Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

61 reviews

lizzymay_reads's review

adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense medium-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

5.0

Feminine rage in the best way.

The story follows Marta, a 30 year old Princess of a small kingdom turned (almost) nun. Because of her kingdom’s important port but lack of a strong army, her oldest sister is sent to wed a more powerful prince. But before long she turns up dead, and her next oldest sister is sent to wed the prince.

When Marra learns the truth about the prince, however, she hatches a plot with an unlikely group of misfits including a dog made only of bones and travels to his kingdom.

Everything about this book was a delight. Our FMC is a full grown woman which I LOVE, and even though she is unsure of herself she manages to choose her own destiny despite the odds. Her role was always to be used as a pawn and to have children of powerful men, as all women of her position are, but she finds her own way and it was such a breath of fresh air for the genre.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

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.

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.25

“Rage was only useful if you were allowed to do anything with it”

Teenage me was obsessed with dark fairytales. I’m talking retellings, the darker original texts, creepy stories in a fairytale-esque telling. All that to say, teenage me would have eaten this up. Because at its core, it is a fairytale. A fantastical story of impossible tasks, magic women, peculiar animals, princesses, and fairy Godmothers. 

It is a story that prioritises characters in that distant narrative styling of fairytales and similar stories. And at its core it is a story about rage and love. Men who have so much rage it devoids them of love and women who love so deeply that it fuels their rage. It is about family and the burden of duty. It tells a story of the painful process of clawing yourself out of helpless, and that the journey shouldn’t be taken alone. 

I really enjoyed this book. There were parts that made me laugh (a particular demon hen) and there were parts I felt in my soul. And while the world building scraped the surface, what are to expect in a book as short. It is a book about the people not the place and thus its focus is understandable. 

I am merely annoyed with myself that it has taken this long to finally read T. Kingfisher. Something I will be looking to rectify in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Misogyny, Body horror, and Child death

delmarr's review

adventurous dark lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Animal death and Child death

taylor_perry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Murder, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Miscarriage

keishbby's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, and Body horror

concealed_journeys's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

prosenheim's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion, Cannibalism, Child death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

rainbowpizzastars's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Pacing of the story is uneven, and the flashback split storytelling at the beginning seemed odd.  Certain things also aren’t explained, that while perhaps not directly relevant to the story, left me wanting an explanation (trying to avoid spoilers here).  Interesting story concept though and

I love Bonedog

.  I think because the story is so character-driven that it got more enjoyable once there were more characters and their personalities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death

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