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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to re-read it because I listened to the audiobook and it was terrible! I think it would be good though if the main character wasn’t voiced to be a whiney terrified child who is an idiot.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
I've been on a witch kick and this one touched on a few things I was missing in some of my other reads. A witch with necromancy powers being introduced to a new world of magic and rules, while also battling the set norms and the ever-reaching darkness that comes with her powers.
As for the story, I think what excited me most was that Tea was questioning set things, such as gender roles (for her friend, a guy who connects more with the feminine qualities), or rethinking how these evil creatures can be dealt with or interacted with. Additionally, loved this boiling feminine rage we are continuing to see into the next book, I assume.
One thing that did surprise me was that though the story is told in a, like, interview style between two timelines, which I liked, structurally.
Really enjoyed being thrown into this story, and love a complicated almost overpowered character who is still trying to understand that power. I might jump straight into the next book cos I'm v curious to see where it goes.
As for the story, I think what excited me most was that Tea was questioning set things, such as gender roles (for her friend, a guy who connects more with the feminine qualities), or rethinking how these evil creatures can be dealt with or interacted with. Additionally, loved this boiling feminine rage we are continuing to see into the next book, I assume.
One thing that did surprise me was that though the story is told in a, like, interview style between two timelines,
Spoiler
the timelines do not yet converge by the end of the book. This feels unexpected because I think people try to nicely wrap up a story by the end of the book and thus rush it, but this was written as a trilogy so the end isn't an end,Really enjoyed being thrown into this story, and love a complicated almost overpowered character who is still trying to understand that power. I might jump straight into the next book cos I'm v curious to see where it goes.
The Bone Witch follows Tea and her journey as a necromancer, called a dark asha or a bone witch. She accidentally discovers her abilities after she raises her brother Fox from the dead after he was killed in battle against the daeva, horrific monsters that plague the land. From there she leaves her home village to train with an older bone witch and other asha, with Fox accompanying as her familiar.
I really enjoyed the world-building in this first book of the series. It started off a bit slow, but this is very much high fantasy with lots of complexities with the magic and politics of the lands. A good chunk of this book is Tea learning skills and training to become an asha and part of their culture. This would have gotten old after while if it weren't for the breaks in between chapters where we are in the future and get glimpses of the bone witch Tea has become. These glimpses kept me hanging on, since they were so drastically different from the Tea in training. They hinted at something darker, almost as if she became a villain.
In the last third of the book things start to pick up, and we see Tea delving deeper into the dark. We learn the daeva may be more than just bloodthirsty monsters, and we meet our first Faceless, enemies of the kingdom. The last part of this book serves as a set up for the next, where the past and future hopefully meet and we see why and how Tea has become so powerful.
I really enjoyed the world-building in this first book of the series. It started off a bit slow, but this is very much high fantasy with lots of complexities with the magic and politics of the lands. A good chunk of this book is Tea learning skills and training to become an asha and part of their culture. This would have gotten old after while if it weren't for the breaks in between chapters where we are in the future and get glimpses of the bone witch Tea has become. These glimpses kept me hanging on, since they were so drastically different from the Tea in training. They hinted at something darker, almost as if she became a villain.
In the last third of the book things start to pick up, and we see Tea delving deeper into the dark. We learn the daeva may be more than just bloodthirsty monsters, and we meet our first Faceless, enemies of the kingdom. The last part of this book serves as a set up for the next, where the past and future hopefully meet and we see why and how Tea has become so powerful.
*Audio Readalong*
I almost felt like this was a Memoirs of a Geisha fanfic piece. The story mainly focused on the training of the asha and their rites of passage. It kind of dragged for me. There was action no doubt, but the PURPOSE of the story wasn't clear. Even at the end I was left wondering if Tea is the downfall of the kingdom or meant to save the kingdom. The flashback POV made the story as a whole confusing.
I almost felt like this was a Memoirs of a Geisha fanfic piece. The story mainly focused on the training of the asha and their rites of passage. It kind of dragged for me. There was action no doubt, but the PURPOSE of the story wasn't clear. Even at the end I was left wondering if Tea is the downfall of the kingdom or meant to save the kingdom. The flashback POV made the story as a whole confusing.
This was my first time reading Rin Chupeco and I really loved this first installment in The Bone Witch series! I can't wait to read the rest of the series and probably more from the talented author.
This book kept me up past my bedtime every night. I finished it in 4 days. Which for me is lightning fast. I loved the little time jumps in between chapters that would give you a glimpse of the future and keep me hooked without being a spoiler.
Tea is the main character and she quickly learns that she has magic. Dark magic. The kind that can raise the dead. It's also a very rare magic and her mentor is the only other Dark asha left. Her mentor's life is quickly fading and Tea is racing against time to be ready to take over before that happens. Lots of mistakes are made a long the way, she is a novice after all. Our glimpses into the future let us know that Tea's intentions in the past might not lead her exactly on the course her mentor had planned for her.
Tea is the main character and she quickly learns that she has magic. Dark magic. The kind that can raise the dead. It's also a very rare magic and her mentor is the only other Dark asha left. Her mentor's life is quickly fading and Tea is racing against time to be ready to take over before that happens. Lots of mistakes are made a long the way, she is a novice after all. Our glimpses into the future let us know that Tea's intentions in the past might not lead her exactly on the course her mentor had planned for her.
Really, I'd give this a 2.5 but that .5 is not strong enough to round it up to a 3.
I loved the concept, here, but, man, the execution was painful.
We've got a girl named Tea. Like the drink. It makes sense when you find out her siblings have names like Lilac and Daisy and Fox so, sure, Tea. Only it's not pronounced "Tee," it's pronounced "Tey-uh," which you find out on page 272 after you've been mentally pronouncing it like the drink for most of the story.
Anyhow, this girl named Tea, she accidentally raises her brother from the dead (not a spoiler, it's stated on the cover and the back, as well) and finds out she's a dark asha (witch) who can't use elemental runes but can wield dark magic and her heartsglass is silver.
At first, I was reminded of Elizabeth Bear's Eternal Sky series in that this is a non-Anglocentric fantasy that focuses on a variety of cultures, their beliefs, and their practices. And like Bear, this author uses words in a wonky way but unlike Bear's writing, it doesn't work. Words are misused or unnecessarily repeated, malapropisms abound, and dialogue is stilted and off-kilter. It's not an affectation of a word-loving writer, it's lack of decent editing. Seriously, who edited this? I need to talk to that team because some of these problems are glaring and ridiculous and should never have gone to print.
So we're in this world and necromancer Tea is a normal teen, crushing on a cute prince who, for some reason, is quite interested in her, as well. Her dead brother is her familiar and she has to do blood magic on him to keep him fresh. She goes to fancy Asha school where she learns all sorts of things like dancing, singing, instrument-playing, world history, combat, magic-wielding, and party etiquette. She's powerful and special so she rises from kitchen drudge to novice to asha (geisha) pretty quickly. She gets to wear beautiful and intricate huas (robe-like dresses that I think are supposed to be similar to kimonos?) and magical combs and pins in her hair. She makes enemies, respawning daeva have to be put down and their bezoars removed, the Faceless are out to get everyone, there's a lot of stuff about everybody's heartsglasses, and hijinks ensue. And this is all told to a wandering bard as Tea, who has already lived all this stuff and has since been banished, plans her revenge.
If you feel there are gaps in that description, if you're thinking, "I don't know what that means," then welcome to the club. This is a book that throws down all the things and you've got to piece them together yourself. The world-building is mostly up to the reader. You're given the words but you have to figure out how they make a picture. Sometimes there's context, other times, there's not.
In addition, it's obvious the author knew what she meant, what she saw in her head, but the way she described it didn't translate. For instance, Tea walks into a room where ducks (NOT geese) are wandering around (because why not?) and she trips over one and it bites her. If you've ever walked into a duck, and I think not many of us have, you probably expect it to attack your front, like maybe your shin, possibly your knee. Ducks are pretty short so they'd have to fly up to bite anything else. And while the instance is not described in detail, the scene ends with Tea leaving the room holding her butt, implying the duck bit her in the ass. I believe Tea is not that short so I'm not sure how the duck got her butt or why it was behind her when it bit her and I am not sure of these things because the scene was not set up in a way that made me think those things. Again, what made sense to the writer often failed to translate into this reader's mind.
So while I liked the overall idea - teen finds she has the power of death-magic and is reviled for it though she still has to be trained ends up being pretty good at her job but others hate her and there are monsters that need to be dealt with - the writing really brought the whole thing down. I blame the publishing company for that nonsense because nearly every mistake could have easily been caught and fixed by decent beta readers and editors.
I loved the concept, here, but, man, the execution was painful.
We've got a girl named Tea. Like the drink. It makes sense when you find out her siblings have names like Lilac and Daisy and Fox so, sure, Tea. Only it's not pronounced "Tee," it's pronounced "Tey-uh," which you find out on page 272 after you've been mentally pronouncing it like the drink for most of the story.
Anyhow, this girl named Tea, she accidentally raises her brother from the dead (not a spoiler, it's stated on the cover and the back, as well) and finds out she's a dark asha (witch) who can't use elemental runes but can wield dark magic and her heartsglass is silver.
At first, I was reminded of Elizabeth Bear's Eternal Sky series in that this is a non-Anglocentric fantasy that focuses on a variety of cultures, their beliefs, and their practices. And like Bear, this author uses words in a wonky way but unlike Bear's writing, it doesn't work. Words are misused or unnecessarily repeated, malapropisms abound, and dialogue is stilted and off-kilter. It's not an affectation of a word-loving writer, it's lack of decent editing. Seriously, who edited this? I need to talk to that team because some of these problems are glaring and ridiculous and should never have gone to print.
So we're in this world and necromancer Tea is a normal teen, crushing on a cute prince who, for some reason, is quite interested in her, as well. Her dead brother is her familiar and she has to do blood magic on him to keep him fresh. She goes to fancy Asha school where she learns all sorts of things like dancing, singing, instrument-playing, world history, combat, magic-wielding, and party etiquette. She's powerful and special so she rises from kitchen drudge to novice to asha (geisha) pretty quickly. She gets to wear beautiful and intricate huas (robe-like dresses that I think are supposed to be similar to kimonos?) and magical combs and pins in her hair. She makes enemies, respawning daeva have to be put down and their bezoars removed, the Faceless are out to get everyone, there's a lot of stuff about everybody's heartsglasses, and hijinks ensue. And this is all told to a wandering bard as Tea, who has already lived all this stuff and has since been banished, plans her revenge.
If you feel there are gaps in that description, if you're thinking, "I don't know what that means," then welcome to the club. This is a book that throws down all the things and you've got to piece them together yourself. The world-building is mostly up to the reader. You're given the words but you have to figure out how they make a picture. Sometimes there's context, other times, there's not.
In addition, it's obvious the author knew what she meant, what she saw in her head, but the way she described it didn't translate. For instance, Tea walks into a room where ducks (NOT geese) are wandering around (because why not?) and she trips over one and it bites her. If you've ever walked into a duck, and I think not many of us have, you probably expect it to attack your front, like maybe your shin, possibly your knee. Ducks are pretty short so they'd have to fly up to bite anything else. And while the instance is not described in detail, the scene ends with Tea leaving the room holding her butt, implying the duck bit her in the ass. I believe Tea is not that short so I'm not sure how the duck got her butt or why it was behind her when it bit her and I am not sure of these things because the scene was not set up in a way that made me think those things. Again, what made sense to the writer often failed to translate into this reader's mind.
So while I liked the overall idea - teen finds she has the power of death-magic and is reviled for it though she still has to be trained ends up being pretty good at her job but others hate her and there are monsters that need to be dealt with - the writing really brought the whole thing down. I blame the publishing company for that nonsense because nearly every mistake could have easily been caught and fixed by decent beta readers and editors.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated