Back again with another Jackaby book by William Ritter, this one is the second in the series and oh boy did I have fun reading it. Beastly Bones not only had some great plot trajectory and entertaining prose, but the character development, relationship developments and the fact this book wasn’t focused on either of the aforementioned points makes for such an easy, enjoyable read.

Let me start by saying what I believe to be the main hook for this novel – what isn’t great about dragons? The events of this book carried such high energy and had me engaged from cover to cover, creating great character dynamics and character involvement in the prose. As I said with Jackaby, these books are more suited for a middle grade or teen reader getting into historical fiction or as a cosy fantasy/cosy adventure reader. The weight of the story isn’t heavy enough for any deeper meaning or darker themes and the story itself is short, sitting at 320 pages.

One thing I really appreciate with Beastly Bones is that the romance subplot is just that – a subplot. It doesn’t get shoved in your face and it doesn’t lead the story because that’s not what the story is about. There are romantic threads that get woven into the story and the character relationships get more defined, but the characters are still independent, career-focused and engaged in the action at hand. One thing I will note though, and this is subjective, is that I felt the high-tension and quick action lead important plot points to get skipped over too quickly. With quick pacing and high tension, there is a pent-up ball of emotion sitting in the reader’s chest that needs a release, whether that be in the form of an emotional catharsis or a break in the action to give the reader a chance to slow down and catch their breath. Beastly Bones doesn’t seem to have that break in tension until the end of the book with the denouement so everything builds and builds and builds and suddenly it’s all ended. Maybe I’m recalling it a little too critically, but given it’s in my reading log, it seems to have stood out.

Nevertheless, Beastly Bones is fun and creative and dips into the folklore/supernatural tropes and themes very well, resulting in a fun, light-hearted adventure for Jackaby, Abigail, and their friends. As this is point marks the middle of the overarching storyline for the series, I can say that the foreshadowing and building blocks to the story world have made a solid foundation and the darker, more sinister characters are starting to come out of the woodwork. It’ll be interesting to see what you all think, whether you’d consider reading the series or, if you’ve read it already, what you thought of Beastly Bones.