Reviews of Bone Dressing

I can say that I only got through about half of this book and had to stop. I couldn't get into the story and I think it was because of the attitude of Syd and the sexual predator type of teacher in the story. There are very few books that I will not finish even if I'm not interested but I just couldn't force myself to continue.

All I'm going to say is that you don't have to go by my review as this may be your type of story. If you read it and you think definitely I would love to hear your thoughts.

This book was really hard for me to get through. It was so over filled with all of these odd and random details that were just too much about everything. I kept waiting for Syd, the main character to get arrested by the book police and have to recall all of these unnecessary details. Seriously, I didn't even have a clue about who the main character was at all until I got to page 6 where I kind of glimpse the fact that the character is a girl and then you never can be sure these days. The entire first chapter was basically Syd sitting on a roof watching a fire at the school. WAY too slow and too much that was not needed. Sydney is mean and hateful all of the time and especially to her foster parents who have taken her in and allowed her to live with them for 7 years. She seriously does not have a reason to be this angry anymore. Grief usually subsides a little and you do come to respect those around you that love you. Also, she falls in love with these boys all weird like. Who risks their life to tell someone they love them while a huge cat is after them? Yeah, right. I just think all of Syd's thought processes are too screwed up and too off the wall to make this book into something that I would want to even look at the rest of the 6 other books. Not for me. I think the writer could have been good, really good, but too focused on each and every tidbit of detail and giving the main character a horrible attitude and awkward love life, not to mention the whole other life she had before this one and all of her odd magical capabilities. I will not be looking for the future books in this series.

I'd like to thank the author for a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. I don’t think I can explain my feelings about this book without letting spoilers slip, so please beware!

Unfortunately, unlike the first book I received to review, I really didn’t like this story, and I won’t be reading the next books in the series. Part of the premise wasn’t bad – a 17-year-old girl, Syd, goes back to a previous life and discovers she has an ability to shapeshift into 5 different animals – but there are many flaws that made it a challenge to read.

To start with, the premise I mentioned above was bogged down with so many other storylines trying to demand attention. There’s a sexually harassing, paedophile teacher; issues with her dead parents (which never actually goes anywhere); boy issues (which I’ll discuss later); and probably several other things I genuinely don’t care about.

Then, there’s Sydney. I don’t think I’ve ever finished a book with a main character as unlikeable as her. Now, I understand she misses her parents (who died 7 years previously), but from what the story says, she has been with her foster parents ever since, and they treat her as good parents should, so I don’t understand the amount of anger that spews from her for about 80% of the time she’s appearing as Syd (as opposed to Rachel).

If you’ve read my reviews before, you may have realised that I hate books that completely devolve from reality, especially when it comes to love. Syd mentions at the beginning of the book that she’s had dates with ‘hot’ guys, but that she’s put off as soon as they open their mouths. Then, one day, she’s met by Beau (at the friggin’ cemetery, by her parents’ graves), and despite his stalkerish (and is it just me to think vampiric? It’s never revealed what he is) tendencies, she falls head over heels in love with him. Well, duh. She then has her life threatened by a panther, and decides to take that moment to declare how she feels. I’m not sure about anyone else, but that’s not what I’d do.

When Syd goes back to her previous life, as Rachel, she again is madly in love, this time with a man named Jesse. This section of the book is slightly better written in that Rachel has more vulnerability than Syd, and the events are more exciting and less jumbled. I was intrigued as to how Syd could help Rachel change the events (which was hinted at by Beau), and can’t help feeling that if there had been more of this and a LOT less lead-up, I would have enjoyed the book more. I didn’t like that the end of the book finished on a cliffhanger, with nothing of importance having been ‘tied up’, with only an expectation that the reader would buy the next book in order to carry on.

Then there’s Mr Askew. I won’t waste my breath on this: he is a paedophile that sexually harasses Syd in front of the whole class at one point. Worst student in the world or not, Sydney could get him done – no bargaining. Plus, why have her burning down the school at the start of the book, only to not refer back to what was already mentioned when it happens at the end?!

In general, an annoyance throughout the book was the amount of metaphors and adjectives used for everything. If there’s one word used to describe something, there can be three, appears to be this book’s motto! Metaphors can be amazing, but they were taken too far here. (This blogger here agrees!) Picture this type of language every other page or so:

“I could feel the waves of an overwhelming heartbreak ravaging my body, taking hold as if preparing to replace every part of me with an ache that could never be soothed. Somewhere in the distance I heard agonizing sobbing, sobbing too painful for a mere girl to endure.”

Yeah. So, it’s safe to say I won’t be recommending this one.