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The Bone Door
Win a free kindle copy of this book!
3 days and 18:57:42
20 copies available
U.S. only
PRE-ORDER THE BRILLIANTLY IMAGINATIVE NEW NOVEL FROM FRANCES WHITE, THE USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED.
--
How far will you go to open The Bone Door?
When Hop awakens in an ancient labyrinth, he has no memory of his life, or how he got here. He does not recognise the mysterious girl trapped with him. And he certainly cannot identify the shadowy figure stalking him, whispering terrible things...
But there is one thing he is certain He must escape.
The only way out of the labyrinth is through The Bone Door. But it lies behind a series of locked doors hidden across an array of strange realms. To open the way, Hop must complete impossible tasks before his time runs out.
As Hop travels deeper into the maze, he discovers that he and his companions may be more connected to the place and its horrors than he could ever imagine.
Unless Hop is able to unravel the true mystery of the labyrinth, and his own role within it, the Bone Door and any hope of escape will be lost forever.
For Dark Fantasy readers who Horror/Fantasy crossoverFound familyMisfit groups of heroic children like in Stranger ThingsFantasy based on myths and folkloreLGBTQIA+ representationStories with fat positivity
--
How far will you go to open The Bone Door?
When Hop awakens in an ancient labyrinth, he has no memory of his life, or how he got here. He does not recognise the mysterious girl trapped with him. And he certainly cannot identify the shadowy figure stalking him, whispering terrible things...
But there is one thing he is certain He must escape.
The only way out of the labyrinth is through The Bone Door. But it lies behind a series of locked doors hidden across an array of strange realms. To open the way, Hop must complete impossible tasks before his time runs out.
As Hop travels deeper into the maze, he discovers that he and his companions may be more connected to the place and its horrors than he could ever imagine.
Unless Hop is able to unravel the true mystery of the labyrinth, and his own role within it, the Bone Door and any hope of escape will be lost forever.
For Dark Fantasy readers who Horror/Fantasy crossoverFound familyMisfit groups of heroic children like in Stranger ThingsFantasy based on myths and folkloreLGBTQIA+ representationStories with fat positivity
Audible Audio
First published May 7, 2026
About the author
Frances White
2 books940 followersFrances White is the award winning and internationally bestselling author of Voyage of the Damned and The Bone Door.
She has a soft spot for writing unlikely, flawed, messy heroes and loves mixing humour and heartbreak.
Frances is passionate about bringing more LGBTQIA+ representation and fat positivity into fantasy.
When not writing, she can be found sewing costumes for conventions or researching obscure historical facts.
She has two cats, Apollo and Hermes, who she dutifully serves.
She has a soft spot for writing unlikely, flawed, messy heroes and loves mixing humour and heartbreak.
Frances is passionate about bringing more LGBTQIA+ representation and fat positivity into fantasy.
When not writing, she can be found sewing costumes for conventions or researching obscure historical facts.
She has two cats, Apollo and Hermes, who she dutifully serves.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
Introduction
What started with curiosity and being invested turned into disappointment and a lack of interest.
The story starts with children being entraped in an endless labyrinth of lost (and suppressed) memories which were a result of shock or trauma. Their task is to find their memories; to remember who they truly are. The rooms react to exposed weaknesses and fears—it replicates them. While these children travel through time to regain their memories, all of them have to overcome their fears. Some fear abandonment, some others fear to show vulnerability in front of others and some even fear love. This is not just a story of survival; it's about the strength it takes to break the cycle and choose a life defined by light rather than darkness. All told through the lenses of defenseless children, who are being controlled by adults.
Themes
Sense of belonging, friendship, overcoming fears and trauma, self-discovery and self-acceptance.
It also includes lots of symbolism centering around natural elements like flowers. Most of them are about not losing hope and being encouraged by friendship. The one I found the most appealing to me was about being an unwanted child and how it questioned if people are born or made evil.
Characters
Hops (Bunny)
I find it fascinating how he portrays both the saviour and traitor role in the friend group. Amongst all of the children, he's the most crazy. Just like Storm, I'm all for it. I was sad whenever Bunny talked bad about himself, especially about his talkative behaviour. As the protagonist he feels left out. He wants to belong to his friends; to be close to them. His differences make him feel like an outsider. Bunny was such a sweet child for giving everyone a chance, no matter how they treated him at first.
Amber
I use this character to express my thoughts regarding the children's disabilities. Amber is blind, yet while reading I often forgot this fact, 'cause she had no restrictions. It was the same for the other children who lost a body part, but I noticed it the most by Amber 'cause she constantly tried to protect Bunny and found him rather quickly when he moved away from her. It felt as if they all functioned properly with no restrictions whatsoever. I know that later in the book it's mentioned how your body doesn't define you, but that shouldn't mean that a disability isn't restricting the body in some way.
Besides that, Amber's thoughts were something I couldn't relate to, but still understood based on her past experiences. I only realised by this character that the children portrayed differently attachment styles; mostly unhealthy ones.
Thistle
His thoughts were the most infuriating ones 'cause he contradicted himself, but that's also why I liked him a lot. He was a victim of himself. His trauma lingered in his daily life, making him unable to perform well. It's the same for the other children, but the outcomes of his trauma were more severe. His eagerness to achieve his goals made it even worse when he suffered.
Outroduction
Ultimately, the idea of the book is great; fighting fear and not letting it win. What I found positively surprising is that the author mentioned that one has to fight the battle of fear over and over again. It's not something that vanishes and never comes back. So you shouldn't let it control or define you. What helps is to fight the battle together. Such an encouraging message to the reader.
The middle part and ending ruined it for me. I thought this is about children who are not being defined by their parents. I was disappointed to find out that almost nothing was linked to the children's parents and instead stirred a bit too much into fantasy. If the inner voice of the children would have been their parent's voices I would have enjoyed this story much more. I'm aware that not everything will play out the way one wants it to be. I wasn't the one in charge writing this book. So, this is most likely a ‘me’ problem. I will still give this book 3 stars, 'cause of the different insights of trauma in children and the outcomes of it like their thoughts.
I'm unsure who to recommend this to. It's not something everyone would enjoy. Especially 'cause of the young narrator voice centering around heavy subjects. That's also why I didn't include the ‘quick recommendation’ section this time. I'm only confident to not recommend it to anyone who can't read about children who die or are being tormented (eternally). It's about protecting and supporting each other, but also about hurting each other. It will get ugly, real ugly. Just 'cause they're children doesn't mean that they aren't capable of doing terrible things. This not a light-hearted read.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy of The Bone Door by Frances White.
StoryGraph review
Started the book: 20. April 2026
Finished the book: 21. April 2026
Wrote the review: 21. April 2026
Introduction
What started with curiosity and being invested turned into disappointment and a lack of interest.
The story starts with children being entraped in an endless labyrinth of lost (and suppressed) memories which were a result of shock or trauma. Their task is to find their memories; to remember who they truly are. The rooms react to exposed weaknesses and fears—it replicates them. While these children travel through time to regain their memories, all of them have to overcome their fears. Some fear abandonment, some others fear to show vulnerability in front of others and some even fear love. This is not just a story of survival; it's about the strength it takes to break the cycle and choose a life defined by light rather than darkness. All told through the lenses of defenseless children, who are being controlled by adults.
Themes
Sense of belonging, friendship, overcoming fears and trauma, self-discovery and self-acceptance.
It also includes lots of symbolism centering around natural elements like flowers. Most of them are about not losing hope and being encouraged by friendship. The one I found the most appealing to me was about being an unwanted child and how it questioned if people are born or made evil.
Characters
Hops (Bunny)
I find it fascinating how he portrays both the saviour and traitor role in the friend group. Amongst all of the children, he's the most crazy. Just like Storm, I'm all for it. I was sad whenever Bunny talked bad about himself, especially about his talkative behaviour. As the protagonist he feels left out. He wants to belong to his friends; to be close to them. His differences make him feel like an outsider. Bunny was such a sweet child for giving everyone a chance, no matter how they treated him at first.
Amber
I use this character to express my thoughts regarding the children's disabilities. Amber is blind, yet while reading I often forgot this fact, 'cause she had no restrictions. It was the same for the other children who lost a body part, but I noticed it the most by Amber 'cause she constantly tried to protect Bunny and found him rather quickly when he moved away from her. It felt as if they all functioned properly with no restrictions whatsoever. I know that later in the book it's mentioned how your body doesn't define you, but that shouldn't mean that a disability isn't restricting the body in some way.
Besides that, Amber's thoughts were something I couldn't relate to, but still understood based on her past experiences. I only realised by this character that the children portrayed differently attachment styles; mostly unhealthy ones.
Thistle
His thoughts were the most infuriating ones 'cause he contradicted himself, but that's also why I liked him a lot. He was a victim of himself. His trauma lingered in his daily life, making him unable to perform well. It's the same for the other children, but the outcomes of his trauma were more severe. His eagerness to achieve his goals made it even worse when he suffered.
Outroduction
Ultimately, the idea of the book is great; fighting fear and not letting it win. What I found positively surprising is that the author mentioned that one has to fight the battle of fear over and over again. It's not something that vanishes and never comes back. So you shouldn't let it control or define you. What helps is to fight the battle together. Such an encouraging message to the reader.
The middle part and ending ruined it for me. I thought this is about children who are not being defined by their parents. I was disappointed to find out that almost nothing was linked to the children's parents and instead stirred a bit too much into fantasy. If the inner voice of the children would have been their parent's voices I would have enjoyed this story much more. I'm aware that not everything will play out the way one wants it to be. I wasn't the one in charge writing this book. So, this is most likely a ‘me’ problem. I will still give this book 3 stars, 'cause of the different insights of trauma in children and the outcomes of it like their thoughts.
I'm unsure who to recommend this to. It's not something everyone would enjoy. Especially 'cause of the young narrator voice centering around heavy subjects. That's also why I didn't include the ‘quick recommendation’ section this time. I'm only confident to not recommend it to anyone who can't read about children who die or are being tormented (eternally). It's about protecting and supporting each other, but also about hurting each other. It will get ugly, real ugly. Just 'cause they're children doesn't mean that they aren't capable of doing terrible things. This not a light-hearted read.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy of The Bone Door by Frances White.
StoryGraph review
Started the book: 20. April 2026
Finished the book: 21. April 2026
Wrote the review: 21. April 2026
Read
January 26, 2026It's a common belief amongst authors that your second published book is the most difficult. That certainly held true for me. The Bone Door is the hardest book I’ve ever written. Maybe the hardest book I ever WILL write, though I do not put it past me to make my life more difficult, so perhaps not.
Like navigating a labyrinth, this story is not an easy adventure – it is one that demands something of readers, which, in these perilous times, is asking a lot.
The Bone Door is a story about trauma, friendship and hope enduring. At its centre is Hop—a boy who personifies all three of these things.
Hop is thrust into a hellish situation, an unsettling labyrinth where he must complete impossible tasks to survive. He is plagued by haunting shadows, and flickers of terrible memories. But despite all this, he constantly seeks the good. He befriends everyone without judgement (sometimes a poor choice!) and finds the light in even the darkest situations. Most of all he is kind, and I believe that to be a remarkable thing, whether you’re trapped in a labyrinth, or just scrolling social feeds. If even one reader takes that message away from The Bone Door, it will have been worth writing.
So yes, this may be the hardest book I’ve ever written, but if Hop’s and my journey has taught me anything, it is that sometimes the hardest things can be the most rewarding.
I really hope you enjoy The Bone Door, and thank you everyone who has taken a chance on it. It's a story that is very close to my heart, and I'm excited so share it with the world.
Please find an updated list of content warnings on my website.
Like navigating a labyrinth, this story is not an easy adventure – it is one that demands something of readers, which, in these perilous times, is asking a lot.
The Bone Door is a story about trauma, friendship and hope enduring. At its centre is Hop—a boy who personifies all three of these things.
Hop is thrust into a hellish situation, an unsettling labyrinth where he must complete impossible tasks to survive. He is plagued by haunting shadows, and flickers of terrible memories. But despite all this, he constantly seeks the good. He befriends everyone without judgement (sometimes a poor choice!) and finds the light in even the darkest situations. Most of all he is kind, and I believe that to be a remarkable thing, whether you’re trapped in a labyrinth, or just scrolling social feeds. If even one reader takes that message away from The Bone Door, it will have been worth writing.
So yes, this may be the hardest book I’ve ever written, but if Hop’s and my journey has taught me anything, it is that sometimes the hardest things can be the most rewarding.
I really hope you enjoy The Bone Door, and thank you everyone who has taken a chance on it. It's a story that is very close to my heart, and I'm excited so share it with the world.
Please find an updated list of content warnings on my website.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This review was originally published on Before We Go Blog
4.25 stars
I did not need to know anything about The Bone Door for it to become one of my most anticipated releases of the year, because after loving Voyage of the Damned so much, I just trusted Frances White blindly. Although maybe that was a bit reckless considering how much she made my heart ache with that book, because she wrecked me all over again here. This fantasy horror psychological mystery thriller blend is kind of giving Gideon the Ninth meets Piranesi vibes, except make all the characters pre-teen children, and add a truly unholy amount of trauma, and somehow that becomes a magical combination.
“Hop knew pain intimately. But that was pain that he controlled; pain he inflicted on himself. Pain for the greater good.”
I will say, this was not a love at first line situation for me like Voyage of the Damned was, but I was still immediately hooked by the addictive air of mystery as Hop wakes up in an ancient labyrinth with no memories, stuck with a skull who talks to him in his mind and a girl with no eyes, all while being hunted by something whispering horrors at him. Amnesia plots can be very hit or miss for me, but I think White did something truly exceptional here and it did not feel like a cheap gimmick at all. It felt wrong, and eerie, and intentional, and the way that the mystery slowly unraveled just had me in a chokehold, even when I was still a little unsure about other elements.
Like, I will be honest, a book where basically all the main characters are children is a hard sell for me, but sell me Frances White did. Hop is honestly the most aggressively hopeful little sunshine creature I have ever met, and while it took me a second to fully click with him because my brain honestly does not operate on that level of optimism at all, I can’t deny that I was charmed from the start. His whole motto is “fear is bad, find the good,” and he really commits to that even when there is absolutely nothing good to be found. It’s honestly so sincere it circles right back around to devastating.
“Okay, so you’re broken. But I’m not afraid of that. It just means there are more parts of you to love.”
For me, it also helped a lot that the other kids he meets are not just blindly on board with his energy. They roll their eyes, they push back, and they argue to no end, and I loved them for that. The friendships are so strong, the banter is so entertaining, the sprinkles of queer romance are so tender (GIVE ME MORE!!), and I just loved how this weird group of damaged, mutilated kids slowly and begrudgingly formed this messy little found family. Especially my fierce babe Amber and my prickly menace Thistle completely stole the show for me, and the way that Hop’s relationships with them developed made my heart ache in the best ways. Sometimes I did get a bit of emotional whiplash when they acted so young and silly one moment and so mature and wise beyond their years the next, but overall I thought White did such a great job of balancing their youthful innocence with the awful brutality of this hellscape of a world they find themselves in.
Because trust me, these realms are not whimsical fun fantasy worlds, at all. Like, the fact that the spider-filled entrance room is one of the least horrible places tells you everything. The labyrinth being built from memories honestly destroyed me because those memories are so damn brutal, and I loved how themes of abuse, generational trauma, cycles that keep repeating were all woven into the world in a way that felt so deliberate and so painful. You have monsters and the God of Death and all these big fantasy elements, but underneath it is just this constant ache about survival and grief and love and what people do to each other and what that leaves behind, and I was living for the emotional turmoil of it all. Thank all that is holy for the chapters in the Respite Room with Dolores the owl woman by the way, the characters (and I) deserved those wholesome breaks.
“You can’t help anyone, because you don’t want to see. Not everyone’s lives are flowers and sunshine and fucking smiles. Until you face that, you’ll never be able to help a single person who actually needs it.”
So many things about The Bone Door surprised me so much, but Hop’s inner journey and the unravelling of his backstory surprised me most of all. I loved seeing how he held onto his optimism even while being confronted with very ugly truths and haunted by shadows and flickers of terrible memories, but what I loved even more is that it is not blind optimism either. White really looks at what happens when positivity goes too far, to the point that it becomes something harmful, and I loved how she balanced that with all the weight of trauma and self-worth and everything else these kids are carrying. It is so much and it is handled so well, and I don’t quite know how to be normal about it.
Also, The Bone Door is truly the perfect reminder that having young protagonists absolutely does not mean a book is for children, not only because its content is way too dark for that, but also because it is honestly just as complex and labyrinthine as the maze itself. I loved how it starts off feeling almost like a dark fairytale escape room and then just keeps expanding into something so layered and ambitious as the structure gets wild. I was genuinely in a daze reading those final pages, just sitting there like… what is happening, how is this happening, how do these twists keep twisting??? And I do not think I followed every single detail perfectly, but I did not care because I was too busy being in awe and crying over the emotional gutpunches. I will just say… Skully!!
“Perhaps the opposite of death was not life, but love.”
So yeah, I am very glad I did not let my biases get in the way at the start, because this book just snuck up on me and then quietly wrecked me in the best way. It is messy and chaotic and unhinged and horrifying and tender and so achingly beautiful all at the same time, and I honestly could not be more impressed with White’s wildly imaginative mind. I don’t think The Bone Door will be a book for everyone, not least because of its heavy trigger warnings, but I personally cannot recommend this unique genreblending gem highly enough. This is how you write a damn good satisfying standalone.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Bone Door is scheduled for release on 7 May 2026.
4.25 stars
I did not need to know anything about The Bone Door for it to become one of my most anticipated releases of the year, because after loving Voyage of the Damned so much, I just trusted Frances White blindly. Although maybe that was a bit reckless considering how much she made my heart ache with that book, because she wrecked me all over again here. This fantasy horror psychological mystery thriller blend is kind of giving Gideon the Ninth meets Piranesi vibes, except make all the characters pre-teen children, and add a truly unholy amount of trauma, and somehow that becomes a magical combination.
“Hop knew pain intimately. But that was pain that he controlled; pain he inflicted on himself. Pain for the greater good.”
I will say, this was not a love at first line situation for me like Voyage of the Damned was, but I was still immediately hooked by the addictive air of mystery as Hop wakes up in an ancient labyrinth with no memories, stuck with a skull who talks to him in his mind and a girl with no eyes, all while being hunted by something whispering horrors at him. Amnesia plots can be very hit or miss for me, but I think White did something truly exceptional here and it did not feel like a cheap gimmick at all. It felt wrong, and eerie, and intentional, and the way that the mystery slowly unraveled just had me in a chokehold, even when I was still a little unsure about other elements.
Like, I will be honest, a book where basically all the main characters are children is a hard sell for me, but sell me Frances White did. Hop is honestly the most aggressively hopeful little sunshine creature I have ever met, and while it took me a second to fully click with him because my brain honestly does not operate on that level of optimism at all, I can’t deny that I was charmed from the start. His whole motto is “fear is bad, find the good,” and he really commits to that even when there is absolutely nothing good to be found. It’s honestly so sincere it circles right back around to devastating.
“Okay, so you’re broken. But I’m not afraid of that. It just means there are more parts of you to love.”
For me, it also helped a lot that the other kids he meets are not just blindly on board with his energy. They roll their eyes, they push back, and they argue to no end, and I loved them for that. The friendships are so strong, the banter is so entertaining, the sprinkles of queer romance are so tender (GIVE ME MORE!!), and I just loved how this weird group of damaged, mutilated kids slowly and begrudgingly formed this messy little found family. Especially my fierce babe Amber and my prickly menace Thistle completely stole the show for me, and the way that Hop’s relationships with them developed made my heart ache in the best ways. Sometimes I did get a bit of emotional whiplash when they acted so young and silly one moment and so mature and wise beyond their years the next, but overall I thought White did such a great job of balancing their youthful innocence with the awful brutality of this hellscape of a world they find themselves in.
Because trust me, these realms are not whimsical fun fantasy worlds, at all. Like, the fact that the spider-filled entrance room is one of the least horrible places tells you everything. The labyrinth being built from memories honestly destroyed me because those memories are so damn brutal, and I loved how themes of abuse, generational trauma, cycles that keep repeating were all woven into the world in a way that felt so deliberate and so painful. You have monsters and the God of Death and all these big fantasy elements, but underneath it is just this constant ache about survival and grief and love and what people do to each other and what that leaves behind, and I was living for the emotional turmoil of it all. Thank all that is holy for the chapters in the Respite Room with Dolores the owl woman by the way, the characters (and I) deserved those wholesome breaks.
“You can’t help anyone, because you don’t want to see. Not everyone’s lives are flowers and sunshine and fucking smiles. Until you face that, you’ll never be able to help a single person who actually needs it.”
So many things about The Bone Door surprised me so much, but Hop’s inner journey and the unravelling of his backstory surprised me most of all. I loved seeing how he held onto his optimism even while being confronted with very ugly truths and haunted by shadows and flickers of terrible memories, but what I loved even more is that it is not blind optimism either. White really looks at what happens when positivity goes too far, to the point that it becomes something harmful, and I loved how she balanced that with all the weight of trauma and self-worth and everything else these kids are carrying. It is so much and it is handled so well, and I don’t quite know how to be normal about it.
Also, The Bone Door is truly the perfect reminder that having young protagonists absolutely does not mean a book is for children, not only because its content is way too dark for that, but also because it is honestly just as complex and labyrinthine as the maze itself. I loved how it starts off feeling almost like a dark fairytale escape room and then just keeps expanding into something so layered and ambitious as the structure gets wild. I was genuinely in a daze reading those final pages, just sitting there like… what is happening, how is this happening, how do these twists keep twisting??? And I do not think I followed every single detail perfectly, but I did not care because I was too busy being in awe and crying over the emotional gutpunches. I will just say… Skully!!
“Perhaps the opposite of death was not life, but love.”
So yeah, I am very glad I did not let my biases get in the way at the start, because this book just snuck up on me and then quietly wrecked me in the best way. It is messy and chaotic and unhinged and horrifying and tender and so achingly beautiful all at the same time, and I honestly could not be more impressed with White’s wildly imaginative mind. I don’t think The Bone Door will be a book for everyone, not least because of its heavy trigger warnings, but I personally cannot recommend this unique genreblending gem highly enough. This is how you write a damn good satisfying standalone.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Bone Door is scheduled for release on 7 May 2026.
July 2, 2025
Frances (being a total sweetheart as always) let me read this book early on to give an author blurb, and I was absolutely hooked!
(Here’s how I blurbed it:
The Bone Door is a unique, emotional read that tackles trauma, empathy, human cruelty, and grief, but that also makes you laugh and appreciate the beauty of love and of being alive!)
(Here’s how I blurbed it:
The Bone Door is a unique, emotional read that tackles trauma, empathy, human cruelty, and grief, but that also makes you laugh and appreciate the beauty of love and of being alive!)
May 18, 2026
4.5 🐰🦴🚪
This was a very unique book. And I loved most of it! The horror elements were nicely done and the fact that all of the characters were literal children - made those horror bits even more horrific 😭🫣🥺
Hop was an amazing main character- I ADORED him 🥰 He was an adorable ray of sunshine! Even with all of the trauma that is slowly revealed throughout the story. It honestly made me want to wrap him up in a cozy blanket and not let anyone else hurt him 🥺
The found family aspect between the children was also wonderful!
The “Labyrinth” aspect was done interestingly, maybe not my favorite or what I was expecting, but that’s ok.
The final conflict was heart wrenching 😭 and I’m glad we still got a semi-happy ending. ❤️
This was a very unique book. And I loved most of it! The horror elements were nicely done and the fact that all of the characters were literal children - made those horror bits even more horrific 😭🫣🥺
Hop was an amazing main character- I ADORED him 🥰 He was an adorable ray of sunshine! Even with all of the trauma that is slowly revealed throughout the story. It honestly made me want to wrap him up in a cozy blanket and not let anyone else hurt him 🥺
The found family aspect between the children was also wonderful!
The “Labyrinth” aspect was done interestingly, maybe not my favorite or what I was expecting, but that’s ok.
The final conflict was heart wrenching 😭 and I’m glad we still got a semi-happy ending. ❤️
May 15, 2026
The best books make me want to scream in buzzwords. Beautiful! Brutal! Devastating! Heart wrenching! *abject sobbing noises*
This is like if Lonely Castle In The Mirror and the Wayward Children series had a baby, and that baby was filled with the entire despair of human misery. But this doesn't read as emotional torture porn - the whole point of this story is finding the light in the darkness, and always choosing kindness.
This is like if Lonely Castle In The Mirror and the Wayward Children series had a baby, and that baby was filled with the entire despair of human misery. But this doesn't read as emotional torture porn - the whole point of this story is finding the light in the darkness, and always choosing kindness.
July 2, 2025
I received a free copy of THE BONE DOOR from the author, and am absolutely blown away by this intricate, twisty, dark fantasy. THE BONE DOOR is like an escape room, if each "room" constituted an entire realm, complete with its own lore, rules, and mysteries to unravel, and our crew is an unruly bunch of youngsters, led by the most adorable kid who ever donned rose-tinted glasses, Hop. Without spoiling all the jaw-dropping moments, which kept me re-evaluating what I knew, or thought I knew, about the world, the characters, and what could possibly happen next, I can just say that THE BONE DOOR is perfection. Highly recommend for all fantasy lovers, mystery lovers, and those who want to have their minds blown, repeatedly.
Read
May 25, 2026A weird fantasy, in a magical kind labyrinth, a young boy with a quest to reach the next room, starts collecting friends of the same tween-teen age, each of them missing a body part, all through mixed with trying to figure out what the labyrinth is and what is the role of gods and where they are...
It is being marketed as "adult", but it feels like Young Adult - very dark, horror tinged, with expletives and a very complex plot but YA in message and characters. Now that is not necessarily new (see for example Alan Garner, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Nicole Kornher-Stace, even some of Diana Wynne Jones) and it is not necessarily a problem for me. But if I reminded myself of it, hey, it's YA, it made me feel a lot more tolerant of the twee-ness (yes, with the horror).
I admire the idea of it, the many twists, the complexity of a big big YA plot, and just something feeling a bit different. But it is all oh so twee, so pat in the message... Hop wins throughout by consciously all the time being good (so basically "Good Bunny"?) and that always works, because the plot is it. But this is a deliberately inclusive book, with representation of those with different gender identities, disabilities (maybe that is not deep), overweight, anger issues, or just feeling different, and somehow it made me question if it is really the right message to pass to those who feel like they do not fit in. "Be relentlessly cheerful and instantly adopt as friends those you meet and they will be good friends back"... (to the point of cutting veins to feed a monster constantly?) I am too judgy to take that message as unambiguously as the book does.
Otherwise the writing is, well, not quite up to the standards of those of those authors mentioned already. The dialogue and humor can be a bit cringe. There is also a pet peeve of mine, scenes with a second person perspective (but where the you adressed is not the reader but a character whose story was just revealed) to serve as back story infodump. Not for me, thank you.
It also felt too long. Even with a lot of plot and twists, but too long.
Feels similar in twist upon twist pace to Voyage of the Damned, though not as likeable and considerably creepier...
In all, I got mixed feelings. I like that somebody is writing big complicated dark unusual YA (yes, it is YA!) fantasies, I just wish the implementation was a bit deeper..
It is being marketed as "adult", but it feels like Young Adult - very dark, horror tinged, with expletives and a very complex plot but YA in message and characters. Now that is not necessarily new (see for example Alan Garner, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Nicole Kornher-Stace, even some of Diana Wynne Jones) and it is not necessarily a problem for me. But if I reminded myself of it, hey, it's YA, it made me feel a lot more tolerant of the twee-ness (yes, with the horror).
I admire the idea of it, the many twists, the complexity of a big big YA plot, and just something feeling a bit different. But it is all oh so twee, so pat in the message... Hop wins throughout by consciously all the time being good (so basically "Good Bunny"?) and that always works, because the plot is it. But this is a deliberately inclusive book, with representation of those with different gender identities, disabilities (maybe that is not deep), overweight, anger issues, or just feeling different, and somehow it made me question if it is really the right message to pass to those who feel like they do not fit in. "Be relentlessly cheerful and instantly adopt as friends those you meet and they will be good friends back"... (to the point of cutting veins to feed a monster constantly?) I am too judgy to take that message as unambiguously as the book does.
Otherwise the writing is, well, not quite up to the standards of those of those authors mentioned already. The dialogue and humor can be a bit cringe. There is also a pet peeve of mine, scenes with a second person perspective (but where the you adressed is not the reader but a character whose story was just revealed) to serve as back story infodump. Not for me, thank you.
It also felt too long. Even with a lot of plot and twists, but too long.
Feels similar in twist upon twist pace to Voyage of the Damned, though not as likeable and considerably creepier...
In all, I got mixed feelings. I like that somebody is writing big complicated dark unusual YA (yes, it is YA!) fantasies, I just wish the implementation was a bit deeper..
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Bone Door is a story for adults, even though its main characters are children.
An eleven-year-old boy wakes up in a dark room — no memories, no name. First he finds a talking skull, then a blind girl who also has no name and no memories.
Once they escape the first room, they learn they are trapped inside a labyrinth of other people’s memories — and the only way out is to pass four trials, open four doors, and finally go through the Bone Door.
This is a strange little book — part mystery, part fantasy, with a hint of psychological thriller. And it hooked me almost immediately. I love a good question that pulls you through the whole story, and here it was simple:
what happened to these children? why are they here?
Some twists weren’t impossible to guess, but the author always held back one detail that clicked into place at exactly the right moment. I really appreciated how the puzzle came together without loose or useless pieces.
But honestly, the real star of this book isn’t the plot.
It’s the characters.
Hop is pure sunlight. The kind of gentle, bright child that almost hurts to look at. He believes in people — even the worst of them. He always reaches out a hand. Always gives another chance. But, as often happens in life, that optimism comes from a place of necessity. As if smiling is the only way to keep the darkness from catching up and swallowing him whole.
The other children are just as layered: fear, anger, hope, pain, kindness all tangled together. I won’t say more because spoilers, but Hop and Amber’s friendship, and the development of Hop and Thistle relationship… yeah. That hurt. In a good way.
Thistle especially — I just wanted to protect him. Honestly, all of them.
I knew this book would make me cry. Stories about hurt children always do. But what I loved here is that even in the darkest moments, the author leaves at least a small ray of light. And that contrast works. It breaks something fragile every time.
This is also the second book by this author where I’ve really liked their approach to healing. It’s not instant, not easy, and not the same for everyone. The characters actually listen to each other. They see each other. Their emotions feel real, even when they’re messy or ugly. That honesty really worked for me.
That said, you know me, I’m a picky reader.
So this is a 4⭐ read for me.
The build-up to the climax was strong, the tension kept rising, and I honestly expected something emotionally devastating at the peak — the kind of moment that just wrecks you. The setup was there. The opportunity was there. But for me, it didn’t quite hit as hard as it could have.
Still, the story lands, the pieces fit, the character arcs work, and I’d absolutely recommend this book, especially if you like emotional fantasy with a touch of mystery and a lot of heart.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for honest review
An eleven-year-old boy wakes up in a dark room — no memories, no name. First he finds a talking skull, then a blind girl who also has no name and no memories.
Once they escape the first room, they learn they are trapped inside a labyrinth of other people’s memories — and the only way out is to pass four trials, open four doors, and finally go through the Bone Door.
This is a strange little book — part mystery, part fantasy, with a hint of psychological thriller. And it hooked me almost immediately. I love a good question that pulls you through the whole story, and here it was simple:
what happened to these children? why are they here?
Some twists weren’t impossible to guess, but the author always held back one detail that clicked into place at exactly the right moment. I really appreciated how the puzzle came together without loose or useless pieces.
But honestly, the real star of this book isn’t the plot.
It’s the characters.
Hop is pure sunlight. The kind of gentle, bright child that almost hurts to look at. He believes in people — even the worst of them. He always reaches out a hand. Always gives another chance. But, as often happens in life, that optimism comes from a place of necessity. As if smiling is the only way to keep the darkness from catching up and swallowing him whole.
The other children are just as layered: fear, anger, hope, pain, kindness all tangled together. I won’t say more because spoilers, but Hop and Amber’s friendship, and the development of Hop and Thistle relationship… yeah. That hurt. In a good way.
Thistle especially — I just wanted to protect him. Honestly, all of them.
I knew this book would make me cry. Stories about hurt children always do. But what I loved here is that even in the darkest moments, the author leaves at least a small ray of light. And that contrast works. It breaks something fragile every time.
This is also the second book by this author where I’ve really liked their approach to healing. It’s not instant, not easy, and not the same for everyone. The characters actually listen to each other. They see each other. Their emotions feel real, even when they’re messy or ugly. That honesty really worked for me.
That said, you know me, I’m a picky reader.
So this is a 4⭐ read for me.
The build-up to the climax was strong, the tension kept rising, and I honestly expected something emotionally devastating at the peak — the kind of moment that just wrecks you. The setup was there. The opportunity was there. But for me, it didn’t quite hit as hard as it could have.
Still, the story lands, the pieces fit, the character arcs work, and I’d absolutely recommend this book, especially if you like emotional fantasy with a touch of mystery and a lot of heart.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for honest review
May 20, 2026
Rating: 4.5
Disclaimer: I received this ARC for free from HarperCollins through NetGalley. This review is my own honest opinion. Thank you, HarperCollins, for the opportunity to read this book early! My apologies for not managing to read and review it by its publication date.
Going in, my first impression of The Bone Door was almost “innocent,” despite the promise of horror in the premise. I wasn’t expecting the characters to all be children in an adult dark fantasy/horror book, nor was I expecting the direction the story took. I assumed it would simply be about adults trying to escape a bizarre, horrific labyrinth where a monster had trapped them. While that is essentially the setup, there is so much more to it. The story has so many layers—layers I cannot explain further, as doing so would ruin the book for you.
I will say this: initially, my rating and feelings on the book were about as confused as the kids in the labyrinth. However, as those layers started to unfold and I began to solve the mystery, that confusion washed away. My eyes flew wide open in realization, and I suddenly wanted to read the entire rest of the book in a single sitting just to see how things concluded.
You are thrown straight into the labyrinth right alongside Hop, with no buildup or explanation. Hop has amnesia, but you might as well have it too, given that we are on this journey with him without understanding why we are here. It was admittedly jarring. The prose isn’t “traditional” in the sense of setting the reader up with at least a few answers. That was where most of my confusion originated, but it is entirely by design; any early foreshadowing, worldbuilding, or lore would give things away too soon. The world we’re in is topsy-turvy and the rules make no sense at first, like a horror version of Alice in Wonderland. It’s best to just settle in for the weird ride and keep pressing on. In my eyes, the ending makes it completely worth it.
I will admit this book is equal parts bleak and horrifying, with a touch of bittersweet warmth. It explores some very heavy topics, so please make sure to check the trigger warnings, which Frances White has listed on her website. It is especially rough because children are the ones being subjected to these horrors. Yet, sadly, in the real world, children are exposed to these kinds of atrocities every day. As much as good people want to protect the innocence of childhood, there are bad people out there who do the exact opposite. If you don’t want to watch these kids suffer through it, I advise skipping this one.
Ultimately, this book is an exploration of trauma and how different people try to cope with it. But beyond trauma, it is also about true friendships enduring through the good and the bad, the strength of hope, and the healing power of love—of all kinds, not just romance. White mentions that this was a difficult book for her to write, and I can absolutely see why, but I am so glad she did. I was nearly in tears by the end, shedding both sad and happy tears.
Once the world and the lore were finally revealed, I thoroughly enjoyed it in all its horribly bleak nature. Because the book is primarily character-focused, don’t expect a highly detailed, expansive world, but it’s detailed enough to get the idea. However, the monsters were unique, and the characters themselves—though they have their flaws and occasional annoyances (and I don’t usually connect well with children or motherhood themes)—completely won me over. I adored every single one of them. They grow on you as you witness their struggles and growth, and you truly begin to understand why they are the way they are.
All this to say, I highly recommend The Bone Door for those who are up for the challenge. I previously mentioned in my Just Landed blog post that this author was already on my radar because of her debut novel, Voyage of the Damned, and now I want to read it even more. She has officially made a fan out of me, and I’ll be on the lookout for whatever she writes next.
The Grim Hobbyist Blog
Disclaimer: I received this ARC for free from HarperCollins through NetGalley. This review is my own honest opinion. Thank you, HarperCollins, for the opportunity to read this book early! My apologies for not managing to read and review it by its publication date.
Going in, my first impression of The Bone Door was almost “innocent,” despite the promise of horror in the premise. I wasn’t expecting the characters to all be children in an adult dark fantasy/horror book, nor was I expecting the direction the story took. I assumed it would simply be about adults trying to escape a bizarre, horrific labyrinth where a monster had trapped them. While that is essentially the setup, there is so much more to it. The story has so many layers—layers I cannot explain further, as doing so would ruin the book for you.
I will say this: initially, my rating and feelings on the book were about as confused as the kids in the labyrinth. However, as those layers started to unfold and I began to solve the mystery, that confusion washed away. My eyes flew wide open in realization, and I suddenly wanted to read the entire rest of the book in a single sitting just to see how things concluded.
You are thrown straight into the labyrinth right alongside Hop, with no buildup or explanation. Hop has amnesia, but you might as well have it too, given that we are on this journey with him without understanding why we are here. It was admittedly jarring. The prose isn’t “traditional” in the sense of setting the reader up with at least a few answers. That was where most of my confusion originated, but it is entirely by design; any early foreshadowing, worldbuilding, or lore would give things away too soon. The world we’re in is topsy-turvy and the rules make no sense at first, like a horror version of Alice in Wonderland. It’s best to just settle in for the weird ride and keep pressing on. In my eyes, the ending makes it completely worth it.
I will admit this book is equal parts bleak and horrifying, with a touch of bittersweet warmth. It explores some very heavy topics, so please make sure to check the trigger warnings, which Frances White has listed on her website. It is especially rough because children are the ones being subjected to these horrors. Yet, sadly, in the real world, children are exposed to these kinds of atrocities every day. As much as good people want to protect the innocence of childhood, there are bad people out there who do the exact opposite. If you don’t want to watch these kids suffer through it, I advise skipping this one.
Ultimately, this book is an exploration of trauma and how different people try to cope with it. But beyond trauma, it is also about true friendships enduring through the good and the bad, the strength of hope, and the healing power of love—of all kinds, not just romance. White mentions that this was a difficult book for her to write, and I can absolutely see why, but I am so glad she did. I was nearly in tears by the end, shedding both sad and happy tears.
Once the world and the lore were finally revealed, I thoroughly enjoyed it in all its horribly bleak nature. Because the book is primarily character-focused, don’t expect a highly detailed, expansive world, but it’s detailed enough to get the idea. However, the monsters were unique, and the characters themselves—though they have their flaws and occasional annoyances (and I don’t usually connect well with children or motherhood themes)—completely won me over. I adored every single one of them. They grow on you as you witness their struggles and growth, and you truly begin to understand why they are the way they are.
All this to say, I highly recommend The Bone Door for those who are up for the challenge. I previously mentioned in my Just Landed blog post that this author was already on my radar because of her debut novel, Voyage of the Damned, and now I want to read it even more. She has officially made a fan out of me, and I’ll be on the lookout for whatever she writes next.
The Grim Hobbyist Blog
Did Not Finish
May 21, 2026I am DNFing at 14%. The unaliving of babies and dismembering of children is overpowering any connection I have to the story. This book isn’t for me.
May 24, 2026
This was definitely not my usual read. I do have to say I absolutely loved it though. I devoured it in one day. The audiobook is so good. Was I like thrown off a bit due to all the characters’ ages? Yeah. I was like hold up is this YA? No. It might have YA vibes but it is absolutely not YA. BUT when you start actually picking things up in the story it’s pretty obvious things aren’t as they seem. The best way to describe this story is 2 + 2 = 4, but 6 is purple, and green is 12, and smell of roses is 0. Lol okay, that might be a bit dramatic. Point is it takes you for loops and turns. They are interesting. So it is a book you will have to pay attention to. Also, just when you think you have everything figured out… something new will come out of left field having you going “TF?!”… BUT it’s really really good. Dark AF. Gory’ish as well. So definitely check your trigger warnings. But if you’re into this type of book I definitely recommend it, because I am more than surprised how good it was.
This audiobook is a unique and entertaining fantasy horror read. This book has darker themes, scenes, and topics. This audiobook follows a 11 year old boy as he wakes up alone and not sure where he is. He also has no memories of who he is. Upon waking up, he meets a girl with amber colored eyes, and they enter a door that begins their quest where they navigate “rooms”. They meet other lost children along the way as they all attempt to reach the bone door to get out.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🚫Check TWs
🎧Audiobook
✨Thank You Harlequin Audio for the ALC✨
This audiobook is a unique and entertaining fantasy horror read. This book has darker themes, scenes, and topics. This audiobook follows a 11 year old boy as he wakes up alone and not sure where he is. He also has no memories of who he is. Upon waking up, he meets a girl with amber colored eyes, and they enter a door that begins their quest where they navigate “rooms”. They meet other lost children along the way as they all attempt to reach the bone door to get out.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🚫Check TWs
🎧Audiobook
✨Thank You Harlequin Audio for the ALC✨
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May 26, 2026
3.5 ⭐️’s
What an introduction.
Self-discovery is one thing. A complete loss of self is another.
Hop awakens with no memory, but more importantly, no understanding of who he is. Immediately, kindness and honesty become his greatest tools. Against what? A labyrinth? Maybe. But is that really the enemy?
This story feels like the bones of a fairytale. Except fairytales, like history, aren't always as clean or sweet as we remember them.
The choice to center this story around children feels intentional. Where do our stories begin? When does darkness first find us? And how much of ourselves survives what comes after?
There were moments when I wasn't sure happiness would return. The cruelty of the labyrinth, and of the truths hidden within it, kept sweeping back in. Yet perseverance, hope, and caring for others continued to push these characters forward.
Because honesty and revelation aren't always kind. Sometimes understanding requires us to reach deeper than we ever intended.
For readers sensitive to stories centered around children, I highly recommend checking the trigger warnings.
Thank you to HTP Books, HarperCollins for this free ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
What an introduction.
Self-discovery is one thing. A complete loss of self is another.
Hop awakens with no memory, but more importantly, no understanding of who he is. Immediately, kindness and honesty become his greatest tools. Against what? A labyrinth? Maybe. But is that really the enemy?
This story feels like the bones of a fairytale. Except fairytales, like history, aren't always as clean or sweet as we remember them.
The choice to center this story around children feels intentional. Where do our stories begin? When does darkness first find us? And how much of ourselves survives what comes after?
There were moments when I wasn't sure happiness would return. The cruelty of the labyrinth, and of the truths hidden within it, kept sweeping back in. Yet perseverance, hope, and caring for others continued to push these characters forward.
Because honesty and revelation aren't always kind. Sometimes understanding requires us to reach deeper than we ever intended.
For readers sensitive to stories centered around children, I highly recommend checking the trigger warnings.
Thank you to HTP Books, HarperCollins for this free ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
April 7, 2026
When Hop wakes up in a labyrinth with no memories, no idea who he is or how he got there, he just knows he's being stalked by a dark, shadowy figure and he's not alone. The Bone Door is a twisted, dark fantasy that encompasses a lot of things and will keep you guessing until the end. Although the story is about children it's not for children.
In order to escape the labyrinth Hop needs to solve multiple rooms puzzles in order to finally open the Bone Door. Along the way he meets other children who also have no idea who they are or where they came from. I love how Frances has done such a wonderful job in this story fleshing out each character, as Hop gets attached to them so do we. And Thistle! I want to wrap him up in the coziest blanket and keep him safe.
Hop is somehow one of the most positive characters without being insufferable. Their huge heart and need to never give up on anyone was the kind of light this dark story needed. It was impossible not to root for them until the very end.
It's not often a book makes me cry and I spent the last few chapters of the book in tears. This is story about all kinds of love, about forgiveness and about second chances. The story worked so hard to break the reader down and then put them back together beautifully. Absolutely loved this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In order to escape the labyrinth Hop needs to solve multiple rooms puzzles in order to finally open the Bone Door. Along the way he meets other children who also have no idea who they are or where they came from. I love how Frances has done such a wonderful job in this story fleshing out each character, as Hop gets attached to them so do we. And Thistle! I want to wrap him up in the coziest blanket and keep him safe.
Hop is somehow one of the most positive characters without being insufferable. Their huge heart and need to never give up on anyone was the kind of light this dark story needed. It was impossible not to root for them until the very end.
It's not often a book makes me cry and I spent the last few chapters of the book in tears. This is story about all kinds of love, about forgiveness and about second chances. The story worked so hard to break the reader down and then put them back together beautifully. Absolutely loved this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2026
Whimsical, weird and wonderful, with just the right amount of creepiness--this book is great fun. Opening with immediate mystery, the suspense consistently kept me engaged despite the fact that it is geared more for younger readers.
May 12, 2026
Every now and then, I read a book that activates so much thought and emotion that I struggle to review it, because no amount of words feels like it could possibly do it justice. The Bone Door is one of those books.
First, this book is not going to be for everyone. Its themes are very dark, and there are graphic depictions of child abuse in particular. Please check content warnings before entering the labyrinth. The author has detailed trigger warnings available on their website, and I would strongly recommend reviewing them first.
I was a huge fan of Frances White’s debut novel, Voyage of the Damned, and while The Bone Door is very different in tone, some of the elements I loved in that book are present here too: found family, mental health representation, queer representation, plus-size representation, and characters who are deeply shaped by both pain and connection. However, if you are looking for the fun, humorous, chaotic ride of Voyage, this is not that. This book is much darker and heavier.
It is also such a fascinating genre blend. There are definitely fantasy elements, an underlying mystery as the characters try to piece together their connection to the labyrinth, and strong horror elements throughout. And its not just terrifying creatures or the villainous forces stalking them that make it horrific, but because of what these children have endured. It was also really unique to read an adult fantasy horror with a full cast of children at its center, and that choice added so much emotional weight to everything happening on the page.
What had me crying in this book, though, was the way it handled trauma; capturing how different people cope with trauma in different ways, and how those responses can all be valid, protective, or purposeful. It pushes back against the idea that trauma automatically creates resilience, or that every painful thing has to come with some hidden “bright side”.
As a childhood trauma therapist myself, this book hit me square in the chest. The way the story explores the healing power of relationships, of being reflected back through another person’s eyes, of being loved and protected when the world has failed you, was devastating and beautiful and true. Some people may want to abandon this book before the end because it is so heavy, but just be warned that if you do, you’re going to miss something really special: the lesson that sometimes the most healing thing is not finding meaning in the harm, but finding people who see you, believe you, and help you survive it.
First, this book is not going to be for everyone. Its themes are very dark, and there are graphic depictions of child abuse in particular. Please check content warnings before entering the labyrinth. The author has detailed trigger warnings available on their website, and I would strongly recommend reviewing them first.
I was a huge fan of Frances White’s debut novel, Voyage of the Damned, and while The Bone Door is very different in tone, some of the elements I loved in that book are present here too: found family, mental health representation, queer representation, plus-size representation, and characters who are deeply shaped by both pain and connection. However, if you are looking for the fun, humorous, chaotic ride of Voyage, this is not that. This book is much darker and heavier.
It is also such a fascinating genre blend. There are definitely fantasy elements, an underlying mystery as the characters try to piece together their connection to the labyrinth, and strong horror elements throughout. And its not just terrifying creatures or the villainous forces stalking them that make it horrific, but because of what these children have endured. It was also really unique to read an adult fantasy horror with a full cast of children at its center, and that choice added so much emotional weight to everything happening on the page.
What had me crying in this book, though, was the way it handled trauma; capturing how different people cope with trauma in different ways, and how those responses can all be valid, protective, or purposeful. It pushes back against the idea that trauma automatically creates resilience, or that every painful thing has to come with some hidden “bright side”.
As a childhood trauma therapist myself, this book hit me square in the chest. The way the story explores the healing power of relationships, of being reflected back through another person’s eyes, of being loved and protected when the world has failed you, was devastating and beautiful and true. Some people may want to abandon this book before the end because it is so heavy, but just be warned that if you do, you’re going to miss something really special: the lesson that sometimes the most healing thing is not finding meaning in the harm, but finding people who see you, believe you, and help you survive it.
May 14, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
3.75. There's so much to love here, and the early chapters had me genuinely cackling. Hop is such an entertaining character with a fascinating worldview despite his circumstances. It was a very unique blend of whimsy and horrific, so I really liked that. With that said, the pacing felt a bit wobbly to me, particularly from about 20–60%, in that it was rather slow and felt slightly aimless at times, as much as I adored these wonderful characters. As well, for a child-aged MC, the interiority felt rather adult at times, though I imagine it's particularly challenging to write an adult book with non-adult characters, so I think all considered, this was quite well done. The ending really pulled itself together and the twists were great, though there are a couple that were perhaps not foreshadowed fairly in my personal opinion, or at least, that struggle to fully make sense to me given what was presented earlier in the story. I really love how this wrapped up. I do urge any reader to look at the content warnings closely.
3.75. There's so much to love here, and the early chapters had me genuinely cackling. Hop is such an entertaining character with a fascinating worldview despite his circumstances. It was a very unique blend of whimsy and horrific, so I really liked that. With that said, the pacing felt a bit wobbly to me, particularly from about 20–60%, in that it was rather slow and felt slightly aimless at times, as much as I adored these wonderful characters. As well, for a child-aged MC, the interiority felt rather adult at times, though I imagine it's particularly challenging to write an adult book with non-adult characters, so I think all considered, this was quite well done. The ending really pulled itself together and the twists were great, though there are a couple that were perhaps not foreshadowed fairly in my personal opinion, or at least, that struggle to fully make sense to me given what was presented earlier in the story. I really love how this wrapped up. I do urge any reader to look at the content warnings closely.
May 7, 2026
i finally understand what people mean when they describe a book as ‘jaw-dropping’ because this had my jaw on the floor!!
i went into this book incredibly blind and i would recommend that to everyone who thinks about picking this book up, checking trigger warnings beforehand of course.
i loved every minute of this. the characters were just adorable and i really felt like i was part of this group of kids. and despite them being children, the characters were filled with so much life and depth. the struggles they have to go through were tremendous and will definitely break your heart. but most of all our main character hop was the literal definition of sunshine, and i love him!
i love discovering things alongside the characters and this really doesn’t give you any information about anything and as much as that might stress me out sometimes, i never once felt frustrated and couldn’t have possibly worked out half of it. such unique ideas and this is exactly what i crave when reading!
thank you so much netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book.
i went into this book incredibly blind and i would recommend that to everyone who thinks about picking this book up, checking trigger warnings beforehand of course.
i loved every minute of this. the characters were just adorable and i really felt like i was part of this group of kids. and despite them being children, the characters were filled with so much life and depth. the struggles they have to go through were tremendous and will definitely break your heart. but most of all our main character hop was the literal definition of sunshine, and i love him!
i love discovering things alongside the characters and this really doesn’t give you any information about anything and as much as that might stress me out sometimes, i never once felt frustrated and couldn’t have possibly worked out half of it. such unique ideas and this is exactly what i crave when reading!
thank you so much netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book.
May 19, 2026
this was hands down one of the best books i've read this year so far!!!! just so heartbreaking and beautiful in equal measure. the characters were so precious and extremely easy to root for and their struggles felt so REAL at times that it just made me feel for them (and relate to even tho they're children and i'm far from it) so strongly and even tho some of the twists were quite obvious there were still some that managed to surprise me in the end (and there were just SO many of them!!!!!) also the concept was amazingly unique and yet at the same time it had everything i like in a book which made it feel like it was written specifically for me. can't wait to read more from this author since it's two for two in a banger scale so far
May 12, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for a review.
Sadly, this was a DNF 37% for me. I muddled my way through Voyage of the Damned but I wanted to give Frances White another shot, but I just don't think her work is for me. Too many obnoxious and juvenille characters for a book marketed as an adult fantasy book. While I think there is such a thing as too much world building, this suffered from not enough. I felt lost very often and strange things were just thrown at me that I was just supposed to accept.
Sadly, this was a DNF 37% for me. I muddled my way through Voyage of the Damned but I wanted to give Frances White another shot, but I just don't think her work is for me. Too many obnoxious and juvenille characters for a book marketed as an adult fantasy book. While I think there is such a thing as too much world building, this suffered from not enough. I felt lost very often and strange things were just thrown at me that I was just supposed to accept.
May 14, 2026
The Bone Door was so gut-wrenchingly devastating and I am beyond thrilled to have experienced it. Centering this story of death, trauma, and grief around children ensured that the emotional gut punches that Frances White planted throughout hit with 100% accuracy. I'm not sure how long I will continue to contemplate the ideas of good and evil that this book presented, but I do expect it'll be a while.
Every character introduction was done with masterful storytelling. You immediately understand the personality of each child, and it was love at first sight for me. As an aunt to twins, Storm and Sunny made their way into my heart with almost no effort. Their chaos, and also their love for each other, is so true and relatable.
There were so many moments where I wanted to sob uncontrollably, only to be pulled back with a genuine laugh as the children broke the tension in a way only the innocent can. Hop's optimism, whether genuine or forced, was both a delight and a horror to experience. Finding out the true story of how he and the group ended up in the labyrinth in real time alongside Hop left me reeling! And the twists exposed in the final room left me so wrecked I had to pause and go touch some grass for a while.
Honi Cooke's performance for this audiobook was outstanding. Each personality came through in the narration, and made some of those final standoff scenes even more devastating than they were when reading the print copy. The Bone Door is one of my top audiobook experiences, without question. It was so easy to forget that there was only a single narrator.
The Bone Door is a delightfully dark amalgamation of The Goonies, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Saw, Cube, and Groundhog Day and hopefully that description entices you enough to pick up this read. I am so grateful to Harlequin and HTP's The Hive for this audiobook and emotional damage.
Every character introduction was done with masterful storytelling. You immediately understand the personality of each child, and it was love at first sight for me. As an aunt to twins, Storm and Sunny made their way into my heart with almost no effort. Their chaos, and also their love for each other, is so true and relatable.
There were so many moments where I wanted to sob uncontrollably, only to be pulled back with a genuine laugh as the children broke the tension in a way only the innocent can. Hop's optimism, whether genuine or forced, was both a delight and a horror to experience. Finding out the true story of how he and the group ended up in the labyrinth in real time alongside Hop left me reeling! And the twists exposed in the final room left me so wrecked I had to pause and go touch some grass for a while.
Honi Cooke's performance for this audiobook was outstanding. Each personality came through in the narration, and made some of those final standoff scenes even more devastating than they were when reading the print copy. The Bone Door is one of my top audiobook experiences, without question. It was so easy to forget that there was only a single narrator.
The Bone Door is a delightfully dark amalgamation of The Goonies, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Saw, Cube, and Groundhog Day and hopefully that description entices you enough to pick up this read. I am so grateful to Harlequin and HTP's The Hive for this audiobook and emotional damage.
Did Not Finish
April 24, 2026DNF at 57%
After having high hopes for this book from the first chapter alone, this book unfortunately fell off for me very quickly after that because of the outlook of our main character, Hop. For the first quarter of this book I struggled a lot with the tone of the book - there were unsettling things happening in the plot but Hop’s attitude to everything is all sunshine and rainbows and positivity and so I wasn’t feeling any sense of there being any stakes or danger in the plot. Also all of the main group of characters are children of varying ages, who all come across very juvenile and I couldn’t understand why the book was marketed as an adult fantasy horror.
Whilst the book definitely grows much darker as things progress, and to some extent Hop’s positivity feels like it gets less in-your-face, my issue then became more to do with the world that the book takes place in. What starts out as quite dark fairytale-esque, morphs into something much more complex and layered by the halfway mark and I found it hard to follow. I think I’m looking for logic in a book where that isn’t the point of how the story is being told and whilst I was interested to find out why the children had ended up there to begin with and get answers about the dark pasts of them being hinted at, I am ultimately not connected enough to the characters or story at this point to get much enjoyment out of continuing on to the end.
I think if you are hooked by the description of this one, are looking for a found-family type situation, and can connect Hop’s earnest and optimistic POV (I guess I’m a bit too cynical!) then I would still recommend you give it a go.
Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
After having high hopes for this book from the first chapter alone, this book unfortunately fell off for me very quickly after that because of the outlook of our main character, Hop. For the first quarter of this book I struggled a lot with the tone of the book - there were unsettling things happening in the plot but Hop’s attitude to everything is all sunshine and rainbows and positivity and so I wasn’t feeling any sense of there being any stakes or danger in the plot. Also all of the main group of characters are children of varying ages, who all come across very juvenile and I couldn’t understand why the book was marketed as an adult fantasy horror.
Whilst the book definitely grows much darker as things progress, and to some extent Hop’s positivity feels like it gets less in-your-face, my issue then became more to do with the world that the book takes place in. What starts out as quite dark fairytale-esque, morphs into something much more complex and layered by the halfway mark and I found it hard to follow. I think I’m looking for logic in a book where that isn’t the point of how the story is being told and whilst I was interested to find out why the children had ended up there to begin with and get answers about the dark pasts of them being hinted at, I am ultimately not connected enough to the characters or story at this point to get much enjoyment out of continuing on to the end.
I think if you are hooked by the description of this one, are looking for a found-family type situation, and can connect Hop’s earnest and optimistic POV (I guess I’m a bit too cynical!) then I would still recommend you give it a go.
Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
April 26, 2026
I knew two things before going into The Bone Door- it was a fantasy novel, and also a horror story. And both of those things are very true. Whimsical rolling fields and fireflies, a magic labyrinth, a talking owl….oh, and the horrifying, decaying monsters.
What really made this novel was the fact that our protagonist, Hop, was so cheerful, at times being delusionally so. Infected with positivity, his catchphrase is “fear is bad, find the good.” And find the good he does, even when it appears that there isn’t any left.
When Hop awakens, he has no memories. Not even his own name. He’s in a labyrinth, covered in blood, talking to a skull. But after he encounters a strange girl who has no eyes, he discovers he’s not alone in here after all, and the two (3 counting Skully!) embark on a quest to get through four rooms. At the end of the journey their only chance of escape awaits- The Bone Door.
But this labyrinth is magical, and every room is based on memories, some crueler and darker than others. As Hop’s group gains more and more friends, and their own memories slowly begin to appear, can Hop keep true to his mantra?
Thank you to Hanover Square Press and Netgalley for the e-arc! The Bone Door releases on May 12!
What really made this novel was the fact that our protagonist, Hop, was so cheerful, at times being delusionally so. Infected with positivity, his catchphrase is “fear is bad, find the good.” And find the good he does, even when it appears that there isn’t any left.
When Hop awakens, he has no memories. Not even his own name. He’s in a labyrinth, covered in blood, talking to a skull. But after he encounters a strange girl who has no eyes, he discovers he’s not alone in here after all, and the two (3 counting Skully!) embark on a quest to get through four rooms. At the end of the journey their only chance of escape awaits- The Bone Door.
But this labyrinth is magical, and every room is based on memories, some crueler and darker than others. As Hop’s group gains more and more friends, and their own memories slowly begin to appear, can Hop keep true to his mantra?
Thank you to Hanover Square Press and Netgalley for the e-arc! The Bone Door releases on May 12!
May 25, 2026
Na Voyage of the Damned als favoriete boek van 2024 te hebben gehad, had ik hele hoge verwachtingen van deze nieuwste release van Frances White. En dat maakte ook dat ik het spannend vond om eraan te beginnen. Want zou hij die verwachtingen wel waar maken?
In het begin van het boek wist ik het nog niet zo goed. Het voelde aan als een soort kinderboek, met horror aspecten. En hoewel ik wist dat Hop zijn (toxisch) postieve houding duidelijk voortkwam uit een trauma, was het in eerste instantie best wel irritant 🤭
Maar hoe meer ik las, hoe meer het verhaal me begon mee te slepen. Alle puzzelstukjes vielen langzaam bij elkaar en alle prachtige quotes en diepgaande onderwerpen (ondanks de humoristische stijl van het boek) hebben me echt geraakt.
Al met al een boek dat ik niet kon wegleggen. Waarvan ik een heleboel twists/reveals absoluut niet had zien aankomen en waarvan ik de boodschap prachtig vond.
Check vooral trigger warnings voor je hier aan begint als je bepaalde triggers hebt. Maar WAUW wat een fantastisch boek weer.
Frances White is nu absoluut een auto-buy auteur voor mij, na 2 van de 2 boeken met een 5⭐️ te hebben beoordeeld.
In het begin van het boek wist ik het nog niet zo goed. Het voelde aan als een soort kinderboek, met horror aspecten. En hoewel ik wist dat Hop zijn (toxisch) postieve houding duidelijk voortkwam uit een trauma, was het in eerste instantie best wel irritant 🤭
Maar hoe meer ik las, hoe meer het verhaal me begon mee te slepen. Alle puzzelstukjes vielen langzaam bij elkaar en alle prachtige quotes en diepgaande onderwerpen (ondanks de humoristische stijl van het boek) hebben me echt geraakt.
Al met al een boek dat ik niet kon wegleggen. Waarvan ik een heleboel twists/reveals absoluut niet had zien aankomen en waarvan ik de boodschap prachtig vond.
Check vooral trigger warnings voor je hier aan begint als je bepaalde triggers hebt. Maar WAUW wat een fantastisch boek weer.
Frances White is nu absoluut een auto-buy auteur voor mij, na 2 van de 2 boeken met een 5⭐️ te hebben beoordeeld.
May 9, 2026
Many thanks to HTP, The Hive, and Harlequin Audio for the preview. All opinions are my own.
I went into The Bone Door a little blind, just knowing I'd loved White's first book (Voyage of the Damned). I was not prepared for the absolute emotional devastation wrought here. This is a dark book with a ton of trauma and violence. Our characters have been abused, they have PTSD, they're hurting, and sometimes they hurt others. But under it all, it's a story about love, friendship, healing, and hope.
Hop is just the most precious kid. He's sees the good in absolutely everyone (even monsters), and he's determined to help everyone he meets. The narrator of the audio, Honi Cooke, captures his voice so perfectly. Hop is never grating with his optimism; he's just so pure.
The story goes insane places I never expected. The connections are so intricate, the characters so deeply entwined, and it's an emotional ride. I was close to tears for the last 30%. It's MOVING and just wrecked me. But the end was so satisfying.
There's some really difficult content in the book, so please check out the author's listed TWs. If it's content you can handle, I highly recommend.
I went into The Bone Door a little blind, just knowing I'd loved White's first book (Voyage of the Damned). I was not prepared for the absolute emotional devastation wrought here. This is a dark book with a ton of trauma and violence. Our characters have been abused, they have PTSD, they're hurting, and sometimes they hurt others. But under it all, it's a story about love, friendship, healing, and hope.
Hop is just the most precious kid. He's sees the good in absolutely everyone (even monsters), and he's determined to help everyone he meets. The narrator of the audio, Honi Cooke, captures his voice so perfectly. Hop is never grating with his optimism; he's just so pure.
The story goes insane places I never expected. The connections are so intricate, the characters so deeply entwined, and it's an emotional ride. I was close to tears for the last 30%. It's MOVING and just wrecked me. But the end was so satisfying.
There's some really difficult content in the book, so please check out the author's listed TWs. If it's content you can handle, I highly recommend.
May 15, 2026
I knew by 20% into the book that this one was going to break my heart and put it back together. And man, was I right! Add some ugly crying and happy laughing, and you pretty much know my experience with this story.
This is such a unique and moving take on the nature of gods and monsters, on identity, purpose, responsibility, and finding your own way. All told through the journey of a bunch of kids, thrown into a labyrinth with no memory. A found family, if you will. But believe me, there is so much more to it. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, something else happened and left me open-mouthed.
Be aware, there are no light themes - there is a lot of drama and a lot of sad stuff happening. And still, what the story gives us is hope - and an answer to what the opposite of death is.
@franceswhiteauthor had become an instant auto-read author since Voyage of the Damned, and here she did it again. What a journey!
5/5 stars. An absolute highlight for me.
Thank you to @NetGalley and @htpbooks for the eARC!
#TheBoneDoor #Bookstagram #NetGalley
This is such a unique and moving take on the nature of gods and monsters, on identity, purpose, responsibility, and finding your own way. All told through the journey of a bunch of kids, thrown into a labyrinth with no memory. A found family, if you will. But believe me, there is so much more to it. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, something else happened and left me open-mouthed.
Be aware, there are no light themes - there is a lot of drama and a lot of sad stuff happening. And still, what the story gives us is hope - and an answer to what the opposite of death is.
@franceswhiteauthor had become an instant auto-read author since Voyage of the Damned, and here she did it again. What a journey!
5/5 stars. An absolute highlight for me.
Thank you to @NetGalley and @htpbooks for the eARC!
#TheBoneDoor #Bookstagram #NetGalley
May 20, 2026
Thank you so much to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Hanover Square Press for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book!
The Bone Door is a truly unique (and haunting) tale that is a little bit fantasy, a little but horror, but completely unforgettable. This story is very much about trauma, and what we choose to do in the face of it. It will ask a lot of you, but it’s a beautiful, scary, whimsical journey and I highly recommend.
Though the characters of this story are children, don’t be fooled; this is very much an adult story and there is some really difficult subject matter. The terrible things are handled with tact, though. One of my very favorite tropes is found family, and you’ll find that here. It’s hard to get into anything else specifically because I wouldn’t want to spoil any of it.
Hop is a character that is so lovable and inspiring, and he will stick with me always. The end of this book had me sobbing, and I know I’ll come back to this one more than once.
The Bone Door is a truly unique (and haunting) tale that is a little bit fantasy, a little but horror, but completely unforgettable. This story is very much about trauma, and what we choose to do in the face of it. It will ask a lot of you, but it’s a beautiful, scary, whimsical journey and I highly recommend.
Though the characters of this story are children, don’t be fooled; this is very much an adult story and there is some really difficult subject matter. The terrible things are handled with tact, though. One of my very favorite tropes is found family, and you’ll find that here. It’s hard to get into anything else specifically because I wouldn’t want to spoil any of it.
Hop is a character that is so lovable and inspiring, and he will stick with me always. The end of this book had me sobbing, and I know I’ll come back to this one more than once.
May 5, 2026
This one was such a weird trippy ride that i could not put down.It’s about Hop who wakes up in this massive, creepy labyrinth with zero memory of who he is or how he got there. There’s a mysterious girl with him, a very unsettling shadowy figure stalking him, and the only way out is finding and opening something called the Bone Door. But to get there, he has to move through all these strange, almost otherworldly realms and complete impossible tasks before time runs out.I really liked how disorienting it felt you’re figuring things out at the same time Hop is, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. The maze itself is honestly one of the coolest parts, just super eerie and unpredictable, and it keeps you on edge the whole time.It leans more into mystery than straight action, but I was hooked trying to piece everything together. And the deeper you get the more you realize there’s something much bigger (and darker) going on with who Hop is and why he’s there. Definitely a really good read to add to your tbr.
May 13, 2026
Thank you to Hanover Square Press/Harlequin Trade Press for the eARC and Harlequin Audio for the ALC. All thoughts are my own.
This book was both full of whimsy and full of such dark topics. While that can be jarring to some, I think Frances White toes the line perfectly and allows the reader to find joy and peace, even amongst the darkness. Hop collects a found family throughout this story that really centers on his own self discovery and acceptance of who he is. This journey includes unpacking and working to heal from generational and religious traumas, as well as self-esteem issues and self-harm. This is a truly unique and dark tale.
I was reading mostly with the audiobook and definitely enjoyed Honi Cooke as the narrator. There were some fantastic features that she included in the audio recordings - especially when it came to sound effects!
Another fantastic read from Frances White!
This book was both full of whimsy and full of such dark topics. While that can be jarring to some, I think Frances White toes the line perfectly and allows the reader to find joy and peace, even amongst the darkness. Hop collects a found family throughout this story that really centers on his own self discovery and acceptance of who he is. This journey includes unpacking and working to heal from generational and religious traumas, as well as self-esteem issues and self-harm. This is a truly unique and dark tale.
I was reading mostly with the audiobook and definitely enjoyed Honi Cooke as the narrator. There were some fantastic features that she included in the audio recordings - especially when it came to sound effects!
Another fantastic read from Frances White!
May 13, 2026
The Bone Door was not at all what I was expecting. I will not lie, I chose this book based off the cover because it was giving me Alice in wonderland vibes. While it shares that idea of another world that is not ‘the real world’ and having to do all these things to get home that is where the comparison ends. This is an otherworldly fantasy story where gods are among us and how choosing to be good and kind and happy can be the key to fixing things for everyone.
This is not my usual type of book but I will 100% recommend it to anyone who asks.
This is not my usual type of book but I will 100% recommend it to anyone who asks.
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