This is the first book this year that I've rated five stars and not had a single doubt about that rating. I finally dipped into reading Frances Hardinge this year after years of having her on my shelves and I regret that I didn't start sooner. I received an advanced ebook copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I already preordered a copy of this and I will be rereading it the second it arrives.

In a world where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, Kellen has the power to unravel them. He doesn't fully understand his talent but helps those transformed maliciously - including Nettle, who recovered from entrapment in bird form and is now his constant companion and closest ally. But Kellen has also been cursed, and unless he and Nettle can remove his curse, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything - and everyone - around him.

First love: the characters. I have so much love for every single person who appeared on the page. I genuinely believe that Hardinge is one of the greatest fantasy authors I've read when it comes to giving her characters realistic flaws and allowing them to acknowledge and work through them.
Both of the main characters are uniquely flawed. Kellen is utterly angry and stubborn and brilliantly brave. In summary, he's a delight and one of my favourite characters of the year. He has anger issues which result in any woven thing he comes into contact with disintegrating. The book's plot is largely driven by his actions (or inactions) and is a chain reaction of all the decisions he's made as he's explored his power and the people he has affected by using it. Nettle is the exact opposite of Kellen: she is gentle and caring and a lot of her emotions are internalised, and I adore her with my entire heart. I love how the author explores the lasting trauma of Nettle's curse and how her softness and kindness is a conscious choice as a result of it. Also, I love that she never quite adjusts to her human life after being in bird-form for so many years and the impact this has on the relationship with one of her brothers who has chosen to remain as a bird.
The side characters are also unique, well-developed, and interesting, no matter what amount of time they spend on the page. Everyone feels special and relevant to the story whether or not they have a large role in the plot. It was a treat to follow all of them throughout the story.

Second love: the setting. I love this kind of fantasy because it's both character-centric and world-centric, and the supporting cast of characters was essential to creating this new world by emphasising that there are as many strange and weird people as there are 'normal' folk. The world is sprawling and lush and full of detailed care. The author's writing is vivid and the woodland descriptions owned me. I felt so drawn in. The world was also so deeply and thoroughly explored that, as much as I would love another book or short story spinoff, I'm not left desperate for more (in the most complimentary way possible). I was satisfied that this book is a standalone.

Third love: the weirdness. I have only read a handful of the author's books so far but I can tell that this is weird, even by her standards. It's a complicated web of a tale with more depth and more layers than I can explain in one review and it was a delight to be tangled up in it. It's one of those books where not a single element of it is grounded in reality, yet somehow it just works. In fact, it's so weird that it straight up defies reality and exists in its own realm of weirdness. I need more of these books that I can only describe as 'believable nonsense' in my life.

Fourth love: there is no romance! I wasn't expecting any from what I've experienced from my past Hardinge reads, but there was still a slight fear when I saw opposite-gender main characters, but this book really went and said: let's talk about friendship. And focused on that with its whole heart. This sweetness was a wonderful contrast to bloodier and more gruesome moments.

This is one of those books that I could gush about forever: the style of the writing, the beautiful twisted woods aesthetic, the characters who are all interesting and dynamic and complex and leap off the page. Everything is a masterpiece. I enjoyed reading this so, so much.

In summary, I am in love with Frances Hardinge and you should be too.
Rating: ★★★★★ (full five stars)

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for the e-Arc for exchange for my honest opinions and views.
Another amazing book by Frances Hardinge, I had an uncorrected version of the book so it was a little bit disjointed when reading it.
Overall I enjoyed this dark tale of curses and magic, the characters were intriguing and kept me engaged with the story. This book is quite dark and violent at times so if you are sensitive to blood fair warning you'll read it in this book.
I enjoyed this book and will definitely be getting a physical copy to add to my collection 4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

.5 stars.Hardinge has a very individual, unique style that I always find original and highly imaginative. I loved all the characters in the story and the wonderfully creative world building. How does she come up with such great stories?! Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This is the story of Kellen and Nettle who live in a world ruled by commerce but bound by magic in the form of strange creatures who inhabit the Deep Wilds and ‘Little Brothers’, super-creepy spider-like creatures who ‘gift’ humans the ability to curse those they hate.

Kellen was bitten by a Little Brother as a child and has the ability to unravel curses, though it takes more than breaking a spell to free someone from the trauma of being cursed, as Nettle knows. She was cursed by her stepmother and is still haunted by the time she spent as a heron and by the fate of her brothers and sister. Those who have cursed are locked away to stop them cursing again but when the cursers begin to go missing, it seems that someone might be trying to build an army of cursers—an army with a particular grievance against Kellen, the Unraveller. With the help of a mysterious stranger called Gall and his sinister Marsh Horse, Kellen and Nettle must track down the missing cursers and figure out what on earth is going on.

This book is weird, even by France Hardinge’s standards: a complicated web of a tale, with so much depth and so many layers that you feel tangled up in it. But never fear, this consummate storyteller patiently positions each strand and, like Charlotte, spells out her message with sparkling clarity by the end.

How can a book that is so bloody and gruesome (there is a LOT of decapitation) also be filled with so much kindness and redemption? It’s a mystery. Frances Hardinge was clearly bitten by a magic literary spider as a child.

Yet another achingly beautiful, heart-stabbing, brain-twisting story from the Queen of Fairytales.

Hardinge knows how to spin a fantasy novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end and “Unraveller’ is no different, well actually I think it is different and may be the best Hardinge I’ve read and I have loved their previous books!

Unraveller tells the story of Nettle a girl once cursed, Kellen who has the power to unravel curses and Gall who’s moody and may not be of this world, there’s conspiracies, dark fairytale vibes and lots of curses.

The book as you’d expect has a wonderful creepy fantasy world which Hardinge writes impeccably so as a reader you can visualise it so clearly.

The writing is beautiful and completely takes you on a journey- sometimes a very creepy twisty sinister journey- it’s fast paced.

The characters are incredibly well written and likeable- with LGBTQIA+ rep, the book although YA has such crossover potential not that adults can’t read YA (I am that adult) this book just has that feel. There’s no romance and while I usually love that in a fantasy novel the relationship between the main characters is just wonderful and is not in any way negatively impacted by not having a typical enemies to lovers/friends to lovers trope.

There are some heavy themes in the book and I think some content warning is necessary especially for sensitive readers.

Overall this book is superb, Frances Hardinge take a bow this is one of my five star reads of 2022!

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Macmillan Children's Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

In a world where enough anger and hatred can grant anybody the ability to curse someone, Kellan has the unique ability to unravel curses. Travelling with his friend Nettle, once cursed herself, he tries to help those that are suffering by reversing the magic on them.

The world building in this book is beautiful. All the characters are brilliantly written, and I was completely engrossed by this fast paced, adventure filled story.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In a world where people can be cursed and others are cursers the role of an unraveller, someone who can unlock curses, would seem to be crucial, but Kellan finds himself thrown in jail for offending a merchant whose curse he has lifted. He and his friend Nettle are then offered a stark choice, work for a shadowy marsh horseman or face continued imprisonment. They opt for freedom and begin to work for an unknown patron who suspects that cursers are being released and collected together in wilds.
In the Unraveller, Hardinge has created a new world, peopled with as many strange and weird characters as there are 'normal' folk. Both the main characters are uniquely flawed. Nettle has been cursed herself and finds the release difficult to adjust to. Kellan has anger issues which result in any woven fabric he comes in to contact with disintegrating.
The novel is a hugely creative work, beautifully told, with twists and turns that keep the plot moving. It is quite a long and involved story and presumably is pitched at middle grade or above. I fully appreciated the chance to read this and very much enjoyed it, but I think, in honesty I liked the more simple "Lie Tree" more.
Still very much recommended though and I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Books for the chance to read an arc copy in return for an honest review.

I was so excited to read the new Frances Hardinge and it did not disappoint. This is a fabulous world building fantasy novel full of descriptive settings and fanciful characters that can only come from the mind of Hardinge.
We learn about the plight of ‘cursors’ in this fantasy world where anyone who holds a grudge against you can unleash their fury unknowingly on their victim. Kellen can ‘unravel’ the truth behind the curses and set people free. This should make him a hero but his impulsivity often gets him into trouble. What makes this book so spectacular is how the characters interact so convincingly with each other. Kellen and Nettle seem to be a mismatched pair, stuck together through chance. But they both learn they need each other. Nettle and her seagull brother Yannick have a special relationship that is only visible to the reader. I particularly enjoyed discovering the background of the taciturn Gall and the reasons why he traded a part of himself with the creepy marshland horse.
There is so much to discuss about this book, I urge you to read it!

The queen of creepy fantasy RETURNS!!!! Unraveller is an unapologetically classic Frances Hardinge story full of twisty mysteries, darkness, and wonderfully unusual characters, and of course I LOVED it.

Unraveller's plot and the world itself are both chock-full of creative and clever ideas. Deep wilds full of frightening and eerie supernatural creatures? Bizarre inventions and unexpected betrayals? Cities and towns and people that are never all as they seem?? Check, check, check!

The characters are uniquely unusual, loveable and flawed, as always with Hardinge novels. Our leading duo consists of Kellen, a boy with the power to unravel curses, and Nettle, a girl once cursed herself, and they are accompanied by a stony and untrustworthy man named Gall... who is possibly no longer fully human. They are thrown together into a conspiracy that Cursers are gathering in secret to strike at Kellen and the government itself, and the trio must set about unravelling the mystery.

I genuinely think Hardinge is one of the best fantasy authors I've read when it comes to giving her characters (and honestly, entire worlds) realistic flaws and acknowledging and working through them, and Unraveller is no exception. Both characters are so well-developed, and I loved following them throughout the story, especially Nettle! She's so lovely and so strong, and I adore her with my whole heart.

As I already mentioned, mystery is a big aspect of Unraveller, and whilst Cuckoo Song, A Face Like Glass & Gullstruck Island remain my favourite Hardinge books this one was still very creative and enthralling with its twists. The Cursers and curses were so fun to read about and unravel alongside Kellen and Nettle. ALSO, the overarching more serious flaws of the world itself were really well tackled (as always), and I always find it so clever how Hardinge threads much darker themes into her work.

In conclusion: GO PREORDER UNRAVELLER BY FRANCES HARDINGE RIGHT NOW

Unraveller by Frances Hardinge - 5/5 stars!

Despite the fact that I have 6 other books by Hardinge, this is the first of her books I've actually read (which is appalling, and a hint at the size of my TBR). However, I will be bumping all of her work waaaay up that list now, as this was just incredible!

Bits I liked:
- Dark fairytale-style plot with lots of strange and mysterious creatures
- Great characters that built and developed throughout the story
- Twisty surprises and varying pace to allow for action vs introspective scenes
- LGBTQIA+ rep, found family themes, and deep ideas
- Beautiful writing style that completely swept me away and had me reading til gone 2am the past couple of nights!
- Felt imaginative and unique, and more adult than YA, despite the main POV characters being in their mid-teens
- No cheesy teen romance or sexual scenes (that's just a personal preference!)

Bits I liked less:
- Needs some content warnings for some of the more graphic scenes - they were all well written and very much part of the story, but just a pre-warning for any readers sensitive to violence or death

Honestly that's about it - I loved this book, will buy a hard copy when it's out, and will reread in future. I was totally blown away, and am kicking myself for owning most of her work without actually reading it :) I loved Kellen, Nettle, and especially Gall, and I think they'll be running around my head for a while!

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillankidsuk and Frances Hardinge for the opportunity to read this ARC and give my honest thoughts.

I think I got whiplash from how quickly I was turning pages and reading this book. It was compelling and unpredictable with breathtaking writing. I adored it.

A new Frances Hardinge novel is a major literary event and the sublime Unraveller continues her tremendous run of five truly outstanding YA novels, dating back to 2014, on the bounce. Having won the Costa Prize (for The Lie Tree), the Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel (Cuckoo Song) from the British Fantasy Society and nominations for prestigious prizes including The Carnegie Medal, the James Herbert Award, the YA Book Award and the Andre Norton Award, she is an absolute master of her craft. This author is a national treasure and is the uncrowned queen of intelligent teenage fantasy (although her books often straddle genres and are notoriously difficult to classify) and calling her ‘Queen’ really does not do her talent justice. Perhaps ‘Grand Wizard of Fantasy’ or ‘High Priestess of the Dark Arts’ or something else Terry Pratchetesque, of which her latest novel has some lovely nods to, is more fitting.

Hardinge has written a mere six novels over the last decade, in the world of YA this is a very slow pace, but if one is to continually create new entirely believable fantasy worlds, simply put, you cannot bang out a novel every year without the quality dipping. Her previous novel Darklight (2019) was set on the incredibly well-developed island world of Myriad and most authors (especially in the world of YA) would simply have followed that sequel with a sequel set in the same already established world. Not Hardinge, she bucks that trend entirely and instead provides us with another wonderful new world, completely different from Myriad, but every bit as believable, charming and idiosyncratic. The ability to curse others lies at the heart of Unraveller and the great Terry Pratchett himself would have been proud of this creation! The world of YA is overloaded with unnecessary sequels and I love the way this unique author completely bucks that trend, but on the other hand I would also welcome a return to Myriad!

Hardinge very rarely sets her fiction in contemporary times and she has said this means the avoidance of pesky mobile phones, she has a particular fondness for the early 20th century and also often avoids romance. All too often a love interest is thrown into a novel because it is expected and I appreciated the fact that the two main characters in Unraveller (both around fifteen) were very good friends and there was no need to turn it into something stronger. Their friendship ran very deep and it worked beautifully well and was as the heart of a very engaging story.

If you have ever read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels you’ll know that the librarian was an orangutang who was once a wizard who was turned into an ape when a spell went wrong, however, he kind of liked being an orangutang and nobody every got round to turning him back into a man. One of the main characters in Unraveller has the ability to ‘unravel’ curses which have been inflicted upon other people, a skill which is very rare and one could imagine him fitting snugly into a Pratchett novel. Pratchett’s Discworld novels had an unwritten philosophy of ‘everything will be alright in the end’ and although Unraveller is dark fantasy Hardinge adopts a similar philosophy and plays it pitch perfect as the characters go on an exciting adventure to find their inner peace and harness their powers. Hell, as Kellan and Nettle struggled they could have done with one of Pratchett’s finest creations, Granny Weatherwax, turning up to give them some lessons in life! This book had tremendous heart and I am sure thoughtful kids aged twelve and above will enjoy tapping into its off-beat and peculiar style of magic.

As with all Hardinge novels a great concept lies at the core of Unraveller: the ability to curse. It is tricky to understand how this works so here is an example; siblings are cursed and are turned into different types of birds, one bird without realising it is their human sibling in disguise eats the other bird. The surviving bird is later turned back into a person and understands they have consumed their family member. How do they cope with the guilt? Tricky. That was one nasty curse! Here’s another: a man is turned into a worm which is repeatedly put on a fishing hook (by the guy who cursed him) and time and time again gobbled up by fish before being put on the hook again. Curses are expected to last a long time and are guaranteed to be very unpleasant!

However, early in the novel we realise that Kellen can ‘unravel’ curses, but he also has anger management issues and other problems. He travels with his best friend Nettle, who was previously cursed and turned into a bird and still communicates with her brother who has chosen to remain a bird. Together they are recruited to investigate an organisation which is collecting life-destroying curses which takes them on a very odd journey across ‘The Wilds’, the most dangerous and unmapped part of the country, where even telling somebody your name might give them power over you. The journey and exploits form a large part of the novel and was wildly creative, full of quirky characters and clever nuggets which slowly and delicately revealed how this strange land and cursing ticked. Do not be put off by the YA ‘banner’ this novel has, anybody could read it and the fact that both Cuckoo Song and The Lie Tree won major adult prizes clearly illustrate the impressive range of this author.

Genuine child readers will need to read carefully to get their head around how the cursing system worked and I loved the prison where caught ‘cursers’ were sent (many by Kellen) to have them nullified. There was also a very entertaining sequence where the pair visit a ‘cursed’ village and they realise that the locals might not want the curse lifted! (They had their reasons and this was also a nod to something Terry Pratchett might do).

The land of Raddith is a brilliantly described setting; beautiful, menacing, populated by strange creatures and full of inhabitants with real fear of the unknown and potential curses. It is so vividly described that children will truly be able to let their imaginations run wild in this fantastic creation as they get wrapped up in the crazy exploits of Nettle and Kellen. This is fantasy fiction at is very best which is loaded with beautifully crafted sentences, deep meaningful relationships and engaging mini mysteries as the story advances. Highly recommended.

In Raddith, anyone can be cursed by those who have an overwhelming grudge against them, but only Kellen can unravel it and free the victim. Nettle was once a bird and is his constant companion and staunchest ally, patient, controlled and calm in contrast to Kellen’s volatility and propensity for argument. Thrown into jail for offending a merchant whose curse they have lifted, they are offered a stark choice: work for an anonymous authority figure whose servant is a wild and intimidating marsh horseman, or face imprisonment. Kellen prefers freedom, but as they begin their work for their unknown patron, it becomes clear that someone equally powerful has been allowing cursers to escape justice. What’s more, Kellen himself is under a curse, and he and Nettle need to unravel it fast.
Raddith is a brilliantly described setting; beautiful, menacing, populated by strange creatures and full of inhabitants with real fear of the unknown. Lowlander Nettle feels uncomfortable in the highlands whereas Kellen, a weaver from the highlands fears the damp, closed in marsh edge lowlands. The main characters leap from the page, so believable are their nuanced emotions and reactions, their back stories revealed gradually at opportune moments in the story.
This is a wonderfully written, totally absorbing and gripping read. I am new to this author’s work, and in truth this one is probably a little too “old” for most readers in our primary school library, but I will be heartily recommending it to our local secondary school and at the meetings of our school librarians. It is possibly the novel I have enjoyed the most so far this year and I wish something like it had been around when I was the age of its target audience. I loved this book: the style of writing, the world in which it’s set and its characters. I am off to find some more Frances Hardinge novels to read for my own pleasure!

My new favourite book by the unrivalled Frances Hardinge.

Unraveller is spun from the rich detail and deep worldbuilding that we have learned to expect and admire in Hardinge’s writing but it has an emotional maturity, depth and warmth that I was equally delighted by. The relationships between main characters Nettle and Kellen, between Nettle and her gull brother and between even the minor characters in the book are nuanced and difficult at times, as all deep relationships are, and yet they offer light throughout what is at times a dark and twisted tale of anger and pain.

Hardinge’s sentences are beautifully crafted. Her vast cast of characters both human and ‘wild’ are vividly brought to life. It is a stunning book and I have immediately started to read it again which is something that I never do.

The plot moves from a series of engrossing mini-mysteries towards a breath-taking climax in a setting so surreal and otherworldly that I felt that part of my own brain had unravelled as I read it! The Unraveller unravelled me. A superb book from a writer at the height of her powers.