Dramatic storytelling featuring sharp characters with a fabulous plot ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Legend Press for the opportunity to read and review this book ! Opinions are solely mine alone ! #Netgalley #LegendPress #SeaOfBones

I did not really care for this book. It's a slow burn for me and it was really hard for me to get into it. I know there are a lot out there that love that style of book and I would recommend it if you do!

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Sea of Bones, Deborah O'Donoghue's debut novel, is a slow-burn psychological thriller with a whole lot of intrigue and some great characters; for a debut, it certainly marks the beginning of the career of an author to watch. The plot is complex with lots going on and for that reason, you have to have your wits about you whilst reading, but as I enjoy a challenge this was a welcome surprise for me as opposed to off-putting. There is a lot more substance to this book than many other thrillers and the breadth and depth really kept me both interested and gripped from beginning to end. It's well written and plotted with a sophisticated subtlety rarely found in the genre today.

The differing perspectives help make the story more rounded and the short chapters make it easy to read "just one more" before bed; both are executed in an adept fashion. There are a few well-placed twists throughout and the author doesn't shy away from exploring deeper real-world issues including topical societal and political problems. More precisely she touches on mental health, suicide, child sexual exploitation, loss and grief. One of my favourite parts, though, has to be the beautiful Scottish setting. The descriptions are vivid and evocative and added a unique atmosphere which I adored.

If you appreciate thrillers that keep you on your toes then I'm willing to bet you'll find much to love here. Many thanks to Legend Press for an ARC.

I enjoyed reading this book from the first to the last page. A good premise well executed. Plenty of twists and turns to keep me interested. I would definitely recommend this novel and look forward to her next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

This novel is set between Inverness, Elgin and along the Moray coast. The author treats us to beautifully descriptive writing allowing us to visualise the Scottish coastline. We gain insight into what life is like in Inverness and Elgin in stark contrast to the characters main home in London. During our first introductions to Juliet (the main character) we someone who is struggling to come to terms with her nieces death. She is adamant that her niece wouldn’t commit suicide , not without talking to at least one member of her family. Everyone around her thinks she has become obsessive with her reasoning and she is slowly starting to question her own mental health. She is paranoid about it already, her twin sister has bipolar disorder and is aware of the statistics of twins being especially at risk.

Juliet is a wonderfully realistic character, she has strengths, weaknesses, personal quirks and flaws. This character is so different from others I have recently read, it was very refreshing. Juliet was in her 40’s and it was wonderful to have a more mature heroine, she had lived a successful life and had the benefit of life experience in tackling the event of her niece’s death.

I think the main influences in Juliet’s life were Beth, her niece and Fiona Goldman, her boss. She definetly became a better person when Beth came along and helped bring her up while her sister was ill with bipolar. Fiona spurs her on to be the best she can be in her career and has learned everything she knows from her. She was grounded and settled with both influences but now Beth’s dead and Fiona’s career is in tatters – can Juliet hold it all together?

In this heartbreaking story of loss and a woman’s journey from grief to uncovering a well buried secret. Juliet learns to be persistent, to follow your gut instinct and never giving up. When you feel something isn’t right it usually isn’t.

There were instances that the the story was very slow – probably up to around 60%. I struggled to get through it but after that point the story seemed to unfold more. The writing was good, with excellent eye to detail in her descriptions. For me personally, i didn’t think that the story connected very well between Beth’s death and the secret that was revealed towards the end. I found it a bit unrealistic, especially considering the location of the story and the nature of Beth.

I gave this 3 stars. It’s a decent read, just for me it didn’t work to it’s full potential. It was well written, I didn’t feel shocked at the twists and turns that the book provided.

3 STARS

I liked this one a lot. It had a good plot and an atmospheric setting with enough twists and turns to keep you interested.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Title: Sea of Bones
Author: Deborah O’Donoghue
Publisher: Legends Press
Pages: 288

Disclaimer: I received this advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It in no way influences my rating.

Review:
In Deborah O’Donaghue’s debut novel we explore a psychologist thriller with many social and political themes tied in. This is a fast paced book that will keep you on your toes. I enjoyed the third person narrative as it helped keep track of all of the characters introduced. Some characters I felt were unnecessary and only distracted from the plot, but overall I enjoyed it. I really liked how mental health was portrayed, however some of the themes of the book were slightly disturbing and could be triggering for some. I would read this book knowing that before you go into it. Solid 3.5 star rating for this quick thriller!

You can purchase your copy of this book on Amazon on July 1st, 2019!

Thank you netgalley for sending me this book to reveiw. It was well written with a good plot to the storyline. Very enjoyable

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book!

Juliet is haunted by the death of her niece, Beth. Deep down, she feels that she didn't die by suicide, as the police report shows. So what really happened?

This book is a rollercoaster. So much happens, and yet, at the same time, the novel drags on. The first half is very dry and seems to take forever to slog through, and the second half just throws tons of information at the reader. I honestly thought that it wasn't paced well, and that too many things were going on to make it cohesive. Suicide, rock starts, politics, child sex rings, mental illness...all this and more happened in the space of one book. It was a little too much.

I received “Sea of Bones” by Deborah O’Donoghue as ARC.
The protagonist, Juliet, has come home to Scotland for her niece’s funeral and begins investigating whether it was suicide or foul play.

The story was interesting but I had a difficult time with the short chapters and changes in narrators. Overall, it was an okay mystery/thriller.

This started well, a young woman’s body is found on a remote beach. However, I really struggled to engage with the writing style as it seems to jump about.

I appreciate the opportunity to preview, thanks to Netgalley and the publishers. Just couldn’t really get into it. Sorry!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was so so and it was hard at times to get through. It seemed like too many side characters and subplots, some where introduced and never mentioned again, and the narrative never really came together. Solid three