Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Review: Ivory And Bone

Ivory And Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: June 7th, 2016
Source: Edelweiss
Date Read: 5/17/16 to 5/21/16
384 pages
Rating: 


A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I am really hesitant to write this review. Really hesitant.


I guess you can say that I read this because of the hype. I honestly did not read the blurb carefully, all I saw was a prehistoric setting and that's what got me hooked. So I guess, my disclaimer is that I didn't know this would be solely focused on relationships (and that is totally my bad).

Kol is part of a clan, one that has a serious lack of women. They are on the constant lookout for other clans, so when another family makes their way up north for a visit, there's a huge celebration. And of course, Kol is captivated by "you", Mya, even though "you" kind of aren't. But then you are! Later. Oh and then there's this huge backstory between "your" clan and another clan, in which another girl named Lo wants revenge.


I promise there is more to that then the paragraph above. Maybe.

I'm really disappointed with how this turned out, sadly. First off, the novel is written in second person. I honestly did not mind it in the beginning, but I think after awhile, it started to get on my nerves. It did not help that this was the first published book that incorporated second person, so I just wasn't used to it. (Fun fact, I wrote a short story in high school that was in second person. It wasn't that good though hahahah).

But more importantly. Nothing happened. I was BORED. Kol meets Mya, clans go hunting for mammoth, saber tooth cat tries to eat everyone (if only this actually happened, spoiler, it did not), Kol visits Mya, Mya appears a lot, marriage drama. It really wasn't until 61% did the plot reveal itself, and by then, it just wasn't enough. The synopsis (which I finally read after I finished) does mention allusions to Pride and Prejudice. And it's true, I actually can see aspects of it in Ivory and Bone, but just on the surface.


On the other hand, how is this a prehistoric fantasy? I didn't even know this was classified as such, until I talked about the book with MC @ Blame It On The Books. At most, I could say it's alternate history, but this wasn't a fantasy at all? Maybe I am just too used to fantasy worlds being completely different from our own, whether it is historical or in the present.

I was really looking forward to Ivory and Bone, and I have myself to blame for not enjoying this. I guess this is a reminder that I should read book blurbs more often! (Although I love going in blind).

Comments (26)

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Another one bites the dust! Chalk another one for the false hype pile...
It's so annoying how most hyped books are nothing but disappointments. Sorry this one didn't work for you. Hope your next one is a winner Val :)
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
I was excited about this one because of the prehistoric setting too, but now I'm a little scared. I'm not a huge fan of books written in second person either, but well, you warned me so I'll be prepared! I have to confess that I'm not the best either at reading blurbs, I read them when I add the book to my TBR and then forget... So you're not the only one, haha. Great review Val, I hope your next read will be better! :)
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1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
I was curious about this one because of the prehistoric setting too. I mean there's so much potential right there. But how weird that the book is told in 2nd person. I've read one book like that, but I did it on audio and the dude was a creeper, so it made sense. Here it doesn't seem to make much sense.
I avoided requesting this one because most books this year have failed to truly impress me, and I'm glad I did. Such a bummer though because it could have been amazing.
Sorry this didn't work for you, Val!
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1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Oh no! I have this on my TBR and haven't read it yet. Dammit! Great review anyways!
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1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Great review! It's sad that it didn't live up to your expectations. I'm not really sure how I feel about the second person.. I'm not really sure how it would work out...

I think I may still give this a try, but through my library.

Thanks Val for the great review!
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Second person? I had no idea it was written in second person, and honestly, I think that alone has made me want to just take this off my TBR. It's just SO awkward for me to read. I'm sorry that you were disappointed by this one!
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1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Jazmen Greene's avatar

Jazmen Greene · 472 weeks ago

That is so so disappointing. I have this to review and I was like awww yeah! I'm gonna like this one, and now I am nervous. Very nervous.
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Yeah, this isn't fantasy. Of any kind. Prehistoric or otherwise. I... I don't even know what this is? I think I liked it a bit more than you, but that's really only because I was waiting for the mammoth stomping and subsequent POV ;) No, I mean, I liked the setting. And um... the cat? 😂 I kid, I kid. But yeah, definitely not what I was expecting either, and I must say, I am glad that you (and Holly!) are black sheeping with me on this one!
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1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Oh man, I'm not a very big fan of second person, I've always found it awkward and irritating for some reason. I actually decided not to read this based on the premise itself...it didn't intrigue me at all. I can't handle books based only on relationships, and for a book set in pre-historic times, it seems like such a waste, doesn't it? Bwah. Also, the hype! THE HYPE. I'm avoiding hyped books completely :P Thanks for the review, Val, I'm staying far away from this one :P
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
Why did I click on this thinking, 'oh, a new review from Val—exciting!'. You shouldn't allow me on your blog anymore, or maybe you should. Somehow I always end up taking more books off my TBR.
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
I can only guess this one got published because the only other prehistorical romance I'm aware of is really popular (it's an adult series). I am already put off by the second person narration - I have only ever seen that done well ONCE (in The Fifth Season), otherwise it reminds me of those Goosebump choose your own death type books. Another book unworthy of its hype, then? And surely one I will skip.
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
It definitely sounds like this one promised you an amazing prehistoric fantasy, but nothing much happened for most of the novel. Second person narration is really awkward, I've encountered it before in a few other books and it's not my favourite (except for in YOU).
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1 reply · active 470 weeks ago
It's kind of funny that you mentioned this not feeling very "prehistoric" because that's one of the main reasons I avoided it initially (now it's more because I'm deeply suspicious of a book with a fantasy prehistory setting AND elements of Pride and Prejudice). I sometimes like books in second person because they have a really interesting immediacy but I could see how it could get grating if not handled well or if it's not used sparingly. Thanks for the thorough review. I always love reading dissenting opinions!
1 reply · active 470 weeks ago

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