Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

23 reviews

tallnecked_pancakeface's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Violence, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Dementia

microbemom's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Physical abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

tigger89's review

adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this take on dark fairy tales. The opening scenes — set in a famine-ravaged land inhabited by cannibals — set the tone, and the rest of the novel delivers, even as the focus shifts from blatant to more subtle horrors. I found the plot to be very feminist(not that I'd expected any less from T. Kingfisher), with a varied, predominantly-female cast of characters who were all capable and strong in their own ways. The one man who joined their party, Fenris, carries a supporting role equivalent to that of of the others. In addition, Marra read as autistic-coded to me, particularly how she struggled to pick up on subtext and the particular ways she focused on things. I liked that she was allowed to experience romantic/sexual desire(a very minor element, but present), as many autistic-coded characters aren't allowed to have or explore those feelings, which is of course completely inaccurate.

My favorite aspects of the novel were getting to know the characters who worked together on the rescue mission, as well as the clever way they went about it and the various places they traveled through. Some readers might find the way the narrative jumps back and forth from the present to the past in the first half of the novel to be difficult, though I didn't have trouble following it. Really, the only part I didn't like was how the opening pages got me invested in the blistered land, which winds up being utterly inconsequential to the story. I got all hyped for a story about completing impossible tasks in a land filled with people driven mad as a result of cannibalism(yes, in that order), but that's not what the story wound up being about. There is a touch of romance, but it's very much in the background and shouldn't be much of a bother even if you don't like romantic plots.

Does the dog and/or chick(en) die?

The dog is already dead when the story begins(and the circumstances of the dog's death are briefly touched upon, though not explicitly), is brought back to life through magic, and then dies again in combat at the climax of the story. At the end, however, it's restored to life. The chicken does not die, nor does the baby chick, though the chick is briefly placed under a curse that threatens its death.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cursing, and Physical abuse

Minor: Child death, Murder, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Cannibalism

There is a brief scene where the point of view character has a tooth extracted through magical means, with the description verging on body horror.

sophmcgraw's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent

clovelatte's review

adventurous challenging dark funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, and Pregnancy

chief_cook_and_librarian's review

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy and Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Child death

astropova's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Confinement, and Dementia

albernikolauras's review

adventurous funny hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

In a slowly spun tale about Marra trying to save her sister, you get all of the best things - banter, found family, a tease of romance, and a magical world. I really enjoyed this book and it was a perfect balm to the book hangover I had been having after finish the Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons. Compared to the color and chaos of that series, this book is quiet and slowly paced, but the characters seem just as equally lifelike and have such excellent banter.

I definitely struggled a little bit more with the first portion of the book as Marra goes about her mission mostly alone. Once the found family aspect came into play, however, I was sold and finished the rest of it in a sitting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Child death

wickedgrumpy's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

I really enjoyed this one.  Early on there was a nod to another book by the author, Minor Mage, that I read earlier this year so that was a nice little tidbit that tickled me.

The non-linear story telling interspersed in the beginning and middle felt like a natural progression for the journey, since it hooked me in right away with the intrigue of how and why everything had come to be at the point.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Child death, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

el13's review

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

4.5

I read this book in one sitting. It was amazing. Reading this was like walking into a dream. Automatically in my top 10. It makes me want to immediately go out and get more T. Kingfisher books. My only complaint is that I want more world-building info and more backstory on the characters, like what motivates the dust-mother and why

Marra and Fenris fall in love

. It's a shorter book, but I would have easily read it in one sitting even if it was twice as long. I think it should have been longer. I simply couldn't get enough. I want a sequel! I want a prequel! I want a TV series!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Gore, Violence, Pregnancy, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Slavery, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Trafficking