The Bones Beneath My Skin – T.J Klune

Published By: Tor
Pages: 400
Released On: 06/02/2025

He lost everything. Then he found himself . . .

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright is at a loose end: his parents are dead, his older brother has disowned him, and he’s been fired from his job. Looking for a sense of direction, he returns to his family’s summer cabin in Oregon.

The cabin should be empty – but it’s not. Inside is a man named Alex, and an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. There’s far more to Art than meets the eye. But as Alex and Nate bond over just how special she truly is, they discover that powerful forces are closing in – forces that want nothing more than to control her.

As danger draws near, Nate decide whether to drown in the memories of his past, or fight for Art and a future he never thought possible.

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I am grateful all the time for the books I get sent frrom authors and publishers, but every so often you get one that changes your reading life (yes, I’m that dramatic). I hadn’t read any of Klune’s books before I was sent a copy of Under the Whispering Door and it was an unbelievably perfect book. And since then, whilst I’ve enjoyed some more than others, his books haven’t failed me. His book In the Lives of Puppets made it onto my favourite books of 2023 list, it was so beautiful, and so I was excited to receive a copy of this latest one.

I always find his books are more than ‘just’ books. Yes, they’re a piece of entertainment but they’re so much deeper than that. This is about humanity in all its ugliness but also in its beauty, about not being alone – in terms of the universe and within a family unit, be it made of blood or a family you choose.

What I will say, just before I get into this, is that it’s almost a review of two books – you’ll see why.

It didn’t grab me initially. I’m used to his whimsical fantasy stories, and at first, this wasn’t that. It serious, all about grief and loss and loneliness; I wasn’t getting that magic I’m used to.

When I read a review book, I write notes down as I read it to make writing the review easier. When I got to about 30%, I looked at my notes and all I’d written was that it wasn’t for me. It felt slow, boring; the characters were very 2D, and I kept waiting for something to happen, but not in the same way that a thriller keeps me on the edge of my seat.

But then it got to about 40% and it kicked off. It definitely gets better as it went along, and by the ending I was crying, it was gorgeous. It just took a while to get there.

In my personal opinion, I felt like it didn’t know what it was – sci-fi, fantasy, romance, action, thriller – it was too much but at the same time, not nearly enough. It didn’t settle on any one thing and so it felt a bit disjointed to begin with.

I always knew there would be a romantic element, as there always is, and I look forward to that. There’s not many authors I’ve read that can capture the falling in love stage as well as he does, but the partnership in this felt a bit forced. I mean, it did work in the end and I was happy about it, but it just felt forced rather than it happening naturally.

I was conflicted about the three main characters. For the first part I felt that Nate was a bit of a wet weekend, didn’t stand up for himself and I didn’t like him that much. I couldn’t figure Alex out, he was brooding and threatening but it felt a bit false – but as the book went on he became my favourite character. And then we have Artemis, she’s our only link to the sci-fi element to begin with. At times I found her sweet and at others very annoying, a bit overplayed. But in the end I didn’t mind that because it worked in context.

But once shit hit the fan – about 40% through, I very much enjoyed it. It started going at 100mph and didn’t stop, which I enjoyed much more. From about halfway, it was the Klune I was expecting. My concern is, I know how much I love his writing and so I knew there was more to come; but if someone hasn’t read his work before and only had this book to go on, I worry that they may give up before they get to the faster-action bits.

I will still say that I was underwhelmed as a whole. I love his work and will continue to love his work. I did enjoy this, I just wish the first 30% was more like the last 70%, then I would have loved it frrom the start.

I generally don’t do star ratings, and I’m glad because with this one…if I took the first part then we’d be looking at 2-3 stars, but the second part is easily a 4-5 stars. So I would say to persevere with it because it is definitely worth it by the end.