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essie85's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found the world enjoyable, and I liked that the main character isn't necessarily "good" and that her actions question what good means. There was a good deal of clumsy writing and places where editing could have smoothed out parts, but it was still enjoyable and I look forward to other books by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
leahsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.5
I had previously tried reading this as a hard copy, and struggled to connect with the story. But after everything occurred on social media in the last week, I decided to give this book another shot and tried it as an audiobook. It worked a lot better for me. I loved the narrators and how they told the story.
The author has an incredible talent for world-building. The world that Tea inhabits is beautifully rendered and carries strong Asian influences, keeping the story fresh and intriguing. I found the magic system to be complex and interesting, and while parts of it weren't always clear, it kept me reading in the hope of learning more about it.
As before, the story was fairly slow-moving at times. There was so much detail involved in exploring the huas and ornaments that the ashas wear, as well as Tea's life before starting her asha training, that it felt as though the real action in the story was a little rushed.
The parts where Tea was reflecting on her life was so interesting, and I wanted to learn more about what got her to the point where she is in the future. Some of the questions that the bard asked where sort of answered in the chapter following, while others were kind of left hanging. It left me curious and wanting more. I'm absolutely going to have to check out the next book to find out what happens next.
The author has an incredible talent for world-building. The world that Tea inhabits is beautifully rendered and carries strong Asian influences, keeping the story fresh and intriguing. I found the magic system to be complex and interesting, and while parts of it weren't always clear, it kept me reading in the hope of learning more about it.
As before, the story was fairly slow-moving at times. There was so much detail involved in exploring the huas and ornaments that the ashas wear, as well as Tea's life before starting her asha training, that it felt as though the real action in the story was a little rushed.
The parts where Tea was reflecting on her life was so interesting, and I wanted to learn more about what got her to the point where she is in the future. Some of the questions that the bard asked where sort of answered in the chapter following, while others were kind of left hanging. It left me curious and wanting more. I'm absolutely going to have to check out the next book to find out what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
ellekhupe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Slavery
taglharp's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5
WTF?? I need the sequel. Now.
Summary of things I liked:
‣ The worldbuilding — especially the dresses and the culture (JBC I was going "Hello Asia, I'm so happy to see so much of you" all the way through). But I also enjoyed the magic system!! There's also a lot of world politics and history that had a good amount of detail.
‣ The minor duelling — or, well, sparring. Listen I'm a sucker for any hint of military fantasy even though this is not a military fantasy.
‣ The family fluff — Fox & Tea's sibling relationship is to die for!! I'm used to squealing about more complex dynamics, but the simplicity of their relationship was so cute. I also really enjoyed the found family trope in this one - but lbr, is there anyone who doesn't like found family?
‣ Lihk & Zoya's characters — was this really published in 2017? Anyway, if you know you know. They were treat.
‣ THE FOOD DESCRIPTIONS. I was only hungry, like, all the time reading this book.
Summary of things I disliked:
‣ The beginning of the book — specifically the first 20%. Boring as all hell and quite hard to get through. Descriptions upon descriptions to the point that it was honestly disorienting. I'm a character-first kind of reader & they were almost all buried beneath the amount of worldly descriptions.
‣ The italicized interludes — alright, so I'm biased. You can pin this on my shallow dislike of lengthy italicized flashbacks (or in this case, flash-forwards) but I also didn't care at all for future (present day?) Tea. Each time they came in, I was like: Why do I care lmao. The Unknown Bard POV doesn't really help either, if anything it further isolates me from her character. Though I do understand its narrative purpose.
‣ The possible love triangle — spare me!! Not impressed!!!
‣ THE NAME DROP AT THE END?? I swear I would've been more intrigued if it was kept secret.
Summary of things that were "eh, okay, I guess":
‣ The characters — admittedly, I'm suuuuper picky about this. Still, I thought the characters in this book were rather bland and left something to be desired. The execution of their narratives lacked a lens that could've explored any depth and complexity they potentially had - and I could see quite a few characters that had this. But since this is a plot-driven story, I understand why we didn't delve much. So this is more of a preferential kind of thing (well, this entire review is, obviously, but this especially).
Spicy things I have to say:
‣ The world of the asha are a lot more interesting than that of the grisha. No, you cannot change my mind. Come for me!! (jk, don't - but hey! if you like grishaverse, you may like this!!)
Summary of things I liked:
‣ The worldbuilding — especially the dresses and the culture (JBC I was going "Hello Asia, I'm so happy to see so much of you" all the way through). But I also enjoyed the magic system!! There's also a lot of world politics and history that had a good amount of detail.
‣ The minor duelling — or, well, sparring. Listen I'm a sucker for any hint of military fantasy even though this is not a military fantasy.
‣ The family fluff — Fox & Tea's sibling relationship is to die for!! I'm used to squealing about more complex dynamics, but the simplicity of their relationship was so cute. I also really enjoyed the found family trope in this one - but lbr, is there anyone who doesn't like found family?
‣ Lihk & Zoya's characters — was this really published in 2017? Anyway, if you know you know. They were treat.
‣ THE FOOD DESCRIPTIONS. I was only hungry, like, all the time reading this book.
Summary of things I disliked:
‣ The beginning of the book — specifically the first 20%. Boring as all hell and quite hard to get through. Descriptions upon descriptions to the point that it was honestly disorienting. I'm a character-first kind of reader & they were almost all buried beneath the amount of worldly descriptions.
‣ The italicized interludes — alright, so I'm biased. You can pin this on my shallow dislike of lengthy italicized flashbacks (or in this case, flash-forwards) but I also didn't care at all for future (present day?) Tea. Each time they came in, I was like: Why do I care lmao. The Unknown Bard POV doesn't really help either, if anything it further isolates me from her character. Though I do understand its narrative purpose.
‣ The possible love triangle — spare me!! Not impressed!!!
‣ THE NAME DROP AT THE END?? I swear I would've been more intrigued if it was kept secret.
Summary of things that were "eh, okay, I guess":
‣ The characters — admittedly, I'm suuuuper picky about this. Still, I thought the characters in this book were rather bland and left something to be desired. The execution of their narratives lacked a lens that could've explored any depth and complexity they potentially had - and I could see quite a few characters that had this. But since this is a plot-driven story, I understand why we didn't delve much. So this is more of a preferential kind of thing (well, this entire review is, obviously, but this especially).
Spicy things I have to say:
‣ The world of the asha are a lot more interesting than that of the grisha. No, you cannot change my mind. Come for me!! (jk, don't - but hey! if you like grishaverse, you may like this!!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Sexism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Subtle and Powerful, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco wields undeath and beauty to great effect. Tea of the Embers tells her history to the Bard on a lonely and bone-strewn beach, one of great magic; silk and swords; danger, dance, and betrayal.
The Heartsrunes feel at once ingenious and obvious, like someone pointed out a thing I ought to have known forever but never dreamed of before. They're essential to the book without ever feeling like a storytelling shortcut, and the color system was understandable. Tea is believable at different levels of maturity throughout the whole book, she changes a lot and it comes through really well. Her dynamic with Fox feels like a real sibling relationship, their peculiar complication notwithstanding.
There’s a tension and release created by the interstitial sections of the framing device, sometimes warning of emotional beats to come, sometimes cooling down after a stressful chapter. It made for a very soothing reading experience for me, one that addresses the kind of anxiety I have when reading new books that involve a character making social faux pas. It allowed for tiny wind-ups, building a small bit of tension by revealing some information in the interstitial then having it pay off somewhere in the next chapter (or even several chapters later). It's all the comfort of knowing how a book is going to turn out, without actually spoiling the end. The interstitials are complete enough to be their own short story and they strengthen the book overall, separate from being a good fit for my own reading quirks.
Overall I love this book and I'm very excited to read the sequel. I keep trying to describe more things I liked and I'm stymied by the spoilery nature of most of them.
The Heartsrunes feel at once ingenious and obvious, like someone pointed out a thing I ought to have known forever but never dreamed of before. They're essential to the book without ever feeling like a storytelling shortcut, and the color system was understandable. Tea is believable at different levels of maturity throughout the whole book, she changes a lot and it comes through really well. Her dynamic with Fox feels like a real sibling relationship, their peculiar complication notwithstanding.
There’s a tension and release created by the interstitial sections of the framing device, sometimes warning of emotional beats to come, sometimes cooling down after a stressful chapter. It made for a very soothing reading experience for me, one that addresses the kind of anxiety I have when reading new books that involve a character making social faux pas. It allowed for tiny wind-ups, building a small bit of tension by revealing some information in the interstitial then having it pay off somewhere in the next chapter (or even several chapters later). It's all the comfort of knowing how a book is going to turn out, without actually spoiling the end. The interstitials are complete enough to be their own short story and they strengthen the book overall, separate from being a good fit for my own reading quirks.
Overall I love this book and I'm very excited to read the sequel. I keep trying to describe more things I liked and I'm stymied by the spoilery nature of most of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexism and Emotional abuse
CW for sexism, verbal abuse, betrayal, death, major character death.
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