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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
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
ARC provided by Netgalley.com
This book didn't told hold my attention. I'm not sure I would have finished it on m own if i hadn't been given the ARC. Although the story is interesting, and I enjoyed the aspects that reminded me of "Memoirs of a Geisha" I just felt like the story dragged. The pace could have been a bit quicker.
This book didn't told hold my attention. I'm not sure I would have finished it on m own if i hadn't been given the ARC. Although the story is interesting, and I enjoyed the aspects that reminded me of "Memoirs of a Geisha" I just felt like the story dragged. The pace could have been a bit quicker.
DNF 3 HOURS IN.
The Bone Witch has lyrical writing, great world-building, and an interesting premise. It is also a book that requires patience; the pacing is slow, there's very little action, and I found my attention drifting while I was listening. This book had an audience, but I am not one of them
The Bone Witch has lyrical writing, great world-building, and an interesting premise. It is also a book that requires patience; the pacing is slow, there's very little action, and I found my attention drifting while I was listening. This book had an audience, but I am not one of them
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a fast start with a slow middle and quick ending. The magic was unique but also hard to follow at times. There was a little bit of mystery as well. 3.5 rounded up to 5 for the twist ending that I wasn't even thinking about.
adventurous
dark
medium-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
Really 3.5 stars but I rounded up
This book is like a magic roller coaster. Tea is this young girl who can raise the dead—talk about a conversation starter, am I right? She is a good mix of feisty and kind.
The world-building is pretty good, good enough that you'll feel like you've stepped into another realm. Sure, there are a ton of details to absorb, and you might need a hot minute to get into the groove of the story.
The characters are super layered, and the timeline hops around like a bunny, which is kinda fun but I think in this case it took me out of the story too much.
It's a good read but I don't know if I will ever re-read it. It's just missing that extra spark. I have heard that book 2 and 3 are really good and I definitely want to continue with the series!
The VERY last paragraph got me like.... WHAT
This book is like a magic roller coaster. Tea is this young girl who can raise the dead—talk about a conversation starter, am I right? She is a good mix of feisty and kind.
The world-building is pretty good, good enough that you'll feel like you've stepped into another realm. Sure, there are a ton of details to absorb, and you might need a hot minute to get into the groove of the story.
The characters are super layered, and the timeline hops around like a bunny, which is kinda fun but I think in this case it took me out of the story too much.
It's a good read but I don't know if I will ever re-read it. It's just missing that extra spark. I have heard that book 2 and 3 are really good and I definitely want to continue with the series!
The VERY last paragraph got me like.... WHAT
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
mysterious
medium-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