A review by persephonefoxx
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

adventurous dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

“Rage was only useful if you were allowed to do anything with it”

Teenage me was obsessed with dark fairytales. I’m talking retellings, the darker original texts, creepy stories in a fairytale-esque telling. All that to say, teenage me would have eaten this up. Because at its core, it is a fairytale. A fantastical story of impossible tasks, magic women, peculiar animals, princesses, and fairy Godmothers. 

It is a story that prioritises characters in that distant narrative styling of fairytales and similar stories. And at its core it is a story about rage and love. Men who have so much rage it devoids them of love and women who love so deeply that it fuels their rage. It is about family and the burden of duty. It tells a story of the painful process of clawing yourself out of helpless, and that the journey shouldn’t be taken alone. 

I really enjoyed this book. There were parts that made me laugh (a particular demon hen) and there were parts I felt in my soul. And while the world building scraped the surface, what are to expect in a book as short. It is a book about the people not the place and thus its focus is understandable. 

I am merely annoyed with myself that it has taken this long to finally read T. Kingfisher. Something I will be looking to rectify in the future. 
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