You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
3 stars is too harsh. 4 is too many. I wish I could give 3.5.
I think my personal downfall was listening to this as an audiobook. Normally audiobooks are fine, but I think I did a disservice by not reading it personally.
My biggest complaint is how abruptly it ended. And there was an attempt at a WTF moment at the end, but it just didn’t work for me. I could tell around the halfway mark that we weren’t going to be given a complete ending, but the quick abruptness with which the book ended and the dramatic shift in tone was just jarring.
I think my personal downfall was listening to this as an audiobook. Normally audiobooks are fine, but I think I did a disservice by not reading it personally.
My biggest complaint is how abruptly it ended. And there was an attempt at a WTF moment at the end, but it just didn’t work for me. I could tell around the halfway mark that we weren’t going to be given a complete ending, but the quick abruptness with which the book ended and the dramatic shift in tone was just jarring.
dark
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated
(https://nikkisee.com/2017/01/13/book-review-the-bone-witch/)
I’ve never read this author before, but I was immediately endeared to her upon reading her dedication to bowls of ramen.
The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco, is a dark fantasy set in an incredibly rich magical world. I was really impressed by the world created here; it’s not the system of magic itself that’s impressive, but the world that supports it.
Tea (pronounced Tay-uh, though you don’t find that out until the latter half of the novel) is an asha— a woman who wields magic. She discovers this upon bringing her brother Fox back from the dead. Mykaela, another dark asha like Tea, brings her to her asha-ka where she is to be trained.
An asha is like a geisha– they sing, dance, play music, entertain… but also are trained in combat. Most asha draw elemental runes (this is how they use their magic), but Tea and Mykaela can only draw dark runes– their magic is death. They also must control the daeva, giant beats and resurrect and wreck havoc every few years.
An interesting element of this world is the heartglass– people literally wear their heart around the neck and exchange them in the bonds of love/marriage. Not everyone can read the mood-ring type color shifting of the heartglass. Most people are just shades of red, while magic-wielders like Tea’s sisters are purple, but asha have silver heartglass. A man with a silver heartglass would become a military Deathseeker, as asha are women only. This comes into play in the book with Tea’s friend Likh, who prefers to dance but whose silver heartglass would force him into the military.
What I really loved about this world was the attention to detail in adornment. Dress, accessories, and make-up play a pivotal role in magic.
Now, this world can also be confusing at times. With the deava mythology and the world’s unique terminology, it feels like you’re constantly playing catch-up on the history and culture.
The shifting point-of-views also were a bit problematic for me. The story is told interwoven with present-day Tea, who has been exiled. She is obviously changed from the Tea we meet in the storyline. While Tea tells the main tale from her perspective, a bard accounts the present by observing and interacting with Tea. I personally do not enjoy reading large italicized blocks of text that don’t directly relate to the story at hand. (This is worsened by the fact that the Kingfountain series that I’m also reading currently begins each chapter with italicized excerpts as well.) It is intriguing, though, because present Tea is so different… perhaps even evil. It’s alluring, as you’re enticed to know how Tea got to that point.
This intricate book is definitely worth reading; it’s dark and lovely and very different from a classic good vs. evil story.
I’ve never read this author before, but I was immediately endeared to her upon reading her dedication to bowls of ramen.
The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco, is a dark fantasy set in an incredibly rich magical world. I was really impressed by the world created here; it’s not the system of magic itself that’s impressive, but the world that supports it.
Tea (pronounced Tay-uh, though you don’t find that out until the latter half of the novel) is an asha— a woman who wields magic. She discovers this upon bringing her brother Fox back from the dead. Mykaela, another dark asha like Tea, brings her to her asha-ka where she is to be trained.
An asha is like a geisha– they sing, dance, play music, entertain… but also are trained in combat. Most asha draw elemental runes (this is how they use their magic), but Tea and Mykaela can only draw dark runes– their magic is death. They also must control the daeva, giant beats and resurrect and wreck havoc every few years.
An interesting element of this world is the heartglass– people literally wear their heart around the neck and exchange them in the bonds of love/marriage. Not everyone can read the mood-ring type color shifting of the heartglass. Most people are just shades of red, while magic-wielders like Tea’s sisters are purple, but asha have silver heartglass. A man with a silver heartglass would become a military Deathseeker, as asha are women only. This comes into play in the book with Tea’s friend Likh, who prefers to dance but whose silver heartglass would force him into the military.
What I really loved about this world was the attention to detail in adornment. Dress, accessories, and make-up play a pivotal role in magic.
Now, this world can also be confusing at times. With the deava mythology and the world’s unique terminology, it feels like you’re constantly playing catch-up on the history and culture.
The shifting point-of-views also were a bit problematic for me. The story is told interwoven with present-day Tea, who has been exiled. She is obviously changed from the Tea we meet in the storyline. While Tea tells the main tale from her perspective, a bard accounts the present by observing and interacting with Tea. I personally do not enjoy reading large italicized blocks of text that don’t directly relate to the story at hand. (This is worsened by the fact that the Kingfountain series that I’m also reading currently begins each chapter with italicized excerpts as well.) It is intriguing, though, because present Tea is so different… perhaps even evil. It’s alluring, as you’re enticed to know how Tea got to that point.
This intricate book is definitely worth reading; it’s dark and lovely and very different from a classic good vs. evil story.
It was great in the beginning. but near the middle it does get extremely slow, the premise of the book will keep you interested enough to keep reading but there were some parts where I wanted to put it down.
The present parts of the story kept me going though. She's a very dark protagonist, which I loved.
The ending was amazing though, the twsit!!!! I need to know why!!!!!
The present parts of the story kept me going though. She's a very dark protagonist, which I loved.
The ending was amazing though, the twsit!!!! I need to know why!!!!!
oh man. that was. something.
the entire first half of this book was painfully hard to get through, and if i'm honest, a little bit confusing. i have a lot to say about the magic system, but i guess my one confusion was that if this is such a progressive society, why in the world are these magical, talented people being used for tea parties and not. actual fighting.
and kance? we saw next to nothing about him? is he supposed to be the main love interest here? why in the world was kalen so prevalent if he's a jerk?? such a huge year gap with the flash-forwards and absolutely no clarity in the end besides us knowing that eventually she's some kind of villain.
i just didn't feel completely fleshed out, and hopefully the sequel will remedy that.
aside from that, it was a charming story with a unique magic system and the worldbuilding was great. loved the different cultural prejudices and traditions and the emphasis on how they impacted society. if i come across the sequel i'll definitely give it a read, for more answers if anything.
the entire first half of this book was painfully hard to get through, and if i'm honest, a little bit confusing. i have a lot to say about the magic system, but i guess my one confusion was that if this is such a progressive society, why in the world are these magical, talented people being used for tea parties and not. actual fighting.
and kance? we saw next to nothing about him? is he supposed to be the main love interest here? why in the world was kalen so prevalent if he's a jerk?? such a huge year gap with the flash-forwards and absolutely no clarity in the end besides us knowing that eventually she's some kind of villain.
i just didn't feel completely fleshed out, and hopefully the sequel will remedy that.
aside from that, it was a charming story with a unique magic system and the worldbuilding was great. loved the different cultural prejudices and traditions and the emphasis on how they impacted society. if i come across the sequel i'll definitely give it a read, for more answers if anything.
I liked this, I loved the start and the finish but the middle.... Just dragged a bit?
There was so much politics and world building, which I'm not against, but it didn't really add anything to the story?
I'm still looking forward to the next in the series - I want to see where this goes!
There was so much politics and world building, which I'm not against, but it didn't really add anything to the story?
I'm still looking forward to the next in the series - I want to see where this goes!
Took me a bit to get into but now excited to start the second one
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes