Review: Bone Lines by Stephanie Bretherton

I was approached by this author to provide an honest review in return for a free copy of the book.

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Blurb: A young woman walks alone through a barren landscape in a time before history, a time of cataclysmic natural change. She is cold, hungry and with child but she is neither without hope or resources. A skilful hunter she draws on her intuitive understanding of how to stay alive… and knows that she must survive. In the present day, geneticist Dr Elouise Kluft wrestles with an ancient conundrum as she unravels the secrets of a momentous archaeological find. She is working at the forefront of contemporary science but is caught in the lonely time-lock of her own emotional past.

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Title: Bone Lines

Author: Stephanie Bretherton

Publisher: Unbound

Genre: Fiction, Historical, Science Fiction

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Review:

This book follows two journeys – one, of Dr Elouise Kluft, set in the present day as she gets the career opportunity of a lifetime, and the other of ‘Sarah’, set back in the Stone Age as she makes the perilous journey away from her home and family in search of a better life as the world she knew begins to die.

There are quite a few things that I enjoyed about this book. Firstly, it must be said that the author has most definitely done an insane amount of research for this book. From reading up on the journey of Neanderthals during the Ice Age to studying terms relating to DNA, there is so much knowledge in this book that it’s such a fascinating read and I even feel like I learnt something! I also loved the character of Elouise who really came across to me as someone who was professionally very accomplished and, if you met her, would come across as a woman with her life under control. I appreciated the insight into Elouise’s life where that wasn’t the case and she could feel just as insecure as the rest of us. This added a realistic edge to her that I connected with which added to my enjoyment of the book.

On the other hand, there were one or two things that I wasn’t a huge fan of. The main thing was that I felt like it took a while to really get into the story as we wait a while for us to really understand ‘Sarah’s’ journey and motives for moving, as well as waiting for Elouise to make a discovery with the bones. There are also instances at the beginning of the book where there are references to characters (e.g. Tom) that we haven’t been introduced to yet which can be confusing.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone who has a soft spot for history. If you’ve studied the Stone Age or just have an interest in it then this book would be something that you’d find extremely interesting. Similarly if you have an interest in DNA and evolution!

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Rating: 4/5

Recommend?: Yes

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Have you read this book? What did you think? Have you read any of the books that come after this one? I’d love to know!

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