Scan barcode
sarahholliday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
What a way to start off 2024! I'm thrilled that I opened up this story on a whim—it happened to be on Kindle Unlimited and I needed a new book to read before going to sleep. I've wanted to read T. Kingfisher's work for a while, now, and I after finishing Nettle & Bone I can't wait to dive into her backlist!
I can see why this won the Hugo for best novel last year—it just feels like a perfect book. It doesn't get caught up in the minutia of the story. If you like to have every corner of a world explored and explained, or all the facets of a magic system laid out for you, I don't know that this is the book for you. I personally love when an author exercises restraint and editorial prerogative when it comes to deciding what they'll reveal to readers. It requires trust in their vision of the story—they tell us what we need to know and nothing more.
Instead of getting caught up in the details of how exactly Marra brings Bonedog to life or THE THING WITH THE INNKEEPER MY GOD, we're allowed to focus on the gradual, quiet ways Marra grows. Her movement from willful isolation to deep-seated connection, from fear and shame around what she hasn't done to confidence in her accomplishments. Along the way we get to enjoy the wit and wisdom of the dust-wife and Agnes, as well as the steady presence of Fenris. I loved that we got to watch his sense of duty and honor evolve as he traveled with the women and discovered a renewed interest in life.
The levity and brightness of the story are punctuated with moments of genuine horror and brutality, which helps the entire story feel balanced. Overall, this was just such a pleasurable reading experience.
I can see why this won the Hugo for best novel last year—it just feels like a perfect book. It doesn't get caught up in the minutia of the story. If you like to have every corner of a world explored and explained, or all the facets of a magic system laid out for you, I don't know that this is the book for you. I personally love when an author exercises restraint and editorial prerogative when it comes to deciding what they'll reveal to readers. It requires trust in their vision of the story—they tell us what we need to know and nothing more.
Instead of getting caught up in the details of how exactly Marra brings Bonedog to life or THE THING WITH THE INNKEEPER MY GOD, we're allowed to focus on the gradual, quiet ways Marra grows. Her movement from willful isolation to deep-seated connection, from fear and shame around what she hasn't done to confidence in her accomplishments. Along the way we get to enjoy the wit and wisdom of the dust-wife and Agnes, as well as the steady presence of Fenris. I loved that we got to watch his sense of duty and honor evolve as he traveled with the women and discovered a renewed interest in life.
The levity and brightness of the story are punctuated with moments of genuine horror and brutality, which helps the entire story feel balanced. Overall, this was just such a pleasurable reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Cannibalism and Abortion
turrean'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? No
5.0
An absolute delight. The author’s wry humor shines through in a fantasy tale about the resilience and unseen valor of women.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, Child death, Miscarriage, and Violence
clawsforconcern's review
dark
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
5.0
A tale lovely, dark and deep... with a side of cannibals and quite an unusual take on a tooth fairy. Read it in a day, even though I had other things to do because I kept wondering what the cast of characters would do next.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Child death
bibliorama's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
Enjoyment - 4
Start - 4
Characters - 3.5
Atmosphere - 3.5
Plot - 4
Ending - 4
Style - 3
Overall - 3.7
Start - 4
Characters - 3.5
Atmosphere - 3.5
Plot - 4
Ending - 4
Style - 3
Overall - 3.7
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Death
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a delightful story with such a unique set of characters. I love that everyone was above the age of 30 and felt really real. They're all just kind of weirdos banded together with a mission which is my favorite genre. i also think it plays with fairy tale lore very well and i love the complicated sister relationship and of course Bonedog is amazing. It did make me cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Minor: War and Sexism
caterina_1212's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Some dark themes, but I loved the adventure itself. The settings, the magic, the fucking demon chicken, the fact that our motley crew of adventurers were all 30-70 years old.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Domestic abuse
Minor: Miscarriage
aubreymichelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The novel starts with Marra, the main character, wiring dog bones together in order to complete the second task the the dust-wife gave her. Then, for about three chapters, there are splits where it swaps from the past of Marra's sister Damia being wed to Prince Vorling and dying, before her other sister Kania is wed. Eventually, Marra realizes the dark truth and leaves to find the dust-wife.
One thing about this book is that it had parts that went unutilized or parts that felt dry: the blistered land and saints vengeful over broken taboo, the goblin market, the fact that Marra magically made a dog of bones come to life.
The characters felt rather flushed out and Marra slowly learned to find her inner strength and her trust in others. The dust-wife was oddly snarky and often, along with her demon hen, added comedy to the story.Fenris had undying loyalty after Marra saved him from the market. Arles was lovable and the perfect example of someone so good she refused to use her dark magic.
My favorite quote from this book is "I've done many things that were terribly important, lives hanging in the balance and so on and so forth. There is something pleasant about chopping wood. If I miss a stroke, nothing awful happens." I feel like this quote really highlights the stressing standards that some people face, and shows how it is important to sometimes take a step back and relax.
This book had quite a few insightful quotes, but also quite a few funny lines.
The plot was slower than I expected it to bed and there were parts where, as I said earlier, a certain bit could have been utilized.For example, the jar of moonlight which was barely featured in the book despite being the third impossible task. Also, all it did was glow. On the bright side, it showed some of the dust-wife's character.
A list of words I learned from this novel are: Charnel, Dotage, Querulous, Awl, Palanquin, Abacus, Leper, Genuflecting, Aquiline, Lacquer, Banal, and Geas.
Another amazing quote from this book is one that really shows Marra's character growth:"You are not so big. You are only a living king. I saw an old woman defeat a dead one. You can not hurt me any worse than spinning thread of nettle wool, and you cannot confuse me anymore that the palace of dust. Even you cruelty is small compared to the blistered land."
Overall, I would say this is a good book for people who like characters that feel mostly real and a woman slowly discovering her self worth.
4☆: I enjoyed this and would recommend it.
Edit:
My General 4.5 Stars / This book has well-rounded characters that have clear-cut personalities and roles. The worldbuilding was congruent throughout the book. The direction that the plot went and the conclusion was realistic. The book paced well. However, something was missing or did not quite make sense. I loved this book, but it wasn’t quite worth five stars.
One thing about this book is that it had parts that went unutilized or parts that felt dry: the blistered land and saints vengeful over broken taboo, the goblin market, the fact that Marra magically made a dog of bones come to life.
The characters felt rather flushed out and Marra slowly learned to find her inner strength and her trust in others. The dust-wife was oddly snarky and often, along with her demon hen, added comedy to the story.
My favorite quote from this book is "I've done many things that were terribly important, lives hanging in the balance and so on and so forth. There is something pleasant about chopping wood. If I miss a stroke, nothing awful happens." I feel like this quote really highlights the stressing standards that some people face, and shows how it is important to sometimes take a step back and relax.
This book had quite a few insightful quotes, but also quite a few funny lines.
The plot was slower than I expected it to bed and there were parts where, as I said earlier, a certain bit could have been utilized.
A list of words I learned from this novel are: Charnel, Dotage, Querulous, Awl, Palanquin, Abacus, Leper, Genuflecting, Aquiline, Lacquer, Banal, and Geas.
Another amazing quote from this book is one that really shows Marra's character growth:
Overall, I would say this is a good book for people who like characters that feel mostly real and a woman slowly discovering her self worth.
4☆: I enjoyed this and would recommend it.
Edit:
My General 4.5 Stars / This book has well-rounded characters that have clear-cut personalities and roles. The worldbuilding was congruent throughout the book. The direction that the plot went and the conclusion was realistic. The book paced well. However, something was missing or did not quite make sense. I loved this book, but it wasn’t quite worth five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape and Slavery
rainbowpizzastars's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Pacing of the story is uneven, and the flashback split storytelling at the beginning seemed odd. Certain things also aren’t explained, that while perhaps not directly relevant to the story, left me wanting an explanation (trying to avoid spoilers here). Interesting story concept though and I love Bonedog . I think because the story is so character-driven that it got more enjoyable once there were more characters and their personalities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual violence
Minor: Animal death
tays_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death, Child death, Pregnancy, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Slavery, Incest, Grief, Torture, and Cannibalism
sonatica's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child death, Animal death, and Body horror