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The Bone Carousel
A boy born with faerie sight.
A journey into the world of the dead.
A place darker than anything he could have imagined and filled with creatures that make the fey above ground seem like things from children’s tales.
This is the story of Makin Riley, a curious boy, whose obsession with faeries and monsters leads him to a cemetery that holds the doorway to the world of the dead. After being spotted by one of the reapers that travels between the worlds, the creature takes Makin’s little brother’s spirit, leaving him for dead. Now, Makin and his friends, Frankie and Marcus, must journey into the darkness of the dead world in order to save his brother’s spirit while there’s still a chance of bringing him back to life.
Book 1 of The Lost Ones Trilogy
A journey into the world of the dead.
A place darker than anything he could have imagined and filled with creatures that make the fey above ground seem like things from children’s tales.
This is the story of Makin Riley, a curious boy, whose obsession with faeries and monsters leads him to a cemetery that holds the doorway to the world of the dead. After being spotted by one of the reapers that travels between the worlds, the creature takes Makin’s little brother’s spirit, leaving him for dead. Now, Makin and his friends, Frankie and Marcus, must journey into the darkness of the dead world in order to save his brother’s spirit while there’s still a chance of bringing him back to life.
Book 1 of The Lost Ones Trilogy
- GenresHorror
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2017
16 people want to read
About the author
J. Peter W.
25 books17 followersJ. Peter W. is an American author of horror, bizarro, and dark fantasy for readers of all ages.
He currently lives in Richmond, VA with his wife and children.
He currently lives in Richmond, VA with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 24, 2018
I received an eARC from Hidden Gems. This in no way impacts my opinion and I make this review of my own volition.
"The Bone Carousel." Does that not sound badass? I mean I would both love to see a horse of bones, but also...I would not want to ride it.
Actual review:
So we have an interesting start of starts and of a new friendship. The girl being tough was always fun to read. Beating goblins, going into the other side, only casually asking the all-seeing-eyes guy for help. Pretty good stuff. I do like that I got to see the characters shine a bit every so often. Like one of those rainbow makers where you only see the myriad of colors when the light hits it juuuust right.
Some things fell flat howsoever. The relationship of the family. I know it was dysfunctional, but I didn't quite understand why the kids weren't more scared of the adults to try and venture out into the unknown by now (even without a car) or fight with the parents. I say this because I couldn't really feel the tension from walking into a room and wondering if mom was up. It seemed more like a forced ploy to add another plot. I believe it would have been better to work more-so on the main one and its surrounding factors like the workings of magic, bit of the world's function, etc.
I do like the story overall, but I'm sorry to say it wasn't something I loved. But I am happy I gave it a try.
Perhaps we all love difference pieces of magic? Perhaps this one is for you?
"The Bone Carousel." Does that not sound badass? I mean I would both love to see a horse of bones, but also...I would not want to ride it.
Actual review:
So we have an interesting start of starts and of a new friendship. The girl being tough was always fun to read. Beating goblins, going into the other side, only casually asking the all-seeing-eyes guy for help. Pretty good stuff. I do like that I got to see the characters shine a bit every so often. Like one of those rainbow makers where you only see the myriad of colors when the light hits it juuuust right.
Some things fell flat howsoever. The relationship of the family. I know it was dysfunctional, but I didn't quite understand why the kids weren't more scared of the adults to try and venture out into the unknown by now (even without a car) or fight with the parents. I say this because I couldn't really feel the tension from walking into a room and wondering if mom was up. It seemed more like a forced ploy to add another plot. I believe it would have been better to work more-so on the main one and its surrounding factors like the workings of magic, bit of the world's function, etc.
I do like the story overall, but I'm sorry to say it wasn't something I loved. But I am happy I gave it a try.
Perhaps we all love difference pieces of magic? Perhaps this one is for you?
May 12, 2018
Makin and Stevie are living in poverty with a drunken mother and left to fend for themselves every day, in a new location. Makin finds it hard to make friends as he can see the monsters and creatures around and this makes him a target among his peers for being different and weird. Even his own brother doesn’t believe him.
In their new surroundings, Makin has to look out for his younger brother or suffer his mother’s wrath. As does his brother Stevie when Makin isn’t there! Makin sees an attractive girl, Frankie, out front and gets caught staring at her. Whilst walking in the woods behind the house, he meets a chubby boy called Marcus and gets invited up into his tree fort.
It seems he has made friends at last, but he still makes the mistake of saying he can see fairies and goblins and so on. One of his new friends just ignores him, while the other may have a similar skill. Makin sees the goblins acting differently and finds out they are scared – there is apparently a ‘new’ evil nearby. This is located in the nearby cemetery, which Marcus is too scared to go into anymore. The statue on the top of a mausoleum is that of a grim reaper.
Makin is spotted by a reaper and leads to Stevie being ‘reaped’ before his time. This leads the others to have to enter the dark and evil place to try and save him. This is where the story gets really dark and action packed! This is the first book in the Lost Ones series and leads them through all the different areas of the dark underworld. They meet ‘Shade’, a lost one, and he assists them getting to the Bone Carousel of the title, in their quest to recover Stevie’s soul and bring him back to life.
A different type of description to what happens when you die, the usual tale of a grim reaper collecting the souls of the dead, but that’s when it starts to be very different from the usual tales I have read in the past. You have to read it yourself to see what happens and what their actions will lead to.
An interesting read, with not quite so much of the story happening before they all go off to Stevie. It could do with a little more build-up of the characters as we get to know them at the start of the story. I felt I didn’t know very much about any of them, their background, what had led to Makin and his brother and mother moving yet again, more about Frankie and her parents, etc. Some signs of Makin knowing and researching about different creatures, but not much real exposure in the book.
It was still a reasonably good read and I would want to know what happened to the gang of friends. It could just have done with being more detailed in regard to the build-up of the characters. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
In their new surroundings, Makin has to look out for his younger brother or suffer his mother’s wrath. As does his brother Stevie when Makin isn’t there! Makin sees an attractive girl, Frankie, out front and gets caught staring at her. Whilst walking in the woods behind the house, he meets a chubby boy called Marcus and gets invited up into his tree fort.
It seems he has made friends at last, but he still makes the mistake of saying he can see fairies and goblins and so on. One of his new friends just ignores him, while the other may have a similar skill. Makin sees the goblins acting differently and finds out they are scared – there is apparently a ‘new’ evil nearby. This is located in the nearby cemetery, which Marcus is too scared to go into anymore. The statue on the top of a mausoleum is that of a grim reaper.
Makin is spotted by a reaper and leads to Stevie being ‘reaped’ before his time. This leads the others to have to enter the dark and evil place to try and save him. This is where the story gets really dark and action packed! This is the first book in the Lost Ones series and leads them through all the different areas of the dark underworld. They meet ‘Shade’, a lost one, and he assists them getting to the Bone Carousel of the title, in their quest to recover Stevie’s soul and bring him back to life.
A different type of description to what happens when you die, the usual tale of a grim reaper collecting the souls of the dead, but that’s when it starts to be very different from the usual tales I have read in the past. You have to read it yourself to see what happens and what their actions will lead to.
An interesting read, with not quite so much of the story happening before they all go off to Stevie. It could do with a little more build-up of the characters as we get to know them at the start of the story. I felt I didn’t know very much about any of them, their background, what had led to Makin and his brother and mother moving yet again, more about Frankie and her parents, etc. Some signs of Makin knowing and researching about different creatures, but not much real exposure in the book.
It was still a reasonably good read and I would want to know what happened to the gang of friends. It could just have done with being more detailed in regard to the build-up of the characters. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
August 5, 2018
This book was a little too juvenile for me, but might be good for YA. With a title like "The Bone Carousel" and the figure of said carousel on the front of the book, I figured this was right up my alley. I wanted to like it and I stuck with it until the end, but there were just to many flaws for me to enjoy it.
Makin and his brother Stevie and living with a dysfunctional mother and no father, basically taking care of themselves and trying not to anger their mother so that she doesn't inflict severe punishment on the boys. Makin is gifted with the ability to see fairies, orcs, and other creatures that no one else can see. The boys become fast friends with the girl next door, Frankie, who Makin is thrilled to find out also has the sight.
The majority of the book takes place in an underground world where Makin, Frankie, and Mucus Marcus (yes, that's what they call him) venture to save Stevie from the Hollowmen (Reapers). I never felt a good bearing for direction in this underground world. When Makin and his friends manage to release all the spirits, they go back to their respective bodies. This journey through the underground world, with the help of a Shade, all takes place in less than one day - really a few hours.
Makin and his brother Stevie and living with a dysfunctional mother and no father, basically taking care of themselves and trying not to anger their mother so that she doesn't inflict severe punishment on the boys. Makin is gifted with the ability to see fairies, orcs, and other creatures that no one else can see. The boys become fast friends with the girl next door, Frankie, who Makin is thrilled to find out also has the sight.
The majority of the book takes place in an underground world where Makin, Frankie, and Mucus Marcus (yes, that's what they call him) venture to save Stevie from the Hollowmen (Reapers). I never felt a good bearing for direction in this underground world. When Makin and his friends manage to release all the spirits, they go back to their respective bodies. This journey through the underground world, with the help of a Shade, all takes place in less than one day - really a few hours.
May 14, 2018
I read this book over the course of yesterday, and it reminded me very strongly of a cross between the Fablehaven series and The Spiderwick Chronicles. I liked the idea of it, but I didn't care for the ending, and I definitely didn't care for one of the characters-Mucus Markus, the boy who spits a lot. I did like the girl Frankie, she made up a large part of the book that I enjoyed, and I did like Stevie as well. I won't tell you the ending of the book, because that's rude and will have massive spoilers for the second book to come of which I don't believe I'll read because I'm just not invested.
The writing was good. The plot moved decently, if not very quickly in some spots, and it seemed a decent story, though it read more for a younger audience-or so it seemed to me.
While I do appreciate getting an ARC copy of this, I don't think this will be one of my absolute favorites and that makes me sad. I always feel bad for leaving not raving reviews on books that I've read, and this is yet one more book that I've read this year to go into the "meh" pile of books for me.
Overall, I'd rate this book a 3.5/5 stars.
{Review also posted on my blog and Amazon.}
The writing was good. The plot moved decently, if not very quickly in some spots, and it seemed a decent story, though it read more for a younger audience-or so it seemed to me.
While I do appreciate getting an ARC copy of this, I don't think this will be one of my absolute favorites and that makes me sad. I always feel bad for leaving not raving reviews on books that I've read, and this is yet one more book that I've read this year to go into the "meh" pile of books for me.
Overall, I'd rate this book a 3.5/5 stars.
{Review also posted on my blog and Amazon.}
May 15, 2018
This is another book that I find hard to rate. I found the premise interesting but at times I found the book boring. Another turn off on this book was how the author picks on Marcus throughout the whole book. He either addresses Marcus as Mucus Marcus or a the chubby boy. The author does not pick on anyone else in this book. I understand to describe Marcus at first you can describe him as chubby and that he spits a lot but you don't have to keep repeating it over and over by saying Mucus Marcus said or chubby boy said. You can just say his name Marcus like you do for Makin or Frankie. It made me like this book less because of all the bullying as there is no reason for it. I did find the premise to be different from what I normally read and overall it was interesting to follow Makin, Frankie and Marcus in the underworld.
*Thank you Hidden Gems for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*
*Thank you Hidden Gems for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*
May 20, 2018
This story was quite an amazing & unique read. Makin & Stevie are brothers struggling with an abusive mom, new neighborhood & of course Makin’s unusually gift. A gift that finds them good friends with Frankie & Marcus but also on a dangerous journey to the world of the dead. I enjoyed this story which has some weird, unique & creative creatures a long the way. Makin’s curiosity is quite contagious & entertaining. The bonds of friendship strengthen throughout & have you rooting for them to beat the odds.
I voluntarily agreed to review this book, and was given an Advanced Reader Copy to do so.
I voluntarily agreed to review this book, and was given an Advanced Reader Copy to do so.
May 15, 2018
This story has tons of potential - the core story is a good one but the execution fell a little flat for me. There is way to much focus on Marcus being chubby and the stereotypes that go with that like lazy - always hungry - slobbering etc. With a little editing and proofreading this could be a great story. They world building was pretty decent and character development wasn't horrible
May 18, 2018
Creepy, intense, thrilling, and original.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews