The Bone Mother has been on my shelf for a few months and I picked it up this week to go ahead and read. It's got dark folklore, Ukranian/Romanian creepiness, and an overall vibe that can be a little unsettling. That's what pulled me into the book initially. But now that I am done reading it, I don't feel one way or another. I don't even feel like I read it and I am left a little empty. This review will be slightly different format than others. So here we go.

What I liked:
-I really enjoyed the overall concept of the book and being introduced to all sorts of creatures and mythological beings and whatnot from another culture
-I think that the drawings and black and white photos that preface each story are haunting and amazing in a way that is similar to Miss Peregrine's for those who have also read or seen those books
-Demchuk writes with such a unique, eerie, and almost poetic style
-The cover of this book is STUNNING and I love every single thing about that!

What I did not like:
-I could not connect to a single story. The stories I found myself wanting to be further engaged ended in 2-3 pages whereas the stories that bored me mercilessly tended to drone on for page after page
-I am unsure why this book had a part one and a part two? They never seemed to fully connect to me and maybe that went over my head, I am not sure. But I find myself trying to make these stories connect to a bigger picture and it shouldn't be that difficult. I should be enjoying and relishing in the stories themselves not trying to make sense of them. (This could just be on me)
-I rarely felt that anything happened. Al the stories just seemed to be a precursor to some bigger, darker story and just did not feel complete to me. Over half the time when the story/chapter ended I found myself thinking, "Hmm, so that's over now...?"
-I simply wanted more. The creatures and mythological beings seemed to be talked around in circles sometimes but I did not get a full sense of them. I know that folklore is a little loosey-goosey and there are lots of ambiguous aspects to them, but these are stories based on folklore and myths... I think Demchuk could have delved a little deeper for fiction's sake.

I am still not sure if I am settling on a 2.5 or a 3, so my star rating will just round up to 3 at this point. I think I am the odd review here in a jumble of 3-5 star ratings. I did almost DNF this book twice even. There are plenty of positive reviews out there to read as well. I am not one to discourage anyone to read a book ever, as we all have our own tastes and fetishes, but this book was just not for me.

Thanks to Chizine Publications for sending copies of this book to the Nightworms to read and review!