Review – Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Posted April 25, 2022 by Carole in Reviews / 18 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – Nettle & Bone by T. KingfisherNettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Published by Tor Books on April 26, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure
Pages: 256
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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five-stars

This isn't a fairy tale where the princess marries the prince. It's one where she kills him. Hugo & Nebula Award-winning author T. Kingfisher weaves a subversive and original fairytale in Nettle & Bone.

Marra never wanted to be a hero.

As the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an uncaring throne. But her sister wasn’t so fortunate—and after years of silence, Marra is done watching her suffer at the hands of a powerful and abusive prince.

Seeking help for her rescue mission, Marra is offered the tools she needs, but only if she can complete three seemingly impossible tasks:
—build a dog of bones
—sew a cloak of nettles
—capture moonlight in a jar

But, as is the way in tales of princes and witches, doing the impossible is only the beginning.

Hero or not—now joined by a disgraced ex-knight, a reluctant fairy godmother, an enigmatic gravewitch and her fowl familiar—Marra might finally have the courage to save her sister, and topple a throne.

This was phenomenal! This is easily my favorite book so far this year. It really is just that good. I went into this book without a lot of expectations. I was intrigued by the book’s description, especially the part about the chicken possessed by a demon, so I was hopeful that it would be a good read. I did not think I would be blown away by this book. If this book is not yet on your radar, do yourself a favor and try to get your hands on a copy just as soon as possible.

This book was filled with wonderful and unusual characters. Marra is the youngest of 3 princesses and wants to save her sister who is married to a cruel prince. She enlists the help of a gravewitch by completing several impossible tasks, including creating a dog out of bones. Marra, the gravewitch, her demon-possessed chicken, and Bonedog stop at a goblin market shortly after starting where they find a former knight who joins them on their journey. They soon add one last member to their group, a fairy godmother with limited powers. Their quest is to save Marra’s sister by killing the prince.

This is a book where you should expect the unexpected. I loved the characters and the situations that they faced on their journey together were ones I could have never imagined. I thought that they made a wonderful team and seemed to be able to accomplish almost anything when working together. There were some scenes that were very intense and I wasn’t sure how things would work out. I was glued to the pages and found this book to be next to impossible to put down.

I would highly recommend this fairy tale of a story to others. I cannot believe that I have not read more of this author’s work. Seriously, what is even wrong with me?! I quickly fell in love with his group of characters and found the story to be incredibly imaginative. This is a book that I know I will want to revisit in the future and I also plan on checking out more of this author’s work.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Tor Books.

18 responses to “Review – Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

  1. The first line in the blurb instantly hooked me and the fact that you loved it so much really sold it. I just read a book in the fantasy genre and really enjoyed it and this sounds like a must read.

    • This was a really quick read and it had so many wonderful elements. I definitely feel like this is a must read.