'All the Murmuring Bones’ is a beautifully atmospheric tale, winding folklore and fantasy together to create something dark and gothic. There are family secrets, lapsed bargains, a crumbling fortune – and at the heart of it all, a young woman who just wants to be free. The tale winds slowly, filled with lingering descriptions, painting a vivid picture tinged with the salt of the sea.

Miren’s grandmother, Aoife, is the last of the O’Malley’s – a family who prospered due to a bargain struck with the mer. All their ships would have safe passage across the sea in return for one child sacrificed per generation. However, pride in the bloodline has become their downfall – generations of intermarriage have left producing enough healthy children impossible, with Aoife only able to bare one child. With the bargain broken, the legacy is collapsing: the O’Malley fortune has dwindled to nothing. Miren is left to bare the burden of the family misfortune. Trapped by her grandmother’s scheming, Miren desperately seeks a way out – but in a family full of secrets, there’s only so far she can go.

Miren makes an excellent protagonist. Shrewd and determined, she fights for what she wants the quiet way – biding her time, outwardly appearing to acquiesce whilst secretly gathering information and plotting her next move. She’s spent her entire life under her grandmother’s thumb, experiencing cool disinterest rather than warm affection – but she loves her family, and wars with contrasting desires to protect the family legacy and tear down every root of it. She has her weaknesses – but she knows them, every last flaw, and she turns them into weapons. Miren might not outwardly seem like the most special or talented woman, but if there’s someone you don’t want as your enemy then it’s her.

The writing takes a little time to adjust to, but once it draws you in it’s exquisite. The first chapters are packed with dense descriptions, and the plot ambles around them like a man picking his way through the fog – but eventually, the book ensnares you and leaves you enraptured. This is very much a novel about atmosphere rather than plot. The story is solid – an arranged marriage in exchange for a fortune, a secret kept for decades, a journey full of magical creatures and ethereal encounters – but not what lingers. Instead, it’s the eerie images of mer watching on from the sea, witches hiding behind herbs and smiles, ghosts of abandoned cottages preying on weary travellers, that make this book what it is.

There’s also an element of story within a story. The O’Malleys have a book of stories, passed down through generations. There are tales of dealing with the mer, of selkies giving up their pelts, of witchcraft and herblore and – above all – the importance of family. It’s never clear how much is fact and how much fiction, but Miren grew up with these stories and remembers them in times of hardship. They’re a source of comfort – the O’Malleys are children of the sea, and the sea protects its own. Each story is as beautiful as the tale which contains them, and they add a wonderful extra element.

The main weakness ‘All the Murmuring Bones’ has is the same thing which creates its lingering atmosphere, and that’s the descriptions. It takes a long time to get past the pages and pages of description and settle into the story, and even once there, it can detract from key moments of the plot. Personally, I found this a very minor thing – the writing is beautiful, and I adore books which create an atmosphere – but I suspect some readers will find it too slow going and tedious. If you’re the sort of reader who wants action to create tension, this isn’t the book for you.

Overall, ‘All the Murmuring Bones’ is a delightfully gothic tale that would feel right at home in a book of fairytales from several centuries ago. Recommended for fans of eerie stories and classical folklore: especially those which focus on the quiet power of women who have been wronged.

All the Murmuring Bones is considered to be a dark gothic fairytale following the O'Malleys, the once-powerful family.

The O'Malleys' prosperity is the fruition of the bargain with the Merfolk: safety for their ships in return for a child of each generation.

However, the O'Malleys' bloodline faltered and their power and wealth started to decline as they ceased to do their part of the bargain. Every new generation of the family stopped offering a child of theirs and in turn their own bloodline is on the verge of extinction

It wasn't until Aoife O'Malley made up her mind about restoring the O'Malley's glory through her granddaughter, Miren.

18-year-old Miren O'Malley is the last O'Malley daughter and her grandmother has kept her in isolation to keep her pure for the marriage mart. Abandoned by her parents when she was little, Miren cares little about restoring her family's glory and detests the matrimonial project her grandmother is forcing her into. Especially if she is engaged to an ambitious and greedy man like <b>Aidan Fitzpatrick</b> who wants nothing but to assert his dominance and take the reins of Miren's life.

Miren begins to suspect the mystery surrounding her parents' deaths, if they are actually dead, and it set in motion Miren's journey towards uncovering the dark truths and mysteries tied to her family.

Whatever soul I might have, O'Malley though I might be, it is mine and I'll not sell it at any price.

I think the premise of this book set my expectations way too high that I found myself sorely disappointed with how the story turned out.

It wasn't that the story was not good or did not have great potential... but it's just that the story lost me many times.

It was a struggle to get through some chapters and when I am getting less invested in the story and more focused on getting through some pages to see what happens later, that shows that there wasn't much that I enjoyed.

There were some gripping moments but they did not make up for the overall boring experience that I had with this book.

It had an amazing potential if it were not for how heavy and erratic the flow of the story was. There were some really heavy chapters to get through especially the earlier ones. I was expecting more fantastical elements within the story, it felt disjointed with the story.

It felt to me that the author neglected creating a connection between the heroine and the reader and thus I was not really into the heroine's journey.

But I have to praise the eerie and dark atmosphere the author creates because I liked that.

I think it's fair to give it a 3-star rating.

Miren O’Malley was orphaned as a young child and brought up by her grandparents on their isolated, rambling estate, Hob’s Hallow. Long ago her family prospered due to a deal struck with the mer: safety for their merchant ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and their fortunes have suffered as a result.

This book is very dark, twisty, and full of supernatural mystery! This book is a book within a book with all the stories shared from Miren's family book. It has a lovely home/comfort feel to it. If you like anything with witches, mermaids, or supernatural, then this is a good start!

The beginning was a struggle - possibly needs editing/tweaking as the flow does not seem right and may put others off or stop reading. I would not say there was a real structure either and often flows all over. Despite all of this, it is still worth sticking with and reading.

I'm glad I stuck with this, because I was not feeling it in the beginning. It came off as dry, boring even, and left me wondering if it would ever get interesting. I would recommend some editing to make the beginning more enjoyable and to make the reader want to continue and be invested in the story.

When the journey finally begins and pieces start clicking into place with those aha moments, you realize what a darkly beautiful story this is. I love when a book surprises me, and there were some things that happened that I didn't predict or expect, which makes the shocking reveal even more exciting.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.