Emily Lloyd-Jones

Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Sky in the Deep in this bewitching historical horror novel, perfect for fans of Holly Black and V.E. Schwab. Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead. The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good? Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the deeply-buried truths about themselves. Equal parts classic horror novel and original fairy tale, The Bone Houses will have you spellbound from the very first page. An instant IndieBound bestseller!

The Bone Houses

Minnie Mazuera

"Pain doesn't make a person weak or strong," she said. "Pain just-is. It's not a purifier, it's part of living."

Elena M.

Death’s something of a frightening thing to most people. They like a bit of distance between them and eternity.

She knew how things died. And in her darkest moments, she feared she did not know how to live.

This was the truth of the forest—it was life and death in equal measure. Brimming with acorns and berries, yet beneath the fallen leaves were the bodies of animals that had not survived.

The living had a tendency to make promises they could not keep.

If I come across a problem, I take my axe to it. Or bury it. I’m good at burying things.

Part of him wondered if he liked maps because they were a reassurance. A promise that he would never again be without a path.

“Pain doesn’t make a person weak or strong,” she said. “Pain just—is. It’s not a purifier, it’s part of living.”

“Yes,” she answered. “I grew up thinking monsters could be slain.” “Ah,” he said. “And I grew up thinking people were the monsters.”

Home was taste and smell and sensation. It was not a place.

The Bone Houses quotes

Join the club