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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
bucketsjen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Dark fairytale of rescue and hope. A princess sets off to find a way to kill a prince protected by powerful magic, in an attempt to save her hostage sister. There are impossible tasks, a bone dog, a goblin market, witches, fairy godmothers, a disgraced knight, and a demon chicken. The main character is thirty years old and gets anxious asking for directions.
Everything about this book was absolutely perfect. I devoured it.
This book gets recommended as fantasy romance, so here's a slightly spoilery comment on that:it's a romance subplot which is really sweet but there's no spice in the book
Everything about this book was absolutely perfect. I devoured it.
This book gets recommended as fantasy romance, so here's a slightly spoilery comment on that:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Cannibalism and Child death
maeverose's review
Dnfed @ 27%
I just couldn’t get into it. There was nothing I actively disliked, but there was nothing keeping my attention either. It was very slow and I had no motivation to pick it up. This could be because I’ve been in a reading slump for months now, and not the book’s fault.
I just couldn’t get into it. There was nothing I actively disliked, but there was nothing keeping my attention either. It was very slow and I had no motivation to pick it up. This could be because I’ve been in a reading slump for months now, and not the book’s fault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Domestic abuse
Not a spoiler - there’s a point where the main character is acting as a midwife and there are mentions of traumatic and fatal births. Fatal for both the mother and child. I found it a bit disturbing, but it’s not described in especially graphic detail.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.spoetting's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Pregnancy
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
marayzex's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
cryptidenthusiast's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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
5.0
I was so hooked on this book, I couldn’t put it down! Kingfisher did a fantastic job taking the stereotypes of a fairytale and twisting it on its head. Marra is the kind of main character you can’t help but love and pity all at once, and the ragtag group of friends are great. There’s a good balance between humor, macabre magic and imagery, and a heavy story about a woman’s role in a society that doesn’t care about them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body horror
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