Well there is a lot to be said about Root and Bone and I can sum it up in one word..LOVE. From the cover to the very last page it was brilliant. It was warm, it was “real” and it embraced a lot of lore and legend. This is very much my reading style as far as developing characters that I care about. I sometimes get nervous when I see a book that isn’t even released yet being part of a series, but in this case, BRING THEM ALL. I cannot wait for the next installment and as of May 15th this is my favorite read of the year.

Root and Bone follows the Spencer Sisters, Leona and Jewel, as their usually quiet town is rocked by a seemingly unsolvable murder that only the Spencers can get to the bottom of. Expect witchcraft, supernatural creatures, a very 1950s setting and punchy dialogue as the two witches try to manage their family lives, conceal the extent of their powers and avoid the gaze of some heavily religious villagers.
I really enjoyed the dialogue in this book, and I found it a very fast paced read as the mystery unravelled. I very much hope we see a bit more from Jewel's perspective in the series- I love how she used her magic to her advantage unapologetically, compared to Leona's more cautious approach. The plot developed very naturally without over- or under- explanation, and the side characters were just as full of personality as the main characters.
One key selling point of this book is definitely the colloquial writing style- overall I think this was definitely a positive, however some of the phrases and words used didn't work for me ('carrot' being one of them). I also think that while the witchcraft and supernatural aspects of the plot were well developed, the family side of things felt a bit like it was pushed to the side for convenience. A lot of the more serious topics were glossed over and some of the fairly central characters were just missing for a good part of the book, perhaps to make it easier for the sisters to do their thing.
Overall I'd rate this a 3.5 stars, it was an enjoyable read, and I will definitely be reading the next in the series.

I DNFed this book. The writing is poor. The magic is underdeveloped. I didn't care about the plot and I actively hated the main characters. It's not cute, or clever, or a girl boss moment to drug your husband. It just makes me think maybe he's not the abuser we're being told he is. It's not cute or clever to wipe someone's memories so you can walk into their house and raid a crime scene for clues. It's just a dick move. I gave up on this relatively early because I wanted nothing to do with the main characters. Spending another couple hundred pages with them sounded hellish. It's not completely unreadable so the final rating is 1.5 ⭐.

Thanks to Netgalley, Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, and IBPALovesIndies for this copy of "Root and Bone."

Leona and Jewel are sisters in rural Appalachian Ohio who grew up with a family heritage of "root and bone" magic. They learned their skills from Granny Kay, who also taught their mother.

They use their combined talent to help investigate brutal murders in their community that might have been caused by malevolent magic.

In this town with ghosts, ghouls, vampires, and werewolves, will they get the help they need to solve the murders in time?

3 1/2 stars. An interesting book that combines mystery, magic and a 1950s small town. Life isn't easy and Leona and Jewel, sisters, have very different attitudes towards magic and life in general. But if the murder of young women is to be stopped and the evil that just arrived into town is to be defeated they will need each other, and a few friends to make it work.

There is a lot going on in this book, an introduction to a new series, magic creatures and a number of people. Top it all off with the claustrophobia of a small town where too many people know that the sisters have powers which means they are often feared and hated, and a conservative attitude leaves both Leona and Jewel in bad marriages that are abusive. That part was hard to handle and at the same time I didn't really connect to how Leona felt about it most of the time.

Overall, it was an interesting storyline and a more gritty than you find in most cozies. In fact I don't think I would really call this a cozy. Parts felt a bit rough but there is a lot of potential in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Unfortunately for me this was a DNF at the 25% mark. The story was not interesting and there wasn’t any real hook to make me want to continue reading. I did like the distinct dialect they had but for the plot, I just couldn’t get into it. I have read other books with magic themes that I enjoyed, but again, for me I just did not connect with this story at all. Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Raney and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Cursed Dragon Publishing and Jessica Raney for this ARC!

The sleepy town of Ames is rocked by a gruesome murder of a young girl woman, and Leona, and her sister Jewel are the only ones capable of solving the crime given their proclivity to magic and all things mystical. As the pair work their way through the mysteries of the case, and try to prevent more murders from happening, more magical creatures and problems reveal themselves. Root and Bone delves into independence, sisterhood, domestic abuse, being different, and small town living.

Overall, I love how gritty and dark this story was. I liked how each magical creature was presented, though at times I feel like some could have had some more depth, though maybe we will get that in the next book. It is a bit hard to depict the timeframe of the book, though that didn’t really bother me. At times the heavy use of small town colloquialisms made reading and getting into the story a bit difficult at times, though I understand why the author used them. If you love witches, mystical creatures, and true crime, you will want to check this book out!

While reading this book I loved the witchy aspects within this book as well as the timeline it was around. It took me a moment to get into the book but once I started getting a good understanding of the story and characters, I was invested with what was going on. I wanted a little more to the plot but I really loved the characters and wanted to know more.
The supernatural creatures within this book was what I wanted while reading it! Between the vampires, werewolves, etc. Adding more hints of mystery/horror which I loved. As the book moved a little slow for me and I was trying to grasp everything going on I would still recommend this book to people who are interested in witchy vibes/ supernatural beings.

I really enjoyed all the witchy aspects of this book. The story is set in around 1960s or 1970s, which isn't specifically mentioned, but there is a retro vibe to the entire book. It is a lot of information to take in as the book reads slowly and is a lot of world building.

There is a bunch of supernatural creatures like ghosts, werewolves, vampires, etc and they make a appearance more frequently after the cemetery scene which makes the book a lot more horror. The sisters learnt witchcraft from their Granny Kay and both have their own vows on how to use this magic when growing up which tests their relationship. There is love in the book. VERY unexpected love but it's sweet and filled with drama since it's with a ghost and Leona is actually married with a child but it was a nice add in.

Overall the book was actually a better read than I expected. I can never be disappointed about a book with witches but adding murder mystery and romance made it a lot easier to get passed the length it took me to get through the 300+pages. This is a book about witches, but also about women and their struggles in a world dominated by men. It’s brutal at times and the majority of the men in this story are horrible people!

3.5 stars

This book had some good themes of the strength of a woman, specifically back in the days where women were powerless in society. The sister’s bond was the focal point of this story and it made the book good, especially as more supernatural creatures were introduced throughout the book!

The mystery plot was lacking for me, I struggled to connect to it, the way I was concerting with the sister’s family and marriage drama, along with the Galen drama. However, I did like how it all connected in the end! The ghost romance was new to me, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it!

While this wasn’t my favorite paranormal book, I am interested in continuing the series in the future!

Root and bone was a magical mysterious read, while I enjoyed the story I think I would have gotten greater enjoyment from it had there been a bit more backstory and context of the characters and setting.
It is still an interesting read however with a witchy mystery to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.
I really enjoyed this book. It has magic, werewolves, vampires and ghosts! I felt like the end half of the book was crammed with a lot of action.

DNF at page 104. I felt like I critiqued this book more than I enjoyed it. I was getting sick of the amount of times everyone said the word ain't. I didn't mind them being southern but every so often southern phrases would be interjected into non dialogue and I felt like it was unnecessary. What did it for me was the word penis being changed to carrot. Out of everything the author could have chosen to use, why carrot???

If you love witches, magic, werewolves, ghosts and vampires, then look no further because this book is for you!

This is a book jammed packed with lots of magic and mystery, mixed with true crime that has you questioning ‘who dun it’ the whole way through. The writing flow nice and easily, gripping my attention instantly. The only downfall I found is that there is a lot of dialogue which isn’t always a bad thing but there were times that I found we needed a breather.

However, overall I really enjoyed it and I’m secretly hoping there will be more books about The Spencer Sisters.

1★

Thank you, NetGalley, for the e-arc of this book.

I'm sad to say I did not enjoy this at all. The description of the book sounded so interesting and fun - a witchy mystery should be perfect for me, right? However, I did not like the execution of it.

In general, there wasn't much I actually liked, to be honest. I enjoyed the ghosts and the descriptions of the ghosts, and… that was it.

The characters felt bland and uninteresting. The only one I kind of liked was Cale, and that might also be because he was a ghost… Both Leona and her sister annoyed me. Everyone in the town annoyed me, actually. Especially the men. Was it necessary? All the violence against women and assault scenes specifically.

The dialogue was… weird. I understand it was supposed to be their regional accent, but why was it missing sometimes? They talked their way and then suddenly normally. Was it on purpose or forgotten?

Overall, I can't say I hated it… I had no strong feelings towards this book except boredom. It literally put me to sleep twice, and I also had to skim most of it to even finish it - it should've been a DNF.

Since I'm a bit obsessed with the Appalachain mountains, I had hoped for a well fleshed description of the world in which our characters lived, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

That said, I definitely enjoyed the story about these two sisters who seem to be pretty unhappy in their small town. Living in a small village myself, I totally empathise with the disdain they have for everyone knowing everyone else's business!

A fab story that reminds me of Practical Magic, so I'd highly recommend it for people who enjoy that !

Murder and mystery mixed perfectly in this weekend read! The two main characters, Leona and Jewel, are sister witches who get caught up in their small town’s murder mystery. Throughout the book, they have to use magic to find clues, get out of trouble, and defeat the bad guy.

The characters are funny and easy to like, the storyline is straightforward, and the end of the book leaves you looking forward to possible mischief the sisters get into. There is a small love story weaved in as well, but it’s a 0 out 5 on the spice level, making it great for teens, young adults, and adults. You also don’t have to worry about reading it in public without any spicy scenes making you nervous.

However, the book does leave a little to be desired in terms of pace. The pace is slower and while there are opportunities for a more medium paced action in certain chapters, the author chose not to go that route. I personally think it could have added a little extra to grip a reader’s attention. There were also several dramatic errors that I wish a better editor would have caught.

3.5⭐️

I actually quite enjoyed this book overall, the vibes of this book were great with the story headed by two strong witches working to uncover the murderers within their small town with a range of supernatural elements.

But is no one going to acknowledge the creepy age gap between Leona and Cale when they first met??

While I enjoyed the overall plot and the relationship between Leona and Jewel, I would have liked the story a bit more fleshing out of the overall background of the town, as well as some more around their relationships and some more pauses between keys plot points to build some suspense.

I would still recommend this to those who enjoy a dark paranormal mystery, I really think a lot of people would have a nice time with this book. I also can’t wait to see how Jessica builds on from this story in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing for providing me with this eARC in return for an honest review.

I went in a little blind for this book and I wasnt disappointed. Our 2 FMC’s which are sisters are living tough lives in a small town with husbands they clearly detest and traditions/standards that confine them to a degree. There’s a lot of witchcraft, supernatural creatures and mystery throughout this story. It’s a dark and interesting story

I went into this basically blind and really enjoyed it. The time-period it was set in was a little confusing at first, as well as their VERY southern dialects. However, I was quickly able to overcome the learning curve and really enjoyed this story. It was fast paced, made assumptions about what the reader knew (i.e. very little world building) but kept me engaged and interested right from the start.