Reviews tagging 'War'

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

25 reviews

flaminggecko's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, War, Violence, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Classism, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Abortion, Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Child death, Xenophobia, Dementia, Child abuse, and Animal death

Moderate: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Bullying, and Blood

Minor: Excrement

keithammann's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

Minor: War, Abortion, Animal death, and Death of parent

itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

4.5

After the really average books that put me in a reading slump, this book took me right out of it. Even though I've been contending with a terrible bout of insomnia, I legitimately enjoyed this book enough to want to know where it was going to go next every time I put it down.

Things I liked:

• This book had a really good, consistent dark fairy tale atmosphere without being overly despairing or angsty. My heart did drop a little at
  the thief wheel scene in the tombs
  but in a good way kept me reading to find out if
  this was the end for our protagonists
  .
• Marra was a very believable character and protagonist. It could be argued she didn't really contribute much compared to her companions but considering she was largely sheltered for most of her life, I think it's more forgiveable for her to make stupid decisions or seem immature.
• If you like fairy tale magic systems, this is the book for you. The book never bogs you down with infodumping or exposition on said system, but takes the time to explain things concisely.

Things I didn't like:

• I feel like the demon chicken was very underutilised compared to the rest of Marra's companions, and it was never explained why the dust-wife had a demon possess the chicken to begin with.
• The romance between Marra and Fenris felt a little forced in my opinion. It was sweet enough but I feel like it was there purely to make the booktok/booktube girlies squee. We could have shown Fenris was a decent guy without having to force him and Marra into a romance.
• I feel like there could have been some more minor conflict between the main party, especially when
  Agnes</spoilers> joined them or between them in the boarding house trying not to be suspicious in front of the landlady.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Miscarriage, Child death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Cannibalism and War

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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. 

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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.

arialovegreen's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.5

Nettle & Bone is the story of a shy nun who decides to kill a prince with absolutely no plan, and the family she finds along the way. It is funny, cute, macabre, intriguing, and mysterious all at once. A great singular read that weaves a tale of perfectly reasonable people doing some pretty insane things in some very silly ways for just causes.

The main cast of characters are endearing, contrary, and have so much human nuance to them that I absolutely adore. T. Kingfisher has a very unique writing style that strikes a balance between elaborative story telling and simplicity. I love their ability to explain just what needs to be explained, while keeping little mysteries alive. 

I had a blast reading this book, and I look forward to reading some of T. Kingfisher's other works!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Violence and War

kimberlynann's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Body horror, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and War

raptorq's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, and Child death

Minor: Miscarriage, Medical content, Body horror, Abortion, War, Animal death, and Blood

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Minor: War and Sexism

paintedgiraffe's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage and War

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Death, Pregnancy, Confinement, Violence, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War, Child death, Murder, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief