Reviews of Bone Dressing

Sydney lost her parents when she was young and has been in foster care for half her life. While she has good foster parents, Quince and Jackie, she is forever in trouble in Michelle I. Brooks’ BONE DRESSING, book 1 of her BONE DRESSING series. Mr. Askew has been gunning for Sydney since she entered high school. She figures he is just an ass but an encounter in the cemetery where her parents are buried leads to the discovery that Mr. Askew is more than meets the eye. How will Sydney outplay him? Can she? Will her actions bring a world of hurt to someone close to her?

BONE DRESSING is the beginning of a Young Adult paranormal series. Much happens here and the world building is done on a need to know basis. I like Sydney. She is a kick-ass broad who must discover the past to fix the present and, possibly, the future. She fights every step of the way when Remy (Beau), Sarah, and TJ appear to her in the cemetery. She refuses their help and Remy is ready to let her go her own way but his little sister Sarah is not so Remy stays. Sydney finds out the hard way what Remy, Sarah, and TJ want with her. These are good characters. I especially like Remy and how Sydney softens around him. Sarah may seem like a child but she has backbone and can reach Sydney in ways others cannot. Sydney’s best friend, Patricia, is an enigmatic character. Just when I thought I knew her, I discover I did not. Mr. Askew, Sydney and Patricia’s teacher, is a villain I loved to hate. He is arrogant and nasty. He also knows the past that Sydney must piece together. How they fit is unclear.

At times the description overtakes the story line but I could picture the scenery so I was looking as the same thing Michelle I. Brooks was. I fell into the story. I questioned everything. Not a lot is revealed as to why things are happening. I understood what was happening but could not figure out why. The end of book one leaves me thirsting for book two. I cannot wait to delve more into this series.

It is the story of an almost-18-year-old teenager named Syd.
Syd is strong-willed, stubborn, and fiercely loyal to her best friend.
Adopted as a child, she likes to frequently visit her dead parents in the local cemetery, preferably in the middle of the night.
On one of her visits, after another troublesome day at school, she meets the mysterious Beau, his little sister Sarah, and their pet TJ (a black panther). They’re here to help her find clues and solve a karmic problem she’s been carrying through lives and time.
Narrated by Syd herself, ‘Bone Dressing’ is written with passion and reads with the familiarity of your own diary……. When you were a teenager.
I think I’ll have to read the next instalment of a young adult paranormal series. I really would like to know WHAT Syd is…….

E-book received from author for review (4 1/2 stars)

When the author sent me a request to review her book, I did what I usually do. Read the book description a few times – it sounded eerie and intriguing. For someone who hasn’t read YA (Young Adult) in many a year, I’ve read 3 in the last few months! To enjoy reading a book such as Bone Dressing, you really should be open minded. It’s not just a YA, it’s a Dark YA Paranormal Fantasy. Big difference. I read it in one one day (in between a series we are busy with which I don’t normally like to do) and quite honestly, I really, really enjoyed it. I sound a bit surprised and that’s because I was. Although it sounded like something just up my alley, you never know especially when it’s a book by a new author. I’m glad I was given the opportunity to read this one.

We meet Sydney Roberdeau, who can’t wait to turn 18, like most teenagers, and finally be free. She’s lost her parents and is living with her foster family. Syd is a complex girl in more ways than one. She’s constantly in trouble, spends her life being grounded and is hell bent on causing uphill – on a daily basis. She just can’t help it although she has moments where she tries really hard not to stir the pot – those are few and far between though. Some may not like her, but I took to her like a duck to water – she just clicked with me and not because I was ever rebellious, far from it although stubbornness may have something to do with it! Syd is rebellious but not purposefully nasty. There’s a difference, at least to me. Her snarkiness is to die for and had me laughing out loud numerous times throughout the book. Yes, I know it’s a dark paranormal fantasy but that doesn’t mean the characters can’t be funny! Syd spends more than half her free time at the cemetery, hanging around dead people and visiting her parents – Plot 1327-B, Home. This is where she feels alive and weirdly at peace – it fills her with a certain calm. On one of these evenings, she meets, Beau, Sarah and T.J. and is quite unimpressed with the intrusion. She tries really hard, in her sarcastic/funny way to get rid of them but Syd has met her match though, as Beau is not one to ride shotgun and gives as good as he gets. They have appeared for a purpose and proceed to enlighten Syd as to why they are there. You see, they will be her guides and protectors and her mission is to make right what she did wrong in past lives. Oh, AND all that is required is her soul. It’s needed to reanimate corpses hence the name Bone Dressing. T.J. who by the way is a big black panther – will inhale the soul out of her present body and place it in her previous life’s body - for a time. Once her task is complete, she will come back to who she is now. WHAT? Can her world be any more screwed up? She can barely keep her nose clean or her head above water in this one, let alone try and “fix” what went wrong in previous ones. But, she’s running out of time as there are some who don’t want her to accomplish any of this and they will do what’s necessary to stop her.

And so, without revealing any spoilers, the story continues with Syd realising that although she’s only just met Beau, it feels like she’s known him her whole life. He seems to calm her and for some reason, they are good for one another. Although this book may seem confusing to some, funnily enough, I found that it flowed beautifully and was easy to follow. But then, if a book is not being enjoyed, it might make it that much more difficult to connect with it and it’s characters. As I was interested right from the beginning – I read it in no time. This being the first book of seven, I can just imagine what Ms. Brooks has in store for Syd and her “gang” if Bone Dressing is anything to go by! One thing I do have to mention though is that, although I enjoyed this book immensely, there is a substantial amount of narrative and I only point this out as I personally prefer more interaction between the characters. Hopefully in the next installment, there is somewhat a bit more one on one rather than too much internal thought. Don’t get me wrong, although the narrative is substantial, it is still very well written. Michelle Brooks has a wonderful way with words.

My rating for this book is a delightful 4 ½ stars! Very well done. I look forward to #2.

Syd is a complex teenager. She’s had a crappy childhood and tends to get into trouble at school and with her put-upon foster parents. She likes to curse something fierce and is a loyal and a great friend to her best pal Patricia.

From the opening sentence the reader is sucked into Syd’s overloaded mind. Warning! There is a lot going on in there and you will need to pay constant attention to keep up with her rapid fire thoughts, but it’s worth it. Syd is headstrong, grouchy and loves hanging out at cemeteries and she is a big fan or rain and storms, all things I can relate to. (The cemetery part was back in my own teenage years just to point this out).

Enter the alluring Beau, the young Sarah and their pet panther and the paranormal aspect starts to kick in. I don’t want to give away the plot but suffice to say that these 3 aid Syd in going back (we’re talking way back) into her past to set things right.

I did find Syd’s ramblings confusing at times & somewhat frustrating but her fiery personality hooked me and I kept reading. As well as the supernatural elements, Brooks touches on more serious issues such as misuse of authority and sexual harassment and abuse. Syd exudes a tough-cookie attitude (I like to see this in female characters) and was a pleasure to follow, and I will most definitely be reading the next part in the Bone Dressing series.

First off, I absolutly loved the character Syd. I loved her snarky, sarcastic, tough-girl attitude. A few times I thought 'Oh wow, she sounds like me!" I felt bad for her in that she lost her parents at a young age and feels like she doesn't really belong, especially since she is still a teenager and is trying to find herself. No one seems to understand her, including her teachers, her foster parents, and most of the other students in her school, except for her longtime BF Patricia. Trouble seems to find Syd where ever she goes. Having never let herself really mourn the loss of her parents, she finds comfort in the local cemetery where they are buried. There she unexpectantly meets Beau, Sarah, and TJ, who will spin her life even more out of control and add more confusion to her already crazy life.

There seems to be so much going on in this story, a couple times I had a bit of trouble keeping track of where Syd was, or should I say who Syd was. There also seemed to be a lot of detail about what Syd was thinking. I would of loved more dialog between the characters. As I read further into the story, I was completely caught off guard with the story line. It is so much more than the book description. I really, really, really like this story line and the plot. I feel that there is a great potential with the next six books. I am hoping more information comes out about certain characters, including Beau, Sarah, and especially TJ, as I have a lot of unanswered questions and how they all fit into Syd and her past lives. Overall, I am anxious to read book two and would definitely recommend this read!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It had all the things I love in a book except maybe a decisive happy ending but that’s not really giving anything away so don’t get mad! It has romance, a completely hot guy that’s technically available, spooks, romance, cliff hangers, really bad guys, romance, and lots of mysterious goings on. I liked reading it from beginning to end.

For me, I’d have left the relationship stuff out. I get why it was necessary but I really wanted to just read the great story without having to think about what was like back when I was a teen going through that crap.

A definite read list book. A lot of fun and a couple of really cool twists kept me on my toes and interested through the whole thing. Can’t wait to read more.

Syd has a lot of inner-conflict to defeat before she can take on the villain after her, and Michelle Brooks has it down in its very best poetic take.

This is a darker take on YA that you may find to be a welcome change from the norm. If you are or have ever been a teen who didn't have it easy, this is the perfect book for you. If you're still hugging all your stuffed animals however, you might find Syd's character a bit more tricky to connect with.

Fate is going to help Syd out, only it won't be in a way she wants. It will be in a much more challenging way--by throwing her into her past life, so she might have a better chance at getting her present-one figured out.

Finding love will help set her on the right path, and the discovery of her secret talent. But that won't shift her perspective to include any pink bunny rabbits.

Up against the villain in here, that will prove to be a good thing.