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skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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
First things first a very heavy trigger warning for domestic violence. It's not pictured on the page explicitly as it happens, but it's described by the victim as well as the FMC and other characters throughout the book.
That being said:
Honestly this is SO good. The language used is so descriptive and really fits the tone of the story. I loved having an FMC that wasn't barely legal, and her determination to do impossible things was incredible. The dust-wife was awesome but I think Agnes stole the show and I would have loved to have seen and learned more from her. Honestly, I think the story would've benefitted from more character backstory and development? But it's not like they were cardboard cutouts by any means, either.
The timeline, or at least the way it's presented in the story, was a little hard to follow for a minute? But once the past caught up to the story it made sense, so 🤷🏻♀️
I think my favorite part was the humor, honestly. It balanced things out and added levity in a way that I think prevented the whole story from being too heavy. It was witty and wry and the kind of jokes that fit perfectly for a group comprised of a dog made of bones, a cursed chick, a demon hen (no relation), and two traumatized young-ish people traveling with two powerful old women who are each other's opposites in every way.
Overall, this is a great story with some really interesting characters I think we could've learned about a bit more. I loved it so much though, and jumped right into another Kingfisher book (What Moves the Dead) which I'm also enjoying so far. I'm excited to keep reading more from this author :)
That being said:
Honestly this is SO good. The language used is so descriptive and really fits the tone of the story. I loved having an FMC that wasn't barely legal, and her determination to do impossible things was incredible. The dust-wife was awesome but I think Agnes stole the show and I would have loved to have seen and learned more from her. Honestly, I think the story would've benefitted from more character backstory and development? But it's not like they were cardboard cutouts by any means, either.
The timeline, or at least the way it's presented in the story, was a little hard to follow for a minute? But once the past caught up to the story it made sense, so 🤷🏻♀️
I think my favorite part was the humor, honestly. It balanced things out and added levity in a way that I think prevented the whole story from being too heavy. It was witty and wry and the kind of jokes that fit perfectly for a group comprised of a dog made of bones, a cursed chick, a demon hen (no relation), and two traumatized young-ish people traveling with two powerful old women who are each other's opposites in every way.
Overall, this is a great story with some really interesting characters I think we could've learned about a bit more. I loved it so much though, and jumped right into another Kingfisher book (What Moves the Dead) which I'm also enjoying so far. I'm excited to keep reading more from this author :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Cannibalism
sadetanssija's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Animal death
latida94's review against another edition
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
What was most delightful was that everyone was dreadfully human. Even the magic ones. I don't know how to describe it, really. We have this band of heroes on this quest for vengeance. Except not really. They're not really heroes like you think of heroes. Just delightfully human.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Child death, and Death
Minor: Cannibalism
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Nettle & Bone is a fairytale-like fantasy novel following a young princess on a quest to save her sister from an abusive king.
There were some things I really liked about this. I appreciate a good unlikely ensemble cast, and I particularly liked the dynamic between the dust-witch and the godmother; I also really liked Bonedog and Finder of course. This was my first T. Kingfisher experience and I liked the writing style for the most part – I’d definitely try another of her works on the basis of this one. The world-building was compelling and I would’ve loved to learn more about the kingdoms and the surrounding territories. Without giving anything away, there are some interesting ethical ambiguities to the ending that I can appreciate.
There were also some aspects to this story that really didn’t work for me. The protagonist, and by extension the book itself, skewed YA (which isn’t how it’s marketed); Marra definitely didn’t read like a thirty year old, particularly not given the context. Some of the dialogue felt borderline patronizing (like I was being spoken to as a reader) and the humour really didn’t land for me (it just make the tone feel very inconsistent). Most of all, though, the bits of the book I found most interesting (the magic making Bonedog possible, the Blistered Lands, the dynamics between the Kingdoms) were skimmed over and the bits I found significantly less interesting were foregrounded (particularly the emerging romance which I think would’ve been better just left out). I liked the very beginning few chapters of the book better than the rest.
Content warnings: sexism, intimate partner violence, physical abuse, violence, murder, death
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder
alisonvh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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
5.0
A superfun read about a woman setting out to save her sister from an evil prince. And the narrator did an excellent job of doing all the voices. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Domestic abuse, Death, Murder, and Slavery
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 isdwarrowdams'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
avialia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Well, marrying a prince is usually a dream. USUALLY.This book has one of those rare times where it is not a dream. It is rather a nightmare. And Marra, is going to help. The prince will be dead.
This book was just really clever and exidently written. It worked for keeping up the experince I had from reading the other books from this author.
I find the ideas really fun and intruqing. I felt exited and happy to turn almost all the pages. I did not use a long time reading this and I felt I just rushed threw it.
It is not 100% that I wish I could wipe my memory. But really close to it to be honest.
The worldbuilding from the very start was fun and intresting, as the other books I have read by him also are. I mean who does not want to know what happens futher when the mc is wanting to kill a prince. To help her sister. The explenations were not too dense and it all just flowed easily and effortless.
So yes I really enjoyed it.
This book was just really clever and exidently written. It worked for keeping up the experince I had from reading the other books from this author.
I find the ideas really fun and intruqing. I felt exited and happy to turn almost all the pages. I did not use a long time reading this and I felt I just rushed threw it.
It is not 100% that I wish I could wipe my memory. But really close to it to be honest.
The worldbuilding from the very start was fun and intresting, as the other books I have read by him also are. I mean who does not want to know what happens futher when the mc is wanting to kill a prince. To help her sister. The explenations were not too dense and it all just flowed easily and effortless.
So yes I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, Death, 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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Misogyny, Body horror, and Child death