Published by Black & White Publishing
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Dark Fantasy, Gothic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Miscellaneous History, Lesbian Characters, Queer Characters, Sapphic Characters, Scottish Characters, Transgender Characters, Mobility Aids, Monsters, Sea Creatures, Selkies, Scotland, Scottish, Scottish Authors
My Rating:
Published on: 10th October 2024
Pages: 272
Disability Representation: One character uses a cane.
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A gothic tale of family, the legend of the selkies - shapeshifting mythological creatures - and a young woman who is offered an impossible choice.
The only daughter in a family of Scottish seal-hunters, Kier Sealgair is becoming a burden. She cannot kill, and the family are facing hard times now that her father is ailing.
On the neighbouring cliffs stands Erskine Manor, home to a mysterious and wealthy family. Servants arrive in town to buy supplies, but the family is never seen, and waves of rumour spread in the struggling small-town community.
Then, one day, after a chance encounter, Lady Erskine finds Kier and offers her a bargain that could save Kier's father and change the town's impending fate. But questions remain. Who lives in the five towers of the manor? Is the Lord of the house alive? And are the children of the manor even human, or are the tales of spine-toothed monsters who roam the grounds true?
A period gothic tale of legends, secrets and monsters in the deep, weaving myth and folklore, The Bone Diver is perfect for fans of Jenni Fagan, Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry.
This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!
Content Warnings:
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The Bone Diver Review
The Bone Diver by Angie Spoto is a historical fantasy set in Scotland. The daughter of seal hunters, Kier was planning to join the family business until she was cursed. Since then she has not been able to kill anything, not even squish a bug. Beginning to feel like a burden on her family, Kier keeps house and cooks meals; anything to feel useful.
When her father is seriously injured during a hunt, Kier feels even more helpless. His injury means that he will be unable to hunt for a long time and with a hard winter on the way their family is going to struggle. An offer from a mysterious source that comes out of the blue could save the day, but it would mean leaving her family to live in the strange Erskine Manor. Lady Erskine wants Kier to dive for her, which is the one thing that Kier excels at.
Kier has no idea what to expect when she accepts the offer. No one has seen the Erskine for years and the village is rife with stories about them. What will she find at the manor and what does Lady Erskine want her to dive for?
This is the second novel by Angie Spoto, and just like her debut The Grief Nurse, The Bone Diver is a mysterious gothic thriller. Selkies have always fascinated me, and Spoto has woven an incredible tale of magic and the sea. This sapphic romance will capture your heart and imagination, whisking you off to the remote Scottish coastline with every page.
In addition to a sapphic relationship, there is a transgender main character and a disabled main character who uses a cane. The historical period of The Bone Diver is left vague, and based on the use of oil lamps and legal seal hunting (banned in 1970) it is set before the 1940s (when electricity was common in homes).
About Angie Spoto
Angie Spoto is an American writer living in Scotland. She grew up near Chicago, lived in the Netherlands, and eventually moved to Scotland to get her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. She loves stories that are dark and surreal, strange and magical, and is inspired by writers like Ursula Le Guinn, Octavia Butler, Leonora Carrington, and Naomi Novik. She loves fairy tales, especially Scottish ones. She lives beside the shore with her husband and son.
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