“Horrible puppet, demon chicken, fairy godmother”

This book was a joy. I haven’t had the chance to read any of T Kingfisher’s previous books but will have to start rummaging through the archives if they have the same humour and fresh spins on fairytale worlds.

I hope we see more protagonists like Marra, who isn’t blessed with infinite power or enviable fae beauty or the weight of destiny on her shoulders. She has a kind heart and determination, and there’s something about her that we could all relate to.

I enjoyed the pace of Marra’s journey, with enough world building to get a sense of the greater environment without drawing too much focus from the main plot and developing group of characters.

I’m also desperate to get my hands on a demon-filled chicken now!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. All views are my own.

Nettle and Bone is my first foray into T Kingfisher’s work – I know she’s hugely popular, and I can see why! This was excellent. It gripped me from the lyrical opening line, and the pace never really let up from there.

Our heroine, Marra, is the third daughter of the king of a small kingdom, prized by its neighbours for its location. After seeing her eldest - and then her middle - sister, suffer at the hands of a cruel prince, she sets out to kill him, seeking help from a necromancer, a dog made of bones, a warrior a fairy godmother and a demon-possessed chicken.

I couldn’t help but root for Marra, and I adored the side characters. There’s a smattering of romance, including a grumpy/sunshine side pairing that I loved, and a deep sense of found family and camaraderie. What I particularly loved was that all the characters were older – Marra is probably the youngest, in her 30s – and that’s something that’s rare to see.

Overall, it’s a beautifully written feminist fairytale, with quests and challenges, a curse, and a truly reprehensible villain.

OMG! This. This was such a good read!

I posted a more thorough review of this on my channels but I had to say it here: this was SO good!
Some grim (but not that much), some humor, cranky misanthropic characters, kindness, down-to-earth good sense, and a wonderful story that shakes to the core of our good old fairytales. I'd love it if the author could write more in this universe.

A princess turned nun, a dog of bones, a dust wife with a demon chicken, a knight and last of all a fairy godmother all go on a quest together to kill the prince. This is the basic story behind T Kingfisher’s dark fairy tale and what a glorious tale it is. The usual fairy tale characters are developed in new and unexpected ways in this dark world where one kingdom is able to hold another to ransom through its daughters.
I loved this tale and am grateful to Net Galley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thank you to Titan Books for providing me a copy of this book via NetGalley – views remain my own!

This is the first novel I’ve read by T. Kingfisher, and that is a damn shame, because really I should have been reading her work for years, and now I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do!

Marra is the third born daughter of a king. When her oldest sister marries a prince and dies shortly after, Marra is sent to a convent when the prince remarries – this time, his bride is Marra’s other sister, the middle daughter. Marra, shy and sheltered, soon realises something isn’t right – her sister seems forever pregnant, and bruises mark her skin. Marra knows that to save her sister, she has to do something drastic. She seeks out a dust-wife who sets her three impossible tasks; sew a cloak of nettles, build a dog of bones, and capture moonlight in a jar. With the tasks completed, Marra and the dust-wife set out on their journey, with a demon possessed chicken, but there are others they need.

The book opens with Marra creating the dog, and he soon becomes a close companion. We move seamlessly between the past and present day, seeing how Marra ended up seeking the dust-wife’s help to kill the prince, before we are set firmly on the path and follow Marra and the dust-wife as they enlist others and work out how, exactly, they’ll get close enough to perform the deed – let alone how they’ll actually do it.

This world comes vividly alive with Kingfisher’s excellent prose, without it ever feeling like it gets bogged down in too much detail. She keeps a tight hold on the POV, meaning everything is filtered through the sheltered Marra’s eyes, allowing us to learn about the politics and dangers presented by this world as Marra does.

The characters are excellent – Marra really grows throughout, and her determination carries her through. The dust-wife has shades of Granny Weatherwax, the chicken and dog are unusual and delightful, Fenris is a disgraced knight who has some really funny lines, and we even get a fairy godmother joining in on the quest, too.

There’s a dark element to it, too, melding horror with fantasy and fairy tales and giving it an almost retelling feeling, too. This is a really great fantasy novel, and if you like your fantasy on the darker side with characters fighting back against a dark, dangerous, patriarchal world where a prince can get away with anything, definitely pick up Nettle & Bone.

I actually finished this book a while ago, but had to reflect for a while on this book before giving my rating.

Overall, this book is very good. I really love the world and the dark fairytale vibes. The writing is good and it has a bone dog who is best boy - need I say more?

The reason I can't give this 5 stars is that I never really felt connected to the MC, Marra. Maybe it's because of the fairytale like writing, but I never felt I understood the core of her, why exactly she was doing what she was doing. Why she was willing to go to such extreme lengths.

Also, it had a demon chicken who sadly, was not demonic enough for me.

Saying all this, I would rec the book. It's just not one I personally devoured like I expected I would.

Fantasticly quirky and an unusual take on the usual fantasy tropes, and although it deals with some really dark issues, there is a wonderful warmth and humour throughout. The author has a sharply witty tone and an amazing kooky imagination.
I loved the characters, each of them had a unique charm and I loved their dynamic as a team. I especially liked that our heroine Marra is a grown woman in her 30s, she is such a great mix of naivety, determination and hope. My favourite character was probably Agnes, I especially loved her...... complexity.
A definite recommend.

This was a fantastic book. The characters are all well written, the plot is compelling throughout and the world is a vivid one. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be checking out her other books too. I highly recommend checking this out.

Thank you to the publisher for providing and advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Domestic Violence

There's strangely a lot of bone-related fantasy and this iteration held it's own! If - like me - you read "demon chicken" and "bone dog" in the synopsis and got excited, you won't be disappointed. I've never read anything by Kingfisher before, so approached this as a debut.

Pro's
Well, firstly the prose (that pun never gets old!) - it's warm, cohesive and female-centric almost in spite of the darker elements of the story. I'm not quite sure how a twisted fairy tale such as this radiated in such a heartwarming way, but was glad of it!

The agency of the characters, avoiding "victim" tropes was also wonderful to see. This book absolutely shone a light on "survivors" and gave a much more nuanced insight into the fear, intimidation and reality of domestic violence than most fiction covering the topic and yet also, the determination, and inner strength that this can sometimes engender. Marra's sisters were not simply passive placeholders, but active plot participants.

The dust-wife and Agnes were particularly wonderful characters: not only do I want to go round for tea, I'd love to see what their future in this world holds together! They were so well rounded and complementary: cantankerous and kind to fault, they felt like old friends that I've known for years, leading the way on this quest!

It also delved a little in the psychology behind aristocracy historically which was refreshing. Lots of novels describe the marriage cattle-market that daughters experienced, with some exploring the aftermath of "what happens next..." after the alliance is forged - very few delve into how this affects the familial relationship as Nettle & Bone does.

Solid ending - obvious won't go into detail, but it's a *chef's kiss*

Cons:
The pacing and the structure felt a little off: I completely understand wanting to start with a bang, setting the tone that this is not a traditional fairy tale, but the jumping about slightly broke up the flow. Likewise, pacing-wise, the book felt as though it was in thirds: firstly, scene setting with Marra, her family and the nunnery, secondly, the dust-wife and the quest set up, thirdly, the quest proper. The quest proper was by far the most enjoyable section and it the other two sections did feel at time like purposeful blocks of exposition that went slower. The world building was thorough and transportative, but similarly had random elements (the goblin market, the curse-child, the burnished lands) that also felt strategically placed/not fully fleshed out... cannibal pun intended.

The age of Marra and Fenris: I'm torn on whether this is a con or not. Honestly, I'm really glad that this wasn't the typical 16-25 year olds finding themselves and saving the world in the process: lord save me from the enthusiasm of youth! But that being said, Marra came across as a lot younger than her 30 years - even factoring in the years being cloistered and the many references to her lack of diplomatic skills, she read as a (compelling, determined, wonderful) naive YA character. Fenris seems slightly ageless, though we mention he is late 30's and a warrior-diplomat, his brooding yet supportive silence means that we don't get much of a fix on who/how old he is. He seems a lot more mature/worldly than Marra, and while their connection was well-intentioned (people in their 30's finding love, how novel!) it came through as a slightly awkward disparity.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and will absolutely look out for more fare from T. Kingfisher, whether in this universe or another!

I devour every Ursula Vernon book I can get my hands on and this was no different. I’m not a big reader of horror so I wasn’t sure what to expect other than the usual T. Kingfisher flair, and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed when the booked opened with Marra weaving a dog from fleshless bones and blooded wire.

While not my favourite book by this author, I nonetheless read it quickly and enjoyed it. I’ve seen it shelved as horror but I wouldn’t really call it that (from my limited understanding of the genre conventions), I think ‘dark and subversive faerytale’ is the most accurate description.

The story follows Marra, a slow, sensible princess turned nun(ish) who wants to save her sister from a wicked Prince - the premise, like the whole story, is a nice reversal of traditional faerytale tropes, while also returning to their dark and twister pre-Disney roots. Marra is joined by a dust-wife (someone who can communicate with the dead), a chicken (possessed by a demon), her godmother (who is better at cursing than blessing), a disgraced former knight (standard Kingfisher fare) and the dog she made from bones and wire.

The world-building errs on the side of chaotic, with some elements popping into existence with little explanation—the blistered lands and the goblin market and the god-puppet sitting on the shoulder of the woman he holds captive. Some of these things serve the plot, some are a conveniently interesting venue, others are curiosities that add texture to the magic of the world, mentioned then gone. They are all quintessentially T. Kingfisher (clockwork bees, anyone?). Though the volume of world-building oddities doesn’t detract from the story, it would have been nice to explore them more deeply, however this this is a plot-driven book and there is no excess exposition.

A dark fairy tale with a hint of Terry Pratchett's witches. Some of the characters felt a little similar to ones from Kingfisher's other books, but still a very enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

An original fairy tale brought together by unforgettable characters, well crafted magic and an effortless read. I thought there would be more horror, as expected of the author, but this element was seamlessly blended into the narrative. Kingfisher creates a world with such imagination and yet it all makes complete sense.

I really loved this novel!
It is a fairy tale but an original one.
It has depth, a touch of dark and a whole lot of heart.
And best of all ... a walking dog of bones!

This is only the second full-length work I've read by T. Kingfisher, but I'm definitely a confirmed fan. Like Bryony and Roses, the first Kingfisher I tried, Nettle and Bone is a bit of a weird mix: it combines the darker, more serious folktale feel of a writer like Robin McKinley with the lightheartedness of Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I love both ways of writing, but I'm not sure they quite belong together. Nevertheless, I found Nettle and Bone engrossing. It follows Marra, a former princess who has been living in a convent for much of her adult life, held in trust in case her sister dies while trying to bear a powerful king a son. Ultimately, Marra decides that she needs to save her sister from her fate, and seeks help from a dust-wife, guardian of graveyards and source of magic.

Structurally, Nettle and Bone is a bit skew-whiff, and I don't think this worked well; this is the sort of story that demands to be told chronologically, and yet we start with a harrowing scene when Marra is trying to make a dog out of bone to fulfil one of the dust-wife's impossible tasks, flip back for several chapters to learn the backstory, and then catch up with ourselves. Not only does this make the book harder to get into then it should be, given the natural pull of the prose, it gives the wrong impression of what this story is; it's not the grimdark tale that it seems to be at the start. More and more books seem to be employing this tactic to attract the reader's attention by starting with a grabby scene, and it rarely works for me. Having said that, once Nettle and Bone gets going, it's gripping; I loved this book from about a quarter of the way through.

Nettle and Bone was, for me, stronger than Bryony and Roses (and much of the 'low' fantasy that I've read) because of its originality. Kingfisher casually introduces ideas that other writers would hang a whole world around, like cursed puppets, and lets them play their natural role in the story. The network of 'godmothers' is in itself fascinating, but does not dominate the book. Neither does the labyrinth of ghost-tombs (!) beneath the king's palace. Occasionally, it feels like Kingfisher has chucked in one idea too many - I wasn't sure what the point of the blighted lands/cannibal sequence at the start of the book was, for example, and this was probably the most tonally jarring bit as well. But most of these details make it feel like there's a much bigger and more solid world out there beyond this particular story, which is perfect. Marra's character - poor political/social skills but very effective at getting things done - is nicely developed, too, and I loved the realpolitik of her mother and sister. I'll certainly be reading more by Kingfisher very soon.

Sometimes I come across a book that has a 'feeling' and this was one of those books. I'd describe the feeling as like a Peter S. Beagle kind of old fashioned fantasy vibe which, of course, is a high compliment. It really reminded me of the kinds of fantasy books that used to be popular before everything went full scale grimdark.

The story itself is gripping from the start, with our heroine, Mara in a blighted land tasked by a ‘dust wife’ with making a dog out of bones. From there, we find out more about how Mara ended up in her current predicament and where events will lead her. The story is hugely imaginative and peppered throughout with a kind of whimsical dry humour.

The real strength lies in the cast of characters made up of Mara, a Princess/nun in training, a dust wife (a witch that speaks to the dead), Fenris a soldier who was captured after falling asleep on a fairy hill, Agnes, a fairy godmother, the aforementioned bone dog and…a demonic chicken. This motley crew embark on a quest to save Mara’s sister from an evil Prince. The characters are really fun and interesting, and I really liked how Mara was a princess who wasn’t particularly beautiful, or clever or a badass fighter, she just…was. It made her a much more realistic and compelling character.

The author has done a really clever job of weaving together all the fantastical elements and has turned what I call a ‘journey’ book into a cracking fantasy story. I really liked the different settings and felt like I could imagine them clearly in my mind. It’s difficult to talk about in detail without spoiling anything but the section towards the end in the crypts was particularly thrilling.

Part of the fun of these kinds of books is letting the reader discover things for themselves so it’s difficult to talk about in any real detail without taking away some of that sense of wonder and discovery. This was just a really enjoyable read that managed to have elements of whimsy and humour without being cheesy or *shudder* ‘cosy’. There are some seriously dark themes and events that occur but the threads of hope, love and adventure that run through the story balance it out. Best of all, it’s a standalone so you can appreciate falling into a wonderfully conceived world without the pacing issues that come from waiting for sequels. If all of this doesn’t appeal to you, I’d like to stress again that it has a demonic chicken.

I’ve been obsessed with T. Kingfisher’s horror since I read The Hollow Places, and I requested this one thinking it was a horror – it isn’t but it is a great introduction to T. Kingfisher’s fantasy and I’m already adding more to my wishlist for my birthday. This dark fairytale was a lot more heart-warming than I expected and I’m utterly in love with these characters.

Thanks to Titan Books for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.

I was looking forward to this one, but I’ll be honest, it wasn’t top of my anticipated reads list. Which made me love it even more when it surprised me by being incredible. I read this on the last day of March and it snuck in as my favourite book of the month – beating out 76 other books for the title which is no small feat. I highlighted so many lines in the eARC for this one, and nearly broke my own pre-birthday book ban immediately to buy a copy.

T. Kingfisher’s writing is as funny and easy to read as ever, with gorgeous description melded in with charming dialogue. This felt exactly like reading a fairytale, and I was suckered in from the first line, reading the majority of it in one day. The start of the book had split timelines, cutting in scenes from the past with Marra’s attempts at her impossible quests, and it worked really well. It had me invested very quickly in Marra’s story while showing me how she reached the point of wanting to kill a prince. I was also absolutely dreading what I knew must be coming as the prince’s actions were revealed.

This is hard to review because I loved so many aspects of it. The characters gave me huge found family vibes (and for clearursht participants, Agnes and Lady Fox have huuuge Narrator and Ariadne energy) and I was absolutely in love with them all by the end. Marra’s relationship with her family, distant but loving, warmed my heart and her friendships with the dust-witch, Agnes and Fenris (god bless Fenris) were so sweet that I just want to read epics about them all living their lives peacefully.

The plot was interesting and mysterious enough that I didn’t want to put the book down for a minute, and I loved the way it felt like a classic quest – impossible tasks, expanding the party, finding unexpected allies – the whole thing just gave me this desire to read more and more fantasy like this. Which is a little annoying, because I don’t know any other fantasy quite like this. I’m going to be making everyone I know read this book when it releases, and I’m not remotely embarrassed about that. It’s just that good.

NETTLE AND BONE is such a fun, quirky story. I've never read anything by T. Kingfisher before but I've heard such good things about her books, and this story shows me why they've been recommended so much.

It's gentle and fun and uplifting and so wonderfully quirky, all of it with real heart. It's the complete opposite of grimdark - "uplifting fantasy", if that's a thing (if not, it really should be!) There is threat, but it doesn't feel grim. Rather there's perpetual hope and joy that makes this such a wonderful read.

There are elements of fairy stories in here, like godmothers, goblin markets, and impossible tasks, all bound together into a new story that delivers them in a really unique way. I loved the way the different magic systems worked together. It all felt like such a clever use of the magic and lore to get around the problem, rather than just using brute force.

It's also a found family story, in a way, as well as a blood family story. Both Marra's blood family and the band of found family she accidentally gathers around her play such an important role. She's out to save her sister, who she has a somewhat difficult relationship with, with the aid of two cranky grandmother/aunt figures (one of whom is related by blood.) The dynamics work so well.

This is also a book about characters who aren't early twenties and relatively fresh-faced. While we do see Marra grow up, for most of the book, she's at least thirty, her strapping knight is forty, and the crotchety aunt figures are much older. It's these somewhat crotchety, very much sly, and generally nice "aunt" figures who are certainly the standout characters of the book. And, overall, I really liked seeing older characters play a central role in fantasy.

I will be looking up T. Kingfisher's other work soon!

Unfortunately this wasn't for me, there was nothing wrong with it to make me dislike it other than it is simply not entertaining to me personally. I found myself bored throughout and my mind kept wondering to other things. I didn't connect with the characters and although I found some of the story to be funny, mostly I was just confused by the excessive jumping around of plot and setting.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for providing this!

This book definitely surpassed my expectations. The author successfully built an intriguing world, but without being overly complex or difficult to understand. Once you get passed the first couple of chapters and stuck into Marra's story, everything starts coming together/

I found the pacing a bit slow at times, particularly in the first third, and I think if this had been sped up I would have found the book a bit more exciting.

In saying that, the characters were developed wonderfully - each and every one of them, and I really enjoyed the plot and thought the ending was done perfectly.

"Heroic tasks are not done by half measures."

Marra has lived a relatively simple life so far, taken to a convent for her safety, she's able to learn new skills and the value of hard work. But when she goes to visit her sister the Queen, she realises that being so far away has enabled her to bury her head in the sand and blind her to the pain all around her. She decides she need to help her sister which leads us on a folkloric quest full of witches, fairy godmothers and goblins!

I loved this book, I'm a huge fan of Kingfisher and this book did not disappoint. A sensible main character who doesn't claim to know everything and is willing to admit help? It's more likely then you think. From a brilliant main character to show stealing side-characters (the dust-wife is perfect) and one of the sweetest love interests I've ever read.

The plot has a traditional folkloric layout, which works perfectly for this novel! But rather then copy and paste some old tale, Kingfisher has added some modern elements to the story, making it feel almost timeless.

I cannot wait for this to come out, I will be telling everybody to read it!

Reading the synopsis of this book, I knew this would be a book I would enjoy and from the beginning this book grips and pulls you into the world. The story of Marra, the youngest of three princesses and the quest to protect her sister from her trash prince husband, this book really works for me and makes for an exciting, thrilling and a little funny in moments read throughout.

The team that is created led by Marra is such a great dynamic throughout this book, the characters work so well together and make for dialogue that actually feels genuine and really makes you feel part of the story that's unfolding (and no team is completed without a dog, and the dog is great). The characters are well formed and Marra is a great heroine with flaws but a real strength that makes her so great.

The plot is great, it's not what I expected, but it's still extremely good that brings themes of sisterhood, family and forgiveness and the choices you make to protect those in your family even when that bond has been strained. I don't or haven't seen enough fantasy about the lives of women and the impact of politics on their lives to be honest, here in this case marriage and childbirth and I really appreciate that about this, it's incredibly well done and oddly unique.

I really enjoyed this and I don't know if we get more from this world, but I'd be very okay with it.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC for honest review).