Love me a good twisted fairytale. Kingfisher writes such varied things, but somehow never misses. I really enjoyed this novella that packed so much into so few pages.

Loved it loved it loved it. An excellent new fairytale. My only complaint is that I want MORE story. I loved these characters. I loved the wry, understated humor in how the characters say certain things or make certain observations. I love that evil is called out for what it is, but that the characters go about things as practically as possible, even in a world where magic is a thing.

I also love how Kingfisher always manages to include some kind of animal companion that you wouldn't expect.

Marra is a princess but lives like a nun in hiding. When she realizes her sister's life is in danger she sets out to find a way to save her. It seemed like this book was written for the YA genre, it was a good read and I enjoyed it a lot but I it felt like it hand young undertones. I liked the characters that Marra picked up a long the way to help her reach her goal. They were quirky and fun. I loved Bonedog and even though he was mystical he was a great companion to Marra.

Nettle and Bone was such a wonderful book. I fell in love with it from the beginning. Everything about this book worked perfectly for me and I couldn’t put it down. This is one of my new favourite books and I want to read everything T. Kingfisher has ever written (and is going to write). I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to read this story!

Nettle and Bone follows Mara as she tries to save her sister. Mara is joined by a some people she meets along the way and together they attempt to complete the quest. This story involves a lot of traveling which I very much enjoyed. All the traveling allowed for the world to be built and explained. I enjoyed learning more about it as the story progressed. The plot of Nettle and Bone was gripping as well. I wanted to know how they were going to rescue Mara’s sister, as there stood quite a few obstacles in their way. I couldn’t put this book down, I just needed to know if and how everything was going to work out.

If you look at the genres that this book falls under you will notice one of them is horror. There were some very dark topics discussed in this story. It showed some of the darkest and most horrific actions that humans are capable of. I would recommend looking up content warnings for this story, before you read it.

Nettle and Bone felt like a dark fairy tale and I enjoyed every moment of it. Though I must say, my favourite part of this book were the characters. There is just something so captivating about all of them. I wanted to know more about them and I loved seeing them interact with each other. They formed such a wonderful group and they were a joy to read about. My favourite character in the entire story was, obviously, Mara. I loved the way she approached things and how much she cared about her friends and family. She has a quiet strength that I really admire. I loved seeing her form new relationships with her companions.

As I already said, I loved Nettle and Bone. I would definitely recommend checking this book out. I definitely need to get my hands on a physical copy of this book. I want to have this story in my collection as I know I will want to reread it in the future.

This is the first T. Kingfisher book to read and honestly I was drawn to it, by just the cover alone, but the story was also just as excellent! This story is at base level a dark fairy tale but with beautiful imagery of the traveling and quests, and the goblin market. It was full of blessings and curses and revenge. It was certainly an enjoyable read for me and I look forward to reading more from her!

Marra adores her beautiful older sister, so when she comes home dead after her marriage to the neighboring prince, it’s a blow Marra can barely believe. Then the next sister in line is married off to the same prince, and Marra is sent to a convent, which actually suits her fine, until she discovers that her sister is being brutalized by the prince. She decides she must do something, but she is no hero! How does a regular person make impossible things happen?

Marra sets out on a quest to save her sister—a sister who doesn’t even like her!—and on the way, she discovers much about friendship and devotion, teamwork, and what one small step after another can accomplish.

T. Kingfisher draws on the tropes of fairytales, but pulls in a modern sensibility, and a woman’s perspective, in this story that I didn’t want to put down. More, please!

By now it has become a very annoying personality trait that I will just not read books in a timely fashion, even when I'm fully aware I'll enjoy them. Meet Nettle & Bone, with which I've done exactly the same thing. Not until I found myself face to face with a 7-hour train journey last weekend did I finally dive in. And of course, I loved it. Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fairy tales are a lovely thing to play with, aren't they? I loved fairy tales as a child, loved the slightly vague way in which they operated, which allowed me to fill in all the corners, all the gaps, all the questionmarks with my own ideas. I also liked that they felt open to questions, that you could dig into the why of things. While fairy tales seem obvious at the surface, they really represent a whole lot more. Adapting fairy tales has also become very popular and, I must admit, not all of them work for me equally. Perhaps that's because I started with Angela Carter and her imagination was quite simply stunning. Since then I've read many more fairy tale adaptations, most of which attempt to do something exciting and new with the material. While I appreciate the desire for new, when it is forced, then it also pushes the tale outside of its own border, if that makes sense. In Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher creates a fairytale world in which elements can be played with but in which the rules are existent. Rather than a world in which a woman can be a anything she wants, Kingfisher creates a world where women still have to find ways to covertly play the game, where they are in danger, and where they have to find allies. For me, that raises the stakes, makes me more interested, because that is how the world still is. So it's a world that makes sense, but within which Kingfisher can play with all the grey areas, talk about violence and pain, and create joy.

Marra is in a pickle at the start of Nettle & Bone. In the midst of her second impossible task, she finds herself constructing a dog out of bones. But it will be worth it, if it will help her kill a prince. Marra is the third daughter of a king and queen and has called a convent home for the last decade or more. Her older sisters have been married to the prince and have definitely gotten the worse end of the stick. Although shy and hesitant about the wider world, Marra decides something has to be done and so sets out. Along the way she encounters a dust-wife, a possessed chicken, goblins, a killer, and more. What I absolutely adored about this book is that T. Kingfisher never forces Marra to be anything she isn't. While she does sometimes mourn her own hesitancy and unknowing, Marra never has to become more than she is. Rather, throughout the book, she comes to realise the various skills she already has, even if they are mostly human. For example, there are some scenes in which there is a focus on her knowledge about knitting, her skill in that handiwork, and how it doesn't seem very important in the grand scheme of things, and yet it is a real skill she has which can be useful. I just really enjoyed how Kingfisher builds up Marra into a character that feels like an adult and feels well-rounded and solid in a fantasy world.

Like I said above, I really enjoyed how T. Kingfisher built her storyworld here. The opening scene drops you right into the heart of the matter, with Marra's trials already halfover and with the mission already underway. Throughout the rest of Nettle & Bone Kingfisher continues to play with the expectations of readers. Importantly, it is only our interpretations which are undermined, never the coherence of the storyworld itself. In that sense Kingfisher reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones. If we expect one thing, it's on us for underestimating the way in which this world can support multiple other solutions. Kingfisher also populates her world with a delightful set of characters, from the dust-wife, to a fairy godmother, and a man who provides some lovely tension. Each of these characters is surprising in their own way and I genuinely came to care for all of them. I also enjoyed the settings of the story, from a poisoned land to a gleaming city, deserted stretches to bustling streets, each ofwhich is described with glorious and odd detail. All in all, I had an absolutely delightful time reading Nettle & Bone and raced through it. And now I am on the hunt for more books by T. Kingfisher so the joy does not end.

Nettle & Bone is a gloriously fun fantasy read, which plays with readers' expectations about how a fairy tale is allowed to take shape. With a solid storyworld and a delightful set of characters, Kingfisher finds a way of highlighting both the danger and the reward inherent to the fairy tale and I can't wait to read more by her.

I really, really loved Nettle & Bone, and found myself repeatedly picking it up and reading more than I intended. It’s a fairytale of a sort, but one that admits its own darkness, and one which comments on itself and the genre as it goes along. Marra is a fun character: not always very aware of how others are feeling and thinking, not always even particularly quick to understand it herself — but kind, and committed to the course of action she’s chosen.

The supporting characters are great, too — the dust-wife and her chicken in particular, of course, and all the humour that her dialogue brings out — and the world around them. The little details like the saints, and the curse child, and the details of the goblin market.

I wasn’t kidding though about the bits of darkness: check for content warnings, if you think there’s something you might be sensitive about. I’ll keep it to the most obvious one, there’s spousal abuse, miscarriage and the death of a child.

I LOVED this. What a fantastic dark fairy tale with a rag tag group of characters who, while they think they aren’t the heroes of the story, just might turn out to be. Fantastic writing, parts that made me laugh out loud, and really just made me think. I couldn’t read it fast enough.

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

Nettle & Bone is a dark, medieval fantasy with a 30-year-old protagonist, refreshing for this genre , making this a great choice for the grown-ups.

Marra, the "spare" princess in the family, has been sequestered in a convent since she was a child as her sisters were married off in the interest of forming advantageous alliances for their small kingdom. She feels guilt over her sister's marriage to a man she suspects of murdering her oldest sister, and begins to plot to help her escape. She finds herself asking for the aid of a witch, who then becomes her partner on her mission. They soon find themselves a band of magical creatures and misfits, making their way to the grand city where her sister lives with the once prince, now king. Marra is brave, but also realistic and not plagued by the impulsive behavior frequently used to create plot conflicts. I enjoyed the world and relationship building. The pacing was perfect, and I liked the maturity of the characters.

Really enjoyed Kingfisher's writing in this book. She balanced a Dark Fairytale vibe with some really unique characters and humor throughout.

Some pacing issues in the first half keeps this from being a five-star for me, but I do want to check out more of her books.

Everyone thinks that Marra's life should be wonderful since she is a princess. But Marra doesn't want to be a princess. She doesn't want to be married off to a prince she doesn't know and she doesn't want to have children just to secure a kingdom. Her oldest sister had been married to Prince Vorling of the North Kingdom to secure their kingdom's harbor and safety. When she died, Marra's middle sister was sent to marry him. Marra knows that if anything happens, she would be next.

When she finds out that Votling is a tyrant and a wife-beater, she decides that she has to rescue her sister. The only way she can see to do it is to kill the prince, but she knows she would need help. She travels to the home of the Dust-wife, who can talk to the dead. In order to get started, Marra must make a cloak of nettles, a dog of bones and capture moonlight in a jar. When she completes these tasks, she and the Dust-Wife start their journey. They rescue a knight, Fenris, from the Goblin Market and pick up Agnes, Marra's godmother. Then off they go to save Marra's sister, kill a king and secure a kingdom.

This is my first T. Kingfisher fantasy novel but it won't be my last. There is plenty of adventure but there is also comedy and warmhearted stories. Marra starts as a shy girl who is afraid of everything and ends as a strong independent woman who can do anything she sets her mind to. The characters are wonderful and the world building is terrific. This book got lots of buzz and it deserves everything it got. This book is highly recommended for fantasy readers.

This is my first T. Kingfisher and it will certainly not be my last.

I absolutely loved the writing, the story and the slightly strange fantasy details. This is a book I will be reaching for whenever I need a comfort read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

VERY LATE REVIEW BUT DANG. What a literary gem. As a teacher with loads of young minds and an increasing problem in the community with regards to abuse and familial matters, this book would resonate well to my after-school book camp.

The abrupt humor and Discworld-like entity in the form of the gravewitch just added to the richness of Marra's world and slapped hard with the truth of her situation.

Definitely a 5/5

{3.5 stars}

I love T Kingfisher's creative mind. For me her stories enthrall me more with concepts and atmosphere than with plot and character development. In that way, she reminds me of VE Schwab. The stories never seem to reach 5 stars, perhaps because they tend to be shorter and just lack the emotional development and plot pacing that I want but they are resonant. Pieces of them, whether it be a setting, character concept or magic will live on with me for a long time. 

This one had a bit of a rough start I thought. It was hard to understand what was happening at first. Then it took a bit of a right turn into all men are bad, feminist abortion turn, which I was afraid would be too heavy handed and turn me away, but that really just set the mission. I was glad when the story settled into Marra's adventure and the collecting of unique misfits for her found family dream team. The middle was for sure my favorite. The ending felt too abrupt, another hundred pages of this book and I would have easily felt it deserved a higher rating.

Thanks to Macmillan / Tor Forge for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

Fairytale, fantasy, and found family with some great laugh out loud moments! This is a story revolving around Marra and the quest/ help she receives from dust wife (read the book to find out about that character, it’s so cool)! Super unique, enthralling, with great character development and world building! I highly recommend! I’ll definitely read more by Kingfisher in the near future!

Small but mighty this book is. I hadn't read a T. Kingfisher before this book but afterwards I had to read everything that she wrote. This book feels like a fairytale without being a retelling of one of the stories that we've heard over and over. Does it have some similar tropes, yes, but it makes it it's own brilliantly. Demon chicken and all!

'Nettle & Bone' by T. Kingfisher is a subversion of fairy tales and I loved its dark path.

Marra is a princess and the third daughter. She sees her older sisters married off from the safety of a convent, but all is not well. In order to save one of her sisters, she will have to kill a prince. In order to do that, she gathers a random collection of people and animals to fulfill her quest, but first there is a seemingly impossible series of tasks.

I loved this novel and didn't want it to end. The characters are all great, the humor had me laughing, and the main character, Marra, had me cheering her resolve and tenacity.

I liked it! An interesting way to incorporate real-life problems like domestic violence into a fantasy setting. I liked that the main characters were GROWN and not so naive but I did wished we could've seen more of the MC and the sister's relationship, like if they could've sent each other letters throughout the years or something and I felt like the book went a little too quickly. She is passive but that made it realistic.
Full review on YouTube

This is a fun little fairy tale- with twists. It has three princesses, it has fairy godmothers, it has magical tasks and a quest. But the youngest princess must be the one to rescue her sister, at least one fairy godmother is better at cursing than blessing, and our protagonist must rely on her friends instead of only herself in order to achieve her goal.

This is funny but dark too. It reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's Argonia series, which takes a sly look at fairy tale tropes.