Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Nettle & Bone

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

486 reviews

a_bow's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This reads like a Grimm's fairy tale and feels more like a summary of an epic story. There is not a lot of world building or any real magic system. It's fast paced, fun, and allegorical. It had me thinking about how the patriarchy really hurts women from all facets of society. There is not a lot of character development and while I appreciated the main character being a 30 year old woman, I felt like she was very naive for a 30 year old. I felt like she did very little in her adventure and relied all on the other characters' skills. I would have loved if she took her feminine rage on a solo mission and just strike fear into people. Like she just snapped and you really see just how fed up she is with men who abuse power, with men who are bystanders to those abusing power and do nothing, and to women who internalize the mysingony and happily perpetuate it, and the women who don't like it but also dont do much to stand up to it until it personally affects them. I want to see her struggle with her faith to a religion that claims all are equal yet creates a caste system where powerful men are in charge and many times exaggerates/misinterprets the text to take even more power. I want to see a 30 year old woman who has seen it all/heard it all, who has had enough of the bullshit explode on everyone and everything. I want her to use her wits to steal, kill, seduce, threaten, barhain anyone to get her way. Overall I found it enjoyable I just would have loved more! It's like if Paris Paloma's.song Labour was turned to a book.

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belles9's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

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itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

After the really average books that put me in a reading slump, this book took me right out of it. Even though I've been contending with a terrible bout of insomnia, I legitimately enjoyed this book enough to want to know where it was going to go next every time I put it down.

Things I liked:

This book had a really good, consistent dark fairy tale atmosphere without being overly despairing or angsty. My heart did drop a little at
the thief wheel scene in the tombs
but in a good way kept me reading to find out if
this was the end for our protagonists
.
Marra was a very believable character and protagonist. It could be argued she didn't really contribute much compared to her companions but considering she was largely sheltered for most of her life, I think it's more forgiveable for her to make stupid decisions or seem immature.
If you like fairy tale magic systems, this is the book for you. The book never bogs you down with infodumping or exposition on said system, but takes the time to explain things concisely.

Things I didn't like:

I feel like the demon chicken was very underutilised compared to the rest of Marra's companions, and it was never explained why the dust-wife had a demon possess the chicken to begin with.
The romance between Marra and Fenris felt a little forced in my opinion. It was sweet enough but I feel like it was there purely to make the booktok/booktube girlies squee. We could have shown Fenris was a decent guy without having to force him and Marra into a romance.
I feel like there could have been some more minor conflict between the main party, especially when
Agnes</spoilers> joined them or between them in the boarding house trying not to be suspicious in front of the landlady.

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ianreadsbookssometimes's review

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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skillyillian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

First things first a very heavy trigger warning for domestic violence. It's not pictured on the page explicitly as it happens, but it's described by the victim as well as the FMC and other characters throughout the book.

That being said:

Honestly this is SO good. The language used is so descriptive and really fits the tone of the story. I loved having an FMC that wasn't barely legal, and her determination to do impossible things was incredible. The dust-wife was awesome but I think Agnes stole the show and I would have loved to have seen and learned more from her. Honestly, I think the story would've benefitted from more character backstory and development? But it's not like they were cardboard cutouts by any means, either.

The timeline, or at least the way it's presented in the story, was a little hard to follow for a minute? But once the past caught up to the story it made sense, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think my favorite part was the humor, honestly. It balanced things out and added levity in a way that I think prevented the whole story from being too heavy. It was witty and wry and the kind of jokes that fit perfectly for a group comprised of a dog made of bones, a cursed chick, a demon hen (no relation), and two traumatized young-ish people traveling with two powerful old women who are each other's opposites in every way.

Overall, this is a great story with some really interesting characters I think we could've learned about a bit more. I loved it so much though, and jumped right into another Kingfisher book (What Moves the Dead) which I'm also enjoying so far. I'm excited to keep reading more from this author :)

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sadetanssija's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Nettle & Bone is a fairytale-like fantasy novel following a young princess on a quest to save her sister from an abusive king.

There were some things I really liked about this. I appreciate a good unlikely ensemble cast, and I particularly liked the dynamic between the dust-witch and the godmother; I also really liked Bonedog and Finder of course. This was my first T. Kingfisher experience and I liked the writing style for the most part – I’d definitely try another of her works on the basis of this one. The world-building was compelling and I would’ve loved to learn more about the kingdoms and the surrounding territories. Without giving anything away, there are some interesting ethical ambiguities to the ending that I can appreciate.

There were also some aspects to this story that really didn’t work for me. The protagonist, and by extension the book itself, skewed YA (which isn’t how it’s marketed); Marra definitely didn’t read like a thirty year old, particularly not given the context. Some of the dialogue felt borderline patronizing (like I was being spoken to as a reader) and the humour really didn’t land for me (it just make the tone feel very inconsistent). Most of all, though, the bits of the book I found most interesting (the magic making Bonedog possible, the Blistered Lands, the dynamics between the Kingdoms) were skimmed over and the bits I found significantly less interesting were foregrounded (particularly the emerging romance which I think would’ve been better just left out). I liked the very beginning few chapters of the book better than the rest.

Content warnings: sexism, intimate partner violence, physical abuse, violence, murder, death

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eestellar's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Wow I loved this book. The two old ladies were wonderful and reminded me of my grandmas a bit - a sassy grump and a woman with a few loose screws, loved it. I am also a big fan of bone dog. I didn't realize I needed more books with supernatural dog companions in my life but between elatsoe and this I now know better. Many times I finish a book wishing I knew more and feeling unfulfilled, but even though I'd read thousands more pages about this world I feel very comfortable with the 240 I got. What a great read.

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musen_henning's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective

4.75

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_jamie's review

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Marra's struggles in the novel and general seeming slow was to pick up on certain things really resonates with me - I definitely identify with her.
The tale is quick-paced and humorous, low-stakes vibe.

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