A review by zrals
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

This is a quick and charming fantasy story that plays with old fairy tale tropes. The characters are memorable and, with the exception of Marra, fun to spend some time with. It's very quickly paced and likely won't take long to finish. The prose is good - it never gets in the way but strikes a good balance between description and movement.

Thematically, it feels like it never really gets going. It's never a full subversion or re-investment in the fairy tale patterns it uses. It's setting is sometimes quite detailed, sometimes quite hand-waved, and it's never clear when or why those things are what they are. Fortunately, it's quick enough that you don't have time to notice much of that, as I found it fell apart a bit if I looked too closely. 
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