Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️
Bone of My Bone is a historically-set Religious Horror novel set during the time of the Thirty Years’ War. It’s Sapphic, contains a lot of gore, and also some really interesting elements stemming from Germanic Folklore.
We follow Ursula, a nun, and a peasant girl named Elsebeth. Both women are fleeing from marauding soldiers. Ursula has fled her convent, and Elsebeth, after the loss of her entire family, is trying to make her way to her Aunt’s home.
They meet on the road after Elsebeth jumps in to protect Ursula from an attacking soldier. Once they’re safe, the women have a chat, and decide it would be safer for them both if they travel together. Safety in numbers, and all that.
Keeping to the woods in the hopes they won’t be spotted by any more soldiers, they happen upon a dying man. He’s clutching a glass box, within which lies the gilded skull of a Saint. Ursula immediately recognizes it for what it is, and also knows that it’s said that if you reunite the Saint’s skull with it’s body, you’ll be granted a wish.
In these horrific times, both women have a lot to wish for. They discuss it a bit, and decide they have nothing to lose. It’s worth a shot. Thus, they scoop up the reliquary and begin their quest.
There’s a map to where the Saint’s body is said to be, but there’s certainly a lot of ground to cover. Unfortunately, the dangers on the road are plentiful, and it’s not just the soldiers they need to fear. There’s also a Necromancer, drawn to the power of the skull, who is hot on their heels.
Will they be able to survive the dangers of the road, dodge the Necromancer and be able to reunite the Saint’s skull with her body? There’s only one way to find out.
Johanna van Veen has done it again!
This is such an excellent blend of Historical, Religious and Folk Horror. The setting is rich with detail, gritty and brutal. There’s dirt, grime, gore, blood, and everything in between.
Ursula and Elsebeth were both well-developed and I found their quest to be gripping. Gore is mentioned-above, and I loved how gory it was, but I also appreciated the softer character moments than van Veen included.
I was a bit intimidated by this going in, but instantly found it so accessible. I had concerns it would be challenging, I think because I found the synopsis a little confusing. Nevertheless, I had nothing to be concerned about.
Having the quest gave the story great focus, and also allowed Ursula and Elsebeth to bond more quickly due to their reliance upon one another for safety.
I’ve heard some people mention it’s too heavily-focused on religion, and understand people having those opinions, but I feel like it makes sense due to the historical context of the story, and Ursula’s role within the church as a nun.
The Thirty Years’ War is such a horrible period of history, and it’s not one I’ve read a lot about in a fictional way. I liked that van Veen chose that time period. It’s certainly made me more curious about that war and to imagine what life was like during that time is truly horrifying.
This is only the 2nd-novel I’ve read from van Veen, but she’s quickly jumped the ranks of my go-to authors list. I still need to read My Darling Dreadful Thing. I have a feeling I’m going to love that one just as much.
Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to get a hard copy of this for my shelves!!