Nettle & Bone

Product Information

i just loved this, it was perfect for me and my reading tastes, and i hope more of t kingfsher's fantasy stories feel like this to me, because she will really have a fan for life if so! The more they eat, the more they fear it—they do not cook the flesh, you see…” She rubbed her face, obviously distressed. She notes that she was not engaged by the non-linear structure of the opening chapter, but praised the remainder of the novel and its subversion of standard fairy tale tropes.

The world is interesting and I have questions left for the magic but I don’t think the book ever intended to actually deliver all of the details. Her books have the atmosphere of a Hayao Miyazaki movie, in that they are often themed on life, death, and what it means to be human, so even the monsters have human sides, and the humans are often shown to be at least part monster themselves. The very special hardcover edition features a gold foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.There aren't actually a lot of authors out there I would want to sit down and have tea with, but Kingfisher is one of those authors who I think would just be really, really fun in person. Blending fairy-tale familiarity and common-sense characters, Kingfisher’s prose balances grim circumstances with humor and heart. For example, partner abuse, which we all know is very real, the way that was explored in this fantastical setting was quite interesting. Caitlyn Paxton of NPR praised the novel for its use of two older female protagonists, Marra and the dust-wife. From the safety of the convent, Marra wonders who will come to her sister’s rescue and put a stop to this.

The brown hen stood on the death mask, which had split in two, looking as serene as only a chicken can look. Because as Marra learns while at her sister's bed during her niece's birth, Prince McEvil enjoys hurting his wives. If they found some of the bands of light and shadow lay a little strangely, they never stayed long enough to puzzle out why. Thank you so very much to the publisher, Tor and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copies to read and review.It was a cruel spirit that would punish starving people for what they had been forced to eat, but the spirits had never pretended to be kind. Princess Marra is the third-born daughter of a minor king, who rules a small city-state that houses the only deep harbor along the coast of two rival kingdoms. And I’ll even forgive the unnecessary romance subplot - at least it had the decency to stay well in the background. the dust wife (demonic chicken’s owner), who is the coolest character and has lived a life of solitude tucked away in a hard to reach graveyard, until marra needs her help and proves she is worthy of it. it made for a thoroughly immersive experience, and amara jasper, the audiobook narrator, really brought each character to life with different voices, intonations, and emotions all coming across in her expressive voice.

kingfisher is SO GOOD at writing animal characters, and even though i have never seen her kill one of 'em off, in this one bonedog starts out dead, so you don't need to worry about him coming to any much harm. For me, it was a pro, because I don't like Horror most of the time and thinking this was in the genre was part of the failure to read it the first time. A chicken possessed by a demon, a dog made of bones and a women on a journey to save a sister who doesn't even like her all that much. After her older sister goes through a political marriage and dies without bearing an heir, the next sister in line must take her place as wife to a dangerous prince and our heroine is sent off to a nunnery. When she discovers her sister is being abused, she is determined to stop this prince using whatever magic she can scrounge up.The above was my one-line review the first time I attempted this book and couldn't get past the sampler.

The book sketches out memorable characters, interesting locales but leaves much to the imagination, hinting at a well worn world just outside of the narration.The magic was imperfect, but it was the best she had been able to make in the time that she had been given. The same review also praised the way in which Kingfisher uses humor to contrast with the darkness of the plot.