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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebook. In exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you! 🙂
I enjoyed 3/4 of this book. I found the idea of using tunes in magic and that there are different levels of magic power. The heartsglass each person wears around their neck was a neat idea. The story moved along fairly quickly until near the end and then it just lost its cohesion a bit. In my opinion. It hints at other events that have happened but they aren’t gone into in the book. Also this will probably be a series.
I enjoyed 3/4 of this book. I found the idea of using tunes in magic and that there are different levels of magic power. The heartsglass each person wears around their neck was a neat idea. The story moved along fairly quickly until near the end and then it just lost its cohesion a bit. In my opinion. It hints at other events that have happened but they aren’t gone into in the book. Also this will probably be a series.
Confession: this has been on my to-be-read pile for a long, long time based solely on the author's name and title of the book. But i put it off, because, there's kind of an overglut of "young girl in alternate fantasy world realizes she has powers and must go off to be trained" YA fantasy out there. I didn't want to be bored.
Well, I wasn't bored, that's for sure. I was a bit annoyed by the narrative device of present-day first person in italics story-telling at the start of each chapter (and truthfully skimmed some of it) but was so immersed in the rune-based and heart-magic based cross between assassins and geisha of Lady Tea's training that it didn't matter.
Here there be monsters. Tea's brother is killed by a daeva, a hybrid monster that arises from the dead like locusts every few years. Then a special brand of mage called "asha" or "bone witch" has to come kill it, take its heart, and put it back in the ground.
Tea resurrects her brother, Fox, and then the two of them are taken to a large city to undergo bone witch training. (which involves dancing, fighting, history, and herbology, apparently).
I wished there had been more scenes between Tea and Prince Khance to establish the details of their relationship, and more between Tea and Kalen to establish his animosity, but I did get swept up in they mystery of who was sabotaging the asha ceremonies and the overall politics of the region.
The narrative framing device of present-day view of Tea does tantalize us with some over-arching mysteries including how she falls in love, and why she's raising monsters in the present day and what she'll do with them. So despite being annoyed by that narrative device, I do acknowledge its effectiveness in forcing me to go get the next book to find out what happens.
Well, I wasn't bored, that's for sure. I was a bit annoyed by the narrative device of present-day first person in italics story-telling at the start of each chapter (and truthfully skimmed some of it) but was so immersed in the rune-based and heart-magic based cross between assassins and geisha of Lady Tea's training that it didn't matter.
Here there be monsters. Tea's brother is killed by a daeva, a hybrid monster that arises from the dead like locusts every few years. Then a special brand of mage called "asha" or "bone witch" has to come kill it, take its heart, and put it back in the ground.
Tea resurrects her brother, Fox, and then the two of them are taken to a large city to undergo bone witch training. (which involves dancing, fighting, history, and herbology, apparently).
I wished there had been more scenes between Tea and Prince Khance to establish the details of their relationship, and more between Tea and Kalen to establish his animosity, but I did get swept up in they mystery of who was sabotaging the asha ceremonies and the overall politics of the region.
The narrative framing device of present-day view of Tea does tantalize us with some over-arching mysteries including how she falls in love, and why she's raising monsters in the present day and what she'll do with them. So despite being annoyed by that narrative device, I do acknowledge its effectiveness in forcing me to go get the next book to find out what happens.
This was so boring and slow. The author literally just wrote about the mc’s daily routine and it didn’t feel like anything was progressing. World building was very confusing too.
Absolutely beautiful imagery, a complex hinted at morally grey MC, and well developed setting, The Bone Witch brought me straight into this book and I did not want to leave. There is so much going on, and there were definitely characters that I wanted to see more of, so hopefully I will see more of them in the next books! This book grabbed me and I was/am so invested in the whole world.
The thing I love most about this book, and really this author although this series is the only works of hers I have read, is that there is no fear of being genuine. The main character is flawed and makes bad choices. She handles the fallout of these choices in a very realistic seeming way. I think too often in YA fantasy novels we see these perfect heroines making decent choices mostly thought the book. This book is refreshingly different because I like to think of myself in a character's postion: would I do that? Might I do that?
The other thing I like about this author is the way she is able to fit a lot of world building into a novel without making it have that dragging "chug though it" sort of feel. This surprised me even more when I found out she had been a manual writer previously.
Be prepared to feel things, to not always be comfortable, and to feel like that is okay. This book also addresses some things that are going on and relevant today without seeming preachy, which I really enjoyed.
The other thing I like about this author is the way she is able to fit a lot of world building into a novel without making it have that dragging "chug though it" sort of feel. This surprised me even more when I found out she had been a manual writer previously.
Be prepared to feel things, to not always be comfortable, and to feel like that is okay. This book also addresses some things that are going on and relevant today without seeming preachy, which I really enjoyed.
This series has some serious potential. The writing style seemed to progress as the book went on which caused it to be difficult to get into right away. A lot.of character development for a 1st book in the series but the end really sucked me in and if it goes the way it lead off as, it's going to be a great read from here on out!
slow-paced