SPFBO made me read this book and this is great, because outside of SPFBO, I wouldn’t have given it a chance. The cover, whilst lovely, is just too cute for my reading tastes. The blurb is good but it doesn’t tell me about The Thing that I really liked in this book. In the end, it turns out, Hills of Heather and Bone could have been sold to me based on trigger warnings alone.

Ye gods, this one was just so morbid and I LOVED it. The prose is exquisite and with this book I had that feeling I am always chasing as I read – pure, unadulterated reading joy. It absolutely helped that the characters, the plot and the looming sense of danger at every moment kept me engaged and wondering. For me, the pace was perfect, the cuts from action to reflection were perfectly smooth. Hard as I try to come up with a complaint, I am unsuccessful. It’s one of those comfort books that gave me everything – respite from reality in the sweet and simple moments and my need for action and for something different was well met with the bloodgifted and the conspiracy surrounding the boneweavers. The added depth was provided through a spiritual journey that the characters find themselves upon. A journey of hardship and grief, which through sadness and anger lead us gently towards acceptance and newly found strength. Beautiful story arc and character development.

Hills of Heather and Bone didn’t shy away from tackling 2 huge negative elements that every society has – prejudice and fear of the unknown. It was the focus of the whole conspiracy surrounding boneweavers and yet it wasn’t something that popped at you at all times, it was more like an undercurrent of the story but nonetheless effective. So, as you can tell, quite a few heavy hitting points. Which takes me to my next observation…

More often than not, it’s very jarring when authors throw us into the emotional deep-end right away at the start of the story because the connection to the character(s) has not had a chance to form yet. So, it was really interesting for me that whilst this story takes a pretty immediate deep dive into very personal matters, I didn’t feel disconnected. I was straight into it. How? Why? This was new to me because I was emotionally invested from page 1 and I found it curious. But pleasantly surprising.

If I was to mention another small aspect from this book, then there is something that may divide the camp, and that’s Morana’s arthritis pains. Some readers may find that this is mentioned too often and I am here to give voice to the opposite side – for me, the frequent reminders of Morana’s pains were not an annoyance nor did I find them overdone. I found them quite close to reality because you can’t switch this type of pain off and if it tends to annoy some readers due to how often it’s mentioned, then yeah… Author has done their job. It’s not something that can be switched off. 

Lastly, the centrepiece of the book – death. In Hills of Heather and Bone, death is a part of Morana and death plays a huge part in the whole book. Whatever she does and wherever she goes, her life is centred on death. I think Morana’s story and the other boneweavers’ connection to death and dying – it was a beautiful way to address this very final part of life and what it’s like after. The celebration of a life after it has been snuffed out – through stories or pictures or cooking. The things that we remember our loved ones by when they have passed. I loved that little detail. 

Hills of Heather and Bone is an eloquent gem which I loved from start to finish. There’s something to be said about the Celtic influences, mostly of Scottish origin with some Irish mixed in. There’s no denying that anything Celtic immediately adds an air of mysterious and otherworldly which is hard to resist. But, what is The Thing that the book blurb didn’t tell me about? I think it would be hard to put into words, in something as short as a blurb, the particular charm Hills of Heather and Bone has. It tiptoes in between death and life, the sad and joyous. It leaves you at once emotionally shook and content. Thus, I will join with all of the voices that say this book has charm – and that charm has a purple hue and it whispers of death.