Mara is the last sister in a royal family. Both of her older sisters have had to marry a prince in a neighboring kingdom for protection of their kingdom. Mara is sent to a nunnery, not to become a nun but to be protected. To make sure she has no children, takes no husband , and is there in case the prince needs a third wife. Mara spends 15 years in the nunnery living her life, waiting for something. Her first sister died within a few months of marrying the prince. Her second sister has been married to the prince for a very long time. They’ve had one child, who unfortunately dies at approximately the age of 10 from the plague. It’s at this funeral that Mara discovers her sister is being abused by the prince and determines she’s going to get even. She is going to kill the prince. However, this is not an easy task as in this world fairy godmothers exist, and the princes fairy godmother has blessed him that no magic or other harm can come to him. Mara sets out on her to complete three impossible tasks: one to make a cape of nettles and wear it, two bring bones back to life, and three to capture moonlight in a jar. And it’s only once she’s done that the bone wife can help her break the blessing to kill the prince. This review is in sequential order, however the book is not. The book starts as Mara is creating her bone dog. Of her weaving the bones together with wire, hoping against hope that she can get this pile of marrow to create life. Throughout the book you’re going backwards and forward in time both with what happened tomorrow and what happened to her family. This book is phenomenal. The storytelling, the writing, the overall what’s going on. The reader is glued from the first sentence until the very end of the book. This will not be my first T Kingfisher and I see why she has a devoted following. It’s only recently that I have learned that Kingfisher is a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon. Ursula Vernon writes fabulous children’s books. She’s known for the Dragonbreath, series, and other fully illustrated kids’ books. I have read and loved those books in the past so it makes sense that since that I would love her other works. This book was so good. The author is now on my auto buy list.

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 was an absolute delight. T Kingfisher takes spooky death magic, her penchant for fairytales, and her knack for comedy and weaves it all together into something new and wonderful. Based on publisher tags, I expected this to be a horror novel but it’s really just a fantasy (with a romance!) If you liked her self published books you’ll like this too.

Audio notes: The audio of this is fantastic and I think the narrator captured the humor very well. This ended up one of my favorite books of the year.

CWs: femicide, pregnancy and childbirth (MC’s sister and women she helps), nunnery, spousal abuse (not MC) , forced marriage (not MC), mentions of and on page murder, off page torture (minor and past), death magic, cannibals, probably other things

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

I just loved this story! NETTLE & BONE had everything you expect a fairytale to bring and so much more, making it the perfect book to kickoff the spooky season.

I was gifted the audiobook and really enjoyed this format to fully immerse myself.

*many thanks to Tor and Macmillan Audio/Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

There isn't enough good things I can say for this book to give it justice. Nettle & Bone combines everything about fairytales, but does it in a way that is reminiscent less of ye old fairytales and more in line with fractured retellings of them. I was shocked to realize that this story, while using elements, isn't actually a retelling of an old fairytale at all.

Amazing, just amazing.

I just loved this so much! The dark faerie tale vibes were perfect. Say goblin market and I come running! Marra was such a fierce strong female character. She would do anything to protect her sister. I love the characters we meet along her journey. The demon chicken being a favorite! I would love to read more in this world. I cannot say enough how much I loved it. I highly recommend and cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

T. Kingfisher's worldbuilding is always lush, her characters relevant. Nettle & Bone was a satisfying fantasy that tackled fairy tale tropes and twisted them in interesting ways. Amara Jasper, as narrator, delivered Marra's voice as eminently heartfelt and relatable character.

This is a story about about an impossible task… and there’s a bonedog!!!

I have nothing bad to say about this book. If you’re looking for something that is simultaneously spooky and whimsical- this is the book for you . It’s a horror fairytale, and it was so charming & unexpectedly lovely.

Thank you so much @netgalley @torbooks & @macmillan.audio for the e & audio editions. I loved this 🖤.

4 stars! Thank you Netgalley for the arc. T. Kingfisher is an all time favorite author for me. I was very excited for this new fairy tale retelling and her twist. If you love witty banter no one does it better than T. Kingfisher.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC of this!

This had great dark fairytale vibes, perfect to start my Fall reading with. I was, shocking no one, obsessed with Bonedog, and I loved the subtle romantic subplot, it felt like just the right amount without taking away from everything else the book had going on. Recommend for fans of The Hazel Wood and A Curse So Dark and Lonely.

T Kingfisher never disappoints in her creativity! Broken down into its basic form this book is a traveling quest story, but in Kingfisher's hands she turns what could have been a basic trip into moments of humor, creepiness, and interactions with interesting side characters. There are themes of complicated sister relationships, domestic violence, and political intrigue, which all combine together to create what feels like an old fairytale that has been updated.

I did not believe that I would like a tale that included necromancy as much as I did! Marra was a wonderful main character who eventually learns that her sisters are in abusive marriages. She was mostly locked away for her childhood, but rose to challenges set forth by the “dust witch”. My only complaint was that the ending came abruptly. I hope that I get to return to this world.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

From Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes an original and subversive fantasy adventure.

This isn't the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince.
It's the one where she kills him.

T. Kingfisher has done it YET AGAIN!!! I absolutely LOVE this author! The Fantasy novels, The horror novels, I love it all! With T. Kingfisher, You can guarantee to find a fast paced Unique story that will blow your mind!

This story takes place in a fantasy world where one family is destined to marry into a royal family in order to keep the peace among kingdoms. But, when the Prince kills one sister and marries the next, the youngest sister will go to the extreme lengths to save her only living sister, from the sins of the prince. Follow this fearful yet exhilarating journey in order for the love of two sisters to live on.
I would have to say, My favorite thing about this book is "Bonedog" <3

I loved this book. I truly, truly did. I didn't think that I would at first. I started reading it, and the second chapter seemed so far removed from the first (or it may have been the 3rd from the 2nd or 4th from the 3rd - can't remember when the change happened precisely) that it didn't even seem to make sense.

We went from living in this broken, starving world where people were cannibals to an epic quest through relatively normal lands for a goal that didn't seem to make sense with the character at first. And I'll admit, I still feel the change from the MC's opening to the epic quest was too abrupt. It was poorly written there at the beginning. It didn't flow smoothly enough.

It almost felt like the writer starting writing one book and then decided to scrap it and completely change it but then didn't actually scrap anything -- just decided to force two stories together instead.

However, that was my biggest complaint. (And again, it was jarring; I didn't think I was going to like it at all after reading the first shift.)

But then, I quickly fell in love with the story and the characters. And the last 3/4ths of the book were enough to make me forgive the writer the unsteady beginning because it was just such a great read. I loved having a flawed hero - not the strongest, smartest, or most beautiful girl in the room - just an average woman trying to do the right thing even though there's nothing special about her and she's scared to death.

I loved the mixing of realism with fairy tale magic. I loved the supporting characters. (The gravewitch and the fairy godmother are particularly lovable. Ha. I just adored both of them.)

Honestly, other than the beginning, there wasn't a single thing about this story that I didn't like. And, I should clarify that I didn't DISLIKE the beginning. I actually really enjoyed it. I just didn't think it flowed well with the rest of the story. (I mean, it does eventually make sense; it just seemed like the beginning chapters were set in an entirely different world than the rest of the chapters.)

Anyway, I loved this book, and I look forward to reading more T.Kingfisher work in the future.

How far would go to to save your last sister?

Marra's oldest sister was married off to the Prince for the safety and duty of her country. But when shortly after her wedding day she dies unexpectedly Marra becomes suspicious. Now her middle sister is married off the the Prince and all of her babies keep dying including one beautiful daughter she saw to term. Marra goes off to seek the help of a dust wife to kill the Prince and in turn save her sister. In order to do this she will need to complete three tasks: 1. Build a dog of bones. 2. Sew a cloak of nettles. and 3. Capture moonlight in a jar. To the Dust Wife's disbelief she manages to do so and together they start off on their journey to kill the Prince.

T. Kingfisher did a great job of reflecting real-world issues in this book while still including a good fantasy setting.
Not gonna lie my favorite parts of this book were the Demon possessed chicken and Bone dog. I am a sucker for pet companions even if their stories are very unusual.

I listened the the audio book and highly recommend as the narrator was excellent.

** I received an Arc copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

While I love Kingfisher’s take on horror, the fantasy ends up being too dry for my tastes, and it was told in such a way that the first 20% or so was very difficult to follow - and not for the usual reasons (ie infodumping worldbuilding) but because we skipped the worldbuilding for the sake of coming back to it later. Mara is a fairly limp lettuce main character, even as she does all of these very complex and interesting things out of a very strong sense of moral obligation. But she was the least interesting character in the party by far. Fenris was also… not very interesting (again, a strong moral code does not a three dimensional character make).

The best parts were the horror elements. Incongruous bits of spook woven through and the way Kingfisher lingers on detailed descriptions of unsettling things… the Goblin market was a nice touch and a great way to marry the fantasy elements with horror.

But other than that it was just… fine? I guess? Hopefully I’ll have better luck with What Moves the Dead.

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. The audio narration was fantastic.