Gnaw Bone Heartstrings

by Kinsey Presley-Hornung

Many considered Wenn Wells to be a miracle born in the shadow of the zombie apocalypse. Despite appearing otherwise human, she can absorb pain from others with just a touch. This gift weighs heavy on her shoulders, but it’s never been so necessary for humanity's survival. In the wake of tragedy, her ability brings her to the war front, where soldiers fight desperately to keep the undead at bay. But humanity is tired, and the dead remain mysterious and unrelenting. After an exceptionally brutal attack, Wenn rushes to save a man whose leg has been torn from his body. But upon touching him, she realizes not only is he not in pain, he doesn't feel anything at all. In fact, he doesn't even feel human. Realizing he’s not alone in his strangeness, the lying soldier suddenly takes a keen interest in Wenn. And the more she learns, the more she begins to question if the dead rose for no reason or if her birth was really a miracle after all. CWs- this is an extreme horror romance. It is mostly body horror and includes vivisection (regular and self-inflicted), cannibalism, and all different types of blood and gore. more detail can be found on the copyright page of the book.

Genres: Horror, Dark Romance, Romance

287 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2023

About the author

Kinsey lives in the middle of godforsaken nowhere, and don't worry, she's not quitting her day job.
She enjoys peeing in the shower and long walks away from the beach because beaches are gross.
With little to no charisma, she is hoping that her writing will charm you because her personality sure can't.

Reviews

[Kalena · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise seemed so good and it started off strong but there was a bunch of plot holes and things that didn't make sense I can only suspend my disbelief so far but the most unbelievable thing was that the two main characters had any type of romantic chemistry going for them at all.

[ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A character’s limb grows back and it’s never explicitly discussed. Two characters in 1918 discuss napalm, which wasn’t invented until 1942. At one point in chapter twenty, an entire section of the chapter is copied and pasted. One character somehow has a scar over his face and eye, but has miraculous healing abilities and can grow back any limb. The scar, like many other things in the book, is never explained.

[Chey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gnaw Bone Heartstrings

***SPOILERS****
***SPOILERS****

I truly loved so many things about this book. I loved the plot, the characters, the setting. There were some holes that could’ve been filled… no pun intended…. Something about apocalyptic shit just scratches an itch in my brain.

The RIVER SCENE. Holy plot twist for me. That was 1.) incredibly rushed after the slow burn we’d been given. 2.) kinda yucky dude. Kinda yucky. But you know what you do your thing! 🔥🔥

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off very strong with its writing and slow world building then lost me at the halfway point. Too many unanswered questions and I felt that the writer tried to wrap things up a little too quickly. The strong and descriptive writing style slowly became almost juvenile.

Was disappointed to see things turn out how it did towards the end. I really wanted more from this.

[v0id_93 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shout out to the author for scratching an itch I didn’t know I had! Extreme horror romance was just the thing I needed and I really enjoyed my time reading this book, I found myself furiously devouring it at times and would end up having to go back and re-read pages because I was so anxious to see what was going to happen next. I’m also pleasantly surprised I enjoyed the premise as much as I did because I’m not a big zombie/apocalypse person but Kinsey told old tropes and gave them new life.

I think the gore in this was super tastefully done too and had meaning, it wasn’t just thrown around for shock value which I appreciated! Also the romance element to this book is more subtle and I think comes second to the plot, for me I found our FMC’s journey of self acceptance to be the main focus here. I would have given this 5 stars but there’s some ambiguity on a certain topic and I can’t discern if it’s done on purpose or not, I personally wanted an explanation so that’s why I knocked a star off.

Overall I would definitely recommend this🧟‍♂️

[Tash]

dnf

this is not written well and I’m not comprehending the world building whatsoever LMAO

[Lexi Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know if I’m more concerned about the fact that the leg scene exists or the fact that I continued to read even after that

[Faith Barban · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romance was really solid! I really liked the build up, but once it happened, it fell slightly flat for me because it seemed like the relationship went from 30 to 100 fast. Also, there were some minor plot holes or just random things that seemed insignificant. Like why was the random woman from 1918 (I don’t remember the exact year rn:)) brought up? And why was it kind of Insta-lovey? And what did that have to do with the plot at all? And when did everyone in the world die? I just think some of the writing didn’t make things clear of when certain things were happening.

With that being said, the horror aspect I really enjoyed. It was gory and slightly cringe worthy with the imagery (from fear/disgust, not embarrassment!). Some of the romance lines were really strong and really got me. Still confused on what the heck these characters are though. And how the plot armor kept them going but I was oddly alright with it because I was entertained.

*Spoiler part*
Why did they have to switch hearts? While I kind of like the idea from a hopeless romantic aspect, I did not see an actual point in it, but maybe I’m missing something, some parts seemed unclear?

But anyway, I was entertained and I liked her writing style. It was easy to digest and hard to put down!

[LizKat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off great, I was completely sucked in. Sadly it went straight downhill from there. So many plot holes and unexplained things that the characters knew but we the readers were never let in on and we just had to accept that the MC suddenly knew. I seriously thought maybe I missed reread it or breezed by a section that contained that useful information- nope. Completely left out.
(SPOILER- No excitement over the reunion with her brother?! That makes zero sense! None. Zip. The author truly let me down there)

Also the smut was gross him doing her wound instead of the correct opening for such things.

So many things were glossed over in this story that it made for a disappointment read.

Overall this could have been an amazing 5 star read but it failed to deliver.

[Karleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

we started out so strong!!! zombies, apocalypse, end of the world, love that! how did Gods get involved? oh also we never explicitly get an explanation on who the main character is and how she can literally grow back a fucking limb? with it only being a little less than 300 pages i feel like the author had such big plans for the book and tried to fit in just waaaay too much info that the plot got lost and the romance progression made literally zero sense, they slept together TWICE and this man is ripping out his heart to give it to her.
overall its a fun read if you want to feel grossed out and confused at the same time

[Emms-hiatus(ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Could’ve been 4-4.5. I needed more details about who and what. It’s glossed over and felt underdeveloped. The story was interesting and I did enjoy it.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very freaky and gory story.

[Kara Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good start..

But it quickly became repetitive and I just couldn’t finish it… it was a DNF for me Might try again later

[Kasandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely had more potential

I would give this book a 3.5/5. It was an interesting read, and the book had the foundation for a great read but fell short. It felt incomplete.

[Lexi ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
I was confused for some of the parts, I feel like I was missing information. Other than that, it was a solid book.

[ryy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25

[Sarah 🧸 Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

he ripped out his own heart and gave it to her
now that’s ROMANCE people

[Brittany Alewine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this but about halfway through it went completely off the rails and neglected to give us a lot of very relevant information.

[Kayla’s Book Binge · Rating 5 out of 5]

HERE ME OUT OK? JUST HEAR ME OUT FOR A SECOND!!!

It was SUCH A GOOD BOOK! Yes the wound stuff did happen…BUT HEAR ME OUT….STAY WITH ME…the story was worth it. Spoilers:

Now… the wound. We don’t get all weird when vampires suck on body parts now do we? No so that scene wasn’t all bad. He was saving her life! But….the second wound scene with the insertion….yeah I still need that one explained on whyyyy it occurred 😂

Speaking of explanations I would love to have a sequel where these other questions can be answered too:
How the start of the zombies happened?
How she is what she is, is there really a god trapped in her? Why?
How/why were mercy and Lachlan separated?
Just more details about the gods in general
Why did he want to kill everyone?
Why did she blame the end of the world on him? Did he bring the zombies?
How/why can they listen to her?

Just some things I need more clarity on butttt let’s get into the actual story. THEY GAVE EACH OTHER THEIR MF HEARTS. I MEAN COME ONNNNN. Adding to my dating profiles: Would you switch hearts with me? Yes or no? I was in fact kicking my feet and giggling yessir I was. Was it all super graphic? Absolutelyyy

She had to go through this journey of realizing she didn’t deserve the pain and Lachlan was her peace. He wasn’t someone who wanted something from her like everyone else did. He could’ve stopped her from going back, but he knew that she needed to find out for herself that she didn’t deserve what people did to her. But the second she needed him he was there. Their build up was just so good.

There were so many moments of casual humor that made their banter so enjoyable to read. She isn’t afraid to backtalk, and I love that.

Now, when you hear horror romance about zombies, you’d probably think warm bodies or walking dead but I love that this story was so much more than the zombies. The whole time I’m like what is he? What is she? I almost forgot there were even zombies cuz I was just focusing on them. (But I would absolutely love another story where we can dive into the zombies more, I have questions.)

I also really loved the flashback chapters where we saw her progression through her past, and what it was like for her. I feel like the author did a really good job of explaining what she would feel when she used her ability. But I also loved that we got a POV of the doctor and her psychotic psyche too. (When we found out who mercy actually was…that was heartbreaking. He loved her and she had to go through that alone.)

I’ve been teetering between a four and a five ⭐️ because I just had so many leftover questions, but…when I read, I read for the vibes. I’m here to have a good time and a good time only. And this book? I was vibingggg so even though the wound stuff happened and I have many questions left…I ate this book up!!!! Give me a sequel girly!!!!

[Christasbookcave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers in review!!!

Stars : 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 2 🌶🌶

Man, the premise of this was so good. An apocalypse with a fmc and zombie like lover sign me the fuck up.

It just overall ...... seemed to fall a bit short for me.

Maybe it was because the book kinda went in a different, more diverse direction than what I thought 🤔. The God premise was really good, but I felt like it wasn't as fleshed out as I wished it could have been. It almost felt rushed and out of pocket for the zombie like setting we were given.

But I do have to say the writer is sooo talented. The fmc is beautifully written. You can feel her conflicts and suffering. I'm the pages as if it were your own. You cry with her, struggle with her, and laugh with her. She's strong in so many ways and pushes on when the going gets tough. The love interest is intriguing, and the descriptions of his responses are so detailed that you feel like he's sassing you through the pages,


There wasn't much spice. There was one fleshed out scene between the two love interests and some razzle dazzle sprinkled in here and there. But man, the chemistry and the romance the two characters had just made you fall for them. It was beautiful like cherry blossoms on a sunny day. I mean, read this and tell me it doesn't poke your heart a little?

He’d destroyed the world.
He’d killed almost everyone.

And yet, he was the only person who’d didn’t treat misery like my birthright. There was no expectation of pain when he was around, and it broke something inside me a little.

If you make at least a sympathy face after that just a little your a liar and get out of here. If you read that and went awww then get out of here and go open this book. K? K.


Overall, it's pretty good!. I'd say give it a go. You won't be disappointed! 😉

[Erika Brassard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*

I didnt think i would enjoy extreme horror with gore as much as this. The author of this book has an impressive way to write horrific graphic elements. The writing is very deep and poetic, i loved it so much. The vibes are very dark and heavy. The main character is funny creepy and sarcastic. The love interest was like nothing ive ever read, very insane but sweetheart at the same Time. Their chemistry could have been better from my opinion.

Another great thing about this book is the originality of the post apocalyptic story. It was very rich and immersive. So this is a great book over all, perfect for extreme horror fan if you want a cute love story in it, but nothing that stand out for me.

[Alease B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Kinsey and it did NOT disappoint. I love a good horror romance vibe and this one delivered that. Lochlan had no business being that hot okay 🥵 I swear I have something SERIOUSLY wrong with me because why did Lochlan eating the infection out of her leg have me feeling some type of way? 😅

The heart scene in chapter 32, OMG OMG OMG.

SPOILER BELOW!!

He brought the scalpel to his chest and pushed the blade in, face remaining expressionless. “I’m going to give you mine.” Like are you KIDDING ME?! MELTED INTO THE FLOOR 🫠😍

[Serenity Stolzenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

WILL THERE BE ANOTHER!?!?

I absolutely loved this book! From the very beginning it sucked me in. I don’t rate books very often but I needed to rate this one. I will be recommending this book to all my booktok friends lol! I sooooo hope that we will get to see more of Wenn and Lochlan. Such a well written book, I am so craving another fix!

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!!!

This is beautifully crafted. The story executes new ideas and twists on old ones that made this story uniquely original. Wenn is a wonderful character that doesn't follow tropes and instead just feels very fleshed out. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Zuzihut · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised. It was very well written, with a great character development and fascinating story line.

I’m still unsure whether they were war, famine and pestilence, or something else altogether but regardless it was nice adaptation with a bit of spice.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully gorey romance

Absolutely fantastic. Gore galore, but surprisingly sweet romance with a hint of murder mystery. Beautifully done. I just wish it was longer and there was more!

[Cobi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I read in 2023 by far! The concept was so unique and it did take me a minute to fully understand where the story was going, but by the end everything is explained. I am not usually a fan of zombie apocalypse stories but this was so good.

[Elizabeth Henriquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the types of books that are so interesting to read and make you want to explore different genres. Love the book 😊

[Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

I freaking love this book. I really like the part where they gave each other their own hearts. I think that was just really romantic.

[Sara Mcfadden · Rating 4 out of 5]

holy what?

Ok I found this book on Tiktok and knew I had to read it. It is a zombie love story with gore and ickiness and love. Ridiculous but awesome.