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Gather the Bones

by Alison Stuart (Goodreads Author)

4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 · rating details · 32 ratings · 15 reviews

War leaves no one untouched...

The horrors of the Great War are not the only ghosts that haunt Helen Morrow and her late husband's reclusive cousin, Paul. Unquiet spirits from another time and another conflict touch them.
A coded diary gives them clues to the mysterious disappearance of Paul's great-grandmother in 1812, and the desperate voice of a young woman reaches out to...more

276 pages

Published September 3rd 2012 by Lyrical Press

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Nov 14, 2012 Jenny Schwartz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, authors-i-know, history, romance, paranormal

Gather the Bones is brilliant. It hooked me from the start. Set soon after World War I, the characters are all dealing with the aftermath of war - the fact lives are changed forever. Love, loyalty, duty. The plot is complicated enough to keep you guessing (and surprise you) but beautifully woven. Nothing seems forced.

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 22, 2012 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh, my goodness. What a wonderful read, I loved this. It had everything I want in a good book. An historical setting, a paranormal theme, attractive if slightly flawed characters.

Books about the great war have always intrigued me and I remember reading them with awe. An entire generation of young men around the world totally destroyed....the Irish ballad 'The Green Fields of France' has the capacity to reduce me to tears - the story of one young Irish man who lost his life on a battlefield in a...more Oh, my goodness. What a wonderful read, I loved this. It had everything I want in a good book. An historical setting, a paranormal theme, attractive if slightly flawed characters.

Books about the great war have always intrigued me and I remember reading them with awe. An entire generation of young men around the world totally destroyed....the Irish ballad 'The Green Fields of France' has the capacity to reduce me to tears - the story of one young Irish man who lost his life on a battlefield in a far away country. Even soldiers and officers from India also perished. Although Ireland has always remained neutral since we got our Independence from the British Empire, hundreds of young Irish men perished on 'the green fields of France.

The plot of the book revolves around Helen, a young Australian woman, in the aftermath of what is now known as the First World War. Helen visits England to spend some time in the house where her late husband grew up, along with her young daughter. The mother-in-law she never knew is not an easy person to live with (are they ever?) and her late husband Charlie's cousin Paul is walking wounded, damaged inside by the terrible things he has seen.

Even as Paul and Helen make peace with the loss of Charlie from their lives, the past impinges on the present....the historical present, because this is only around 1921. Discovering an old diary and reading old letters, Helen comes to know about Suzanna, a former Morrow daughter in law from 1812, who caused a scandal back then by abandoning her husband and young children and running off to the colonies with her lover. Various disturbing happenings around the huge house make it clear that until the past has been laid to rest, the future happiness of the members is in the balance.

Either story is fascinating, and either Helen's or Suzanna's stories would have made a credible novel in themselves. It is the intertwining of the two stories that makes this such a meaty read. It took me twice as long to read this as it would another novel of probably more or less the same length. That's no bad thing. The story was a truly satisfying read, exquisitely written and intricately woven. Go and get it, you'll be glad you did.(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Desere Steenberg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Gather the bones was a paranormal like no other I have come across before. It had mystery behind mystery and I at one point I thought I might be trapped in one of the tales from Ghost Lab,minus all the technical mumbo jumbo.

Yes it was that good and so much more ! There was history,mystery,intrigue and so many interesting and mind blowing secrets that I read it in one sitting.

I read paranormals every now and then but I have never read a paranormal with such a intense level of excitement and thri...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 06, 2012 Nas Dean rated it 4 of 5 stars

GATHER THE BONES by author Alison Stuart and is a October 2012 release by Lyrical Press.

Widow Helen Morrow arrives in England at her mother in laws invitation, so that her daughter could meet her grandmother.

At the family home, Holdston, though she is welcomed, Helen feels disquiet. She wanted some answers to the last minutes of her husband Charlie's live. So she is happy when Paul Morrow, who was in the same unit with Charlie arrived. But Paul was not up to answering any of her questions. How c...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 26, 2012 Evangeline Holland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1920s, england, gothic-fiction, historical-romance, wwi

Disclosure: Stuart placed an ad on my website, Edwardian Promenade, but I purchased this book when someone mentioned it on my Downton Abbey Facebook page.

Gather the Bones haunting, and manages to combine gothic tinges with a quiet but lovely romance. The most surprising--and pleasing--element, were the parallels Stuart drew between WWI and the Napoleonic Wars via the hidden diary written by Paul's Regency ancestress. The plot is simple: widowed Helen Morrow has brought her daughter to England fr...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Rosario (http://rosario.blogspot.com/) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a few years after the end of WWI, and Helen Morrow has just arrived in England from her native Australia. She and her daughter are to spend some time with her late husband's aristocratic family. Charlie left to join his cousin, Paul, in his regiment when Helen was in the very early stages of her pregnancy, and died before he could see her. Since little Alice will now never know her father, Helen would like her to know her father's family.
After Charlie's death, the title and estate passed to...more It's a few years after the end of WWI, and Helen Morrow has just arrived in England from her native Australia. She and her daughter are to spend some time with her late husband's aristocratic family. Charlie left to join his cousin, Paul, in his regiment when Helen was in the very early stages of her pregnancy, and died before he could see her. Since little Alice will now never know her father, Helen would like her to know her father's family.
After Charlie's death, the title and estate passed to Paul, who's now struggling both with recovering from injuries sustained in the same charge that killed Charlie and with the new responsibilities he's inherited. There's not enough money to keep the house going for very long, and the fact that he's seriously considering selling it does not help his difficult relationship with his aunt Evelyn, Charlie's mother.

For Paul, the sequels from the war are not just physical, but mental, and he's become reclusive. Helen and Alice's arrival start bringing him back to life, and he and Helen soon develop a connection. But that's not all that's going on. Paul and Helen are not just haunted by their memories, but by the Hall's ghosts. Paul has long been aware of them, but with Helen's arrival, their actions become more urgent and purposeful. It becomes clear that there's a secret from 100 years earlier, and Helen and Paul join forces to discover it.

The concept of this book is right up my street. The period is underused and one I find fascinating, and Stuart does make the time and place come alive. I also love plots where the main characters work together to solve a mystery from the past, especially if there are some creepy ghosts involved (I blame this on my love for Barbara Michaels and my obsession with finding more books like hers, now that she hasn't written one for years). I even liked the characters and was interested in their issues.

Other than a particular development near the end, where the romance goes in a tedious and pointless direction right before the HEA (they act like idiots for a little while, and then change their minds with no angst or consequences), there's really nothing wrong with the book. I liked it well enough. It's just that it's all a bit... thin, I guess. The romance, the old family mystery, the mystery of how exactly Charlie died, it's all explored in a way that felt somewhat shallow to me. There's quite a lot here that should have been very traumatic, but it never felt that way. We were just skimming over the surface.

I felt oddly disengaged from it all. Not quite bored, but close. It was the sort of book where I didn't feel any urgency to pick it up when I'd put it down, but was happy enough to keep reading. It was the emotional connection that I missed.

MY GRADE: A C+. (less)

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Nov 08, 2012 My Book Addiction and More MBA rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, paranormal-romance

GATHER THE BONES by Allison Stuart is an interesting paranormal/historical romance. It interweaves the past with the present with intrigue,mystery,secrets,love adventure and romance. Follow Paul and Helen Morrow on an adventure of a lifetime as they search for the truth of the death of a loved one from 1812 and 1917. As voices/spirits from the past reach out to them from the pages of a coded diary. You don't want to miss this exciting story of love,tragedy,lost and grief mixed with historical an...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Lynxie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star-review, a-lil-sexy, hot-men, made-me-think, smirk-worthy

Gather the Bones popped up on my radar through a group challenge on Goodreads. I didn't know anything about it, but the synopsis enthralled me and I felt like a bit of a change of pace, having not read many historical fantasy/romance books. It also simultaneously surprised and delighted me to find out that Alison Stuart actually lives in Australia too?! Even better! Now I can read a promising sounding book and support a fellow Aussie writer.

The story... well that just blew me away.

The beginning...more Gather the Bones popped up on my radar through a group challenge on Goodreads. I didn't know anything about it, but the synopsis enthralled me and I felt like a bit of a change of pace, having not read many historical fantasy/romance books. It also simultaneously surprised and delighted me to find out that Alison Stuart actually lives in Australia too?! Even better! Now I can read a promising sounding book and support a fellow Aussie writer.

The story... well that just blew me away.

The beginning chapters of the story was a little flat, I think it could have been placed somewhere else in the story and worked better, but it quickly flowed past that and drew me in and I became completely engrossed in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and getting to know Helen, the lead female and her sweet daughter (Alice) and I secretly (ok maybe not so secretly now) adored Paul Morrow, our dashing, yet reclusive male lead. Alison brought these characters to life and very eloquently weaved her tale around the reader in such a way that you felt included in it. You weren't just a fly on the wall, you got to see, hear, feel and experience the range of emotions, senses and experiences that each of the characters did.

Because of the historical romance genre, you do get your fair share of the bitchiness and gossiping that was rife in that time/genre. Alison did a fantastic job of bringing all that to the fore without going overboard and drowning out the storyline.

I especially enjoyed the paranormal element to this story. It added brilliantly to the already strong historical romance tale. It didn't overpower the rest of the story, this was a truly well balanced mix of genres which had a surprisingly wicked plot twist I didn't see coming.

So, why 4 stars and not the sought after 5 star review?

The simple answer is, this:
I wanted a little more. There are unanswered questions in my mind, which isn't to say that you have to end a story with a pretty pink bow of closure, but I felt a little let down when I didn't get those answers.

Still, Gather the Bones is a thoroughly enjoyable read (that I was up till midnight reading last night!) that historical romance fans should enjoy, fans of paranormal books might enjoy the light theme too, mystery buffs may find the mystery a little too light, but might enjoy it. I think, your general all-rounder reader will probably enjoy this the most, because of its blend of genres. Ultimately, this is a well written and well executed story.

Thanks for the great trip back in time Alison!(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 14, 2012 Kira rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery, paranormal, keeper, romance, favorites

Helen Morrow is an Australian and a war widow who has gone to England following the request of her upper class English mother-in-law who wishes to meet her grandaughter, Alice. There she meets her dead husbands cousin, and new Lord of the Manor, Paul. Together they must unravel a past mystery as well as deal with the issues facing the survivors of a horrible war.

Gather the Bones is a wonderful read. It manages to capture all the themes I love in the one book; history, romance, mystery, and paran...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Felicia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

IT LEFT ME WANTING...

This really is a 2.5 for me. I liked Helen and I loved Paul yet the story wasn't as richly developed as it should have been. Certainly Robert and Susannah's story added nice parallels but it wasn't flushed out or connected the way it could have been. As a romance it was charming, there was chemistry but it wasn't developed properly. I found plot constructs like Tony and the engagement so awkward. Great premise poor execution.

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Sep 14, 2012 Helen rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is such a moving story filled with romance mystery and intrigue I loved it from start to finish I highly recommend this one

1 like · like · see review

Nov 15, 2012 Ana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: z-read-in-2012, historical-world-war-i, z-indtale

4.5 stars

A great and (really) emotional story set in the aftermath of the World War I. An unusual setting, as we can all agree. What I most like about are the details given to the relationship itself, how they fought against everything (especially themselves) in order to be together. Worth reading.

Reviewed for InD'Tale magazine. The review can be found here.

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 11, 2013 Fiona Lowe added it · review of another edition

Enjoyed this Downtown Abbey-esque novel. It has a lovely romance, ghosts, great English houses and WW1

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Sep 30, 2012 Cd Brennan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brilliant! Well done Alison, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I dare say, you are a fine storyteller!

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Dec 11, 2012 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was so sad to finish this book. This book took me 1 night to finish as I couldn't put it down. A paranormal and historical romance captivated me with the characters coming alive, a well thought out plot. This won't disappoint readers.

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Shelves: romance

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About Alison Stuart

Alison was born in Kenya and emigrated to Melbourne, Australia at the age of ten. She studied law at Melbourne University and has worked in a variety of areas as a lawyer, including the military. In 2000 she moved to Singapore with her husband and sons and for three years was able to pursue serious, full time writing. While in Singapore she was published in two anthologies of short stories, one of...more

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