Not Even Bones (Market of Monsters, 1)

One of my fav quotes from this (Not Even Bones) book—“…But the problem with losing your morality is that sometimes it takes other things with it. You don’t realize the things that are important to you, in order to be the person you want to be, until you’ve already damaged them beyond repair.”OMG!!!! Vibrant world building with fleshed out (literally & figuratively) characters! Some readers might think it was too detailed & graphic in the descriptive of cutting up body parts as well as what the characters were thinking while this was happening to them or by them! I think this added a whole another level of encagement!! As the reader I felt immersed into that world right along side our characters seeing what they are feeling what they do!! This is a skilled writer!!! Probs to the author!!! I have not found many novels like this!!!! Humans have flaws—supernatural beings/unnatural creatures have flaws!! We learn/grow/develop our own sense of confidence & moral values as well as shaped by the world we live in!!!! Omg can’t rave enough about how much I love this novel!!!!! Love the dialogue super witty!! No grammatical errors which is always a plus! The story flowed nicely & kept me entertained! Highly recommend this novel! Definitely be reading more from this author!!!!! 💯🤣🎉🤩😍

the book arrived in perfect condition. the story is amazing! already read the second one and I am now waiting for the third and last one to arrive. I super recommend this series! and they look amazing in my shelf!

Not Even Bones is an amazing story that will have you hooked from the moment you first open the book.

First and foremost, I'd like to give a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an eArc. It's greatly appreciated.Second, I'd like to express my feelings about the ending of that book. WHY!?!?So about the book. This story takes place in South America, I think it was Peru? It was a different setting and I liked that it wasn't Africa or another country that's often used in YA. Like I don't think I've ever read a book where the setting is in South America. But anyway, Nita dissects and discombobulates dead 'unaturals' and her mother sells them on the black market. Whenever Nita gets the bodies, they're already dead. (Unaturals are mythical creatures but in human shape; like there are unicorns and vampires but they look like humans). So when Nita's mom brings home a live unatural, Nita's morals kick in and she helps the boy escape. She then ends up getting sold herself.Not Even Bones is a mix between Dexter and This Savage Song. A main reason why I wanted to read this is because it was compared to Schwab. I wanted to see if it lived up to its reputation. I also watched Dexter a few years ago but I gave up on it about halfway through because Dexter wasn't what they made him out to be. But after reading Not Even Bones I can see why it's compared to the two. And if you're looking for more August and Kate, look no more because Nita and Kovit are very similar in nature.This book is a page turner. It's kid of gory too, like in a subtle but vivid way. I have an eye phobia and Nita just needs to chill when it comes to eyes. I forced myself to read those bits, but I did skim a few eye descriptions because I couldn't take it.I also thought this book was a standalone, and let me tell you, it's not. Reading it and not knowing it's the first book (in however many there are going to be). I was annoyed at some points because I wanted the plot to go in one direction, but now I know that that plot hole is actually going to be book two. I was going to give this book four stars because of that, but I'm content with the entire book now. It's, without a doubt, five stars.One thing I don't like, and it's not even story related, but it's the cover. I feel like it doesn't capture the unatural side of the story. I hope the cover gets changed some time in the future, but I don't know. I'm not even sure what could be the cover that accurately captures the story. BUT PLEASE DON'T JUDGE THIS BOOK BY ITS COVER. YOU WILL REGRET IT.5/5PS. I also have so many questions for the author. What research did you have to do? Was anything prior knowledge? How did you come up with this idea? Was there anything that didn't make it into the story? Did you plan on making it more than one book? Do you know for sure if there will be a book two? I NEED TO KNOW.

This is a breakout bloody good book (pun totally intended), and if you don’t like blood, the idea of autopsies, or a lot of gore, I would stay far far away. But if you’re anything like me, and you don’t keel over at the thought of body parts being cut off (I know someone who does), and you’re looking for the most original dark fantasy this Fall (some would definitely call it horror), look no further.In ‘Not Even Bones’, Rebecca Schaeffer has given life, as gory, twisted, and fantastical as it may be, to a sort of anti-hero we can’t help but rally behind, Anita, who not only is masterful when it comes to dissecting dead bodies, but who possesses magical capabilities (she’s able to turn her pain receptors on and off, and do amazing things like heal parts of her own body).Nita and her mother have traveled the world working within the black market of selling body parts of other ‘unnaturals’; Nita’s mother does the killing and Nita does the dissecting, something she enjoys, but she uses the moral reasoning whereby ‘it’s all okay because she’s not actually doing the killing, her mom is’. She even has dreams of one day doing medical research and putting her skills to good use.But then the day comes when Nita is betrayed and she ends up on the wrong side of the ‘Death Market’, and possibly will become body parts herself, and she really has to question all those good morals and boundaries she has set up for herself. She ends up putting trust in someone she’d never have imagined she’d have to, and doing things she’d sworn to herself she never would. And there’s a LOT of blood and guts along the way.I don’t like making comparisons, and make a point of not doing so myself, but the one that has been made about ‘Not Even Bones’, and is right on its cover, is that it’s a mashup of ‘Dexter’ and ‘This Savage Song’ by V.E. Schwab. I could barely tear myself away from the TV show ‘Dexter’, I loved it to death, but this isn’t why I read this book (just look at the scalpel on the cover), and making comparisons like the one made here doesn’t give author Rebecca Schaeffer the true credit she should even give herself (Dexter is referenced in the book, so I know she loved the show too). I relished all the adventure and the gore, but I also found the writing and story captivating, and not worth comparing to anything else, especially once I got lost inside this new world and involved with the characters.Above all, the questioning of Nita’s own existence, her morals, and her judgment in the situations that come up, was so fascinating to read, this book has levels beyond the ears and toes in jars of formaldehyde. It was so thought-provoking amidst all the horrifying bloodiness and excellent world-building, and that was so unexpected.I’m definitely looking forward to seeing this series progress; the fate of Nita looked precarious at the end of the book, and I can’t wait for more blood and more magical ‘monsters’ to be cut up into tiny little pieces to make her strange future right again. One can only hope, and even if she doesn’t really ‘deserve’ it.

A good readRecommend using your library card instead though.

I loved this book. I read it all in a day because i couldn't put i down. I can't say the same for the others, but this one is deffinetly the best one in the trilogy, and the world building is AMAZING. So give it a read if you are into modern phantasy worlds, with a bunch of supernatural creatures!

Llevaba tiempo queriendo tener la versión fisica, no le pongo 5 estrellas por que llego un poco maltratado de las esquinas:c

O livro é excelente. Linguagem de fácil entendimento, e com uma trama emocionante que faz com que você não queira parar de ler. O livro não é inteiramente de "sangue e tripas", como algumas avaliações fazem parecer, mas algumas cenas são bastante detalhadas anatomicamente, o que para mim acho sensacional, mas que pode ser desconcertante para alguns leitores sensíveis com o tema. O ponto de vista, os pensamentos e imaginações centrados na personagem principal nos permite a reflexão sobre a linha que separa o certo do errado, sobre o que é ou não moral em situações traumáticas e de sobrevivência. Avaliação subjetiva à parte, o livro veio em ótimo estado, porém a capa e o papel não são da melhor qualidade, tornando fácil de rasgar ou amassar um pouquinho se for descuidado, mas é algo que, para mim, não importa muito. Mesmo não sendo um gênero que normalmente não leio, a história excedeu as minhas expectativas. Recomendo muito para quem gosta de suspense e um pouco de sangue ;)

História interessante e diferente.A autora escreve muito bem e a leitura é bastante fluída.Já vou adquirir o próximo da saga.

tudo veio certinho e os livros, intactos.