Book Review: Bones and Bourbon by Dorian Graves

Title: Bones and Bourbon
Author: Dorian Graves
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: April 23, 2018
Heat Level: 1 - no sex
Pairing: No Romance
Length: 102000
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Ace, bisexual, trans, faeries, dark, immortals

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39803020-bones-and-bourbon

Synopsis:

Half-huldra Retz Gallows is having an awful day. First, he wakes up in the middle of driving to who-knows-where with an angry unicorn head in his passenger seat. This is almost normal, thanks to a lifetime of sharing a body with Nalem, a bone-controlling spirit with a penchant for wicked schemes and body-stealing joyrides. It’s probably a bad idea to ask what else could go wrong.

Jarrod Gallows left home with plans to rescue his little brother from possession. Instead, he got saddled with a dead-end job as a paranormal investigator, a Faerie curse, and a daredevil boyfriend who might be from another world. At least he’s got a new job—except why is his brother Retz here and why does this sudden reunion feel more like a bane than a blessing?

This day’s going to get worse for the Gallows brothers before it gets better. To survive, they’ll have to escape the forces controlling them, as well as the wrath of carnivorous unicorns, otherworldly realms, and even their own parents. Only time will tell if they’ll make it out alive…or sober.

My Review:

This is one tasty tale. Very dark, smeared with blood, riddled with violence and a portrayal of the Fae exactly as they should be; sinister and deadly - occasionally kind, but usually with an asking price. Of note - if you're a unicorn fan - buyer beware. These one horned wonders are deadly beasts, and our main characters dispose of them with deadly accuracy.

So what's it all about? 

The story sways back and forth between two brothers, Jarrod and Retz. Both are Fae born, being half human and half Huldra.

STOP. 

Wait... 

What? 

What the hell is a Huldra? Here, read this: http://spangenhelm.com/huldra-folklore-lady-forest/

Exactly. Extra credit points to Graves. Whenever I pick up a book promising tales of Fae creatures we are usually treated to the normal fare: Elves, Faeries, Gnomes, and Trolls - the creatures we have come to be familiar with. We are also quite often treated to werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and witches. And there's nothing wrong with that - but that's not this book. This is all new kids. This takes Fae creatures from vastly different cultures than ours and plants them squarely into our world. My ignorance of such beings gave this novel a surprising amount of 'newness'.

Ever heard of Furaribi? Well, I hadn't either! Turns out, they are Japanese in origin. Have a look: http://yokai.wikia.com/wiki/Furaribi 

I was completely smitten with this aspect of the book. Finally, something completely different. And so clever!  As Hulderkind these two brothers have genetic traits that mark them as not being human, but also not entirely Fae either. For instance, Jarrod - well, he's got brute strength, a tail, and heals remarkably fast, but he retained all of his inner organs - oh, and he's Transgender too. His brother, on the other hand, Retz is hollow, like his mother - although he does have a skeleton - but doesn't have the tail. He is even more remarkable in that he plays host to another creature. That's right, Retz is possessed. And what makes it even more interesting, is that Nalem, the King of Bones, can take over Retz's body and that's where the whole tale starts. 

Retz wakes up after his possessor releases him, only to find himself driving a car, with a Unicorn head (that's still alive) bouncing around in the passenger seat.  Never mind the Unicorn is trying to kill him. That's beside the point.

The whole book is like this. Steeped with twisted creatures, attempting to do the impossible tasks - like taking down a lamia and her menagerie of Fae captives - all while trying to satisfy the brother's father, Alexander, who sometime in the past, gave up his humanity and became Fae - a plant-based creature.

The novel is written with gorgeous visuals, bizarre twists, and at times is as gruesome as the original Grimm's Fairy Tales. Imagine a train created out of flesh and blood, lacking a brain, and regularly spraying blood from a split vein? After all, it's creator is Nalem's sister, Vairi, who is Bloody Mary.

If you're on the prowl for different, check this out! And it looks like Graves is making a cluster out of this as Bones and Bourbon is book number one in the Deadly Drinks series.

Well done!

My Rating:

Purchase Links:

NineStar Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/bones-and-bourbon/

Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/fm87hg

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/817760

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bones-and-bourbon-dorian-graves/1128527060

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bones-and-bourbon

Meet the Author:

Much like Sasquatch and other local cryptids, Dorian Graves can supposedly be found in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. Few have ever seen Dorian, but investigators have found trails of plot notes scribbled on receipt paper if they followed the distant sounds of old Blue Öyster Cult albums long enough. There have also been reports of Dorian lurking around the Mills College campus in Oakland, CA, where Dorian was last seen scurrying away with a B.A. in English/Creative Writing. Dorian occasionally crawls out of the woodworks with offerings of fiction, strange and fantastical stories with equal parts humor and horror, but often retreats quickly unless bribed with coffee and bad puns.

When not writing or working “the other day job,” Dorian lives with a romantic partner and a mischievous cat. Dorian Graves can be convinced to sit still if given art supplies, games of all sorts, or a selection from the ever-growing TBR pile. Dorian can be more reliably found on www.doriangraves.com, where one can find artwork, fiction, and whatever inane topic Dorian feels like rambling about this week.

Author Links:

Website: https://doriangraves.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DorianGravesFTW