Orchard of Skeletons

So this is not something I tend to gravitate towards but was happily surprised! Very eerie and atmospheric! Very fast paced and characters were to die for! The plot and world building are immaculate! A future re read when Autumn gets here!!!!!!

4 stars

Eli Wilde is becoming a must read/buy for me. Is writing is just beautifully haunting. This story is captivating and wonderful. If you haven’t read Wilde yet, this would be a great one to start with. It may be a favorite for me.

After getting an ARC to review, I started the story with an open mind, not entirely sure what to expect; by the end of chapter one I was hooked! This dystopian horror is a brilliant short read that constantly keeps you trying to guess what will come next. Ben is my favourite character as I was constantly trying to figure out his motives as the story progressed.
The character development and world building are superb; complimented with the references to the past, helping the reader to get a greater understanding of the world that Issac and Macy have found themselves in.
Having never read a book by Eli Wilde before, I can definitely say that I will be adding his books to my TBR list and will look forward to reading them.

A solid dystopian novel with an interesting take of events. Great characters and the story leads to a good finish. A new author for me but I will definitely be looking for more.

Short and anything but sweet!! After the first few pages I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get into this, but then it was 4 hours later and I was on the last page.
Set in a very brutal dystopian world, Boy and Macy have had enough. Treated horrifically by those around them they decide to run away. They know they will be hunted down but they have to take that chance.
Very dark and quite uncomfortable reading at certain points. The purity and the naivety of the characters was such a well written contrast against the backdrop of such harrowing circumstances. Fast paced, well written characters and a story that will rip out your heart.

Please check trigger warnings for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher's for the e-copy. The opinion is my own.

A solid read.

This dystopian horror story follows Isaac, a previously unamed protagonist with a painful past and our POV through the whole story, and Macy, a purposefully naïve girl who he saves, as they run to escape their current lives and from psycopathic Finch, who wants Macy for his own gain.
The world they have to waddle through is wild. Nature overtaking the human architecture and humans being the worst of humanity even when some good ones still exist and suffer under them. We know in broad strokes what has happened to humanity as the story progresses, lore peppered all throughout the plot at a societal and some on an individual level. The implications... are not good.
I found it a bit dry at the beginning but worth continuing to follow this duo in their flight for their freedom. The ending was phenomenal too<spoiler>, even though I had guessed how it would end a bit before. It still hit</spoiler>.

Set in a dystopian world, Isaac and Macy are on the run to freedom. Isaac sees this as the beach where sub-pods were made for the lucky ones to ride out the infection. Along the way, they befriend a revenant. Meanwhile, the whole time Finch, a psycho and Macy's uncle, is after them. He wants to kill Isaac and sell Macy to the people under the mountain who would do anything to own people who can make babies.

The first chapter is very ugly and raw showing the horrendous conditions these two must flee to find freedom. In Macy we see innocence bloom into the strength required to survive this world. Isaac starts out as her unlikely saviour and the revenant tries to outlive the horrors of his ancestors. Together this unlikely trio tugged at my heart as I hoped only the best for them. The ending was bittersweet. A lovely story for a horror book.

Orchard of Skeletons is ripe with dystopian imagery that felt fresh and unique. Set a couple hundred years in the future, I enjoyed the historical references to the "olden times" of today. I also enjoyed the classic 1969 mustang modified with a solar-power electric engine. I am less of a sci-fi fan, but somehow, I found the replicant/robot characters fascinating. Maybe it's because of all the AI talk that has been in the news, but the thought of robots essentially living as an independent race (species?) among humans was intriguing. Overall, I appreciated the storyline of a post-pandemic dying civilization fighting for survival in a world of horrors they created. Isaac's and Macy's escape and journey to freedom is both horrifying and unsettling, and their application of ethics in a world that lost that a long time ago was refreshing. However, I do wish there was more explanation of the pandemic (real or imagined) and how infertility actually came to be. As a pharmacist, the scientific/medical justification would have been appreciated (I just need to know the "how"). Considering surviving groups went underground, lived on sequestered sea islands, or hoofed it to outer space and modern civilization/services ceased, I was also perplexed about the seemingly development and sustenance of futuristic technology (flying wings, satellites, solar cells, cryogenics, etc) without clear explanation. We never actually get to meet any of these peoples within the story, so it does require a bit of suspension of disbelief. How much was actually true vs. character manipulation of information within the story?

Overall, and interesting indie dystopian sci-fi/horror (precise genre is a bit bendy) read that makes you think a bit out of the box.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Some authors that "it factor", they pull you in from the first few lines. Eli Wilde has "it", right from the start. In the cruel future of a dying world, Isaac and try to find some happiness in a world of hopelessness. After running away from a madman, they find help in what seems to be a dangerous place.
The setting is bleak and depressing. But there is still good left in this world, and sometimes from odd places . This is a book I could not put down, I want more to this wonderful story.

Eli Wilde’s Orchard of Skeletons is two things – something familiar, something fresh. It brings a different take to an apocalyptic story that has common elements like those of popular end-of-the world movies but offers unique characters, the world they lived in, and the events they experienced.

The story describes the bleak situation of the two characters in a world full of destruction, and chronicles their escape from ruthless people whom they thought were their family. When they were on the run, they discovered an unlikely companion, which is nothing but a humanoid head, that helped them navigate the skeleton-filled town, overcome the wild wolves, and fight their enemies.

The well-written characters, both the primary and secondary, evoke a wide range of emotions. I cared for Isaac and Macy because of the terrible things that happened to them; I respected Ben because of his kindness and support; I abhorred Finch because of his monstrosity. Even though the storyline is simple, these well-rounded characters shaped a remarkable narrative.

The plot is not boring, too. It is packed with action from the moment they got out of the house to the time when they faced Finch in a battle. Everything in between these events keeps me on the edge of my seat. I kept reading on to see if they made it out alive.

The only thing that I didn't love about this book is its length. It's too short for me. I got so many questions about the mountain people, the babies and their role in the pandemic, and the humanoids called the replicants. I wanted to know more about them. However, I still enjoyed the book.

The Orchard of Skeletons is one of the best books I read this year. It is an easy read but it holds interesting characters, intriguing world, and gripping events. I highly recommend it.

Thank you Eli Wilde and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to share my honest thoughts about the book.

Liked this one a lot. Gripping from start to finish—a true page-turner and a must read for 2023 full of suspense and drama I loved it!

I loved this book so much. I haven't stopped thinking about this since I finished reading it. It was so deep and amazing. I look forward to reading more of this author's books. 10/10

Loved this book. The characters were really well written. You wanted them to survive and live the happy ever after. The author knows how to take you on the journey .