The King of Bones and Ashes: A Witches of New Orleans Novel

Welcome!  J.D. Horn is the author of A Witching Savannah series which includes The Line, The Void, The Source and Jilo.  He has also written Shivaree.  All of these novels are available through the Kindle Unlimited Program on Amazon.  

The King of Bones and Ashes by J.D. Horn is the first book in A Witches of New Orleans series (releases January 23).  On Monday, August 29, 2005 the witches of the Chanticleer Coven tried to divert the storm without success.  They are now preparing to evacuate. While waiting for her father, young Alice is drawn outside and sees Babau Jean (John the Bogey) in the water, and he almost succeeds in grabbing her.  While Alice got away from his clutches, Babau Jean is still with her.  In the present day, Celestin Marin has passed away after being in a coma for the past eight years.  Celestin was the head of their clan and the witches are looking forward to claiming his residual magic for themselves (in a disgusting ritual).  Magic is fading from the world and has been for some time.  Those who have relied on it are not coping well.  Some are going mad, others are taking the “Dreaming Road”, and a few are managing to cope.  Alice is finally being freed from the asylum where she was placed by her father.  Her oldest brother, Luc is dead.  No one believed Alice when she told them Babau Jean forced Luc to kill himself.  Witches have been disappearing from New Orleans and people are told they have taken the “Dreaming Road”.  Alice’s mother supposedly took this path when Alice was a child.   If this is the path the witches took, where are there bodies?  They have not been found.    There are dark forces at work in New Orleans.  What will the witches do to keep their magic alive?

The King of Bones and Ashes is an odd book.  I did like the setting of New Orleans and that it involved witches.  There are numerous characters in the book and the POV changes frequently.  It can be difficult to keep track of the various people and their storylines.  I found the book to be a convoluted and disjointed.  I think the author tried to put too much into one book.  I wish the author had focused the story on Alice.  That alone would have been an intriguing story. Evangeline and Lisette (other main characters) should have had their own books. I thought the book lacked focus and continuity.  The writer was overly descriptive which led to a glacial pace (I fell asleep more than once).    It was a struggle to finish this novel. And this is just the first book in the trilogy. Please be aware that The King of Bones and Ashes contains foul language, extreme violence, drugs and large quantities of alcohol.  I was surprised that The King of Bones and Ashes is by the same author that wrote The Line.  The writing style is very different (what I enjoyed in The Line is missing from this tome).  While The King of Bones and Ashes is not my cup of tea, it will appeal to other readers.  I suggest getting a sample of the book and see if the book interests you.  The Book of the Unwinding is the next book in this series.  It will be available on June 26.  Both books are available through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited Program.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and reading my review.  I will return tomorrow with my thoughts on Scone Cold Killer by Lena Gregory.  I am off to get some work done.  May you have a truly delightful day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader