her Bones is its own beautiful fairy tale.

Throughout the book, we follow a girl named Milla. She tries hard to be good but has some strange tendencies she tries to suppress while growing up with her mother, father, and brother Niklas. When Iris, Niklas's future wife, moves in with her grandparents, Milla's world is turned upside down. She's curious about the stories Iris has to tell her and quickly becomes friends with her. However, a curse that has been placed on the village inflicts Iris and Milla begins a journey to save Iris, her family, and herself. Throughout the journey, she grows and discovers who she is and comes to accept who she is as well.

The pacing of this book was a little slow, but despite that, I kept wanting to continue reading. The story was so hauntingly beautiful, I wanted to know what would happen next. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a different kind of fairy tale. One where the protagonist isn't beautiful or gets the boy or any of the normal stereotypical things.

3.5 Stars.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features abuse and neglect of children, possession, an exocism of a sort, and torture.

Hearing that The Cold is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale was a retelling of Medusa had me sold, and while I discovered that's not completely an accurate description before reading, I was intrigued by this dark and atmospheric story. While it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Milla lives on a farm with her parents and her brother Niklas. Other than her neighbours Trude and Stig, she's never met anyone else. She's kept home, not allowed into the village with her father like her brother is, and nothing she does is ever right. Her mother is always on her back about being good, being better. But things change when Trude and Stig's granddaughter, Iris, moves in with them. Suddenly she has a friend, who tells her stories and all about the village. But she soon discovers the demons she has been scattering salt to ward against are real, and that one is after Iris. Milla will do anything to try and save her friend, even leaving the only home she knows and her family behind. But the world beyond the farm isn't the wonderful place Milla expected it to be, and it might not just be Iris the demon is after.

The Cold is in Her Bones had me from the get go. The story is more inspired by the Greek myth of Medusa than a retelling of it, so it's not exactly what I originally expected, but I knew that going in. I was completely enthralled by the tale van Arsdale weaves. The prologue sets it up with a very fairy tale feel that I was immediately captivated by. It felt magical and atmospheric, and at times really dark and creepy. I was so engrossed in Milla's story.

The Cold is in Her Bones is also a very feminist book. While there is a demon, it's almost second to how the girls and young women are treated. The curse started because a girl didn't behave the way society - particularly her parents, sister, and sister's betrothed - thought she should. She was strange and wild. She wasn't pretty and ladylike and nice. Now the curse is in place, people are fearful for - but more importantly, of - girls and young women aged between 12 and 18. Because they targets for the demon, and once possessed, they become wild and unruly, and say nasty things, and their behaviour progresses as the possession goes on. But if a girl is to speak out of turn, or says anything that isn't nice, or allows herself to get angry and speak or act on it, she is believed to be possessed - whether she actually is or not. Yes, there is a demon, yes, there is a curse, but there was always distrust and dislike of girls who weren't nice and pretty and quiet and subdued. Girls must be good. Girls must behave in a very specific way. Girls have their place, and they should stay in it. Girls are silenced. It just sounds very familiar to stories of heard of women who were diagnosed with hysteria for not acting the way they should and put in asylums, and these girls who are possessed by a demon, not acting the way they should, and locked in "The Place".

But this treatment of and expectation of girls and women is also seen before Milla knows anything about the curse. Her father practically ignores her - she is to be seen and not heard, and nor should she ask too many questions. So as not to draw her father's attention, Milla's mother is always on her case to do better, be better, look better, because her father only notices her when she's not good enough. She can't be too strange, she can't be herself. She can only be a quiet, docile, little mouse. And whether she realises it or not, she is patronised by her "lovely" brother all the time. He's meant to be this really lovely boy, like the ideal, and is adored by their mother, but he constantly calls her "Silly Milla," for not being normal, for wondering why things are the way they are. And while Milla finds things out and gives in to her anger, she starts not thinking so warmly towards him... but she keeps backtracking. I wish his behaviour was challenged in some way, but I suppose it's kind of true to the world she lives in that she would think he's pretty great, especially when compared to her father.

While I was completely absorbed in the story, and didn't feel like it was slow as I read it, looking back, not a huge amount happens. The major events are towards the end, and there are smaller events that keep you reading, but nothing too earth-shaking. It feels very much like a quest story, of Milla setting out to save her friend, but there's not much to the quest, not much of a plan, and to be honest, I do think some aspects of the story were dealt with too easily. They could have been bigger and harder to accomplish. It's quite a quiet book, really, overall, which I wasn't expecting, given the premise and a lot of the darkness in the story. While I enjoyed it while I was reading it, I wasn't wowed. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.

Saying that, van Arsdale's writing style is sublime. It's so gorgeous and charming, that I can almost forgive the quietness. Would I read it again? Probably not. But would I read other books by van Arsdale? Absolutely. In fact, I've already bought her debut, The Beast is an Animal, which I'm really looking forward to reading it, and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up anything else she wrote. The Cold is in Her Bones was a little on the quiet side for me, but it was really enjoyable otherwise. Other readers have loved it, so do read some other reviews before deciding whether it's for you or not.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's Books via NetGalley for the eProof.

CW: body horror, animal cruelty, animal death


The first thing that struck me about The Cold Is In Her Bones was its gorgeous atmosphere. It feels almost claustrophobic to read - you're stuck watching terrible things happen in a vivid way, but you just can't look away. Though it borrows from the myth of Medusa, this definitely isn't a straightforward retelling - it's more like a dark fairy-tale, and it has a more Germanic feel than Greek. Milla grows snakes in her hair, yes, but the resemblance more or less ends there. What it does do, though, is pulls out the feminist aspects of Medusa's tale and makes them much more overt. This is a story about the fear that women can inspire in themselves and others, and it really worked for me.

This is a book that is more of an experience than a narrative - I've seen it criticised for pacing, but for me, it felt more like a dream, where some aspects are stretched and others compressed. This added to the creepy magical atmosphere for me. I loved the inclusion of the snakes in the story, though I did find the violence against them to be a little too graphic for me, as was the violence in general. It's a pretty brutal story, and one that doesn't shy away from showing the darker side of the society Milla lives in. For this reason I'd recommend it to older readers - it can be pretty creepy at times. If you can stomach it, though, it's a brilliant read.

An interesting read full of curses, magic, love of siblings and strong female characters. Did not realise it was a re-telling of Medusa, but after reading it totally makes sense.

An intriguing concept that sadly only scratches the surface of the Medusa mythos, however, it played out like a dark fairytale that kept me gripped up until the final pages.

While atmosphere and the thread of the story are important to me, they are not the only element that makes a book work. Unfortunately for this book, other elements did not work at all for me which is why I gave this book a really low rating. The plot is lacking, the direction of the story is unclear, and the pacing is really off. The characters are also bland and so disconnected from the readers. It’s extremely disappointing, especially since this book seemed to have a lot of potential.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I sort of liked this? Apologies for being vague but I'm honestly not sure about this one. I'll try and explain but first of all, for anyone expecting a 're-telling' of the Greek myth of Medusa, this <b>ISN'T</b> that book. Note the 'inspired by' in the summary. Usually that means a small part of whatever did the inspiring made the author want to write the book, and it may not may not be included. This is not set in Ancient Greece. There is no Medusa. It isn't a retelling. It's not the author's fault, but the publisher including references to Medusa in the summary is misleading. So manage your expectations.

With that out of the way, what is the book about? The story centres around Milla, a young girl whose family has kept her and itself segregated from other people and the nearest village, ostensibly for safety reasons. Milla is kept completely in the dark about why, and lives under a constant regime of not being a 'good girl' simply because she quite naturally wants to follow her own inclinations sometimes and would like her parents and brother to love her. (Admittedly that hit rather hard since I grew up with a constant background refrain of 'you're not girling correctly, why can't you be normal'.) Things come to a head when Iris, daughter of the village blacksmith, comes to stay with her grandparents - who are the only other people living out near Milla's family. Milla bonds with the new girl immediately but their friendship is put to the ultimate test as Iris falls under the curse that has afflicted the village for years.

This has a lot to say about subtle and not so subtle oppression of women by a society that is geared to cater to men and put males first in order of importance. There's a lot here about girls not being believed and being minimised or called hysterical when they own their natural and justifiable anger. And it says a fair bit about female friendships, family loyalties, removing toxic people from your life, forgiveness over vengeance, and somewhat bizarrely, the latent fear of teenage girls' ever realising their own power present in society as a whole. I think there's is a lot here in terms of themes and exploration of feminist issues. Unfortunately the execution didn't quite deliver any of that for me.

This is far more of a 'folk horror' story than a dark fantasy. The conflict centres on a local legend and is echoed by Milla's internal journey to accept herself as she is. There are snakes but unless you're really phobic, they're cute! I liked the writing style and the book definitely kept me engaged. But I did find it rambled structure wise and that ultimately didn't work for me. There's a lot to like here and I would definitely read another book by the author. Recommend if you want a non-scary story in a folklore type setting that isn't too heavy on it's feminist themes.

This was a fast past, twisty book, with fantastic writing. The author’s writing style is stunning and this was a great story with a perfect ending. I loved Milla’s character and all the rest of the cast.

The story is a YA fantasy based on Medusa and we get to meet Milla who has been raised in isolation. She has to find the strength and the courage to break the curse that haunts all the girls in her village, but she’s running out of time. Can she break the curse before she becomes possessed? This book has a dark tone to it and I was hooked from the very start. Action, adventure, danger, curses, what more you could you ask for? A definite 5 star read.

This was a confusing meander of a book. I was never quite sure what was happening as Milla wanders from location to location, with a very removed, impersonal POV.

It’s one of those stories that feels like it’s trying to make a feminist point, but never reaches it. I’ve read many books recently where a heroine ‘saving the day’ in a male dominated world is presented as immediately feminist, but where the inequality is never addressed – either before or after the day is saved.

In a time when it feels like we might finally be starting to address the point in society, books like this just feel like the message is being timidly offered on a plate. To make matters worse, the person giving the plate is wavering between wanting to stuff it down your throat and running away. It feels almost patronising. Unfortunately, THE COLD IS IN HER BONES in one of these books.

The world is one where the women stay at home, do all the chores and be mild so the men like them. Milla wants to be free and wild, but never quite articulates the idea, and seems only mildly put out by the fact. The few disagreements are so meek and come across as petulant rather than out of any sense of injustice that her life is to be domestic servitude.

Does Milla save the day? I guess, though the ending was vague and just… happened. After pages of nothing happening, as she wanders around being told stories, going after her friend and doing… something, she suddenly decides to end the curse. The plot took ages to wake up, and then felt like a dream meandering about with its own logic that doesn’t make much sense upon waking.

The writing had that slightly dream like quality, mainly due to a distinct disconnect between the character and the world. The emotions were told, very plainly, but they didn’t feel real because I couldn’t understand Milla at all.

The central relationship that drives Milla felt like it came along of all a sudden at the start. It felt, to me, like Milla was suddenly so captivated and enamoured of Iris simply because she was new to her extremely dull, predictable and isolated world. Milla is constantly on about saving her friend, and their devotion to each other seemed so unrealistic given the time they felt together. However, they could have been together longer, as there were unexpected time jumps. The biggest jump was at 60% through, when suddenly two seasons passed in three paragraphs.

Characters and locations just appeared, out of the blue and often without warning. The ‘magic system’ is suddenly dumped upon you at 80% through. Until then, it had felt more like magic realism than regular fantasy. A certain character is introduced, and her only job is to explain the ‘magic’. I’m a little leery of using the world magic, as it’s curses and a demon – who might not actually be responsible for the cure.

It’s a very short read, which works in its favour. I read it in about an hour and a half.

The Cold is in Her Bones is a decent read, but wasn't for me, if I'm honest. I liked it well enough, but found the overall story to be boring and I couldn't relate to the MC at all. She seemed weak and tedious and a 'boo hoo baby' like her mother. The world and characters were very well written and realistic, but I couldn't get over the pace of the story. I really wanted more from this novel. The prologue was truly the best part of the novel and I thought we'd get more of Hulda's story or that maybe she'd feature in it a bit more. No such luck. Also, Gitta and Jakob are just terrible people, which actually made me like the writing a bit more than I would have otherwise because I love when an author can make me hate a well-developed character. I guess you could argue that the mother was just trying to not get so attached in the case her own daughter wound up cursed, but I found that a massive character flaw for her. Gitta nearly redeems herself in one of the end scenes, but I needed more from it. The last 15% of the story was pretty good, though. I liked the way it wrapped up.

I really loved that this focused more on friendships and there was the allusion to love, but romance was never the main focus of the book. The themes of desire to be accepted for who you are and overcoming your demons were also great! We need more books that explore those and other hard themes that teens struggle with.

Milla has led a sheltered life, being kept away from the other villagers for her whole life. She finally learns why.

This is a dark, twisted tale which is reminiscent of a German fairy tale. I enjoyed it - it's a relatively quick read but one that really gets under your skin.

As a teacher, I'd be comfortable recommending this to children from about 12 years old upwards. It is dark and mysterious, but not too scary.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this great book.

Quality Rating: Two Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

I didn't do well with this book for a number of reasons, even though it sounded right up my street. This is inspired by Medusa? Only as far as the snakes in her hair. And just because you show women suffering doesn't make it feminist - I think that's approaching the opposite, actually.

I get that it's building up to be a commentary on female hysteria. The girls hearing things in their heads as they get older that go against everything the village says and expects of them. Of course, there's a magical realistic element in the way that snakes literally grow from their heads and whisper to them, but it's essentially about historically the oppression and punishment of women. I get that. But it's so forcefully/melodramatically done that it doesn't make its point. At times it feels like the opposite argument.

Milla is so passive and fragile, and then suddenly so stubborn and 'empowered' that the whole thing is just hard to swallow. Maybe if you had some other characters around her that were written to have different sorts of personalities, it would've balanced out more. Yes, they're all under the same oppression, but people react in different ways. I don't believe that within a generation every female of the species became quiet, docile and unassuming. Yes, there is a fantastical element being used to give creative freedom, but it's still essentially a story about a human being. And Milla wasn't there as that for me.

I got 42% through this book. I'm sure the story goes somewhere eventually but I don't care to find out where. I think it's a real shame the author/publisher wanted to go for the Young Adult market just so they could throw in some brutality because it could've been a really good and progressive kid's book (that feels like one already) if they had treated it properly.

This YA retelling of the Medusa myth has much to say about the nature of friendship, rivalry between siblings, young women's battle to find their true selves and the destructive nature of vengeance. There is much to be learned about the fear of the 'different' and the weaving of stories. The writing is beautifully judged and utterly engaging but Peternelle van Arsdale does not offer easy solutions. A rising star in YA dark fairy tales.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always been fascinated by Medusa. I remember in Primary School we once got to watch Clash of the Titans and I found the Medusa sequence utterly thrilling. Over the years I picked up on the fact that what happened to Medusa was utter <insert swear word of choice here>

When I heard that The Cold is in Her Bones was a feminist retelling of the Medusa myth you can bet your ass I was on it.

The Epilogue starts with Hulda, a young girl doing normal country girl things like lying in the grass, daydreaming…talking to snakes. As you do. The other villagers don’t take kindly to this behaviour, in particular her sister Gitta, and Hulda is unceremoniously packed off to the forest.

From this point on, the story follows Milla, a young girl living a stifling, lonely existence with only her superstitious parents and brother for company. Her parents are cold and harsh and her brother Niklas provides the only source of human warmth in Milla’s life. Things change for Milla when her brother’s intended bride, Iris, comes to live with Milla and her family. Soon after Iris’ arrival strange things start happening and truths that have been hidden from Milla are revealed.

There are some interesting themes explored in this novel. Milla is ‘protected’ and cloistered away by her family due to a nameless threat while her brother is largely free to do as he wishes. Sound familiar ladies? Without trying to spoil anything, there are also parallels to how ‘hysteria’ was dealt with in the past and also similarities to how rebellious women were packed off to asylums or even lobotomised in some cases (e.g. JFK’s sister Rosemary Kennedy). Milla is also gaslighted on more than one occasion by her brother Nicklas which causes her to question her own experiences. So far, so familiar to any women or girls reading this book.

Some parts of this book dragged a bit and the main story itself took a while to really get going. Milla herself is a bit boring and having read a few ‘unusual girl who lives in the forest gets caught up in mysterious happenings’ novels recently, compared to The Winternight Trilogy or Naomi Novik’s Uprooted it felt a bit lacking. I was also left feeling like I would have been more interested reading about Hulda as I found her a much more compelling character.

Overall, this book was enjoyable enough and I admire what it was trying to do. The concept was quite interesting but I felt it was let down a bit by the pacing and the main character’s lack of charisma.

I was excited to read about a Medusa retelling, but except for snakes in girls' hair and vengeance, there wasn't much of Medusa in this story. I think it was more an inspiration from the myth rather than a proper retelling. Despite that, I quite liked this book, even though it was really slow at times. I liked the relationship between Milla, Niklas and Iris, their love for each other even when everything was complicated and difficult. I liked the description of the curse and what was happening with it. But the rest of the story felt simple for me. It seemed absurd to keep so many secrets from Milla when the curse could just as well touch her, I understand it was her parent's decision but what was the point? Tell her about it and she will know what she has to look out for. But I liked how she became more confident toward herself during the book.

An amazing, dark, exciting fantasy book. It was a pleasant and engaging read that keeps you hooked till the last page.
I loved Milla, such a wonderful and well written character, as much as the others. Each of them was well written and fleshed out.
The book is atmospheric and enthralling, you're engaged since the prologue, so vivid and amazing.
I'm happy I discovered a new great author and will surely read other books written by her.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine

A lusciously written YA fantasy , The Cold is in Her Bones is a Medusa inspired tale of a young woman, raised in virtual isolation , who must find the strength to break a curse that haunts not just her family, but all the girls of the local village, before she succumbs to it, and becomes possessed.
Milla is lonely, growing up on a farm with her brother and parents. She is far from the golden child of the family, her brother is the beloved, heir to the family farm and her only real companion.Raised in such isolation she is completely naive, and knows nothing about the world outside her farm, or it's dangers. When Iris, the granddaughter of a neighbour comes to stay, as a prospective bride for him, Milla is delighted to find she has a new friend, and the two soon become inseparable. When the curse that blights the nearby village, resulting in many young women becoming possessed, comes for Iris, both Milla and her brother are determined to save her. Going against her parent's wishes, Milla breaks their forced isolation and embarks on a quest to save her friend, and along the way discovers some disturbing truths about her family and the origin of the curse.
This book has a strong Eastern European flavour, with a style reminiscent of an oral storytelling tradition of myths and fables. The prose is lyrical and vivid, and fits the darker tone of the story perfectly. The prologue is both chilling and gripping in equal measure, and really lets the reader know that there is darkness ahead, which is good, because this is a book where the reader needs to be patient and let the story flow at its own pace. Milla is a fascinating character, her unusual upbringing makes her almost a perfect foil for the reader, we know little more than she does as the story unfolds, and I thought this worked particularly well.
I read a review copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much, a retelling of the medusa myth, the characters are so compelling and well written, such strong female characters and story sisterhood. It can be a touch slow at times which is why I would say 4 stars but a great read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review