Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

22 reviews

theirgracegrace's review

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

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

4.25

As a longtime fan of T. Kingfisher's work, Nettle & Bone was a natural choice to read and a very good decision. Kingfisher weaves together fairy tale tropes and folklore to make a world full of fairy godmothers, goblins, and the restless dead. The tale is told with Kingfisher's trademark snark and humour from the perspective of Marra, a young princess whose older sister has become the abused wife of a wicked king. Her task is to kill the king and free her sister, and along the way finds a witch, a dog made of bones, her own fairy godmother, a demonic chicken and a foreign man whose freedom is bought from the Fair Folk with a tooth. The twists and turns of this book are as hard to predict as the mausoleum of the Northern Kingdom, and well worth the ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Cannibalism, Classism, Misogyny, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Confinement, Death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Slavery, Child death, Animal death, Grief, Infertility, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Gore, War, Cursing, and Excrement

There is one particular scene where the main character's teeth are made to dance in her mouth and one of them is removed. It is very reminiscent of the "imagining my teeth falling out" dream but can be quite disturbing. There is also a character in the city which has a "curse-child", which is described like a marionette or puppet that chokes and harms her.

readingrainey's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Gore, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Child death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Body horror

Minor: Violence, Rape, and Cannibalism

helfire124's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Animal death, Blood, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, War, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Vomit

xwiththevex's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Would be great for a Greta Gerwig adaptation featuring Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh. Big on yearn-core.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Pregnancy, Body horror, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Slavery, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Cannibalism, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture

kdez's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Nettle & Bone is a perfect spooky season read! I absolutely loved it. The first chapter made me think it would be very dark and creepy (not my vibe) so I was a bit nervous it wouldn’t be for me, but it was just the right amount of dark, with occasional flashes of (manageable) spooky and a lot of relatable moments and humour.

I really enjoyed Marra, the FMC who is much more comfortable embroidering than questing, but is determined to save her sister. BUT I completely fell in love with the side characters. They were dynamic and funny and worked incredibly well opposite Marra.

Bonedog and the demon chicken have my heart.

Something I liked about this book was there was always the sense that no matter how spookily dark things got, the true-to-life things were painted as worse. The world may be full of scary creatures and phenomena, but the worst monsters are the human beings hiding behind their power. And that if you’re determined to take on the worst of them, you can face the rest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Blood, Miscarriage, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Animal death, and Dementia

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Plot: 4★
Prose: 4★
Pace: 3.5★
Concept/Execution: 4★/3★
Characters: 3.5★
Worldbuilding: 3★
Ending: 3★

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Medical content, Miscarriage, Death, and Violence

Minor: Torture, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, and Animal cruelty

wyszomirska's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Would recommend for younger audiences (YA). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Abortion

vel629vet's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

I adored this story. I saw a TikTok where it was described as ‘cozy fantasy adjacent’ and I would completely agree. Perfect spooky fall vibes with a very dark premise, but the story evolves into found family and a cozy quest. One of the more unique books I’ve read and I highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage

Minor: Animal death, Violence, Sexual violence, and Gore

tallulahlucy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Child death, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Classism, Physical abuse, Animal death, Rape, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Child abuse and Violence

katvou's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, and Body horror

Minor: Blood, Gore, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Torture, Physical abuse, War, Cannibalism, and Violence