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shirecrow's review against another edition
3.5
“The tress were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen. The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires.”
Nettle and Bone shows the dark side of fairytales. It’s very graphic, twisted, shocking, and very real in a magical kind of way.
A while ago I read “The Hallow Places” by T.Kingfisher and fell in love with the way they brought stories to life. Now a bit (…a lot) later I finally return to Kingfisher and was not disappointed.
Like I said, Nettle and Bone is a rather twisted fairytale so let’s start at the beginning.
The opening sentence is probably one of my favorite openers ever. I don’t know what it is about it but I loved it and reread it multiple times, giddy to continue. The entire first scene was brilliant. You’re basically thrown into the story and from then on you learn more and more while following our protagonist, Marra.
Oh, Marra. I enjoyed and hated her. Being naive is a very core trait of her character if intentional or not I cannot tell since she stays that way from page one to the very last word. She was so naive it made me mad but even worse was her judgmental nature. She thinks she has another person figured out so quick and gets disproven in the next sentence almost every single time. And yet she doesn’t learn. She doesn’t grow from these mistakes but she keeps making them; judging by first glance. It was exhausting because as soon as Marra exploded you knew there was an explanation coming.
Marra is supposedly 30 years old but felt more like a young adult than anything else. So do the other characters.
And that brings me to Marra’s companions. I loved the dust-witch and adored Agnes and Finder as much as I adored Bonedog and the demon chicken. Each character was fleshed out as much as a supportive/side character can be in a 300 page long stand-alone. The dust-wife reminded me a lot of Gandalf in the way she never backed out or flinched when someone challenged her. I enjoyed her power a lot. Agnes was lovely and brought a lightness and mother-like feeling which only benefited the story. Then there’s Fenris. I didn’t quite enjoy his character. There is something about the instant fall-in-love that I cannot stand. The constant need to remind us how tall and big and beefy and swooning he is just made me roll my eyes. I’m someone that doesn’t enjoy romance in the main group; it always tends to feel shallow in a way, forced.
Yet this group of found family touched my heart in the end. I was sad to let them go.
Now to the writing. Like I said earlier, Kingfisher already captured my heart in The Hollow Places and did it once again. I was surprised by how well they managed to write such a different story since a lot of authors find their genre and stick with it. Kingfisher doesn’t care. They break out and try something different and I loved it.
They have a brilliant way of spinning words and creating worlds. They write beautifully, with so much heart, but not enough to make your eyes roll into the back of your head. They bring the world and special places like a goblin market to life so easily that it’s burned into your brain.
The topics in this story are dark and so real. Having such issues portrayed and justice served in a way that real life victims should be able experience too is a bittersweet feeling.
If you’re a fan of chill fantasy with a real edge, this is for you.
Kingfisher has found the perfect balance between quest fantasy and daring discussions of real life abuse and other important, horrible issues.
Kingfisher has hooked me and I don’t think I’ll be able to let them go even if they released me themself. I already have What Moves The Dead sitting on my nightstand, waiting to be read.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Slavery, Blood, Grief, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
smoakwithwifi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Miscarriage, Slavery, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
bugaboobear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Cannibalism
Minor: Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, and Abortion
wilybooklover's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Torture, Cannibalism, and Abortion
virsamajor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Physical abuse and Slavery
clovelatte's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
annabellw06_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Slavery
tea_overload's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Blood and Cannibalism
genny's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.75
I will say though that Marra doesn't come across as a 30-year-old (this is coming from someone nearing that age). Something about her manner kept making me think of her as a teenager.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Cannibalism, and Abortion