A review by surelyinthefountain
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

I found this book very uneven. Some parts were exactly my speed, but I think the gaps between set pieces are too noticeable. I think there's this part maybe 2/3 of the way through where it hits its stride, but the ending itself (the ending after the ending) feels rushed. Like, hey, we didn't get an obligatory "the het pairing knocks boots" scene yet. And, hey, let's remove all stakes by
not having the dog be permanently killed off.
It isn't that I want the bad thing in my ending. I'm just a little like...why did you even bait us in the first place? Come now.
It's my own problem, I know. I've grown to despise more and more with time the type of story that has few narrative compunctions with horrible, unspeakably grim things happen to people -- but oh no! A CUTE ANIMAL? GETTING HURT? Well that's just unacceptable. (Yes that is unacceptable, and yes it's harmless, and yes it's not meant this way -- but I just can't quite divorce this trope in my brain from that type of specifically white person logic that builds gorgeous humane societies with full AC and heating for shelter pets while human rentals don't even have window AC units and those without homes are lucky to find even a shaded sidewalk square to park their bodies.)
I think I might be done with T. Kingfisher books btw. Sometimes, something should just 100% be your sort of thing, but it's just not vibing with you the way you feel like it should. And man, considering how common my complaint is for her books that I wish they'd go full creepy and drop the romance, I think her stuff may just not be the right formula for me.
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