4ish stars.

As always, Frances Hardinge delivers an emotionally resonant, fantastical novel that's immediately accessible across age ranges. Beautiful imagery and prose. Another success for Ms. Hardinge.

I'm usually not into historical fiction, but this book was so good! The action was nonstop and the mystery was perfect! Dark and enriching characters and plot! Can't wait to read more from this author. I received a free arc for an honest review from net galley.

I was sent a 5 chapter sampler via Netgalley for review.

After reading the 5 chapters, this book is not for me. While I personally do not like the writing style or the point of view the book is written in, I didn't find the story dark or creepy as other people have stated.

Had I liked the writing style of the author I may have enjoyed the story a little more. While reading the story didn't flow well for me, it felt forced? half-assed? Either way, I wont be continuing on with the story.
I am all for dark, creepy historical fiction stories but this just didn't do it for me. Like I said had I liked the authors writing style i probably would have liked the story

A quick read but I was hoping for a little more. Still I'll have to read this again.

Nope, not my kind of book as all. I was confused most of the time, had no idea what was going on the rest of it.

This is definitely going to be different than my normal reviews because I’ve never reviewed a sampler before and have thus learned my lesson to read all the way through a description to ensure I know what I’m getting into.

Like the main character I too was irritated with her name, Makepeace, something about it just made me roll my eyes every time I saw it but then I shouldn’t be too judgmental since my last name in Gaelic means Peacemaker – cue irony.

The story is very dark and honestly I had a lot of trouble with it because Makepeace’s mother essentially abuses her greatly by forcing her into a psychologically and potentially physically harmful situation with no decent explanation as to why. Makepeace is obviously being traumatized and as a mother all I could feel was outrage at what was being done so when something occurred to free her from that situation I was quite happy with the circumstances and felt karma had done its job.

What I read was interesting and I would have liked to read more if only to understand what was going on. There were SO MANY questions that I obviously couldn’t answer as I was only reading the foundational part of the story but if my review were solely based on “Is the beginning interesting enough you’d want to read more?” then I would have to say yes. As to whether the book as a whole would turn out to be decent and worthy of a positive remark that I cannot say and will withhold speculation.

I am thankful for the sample of A Skinful of Shadows, I have heard great things about Hardinge. I have been meaning to read Hardinge's work for some time and thought I would give this a chance. Not sure this title is for me, it was a little too fantast-ical for me, but I can see many YA readers getting into it. I think I got a little burnt out on all the YA fantasy that I've read in the last few years.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of “A Skinful of Shadows” by Frances Hardinge. Frances Hardinge does it again! This novel is fantastic, gripping, emotional, and magical. I know readers of her work will be just as pleased with this story as they were with her other novels. There is a dark and mysterious quality that will interest teens and adults alike.

I had a really tough time getting through this book and I ended up not finishing it. I was so put off by the main characters name that it sincerely just three me off for the remainder of the story. I just could not take it seriously.

Nice little sneak peek of the story - I've read one other novel by Frances Hardinge which was really good and this one definitely has the same amazing writing style! Can't wait to read the full novel!

I was only given the first chapters of this book and admit that I find it a little difficult to base a review on only a beginning piece of a much larger story.

Makepeace hasn't had the easiest childhood. In attempt to strengthen her against dark forces, her mother forces her to sleep alone in graveyards--a terrifying situation for Makepeace. The day comes when she's sent to live with her father's rich, powerful and mysterious relatives. There, she must hide a bear spirit, which accidentally took home in her heart, from the relatives or face horrible circumstances.

This is a dark story, and the author does an amazing job building up exactly this type of atmosphere. Although never being graphic, the situation borders on brutal and weighs down as if buried under a collapsed stone wall. It's impossible not to feel sorry for Makepeace as she undergoes her mother's efforts to strengthen her, and all along, it's not really clear what her mother is exactly strengthening her against. The negative emotions are raw and hit with just the right among off sting, especially since Makepeace doesn't seem to know how to place what's happening to her really herself. She's definitely a character that demands sympathy and has the potential to grab the reader and pull at the heart-strings the whole way through. If only her name weren't so unfortunate.

The characters around her draw out strong emotions as well, but in these first chapters, it's by far negative. The mother never instills an ounce of warmth but comes across cold, and Makepeace's relatives make it clear that this isn't going to be a tale of rainbows and happiness. These are characters to hate or, at least, keep a very wary eye on, and these emotions run thick over the pages. In other words, there are tons of things to love in these first pages. Not only are the characters packed full with potential but the writing is a masterful treat.

Despite all of this, these first chapters were muddled. It's not clearly said what Makepeace's mother is strengthening her against, only the circumstances (and blurb) make one assume that it's probably evil spirits of the dead who want to enter Makepeace somehow...or something. But if they want take over her soul, hurt her or whatever is also never spelled out. Makepeace's uniqueness gains more explanation when she enters her father's evil relative's home, but even here, it's never explained said but left to the reader to pull hints and strings together. It was descriptive and did a fantastic job of holding the dismal darkness but it was more like reading in a never breaking fog. Just when there appeared to be a break and what all of this surrounding Makepeace finally was explained (as said, in Chapter 5), the excerpt I was given to read ended.

So what do I make of it?

Hard to say. The emotions and atmosphere are intense and amazing which screams great read, but if the plot and pertinent pieces information continue to be unclear and left as a constant search for hints in a fog --and that for almost 500 pages -- it's definitely a no go for me and won't be an attention grabber for most younger teens, which would be the age group most interested in a 12-year-old character. Still, this could be just the beginning to an amazing read. The first chapters set up the atmosphere amazingly well even if the information isn't clear. If the rest of the plot gets rolling after this and the story unleashes with masterful fury, then this has the potential to be an unforgettable read. But my gut's telling me that this is probably not the case. 500 pages is a hefty read even for young adult audiences and the writing style doesn't suggest clarity will come nor is there really a reason to believe that the pace will pick up soon. So it turns out to be a guessing game--this book could go either way.

I enjoyed the sample and look forward to reading the rest

From just reading the sampler, I know that this book is going to be filled with magic, mystery and wonder! I look forward to reading about Makepeace's adventure and her journey to self discovery!

I would've appreciated knowing this was just a sampler rather than a full story. It's not very clear from the original page. I can't review a sampler fully to my own satisfaction, unfortunately, so I won't be posting this one on my blog until I read the full book.

The one thought I have coherently about this is I love the writing. It's atmospheric; there's something strangely eerie about the way this was written. It's downright creepy, as a matter of fact.

This preview made me so excited for the actual book! It's written beautifully!

If the rest of this book is as good as the first 5 chapters, it will be devoured in a day. Easily. I've not read much by the author but I've enjoyed, although not been blown away by, what I have read. Until now. With very dark undertones, it's right up my alley and I can't wait to read the rest!

I received only an excerpt of this book, so can't comment on the entire novel. The opening is jam-packed with events, but I can't really tell where this book is headed from what I read, other than that it will involve ghosts and guilt. Still, it was intriguing enough to make me want to read more, and I look forward to the book's release.

❝ Mother was like this sometimes. Conversations became riddles with traps in them, and your answers had consequences.❞

*This is based on a sample of the first 5 chapters

I am really happy to have read this sample, and also kind of sad because it's not the whole thing, haha. 

I think the story started out with just the right amount of trouble because Makepeace woke up screaming of for the third time. This is obviously a routine that Mother and Makepeace must play through often, but one that is getting old. It's not long before Mother makes a startling revelation about the source of her daughter's nightmares: ghosts.

When Mother uses an unconventional tactic to help Makepeace deal with the unseen forces it changes everything between them and sets in motion events which will change Makepeace's life forever. 

❝ Makepeace followed her home in silence, head bowed. She knew that Mother always had reasons for everything she did. But for the first time Makepeace found that she could not forgive her, and afterwards nothing was the same.❞

I really liked the writing style and overall tone of the story. I think I would probably compare it to something like The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco or The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale. 

I liked the careful detail put into creating the setting of this religious-driven world that Mother and Makepeace lived in. They strived to fit in and yet couldn't quite make it work. Grizehays, on the other hand, seemed to run by its own rules. 

I'd love to see where this story goes and I can't wait for this book to be out so I can enjoy the rest of it. I would highly recommend checking this one out!

I am a big fan of Frances Hardinge. She always pulls you into the story right off the bat and keeps you entertained until the very end. This book was no exception.

THIS CHICK HAS A BEAR IN HER HEART!

I only received the first few chapters to review, but I am already hooked and want to know what's going to happen to Makepeace and her ghost bear.