I follow a lot of different publishers through email and social media, and I follow a number of other reviewers and review sources mostly out of curiosity and partially to see what's trending in literary circles. One of the books that I've been seeing almost everywhere has been <em>The Bone Witch</em> by Rin Chupeco. In fact it was my curiosity over why this book seems to be everywhere that prompted me to request an ARC, otherwise I likely would have passed this one by.

Well...curiosity and the fact that it's got one beautiful cover.

<em>The Bone Witch</em> is about "Tea" - a young girl with witch powers. All who have powers vary a bit. Tea's abilities are in necromancy ... the ability to raise the dead ... which makes her a "bone witch" - one of the feared and often derided members of the witches. But as with anyone who possesses abilities, it takes training to understand and hone and control the skills. Imagine the power to raise the dead but not being able to control that power.

Tea is sent to study with an old, wizened witch so that she can become an "asha" - a clan-like membership of witches. But the training is harsh and Tea, like others who are in training, is treated more like a servant than a student. Punishment for simply offending someone of higher stature (which is everyone when in training) might be to hold a pose of supplication in a public street for an entire day.

Tea weathers her training and while still not in complete control of her abilities is pushed through the asha review, supported by her teacher. There is a war brewing among the different kingdoms and having a bone witch in residence could tip the balance of power. Even a bone witch not quite ready. But Tea might have plans of her own.

What author Rin Chupeco does exceptionally well is create a mood. Like the beautiful, evocative cover that instantly sets a tone, Chupeco satisfies with a lulling, misty narrative. Mostly this works well though there are times when I craved a little more excitement or a little more action. Tea seemed so calm and to take everything with such patience that I wondered if she were going to be capable of anything more than servitude.

There is some tremendous world-building going on here, and the tease of larger things to come certainly piques the interest. But while the narrative is beautiful, it does get in the way of the story and I hope that Chupeco and her editor can find a better balance to keep readers interested as the series continues.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Bone Witch</em> by Rin Chupeco is a beautifully told story, though sometimes the story gets lost behind the telling of it, and paves the way for an intriguing series of books.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The world, the magic, the beasts…all captivating. There are parts where this story moves very slow. Chupeco’s prose is resonant, replete with such detailed description that readers finds themselves meandering along for some time before being reminded that there is also a plot.

Sometimes it is amazing, and sometimes it is just boring.

I wanted to love this more than I did! This seemed so interesting to me but wasn't as intriguing as I thought. This book lacked plot and read very flat. The descriptions and writing was great but there was a little too much of that and not enough plot or character development. The cover is absolutely beautiful, though, and I'm still not over it.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco was disappointing. Even though the world was interesting, its building was too long and too complicated. It took up more than half the book and started getting interesting at 70%. I will consider the sequel because it did get better, but I was thoroughly disappointed of it. The main character, Tea, did not appeal to me at all. Could have been better.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy.

I had a difficult time connecting with the book and the main character. I thought the concept was really good but the pacing was slower than anticipated and therefore I lost interest.

This was a slow read for me for reasons related and not related to the story itself. One was just me being flaky, the other had more to do with how dense the story was. I say that in a good, as there is so much detail packed into this book, bringing the world and its characters to life. It was also a brilliant setup for the rest of the series as I am now over here dying over how long it's going to take to get my hands on the sequel. *sobs*

This probably would have been a five-star for me if not for certain issues that kept bugging me.

The Bone Witch is the first installment of The Bone Witch series by Rin Chupeco

Tea knows that she’s descended by a long line of witches, but she never knew how powerful or different she really was. Until the night she managed to bring her brother back from the dead. When her family learns of what she’s done, there’s no excitement or congratulations. Instead they fear so much that Tea starts to feel isolation not only from her family, but the community.

No one will teach Tea, so she seeks out the other bone which to help hone her powers. But as she begins to wielding the asha energy, dark forces target Tea and her brother.

The Bone Witch isn’t my usual reading genre, but I found some parts of the story intriguing and captivating. Tea isn’t your average girl. She wields a great deal of power as well as trying to find herself in a journey, fate has weaved for her. The one thing that captivated me, was the choices that Tea had to make throughout the story. Some of them are self-explanatory and other’s were difficult to even imagine. Rin Chupeco certainly challenge the reader in expanding the mind. The only thing that I found difficult was some of the terms she used. They were easily forgotten and when reading on a kindle, it almost impossible to find the definition. Overall, I felt like the story was written and constructed well.

There are two timelines in this book. When it begins, the reader sees an unnamed Bard in conversation with a mysterious girl, on the shores of an ocean, as she orders a monster to die. She tells him that she is an asha–a person who has the ability to draw runes, and a dark asha at that–she can raise the dead. She has been exiled to this remote and desolate beach. As the conversation progresses, and she narrates her life story, the timeline moves to the past and we see a younger version of this same asha, Tea (pronounced as Tay-ah not Tee).

Tea’s brother, Fox, is a soldier in the army, and when he is killed by a daeva (a monstrous creature that terrorizes people), Tea unwittingly resurrects him from the dead. This makes the people around her scared, because this means that she is a dark asha, a bone witch. Luckily, before anyone can harm her, Lady Mykaela, the only other bone witch in the kingdom arives, and takes her and her undead brother-now Tea’s familiar, away to the capital, Ankyo, to train with other ashas in the House Valerian. The rest of the book has to do with her training to be an asha, and how she uncovers a plot by the Faceless, the followers of The False Prince, to overthrow all the current rulers of their world.

The book keeps moving between both timelines, with the older Tea commenting on the events in the life of the younger Tea, but we never see the timelines converge–we never see what led to her exile, and we must wait for the sequel to know that.

First off, the thing that Rin Chupeco has done wonderfully here is the world-building. The world she has created is complex and layered. There are multiple kingdoms, each with their own culture and customs, with some of them a subtle nod to places and cultures in own own world. Some concepts of this world that I think readers would benefit from reading about now are the ashas and the heartsglass.

The ashas are a bit like geishas but with great magical prowess. They are singers, dancers and warriors! I thought this was lovely, because usually, women are portrayed as one or the other, but here, the author says that women can do it all! In fact, through one of Tea’s friends, a boy who wants to be an asha instead of a soldier in the army, the author challenges traditional gender roles.

Another is the concept of a heartsglass, which is basically a necklace that one wears, which contains one’s “heart” and which has a colour based on one’s abilities, and one which changes colours based on one’s mood. These play a pretty importat role in the plot.

The writing certainly does not let one down and is very descriptive–especially when the author is describing clothes and accessories. Some people may not enjoy it, but it helped me get very clear visualizations, so that’s a win for me. She also uses a lot of non-English words, from different languages, for instance uchenik which is Russian. I really appreciate that.

A look through goodreads seems to indicate that many readers felt that the pace of the book is too slow, but I personally could not put it down! I will admit, that in terms of actual story, not much happens–the real action comes a bit towards the end and most of the book is about Tea’s training. This book is mostly world-building and setting up for the sequels. This causes the book to lack a sense or urgency. Also, since both the timelines don’t converge, it is frustrating as a lot of things are left unanswered. I can understand that this isn’t what some people like, and that they would prefer more stuff happening. However, I enjoyed the book as is.

Rin Chupeco has certainly set the stage for a powerful, dramatic saga with The Bone Witch. There is the sense that there is much more to come, and I, for one, am waiting.

I might have to give this one another try, I only got half way threw.. Not that the story want good but it was slow. And I felt that it dragged. Maybe it wasn't the right time for me to read,

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1854571287?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I tried to read this one but I gave up after about 25%. It was so boring! When a quarter of the book had gone by without anything I could recognize as an interesting plot point I had to admit it wasn't for me. The descriptions are nice but I needed more movement from the actual story.

THE BONE WITCH was a slow and captivating read that felt as though you were speaking to the main character and listening to them tell you their story. The writing was bold and lush. The world was magical and unique, if a bit confusing--there seemed to be a strange clash of cultural inspirations that I wasn't quite certain of--but easily enough overlooked. I truly enjoyed reading this book and am excited for what will happen in the sequel.

I thought I wasn't going to like this book but I really did! The visual you get from reading this was amazing! Great job by the author! It was descriptive and very structured. The setting of this book was out of this world. I loved it! The cover pulled me in, the synopsis grabbed me, and the story kept me. I'm excited to read the second book. All of the charactered were carefully written and brought to life to well. They were all talented and magical and it was great to read a book like this. This book had many strengths. The only weakness was that it may have gone off track at times but I was okay with that. Overall I give this book 4/5 stars.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. From the concepts of “bone witches” (witches that can raise the dead), to the society of the asha (a geisha-like community of women who wield magic), to the intricately beautiful cover, I was intrigued. Although I must say I enjoyed the story overall – and will definitely be reading the next book in the series, The Heart Forger – I think it fell short of its potential.

Rin Chupeco’s The Bone Witch told the story of Tea, already unique because of her name. In her grief after her brother’s untimely death, she accidently raises him from his grave, to the shock of those around her, family included.

"Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living."

“Bone Witch” is a derogatory term for these Dark asha able to wield magic controlling the dead, both rare and often feared amongst the people. Tea of one of these rare asha, and after raising her brother, goes to the capital to start her training. These asha are almost like geisha…though fighting geisha. Their beautiful hua they wear are similar to kimonos, and the way they entertain are likewise similar. However, asha are powerful.

Lady Mykaela: “Most people know three kinds of asha, Tea. The first are performing asha, known for their dancing and their singing, though their magic may be weaker than others. The second are fighting asha, known for their magic and prowess, though they may not be the most gracious of hosts. The third are Dark asha like us, the strongest of them all.”


Rin Chupeco has a way with words. Her writing style is very floral, and her descriptions of this strange world are beautiful, from the hua the asha wear to the city where they live. I was sucked into this world of beauty and magic and intrigue.

Although The Bone Witch follows several similar YA Fantasy tropes – a girl singled out as unique and given special powers, with which she is expected to save the world chief among them – the story itself felt new and fresh. However, the author also generally relied on descriptions rather than actions to move the story forward. I really just wanted more from this book: more background on the history of the kingdoms, more establishment for how magic and the runes worked, more about the history of bone witches and heart forgers, etc.

Overall, I actually really liked this book. The characters were interesting if often a bit one-dimensional, the world-building was well-done if a bit vague, the writing style was beautiful if a bit flowery, and the story left me wanting more. I really don’t know if I can wait another year or so until the sequel comes out (it is set to be released on March 1st, 2018)!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a Did Not Finish, unfortunately. I just couldn't get into the writing and fantasy of it all. Unfortunately, fantasy is a genre I have a hard time with.

I found this story to be fascinating! I loved that the asha lifestyle was very similar to the Geisha lifestyle. This was really a very different type of story than other YA. I can't wait to read the rest of the series

4 Stars - This book is dense and takes its time developing characters in a well-developed world. Great for readers who truly love fantasy/paranormal with a mix of dystopian/historical aspects. Patience is key in this book because it reads like a slow burn.

If you're looking for a book that just grabs you throughout the story, this book should be next on your TBR-list!

I was a little disappointed in the actual plot-line. Now I don't like comparing other series to each other, but going into this particular book blind, I was surprised there wasn't more spooky, paranormal elements engraved in the story. Rin's other series, the Girl from the Well, was a very creepy, engrossing read, so with the title The Bone Witch, I was thinking it was going to go into that direction more than it did.

BUT, that was, of course, since I didn't read the synopsis before diving into the book.

I was surprised just how engrossed I got. I had to read a majority of the book in several mini-sittings, and each time, I was able to catch onto the story and sink my teeth into it every time!

Her writing just engulfs you and takes you into detail on all aspects of Tea's journey to become a powerful witch with more control over her abilities.

I will say that there is ALOT of foundational writing. about 75% of the entire book is just learning more about the world and Tea's training. This sometimes made the book feel like it was dragging, but at the same time, you were engrossed so much that you didn't even realize it.

That's why I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars. Not too much excitement and action-packed scenes take place in The Bone Witch. I think that this could change with how the ending went about for the beginning of Book 2, but I'll just have to wait and see once it is released next year.

I liked the characters and the sort-of paranormalism of the characters and the magical elements. You can definitely feel the struggle between what Tea has to endure with being a darker witch and the differences in the treatment the world stows upon her.

Overall, this was a fun, dark read that would be perfect for the fall season! Rin has done it again in bringing a story that takes you in from beginning to end.

And can I just say, this cover is AMAZING! Like you literally have to have a hardcover copy in your hand to really appreciate how aesthetically pleasing it is. Your eyes will thank you!

I can't wait to read on with Book 2!!

Let's take a minute to discuss the beauty of this cover. The deep purple with the gold swirls... that skull that just floats. Tiny Tea sitting on top of the rock lost in thought. It's perfect in so many ways.

When I started this book, so many months ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. I don't even think there was any buzz about it at that time, either. For me, it was just something to break the monotony of my usual reading. (To be fair, there hasn't been a lot of reading going on lately due to school/work obligations, but that is a side note.) Alas, I could tell from the moment I opened The Bone Witch that I was reading something very different from my "usual" likes.

I am not typically a fan of alternating points of view. They tend to irk me. Probably because most of the time they aren't done to standard and the characters just seem sub-par. When I realized that The Bone Witch might be an alternating point of view story, I got a little nervous. But then I realized, it wasn't p.o.v. switch at all, but more of a time switch. So, that was interesting. I met Tea in the present who obviously had a lot of things to work out (someone really pissed her off) and Tea from the not too distant past.

It has been months since I read this book (at least 4) and I still remember a good portion of the finer plot details and things I liked. That is such a good sign! It's always so disappointing to read a book and tell someone you liked it, only to find you can't recall much about it when they asked what you liked. I feel like The Bone Witch is a story that will linger. It will make you think and pick details out. I also think Tea's story is going to become even better as the series continues. I am anxiously waiting to see what happens next! Rin Chupexo has an incredible talent for writing and story telling. The setting and world building sucked me in and held me captive. I could not put this book down. I wanted to be there with Tea. When deception and trickery found her, I felt her pain and anguish. I felt her fury as my own. I felt the loss of her brother (and you know what I mean) as if I walked beside her myself. This is a book I recommend time and time again to fans of fantasy, and it has not failed me yet.

This was an intriguing story from the start. I liked most of the characters and how everything seemed very intricately plotted and set up for sequels with the juxtaposition of Tea's learning to be an Asha and the scenes where she's telling the bard her story. The ending was pretty crazy but in a way I kinda saw it coming (just had some inkling given the characterisations of certain people that things might take a turn at some point). I liked present Tea's explanation of why she took such care describing people's hua because it had kinda started to wear on me but once I knew how they related so specifically to each Asha, it didn't bother me as much because it was an avenue for some quick possible character interpretation. I didn't see the villain coming in the end, so good plotting there. That was a surprise but also one that was clever and made sense. I look forward to seeing more of Tea's adventures and finding out how she became the Tea we see in the present chapters.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.