Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market — until she’s betrayed.

Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” But when her mom brings home a live specimen, Nita decides she wants out — dissecting living people is a step too far.

But when she tries to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold on the black market in his place — because Nita herself is a supernatural being. Now Nita is on the other side of the bars, and there is no line she won’t cross to escape and make sure no one can ever capture her again.

Nita did a good deed, and it cost her everything. Now she’s going to do a lot of bad deeds to get it all back.

 

This was hella weird – but in a good way?

 

I wouldn’t be exaggerating at all when I say that NOT EVEN BONES is my most anticipated 2018 YA read (and I say YA because there’s Queen Schwab’s VICIOUS coming out, which is adult). I mean, dissecting monsters and selling them online to shady customers? *crashes though the door to enter dramatically*. I AM SO HERE FOR THIS. Plus, you know, one of the comp titles for this one was Schwab’s This Savage Song, and I mean … come ON. This is guaranteeing my interest.

 

 

 

 

 

And really, this was rather fun. There is a sufficient does of action sequences and moral-questioning and break outs and etc. One of the coolest things ever, too, was the fact that this was set in the Amazon rainforest?? Like, why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?? I love this.

 

 

 

Nita is a fabulous lead. She’s vulnerable enough for a story this bloody, and her reactions are realistic (<— something that proved no longer a concern to me, because I like my heroines realistically vulnerable, especially with all the body chopping going on). Also, Nita’s talk of how dissecting brings her inner peace did not, in fact, strike me as weird because let me tell you: lab dissections are the most fun activities ever in the hellish things that are college courses. I love ‘em. Yay for dissection appreciation.*

 

*ALSO. I’m hiiiighly debating posting a pic of one my lab dissections from my bio course? Maybe? It’s a split-open rat, if y’all wonder. (Okay fine I won’t add it here. DM me or something if you’re curious, I guess, but my aesthetic here on JAAW is flowers and such, and dissected rats kinda ruin that, I admit).

 

 

 

The plot went in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. And I don’t mean plot-twist wise. I expected more .. action, a la THIS SAVAGE SONG (also: Kovit felt a bit toooo similar to August with the whole eats pain/eats soul thing? Maybe? Idk.) This was more of a escaping, planning thing, which is fine. It IS a thriller, but without much running and shooting things? More like lock-picking and escaping. Still fun! But not what I expected.

 

 

Heads up: this was legit a gore fest. There was ear slicing and toe dicing and skin eating and all sorts of blood galore. And, shockingly, it even bothered ME, and I’m usually not really bothered by blood ‘n guts, honestly. But here? Y’all, I legit nearly threw up. Like, really. So heads up, because when this book says dark, it means dark. It ain’t kidding. So kudos on taking its subject matter seriously, but it’s a fact that should be known.

 

All in all? Fun, hella bloody, and with an ending that just WOAH-ed me. Pass me book two, please and thank you.

Thanks to HMH Teen for the ARC!