Reviews of Bone Dressing

First I want to thank the author for a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review. I really tried to like this story because it was so original like nothing else I had ever read but I had a hard time finishing it. It was ridiculously long in some places and most of the book was choppy and I was confused about what was going on.

The plot was original and interesting. This book is about a girl named Sydney who is angry at the world. One night while walking in a cemetery she runs into Beau, Sarah, and T.J. their pet panther. Then everything for her changes as she goes on a journey to find the essence of her very soul through walking in the shoes of her past lives. I did love the concept and idea of this story. It just wasn't executed very well. It has potential and I think with a lot of editing it could do well but it was just so choppy that I couldn't get lost in the story. Not only that but there were some pretty big inconsistencies that I just could not let go which also made it hard to get into the plot. I did love the part of this book where she travels in her past life but that was about the only part I liked.

The main character had so many parts where she had long drawn out monologues about the same damn thing over and over again I just got so beyond annoyed I would have to put the book down because her whining got to me. She also was just plain rude to everyone. She interrupted everyone, never let them say anything. She was confrontational about everything. She was bad mannered and bad tempered and just all around very unlovable character. I couldn't stand her. Beau's character was nice and charming but he jumped from hot to cold so quickly for seemingly no reason that his character completely confused me.

Also the villain in this was forgettable. I completely forgot about Sydney and him battling it out when he wasn't actually on the page. His motives for being evil were not revealed even a tiny bit and so he just seemed to like to cause harm because he could and was shallow and unimportant.

Overall this book is a good idea but it needs major editing and fixing.

So I really wanted to like this book and the end was just enough of a redemption for me to be able to give it 2 stars instead of one. Let me start off with what I didn't like. Sydney, I just really didn't like Sydney for most of the book. I didn't feel a connection with her at all, I thought she was a spoiled selfish brat with anger management issues. I understand that Syd has had a hard life but her behavior was so over the top I didn't identify with her at all. Also, I can tell the author worked really hard to be descriptive and for the most part that was fine. It got to a point though that there was too much description and internal processing and not enough of what was going on around her. It really confused me because one moment she's in one place thinking and moaning and griping about everything and then the next she's somewhere differently. I didn't feel like I was journeying with Syd. Also, everything happened too fast. She meets Beau and 5 seconds later is professing her undying love. I don't mind the instant connection but I do mind the pouring out of heart and soul 2 seconds after meeting someone. For a character who was apparently all about self-preservation she did a really bad job of it. Plus, I HATE INTERRUPTERS and Syd is one big long interruption. She interrupts everyone, I wanted to smack her like 12 times and be like could you let other people talk please? I'm in your head, I get what you're thinking let the other person just talk! Plus the whole Rachel and Jesse, Jesse is dead, but then not dead. I was literally so confused. The end is what redeemed this book for me though. The end cleared up, I don't know if something started to click but the end started to suck me in. Sydney got nicer, and more protective and wasn't constantly yelling at people. She did take care of Henry and that was really nice because I spent the first part of the book wondering why I should like this girl. I don't know that I'd recommend this book but I would be willing to read the second to see if the improvements at the end continue on. I really wanted to like this book and so I'm sad I didn't enjoy it more

A very descriptive writing that I’m not really fond of. Dialogues however were a delight to read once I got to them. Our protagonist is a very sassy and strong headed teenager with a lot of issues and a load of sarcasm. As much as I loved her sarcasm I really didn’t care about what she was saying. I mean who the hell professes her love and attraction to a complete stranger in a graveyard when she’s about to be attacked by a panther? You just took out all the romantic suspense and everything Syd does or says from now on that is in contrary to that we and the other characters know she’s just putting on an act. Frankly I was ready to quit reading this book at that moment but I had to write a review so I forced myself to continue. I must say the idea for this book is good it’s just the writing that doesn’t do it for me. We’re not getting far with information. It’s lost there in the sea of sarcasm and repetitive dialogue. What I mean with repetitive dialogue is not that the words are repeated but the whole idea of holding a conversation. Everything that is said, Syd makes sarcastic remarks that lead nowhere in particular. It makes for a fun read when in moderation but this was a little too much for me. If all the unnecessary words were left out, we would be left with a third of the novel.