I am so excited that C.S. Humble has written these prequels. I’ve been longing for more of this Wild West of a world that he’s created since finishing the first trilogy.

Getting to know Ashley Sutliff better and diving into his backstory was so much fun. Jam packed full of adventure and heartbreak, this story is, from start to finish, an incredible prequel. Ashley’s bond with his brothers is so strong and I loved getting to see them interact and bicker as brothers do, but also seeing them fight the way only family will for each other was so special.

I’m already looking forward to the next book and am so happy these stories exist!

Atmospheric, intriguing and heartbreaking.

The Sutcliff brothers are easy to follow and very easy to care about.

Willow is sent by his mother to collect his older brother Ashleigh and bring him home to say goodbye to their father. Ashleigh did a lot of damage when he left and now he has to face his dying father, his mother and his youngest brother Ellery. As his father is dying, he finds out about a promise his father made years before that he is expecting Ashleigh to uphold. He learns of a world of werewolves and territory wars and pack lines. With Willow and Ellery, they head to Little Kansas to help prevent a supernatural war.

The setup for the rest of the trilogy was done very well, this book is well-paced and spot on in length. Every interaction felt important or relevant, and I'm really invested in the brothers and their story. I've not read anything by C.S Humble before but I'm eager to read more after this! I haven't read That Light Sublime trilogy as I didn't realise until I was already reading that some of the other characters are from that series. Honestly speaking, I don't think you need to have read the original trilogy to understand this at all. I loved how this was a fantasy in a western setting, not a usual pick for me, but the characters kept me reading! I really fell in love with them.

Thank you to Shortwave publishing for providing this book for review consideration via Netgalley! All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

To Carry a Body to Its Resting Place is grief horror at its absolute best. In a western setting, we follow brothers mourning the recent death of their father while they set out to deliver on a promise he made before he died-- to help a secret organization fight a supernatural threat.

I've said it before and I'll say it a million more times, C.S. Humble is the best living writer working today. Between his ability to deliver the sights, sounds, smells, and FEEL of a place, and his acumen for drawing characters that make you both believe in humanity and grieve for its shortfalls, I challenge any reader to find a contemporary equal.