Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

38 reviews

eviethebookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy and Miscarriage

Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Torture and Suicide attempt

thoseoldcrows23'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Nettle and Bone is a lovely cross between sinister darkness and wry humor. I found myself falling immediately for this strange little cast of characters and caring deeply about their safety. The plot, though simple, was engaging and propulsive, and the world was full of enough magic to intrigue and enough shadows to frighten. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and look forward to reading more from Kingfisher this year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Child death, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Cannibalism

Minor: Torture, Slavery, Abortion, and Miscarriage

wilybooklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

4.5

This author never fails for me! Such a unique, complex take on the classic fantasy quest. Less romance-y than the other books I’ve read from her but no less delightful. The typical T. Kingfisher formula: spooky and a little bit horrifying threaded with humour and underpinned by kindness and hope. Loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Violence, Animal death, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Confinement, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body horror, Child death, Murder, and Dementia

Minor: Rape, Abortion, Cannibalism, Torture, and Slavery

bittennailbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.5

What do you get when you cross a princess turned nun, a disgraced knight, a resistant fairy godmother, a necromancing lady holding a demon-filled chicken, and a bone dog? 

Well, you'd have a whole lot of fun.

Nettle & Bone was my first delve into the world of Kingfisher and I am never coming out. This dark fairytale re-telling has you rooting for the bad guys and cheering on murder. The characters were super engaging and funny as were all the side thoughts.  A lesson in dark meets camp brought to you by T. Kingfisher. Would recommend to anyone who wants something less on the cozy fantasy side with a wagon full of charm.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

ellenigrace's review

adventurous emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

Quite possibly my favourite book this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Confinement, Miscarriage, Death, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

30something_reads's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

5.0

5 ⭐

This book is such a little gem! 

A dark and twisty fairytale filled with dry humor and a sprinkle of romance that scratched an itch I didn't know I had. 

A third-born princess sets out on an impossible quest to kill the evil prince and save her sister. Along the way she gathers a dog of bone, an old woman who can speak with the dead, a knight entrapped by the fair folk, and a peculiar fairy godmother. Together, they set off on this "fool's errand in which they will probably die."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Torture, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Animal death, and Miscarriage

vasha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

5.0

This is a T. Kingfisher fantasy novel, and if you have read a few of her others, you will know what to expect and not be wrong. It's funny, creepy, and thought-provoking by turns; it has powerful, eccentric old women, it has animal companions, it has a very, very well-behaved knight, it has a quest through a world where something inventively horrible is likely to turn up at any moment, and it has a naïve, earnest main character who fumbles through doing something impossible because things simply aren't fair and must be rectified. Sometimes I complain because T. Kingfisher's books are so much alike (apart from "The Twisted Ones" and "The Hollow Places" which are contemporary horror and my least favorite, go figure!) But firstly, what she does is unique and excellent so why object if she keeps doing it; and secondly, each of her books has a subtly different theme. This time, she takes on fairy tale marriages. A queen is playing a tricky strategic game trying to keep her small kingdom from invasion, and one of her moves is to marry her beautiful, sweet eldest daughter to the monstrous prince of a neighboring kingdom. The death of the eldest means the second daughter Kania, a much more steely personality, is the next wife and must become pregnant over and over trying to produce an heir, while the third daughter, Marra, is set aside in a convent. Marra is the hero of this story: she's shy and prone to anxiety, and it takes her a long time to realize just how bad Kania's life is (eventually leading to reflections on how many injustices the whole system of marriages and inheritances contains), and even longer to think of something to do about it, though that thing is just going to someone else for help. She's a very unusual hero in that other people do all the dramatic deeds in this story, and she has the most unlikely of personalities for a leader, but the other members of her quest party defer to her, if only because the whole thing was her idea, she keeps persisting, and she gives the others a reason not to give up or do something else. It's a lovely depiction of getting something done by mutual assistance and by taking one step at a time: Marra goes to a dust-wife, an extremely powerful witch who can talk to and command the dead, and convinces her to set aside the inaction which (and really, it's a good thing) she usually maintains; she helps rescue Fenris, a knight held captive by the Fair Folk, and while he provides the party with skill with weapons, she realizes that he needs emotional support and inconspicuously gives it; she overcomes her prejudgment of her apparently-useless fairy godmother Agnes to find another ally of an unexpected sort (Agnes's accomplishments are some of the most delightful surprises in the book); and the final member of the party is Bonedog, a mastiff resurrected as a skeleton, who really just needed another chance to be a good dog. In this story, a princess saves another princess, or really gives her the opportunity to save herself, and the distinction between good and evil fairy godmothers is hopelessly muddled. This deeply feminist and quietly hopeful book is one that's badly needed, and I expect to be re-reading it many times. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Blood, Medical content, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Torture

affabletoaster's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Child death

Moderate: Cannibalism, Confinement, Misogyny, Animal death, and Body horror

Minor: Alcohol, Dementia, Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Slavery