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fraise's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Grief, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
Minor: Slavery, Torture, Rape, Abortion, Cannibalism, Infertility, and Miscarriage
The slavery in this book iswooblatoober's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
loved it! i loved kingfisher’s imagery. not only her talent for making me see what she imagined, but the things she imagined in the first place. over time, i’ve fallen out of love with fantasy as a genre. kingfisher included elements that reminded me how much i used to love it, & introduced new elements that i enjoyed reading immensely. tl;dr, a fresh & delightful spin on dark fantasy.
i LOVED the main character. kingfisher does an amazing job of making her a bit dull without making the ready angry at the MC for her stupidity. she’s just believably stupid, i guess, & catches onto things in much the same manner & speed i find myself catching onto things in real life. i love the personalities of most the characters, actually, especially agnes & the dust-wife,and quite wished they ended up in love in the end.
LOVED that the cast of characters was mostly women, with few named male characters. i’m all for books with a balanced cast, but also love to see a book doing the opposite of what books have been doing for so long. i also loved kingfisher’s body type diversity and age diversity.
i wish this book had a more diverse cast of characters along other lines—not much to hang onto regarding race/ethnicity & different abilities, & a nonbinary character is introduced briefly for seemingly no other reason than to say they were there.
spoilers ahead for anyone who reads a book with a dog and immediately worries about the fate of the dog:
in the beginning, marra creates a dog out of bone, so the dog is already dead & you never see its death. bonedog does not know he was ever dead. at the end of the book, bonedog is defending a character, and is attacked by a guard, and he “dies,” his bones scattering apart. none of the characters have time to mourn him in the craziness, since it’s the climax of the story, and marra ends up getting his bones back and putting him back together, so he comes back at the end. i would say that the dog does NOT die.
i LOVED the main character. kingfisher does an amazing job of making her a bit dull without making the ready angry at the MC for her stupidity. she’s just believably stupid, i guess, & catches onto things in much the same manner & speed i find myself catching onto things in real life. i love the personalities of most the characters, actually, especially agnes & the dust-wife,
LOVED that the cast of characters was mostly women, with few named male characters. i’m all for books with a balanced cast, but also love to see a book doing the opposite of what books have been doing for so long. i also loved kingfisher’s body type diversity and age diversity.
i wish this book had a more diverse cast of characters along other lines—not much to hang onto regarding race/ethnicity & different abilities, & a nonbinary character is introduced briefly for seemingly no other reason than to say they were there.
spoilers ahead for anyone who reads a book with a dog and immediately worries about the fate of the dog:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
dwarrowdams's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
It had some structural issues, but a really fun read. Love what T. Kingfisher does with fairy tale tropes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Medical content, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Slavery and Animal death
rwittmann's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Minor: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Miscarriage
alexiconic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
adventurous, fairytale-esque, mysterious, and decidedly dark and mysterious. its everything a fairy tale would be: magical, with odd creatures that go on a quest, in a kingdom far away. but it’s also an adult upgrade, with mature heroes who have their own worries and fears and who have to deal with them to reach their goals, with a dark start to the story and enough cruelty to make a realistic setting.
reading this book was like escaping into a fairytale all over again. i deeply loved it.
reading this book was like escaping into a fairytale all over again. i deeply loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence
justgothenough's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I pulled half a star off the rating simply because I wish there was more of this book. 😆
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Miscarriage, and Child death
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.
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.insomniacsun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? No
4.0
Signora Kingfisher sono interamente tua.
Rimpiango di non aver iniziato a leggere questo libro prima, ma la lunga catena di mediocrità di fantasy filo-medievali mi ha fatto apprezzare questa storia ancora di più.
In 250 pagine è riuscita a fare cose che nessun mattone sandersoniano potrà mai fare: farmi ridere a crepapelle. L'umorismo e il carattere così vivo dei personaggi mi hanno ammaliato, rendendo le dinamiche tra loro il piatto forte della storia.
Apprezzo la decisione di aver seguito una protagonista poco tradizionale, una goffa suora trentenne, e l'interiorità e introspezione molto realistica datale per il suo ruolo e background.
All'inizio mi aspettavo una situazione molto più cupa e raccapricciante, visto i primi capitoli tendenti all'horror, ma, con l'arrivo di altri personaggi e stando di più con Marra e i suoi pensieri, il tono si ravviva un po'. Forse avrei apprezzato questo cambio un po' di più se fosse stato propriamente bilanciato lungo la storia. Invece sembra esserci un grosso divisore fra il primo arc tendenzialmente cupo e prolisso, e il secondo arc più frenetico, la cui vivacità tende a "schiarire" le ombre che storia cela.
Gli elementi fiabeschi sono incorporati in modo curiosi, quasi come una sovversione analitica dei classici clichè: eroici destini, fate madrine e le loro benedizioni, la principessa che sposa il principe, e quant'altro.
Rimpiango di non aver iniziato a leggere questo libro prima, ma la lunga catena di mediocrità di fantasy filo-medievali mi ha fatto apprezzare questa storia ancora di più.
In 250 pagine è riuscita a fare cose che nessun mattone sandersoniano potrà mai fare: farmi ridere a crepapelle. L'umorismo e il carattere così vivo dei personaggi mi hanno ammaliato, rendendo le dinamiche tra loro il piatto forte della storia.
Apprezzo la decisione di aver seguito una protagonista poco tradizionale, una goffa suora trentenne, e l'interiorità e introspezione molto realistica datale per il suo ruolo e background.
All'inizio mi aspettavo una situazione molto più cupa e raccapricciante, visto i primi capitoli tendenti all'horror, ma, con l'arrivo di altri personaggi e stando di più con Marra e i suoi pensieri, il tono si ravviva un po'. Forse avrei apprezzato questo cambio un po' di più se fosse stato propriamente bilanciato lungo la storia. Invece sembra esserci un grosso divisore fra il primo arc tendenzialmente cupo e prolisso, e il secondo arc più frenetico, la cui vivacità tende a "schiarire" le ombre che storia cela.
Gli elementi fiabeschi sono incorporati in modo curiosi, quasi come una sovversione analitica dei classici clichè: eroici destini, fate madrine e le loro benedizioni, la principessa che sposa il principe, e quant'altro.
If I were a man, I would fight him.
If she were a man, no one would force Kania to try to bear child after child. If I were a man, I would not be the next in line to be married if he kills her. If we were men… She stared at her fingers curled in the dirt. It did not matter. They were not and the history of the world was written in women’s wombs and women’s blood and she would never be allowed to change it.
Il mondo di sfondo che l'autrice ha creato è molto intrigante in molti suoi aspetti, ma per quanto interessante non si è dilungata molto a riguardo, il che ha fatto sicuramente bene alla storia, rendendola molto scorrevole. Allo stesso tempo non mi dispiacerebbe vedere questo potenziale usato in un altro libro con la stessa ambientazione, magari più incentrato nel mondo magico o nelle blistering lands.
Anche se questo non succedesse, vedo che Kingfisher è un'autrice molto prolifica, per cui la scelta sulla prossima lettura è molto ampia. Non vedo l'ora.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death and Physical abuse
Minor: Cannibalism and Abortion
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Animal death and Child death