Review: Buried Bones

Reviewed by Jen
 

I really enjoyed Good Bones and had no idea a sequel was in the works... so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out about this book.  It picks up where the last story left off, following the relationship between neighbors Chris and Dylan.  The feel stays very true to the first book, though the men have new challenges to face.

Chris has come to terms very well with finding out Dylan is a werewolf and accepts his lover as he is.  Dylan has concerns about Chris' safety around him in his other form, but we learn quickly that is really not what they have to be worried about.  It seems there is a ghost haunting Dylan's house.   The guys have to figure out who the specter is and what he wants while they try to put their relationship on more permanent ground.

In the meantime, both guys have some issues they have to work on within themselves.  Chris has to come to terms with his difficult childhood and the father who abandoned him. Dylan has to figure out how being a werewolf fits in his life --and whether he can share his secret with others.  This, as he struggles with a big new project at his architectural firm.

I wasn't sure how I felt about a ghost coming in to the story. Yes, these books are supernatural in nature. But Good Bones was much, much less a werewolf story than a love story.  The wolf thing played a part, but it was secondary to what was happening between Dylan and Chris emotionally.  The supernatural does have a bigger role here, but I am happy to say that at the heart, Buried Bones is a relationship story too.

Things between Dylan and Chris are still pretty new.  Both guys have some insecurities about their future and how to ensure they stay together.  Chris is still the more vulnerable of the two, but I found that it presented itself a little differently in this installment. He was so sure he wasn't good enough before; that he was unworthy of Dylan.  Now, I think he is more emotionally invested. He has opened his heart and allowed himself to believe that Dylan loves him.  But instead of the heartbreaking statements he made in the past, now he makes a jab or a dig about it; his words are less desolate and more barbed.  I feel like he still doesn't see the worth in himself that Dylan sees, but he is moving away from being the wounded bird we first met.  He is trying to stand up for himself, instead of offering to take anything Dylan will give him.

I enjoyed watching these two move their relationship to a deeper level.  And Lord knows, the sex is hot. But with Chris' growth in the relationship, I didn't have the same gut-punched feeling that made me want to jump in the last book and give him a hug. It is a good journey, though.  I'm glad I got a chance to revisit these characters and see them take things to the next level.

Rating: B

*ARC Provided by Dreamspinner Press

Click to purchase: Amazon

Buried Bones

by Kim Fielding

Release Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press