Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own
Rating:
Goodreads Synopsis: After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.
Content Warnings: This book contains - childbirth, miscarriage, references to abortion, domestic violence and abuse, references to suicide, infant death, references to cannibalism, as well as violence against women and murder/killing.
Review: I have heard great things about this book and grabbed it during my birthday shopping trip. It did not disappoint, but also what the heck did I just read - it was such a crazy ride!
Marra is the 3rd daughter/ princess. Her oldest sister, as one does, marries a prince to a neighboring kingdom to secure safety for her family and their land, but sadly dies during her time there. The family decide that the 2nd sister will now marry the prince to keep their safety. Marra realizes that her eldest sister didn't just die but was killed, and now her other sister is being abused. She is determined to free her sister, by the only way she knows she can, by killing the prince.
Marra collects the help of a dust-wife, who is a witch of sorts, a godmother, a guy that was trapped in a goblin market, a bone dog that she created, and a demon chicken (my favorite) to go with her on this errand.
I really liked this twisted, dark, and strange fairy-tale esq thing of a book. It was so dark and odd and I LOVED the chicken (best quotes on p.82 of the paperback edition). Marra is stubborn but determined to do anything in her power, and with the help of others to save her sister. What I liked about this take was that, there wasn't this air of 'she isn't like most girls' or that she needed a man to do the job. (Yes, they picked up a man but his 'need' had not been determined yet). I liked the sisterly love element of this fairy tale.
I also really liked this world building and the explanations for things, i.e. " some things come into being once its inevitable that they will exist" mentality. The author was really good at giving the reader enough to set a stage but also allowing for the mind to wander and make things possible on its own. In some books, that doesn't work, here it did wonderfully.
This book is a stand-alone though, so I could have gone for something weightier, it still worked. I will note that the book has a pretty slow start as it sets the stage. Overall this was a macabre adventure that was just what I needed.
