Bone Witch, written by Rin Chupeco, is the first book in what promises to be a brilliant new fantasy series. The world-building is exceptional as the reader is immersed in Tea’s world where asha’s wield extraordinary powers and are both revered and feared. As Tea evolves from a simple, country girl to a powerful asha, the story introduces a cast of unique and entertaining characters. The descriptions of the asha’s outfits can sometimes be a bit drawn out, but overall the detailed descriptions only serve to make the world more real.

The story is told from the perspective of Tea and from the perspective of a Bard who has sought out Tea to hear her story. The story unfolds as Tea recounts her rise as an asha to the Bard. The story goes from present day to the past as the two storylines build and the reader begins to anticipate that Tea will reveal what happened in her past to bring her to where she is now. This gives the story a page-turning quality and even though the plot is somewhat slow, the writing and characters are sure to keep the reader engaged.

A beautiful, epic tale with strong female characters that will be enjoyed by teens and adults who love fantasy stories.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This was a reading experience that was unlike other. I didn't know half the things that this book was talking about. I asked myself, "what's a hue, what's a drycht, what the heck is a daeva?" After I got my bearings and just took the writing for what it was, I was quickly impressed with this novel. It's absurd and imaginative and frankly, awesome. The lead character was a badass. I really enjoyed this one and hope there will be a second on the series.

The Bone Witch was probably one of the YA books that I was most excited about for Winter/Spring 2017, so I was delighted to get my hands on an eGalley. First of all, The Bone Witch has a stunning cover design, so kudos to the folks who worked on it. I didn’t think the story was perfect, but it doesn’t change the fact that I DO think this series is going to be really popular and hopefully really great. There’s definitely been a lot of hype generated for this book and it was a quick, exciting read.

My first impression was that the story telling is reminiscent of Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. Tea Pahlavi (the bone witch) is telling her story to a bard that has come along to find her in her lonely exile and hear Tea’s side of things. To those of you who’ve read NOTW, is this ringing any bells yet? Tea has done something terrible, the man she loves is dead, and she’s preparing her revenge on a dark, bone-riddled coast. I kind of love this method of story-telling because you know what happened to the character up to a certain point in their lives, but you don’t know HOW the events leading up played out. Filling in those pieces and all the little mysteries is so satisfying for me as a reader and it leaves me hooked. I felt the number of Tea/Bard sections were too frequent and Tea’s story lacked some of the depth that I had expected, but I was comparing it to the depth of Kvothe’s story which some argue was too thorough.

The magic and the magic learning system in this book was really cool. The schooling and many parts of the asha life appeared to be inspired by geisha training in Japan, which I don’t see done often in fantasy. I loved Memoirs of A Geisha so The Bone Witch was kind of a fun treat for me. Series debuts and great origin stories two of my favorite things, which is another reason I expected to adore The Bone Witch, but the story-within-a-story style yet again lacked the depth and detail I like here. This book seems to span about 2 years in which much happens. Yes, we get the highlights and all the important bits, but I didn’t fall irrevocably in love with it. I am intrigued by the likelihood that Tea is an unreliable and biased narrator, because she is telling her own story… What is she lying about and what secrets could she be keeping?

I also love the fact that there are these crazy, mythical monsters out there that resurrect every so many years and terrorize the countryside. Definitely grim. The Dark asha like Tea and her mentor Mykaela are the only ones who can effectively control and put down these monsters, or daeva as they are called. These daeva are central to the storyline as is the briefly mentioned and under-detailed False Prince and his followers. Rin Chupeco gave her readers a little taste of the bad guys in this first installment and I expect to see much more of their involvement in future books. Plus, Tea’s dead love and her desire for revenge was really, really interesting, especially after that final segment.

Overall, I thought The Bone Witch was tremendously enjoyable, dark, and full of possibility. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment and a physical copy of this book. This book had me cringing, curious, and reading in every spare second!

Magical! Rin Chupeco has created a world full of wonder and mystery. The characters were full of color and depth and the story will leave you wanting more. Loved it.

"The Bone Witch is thoroughly original and visionary," is how I describe The Bone Witch! The rest of the review could be found at the link attached.

I must admit that I did not finish this book. I made it to 68% and I may at sometime in the future finish it, but I really doubt I will do so. the younger readers will most likely love this although I think even they are going to be expecting something that has a little more action, character
interaction and a lot less filler.

As I said in my update on this novel: "I am having a hellacious time reading this book. One thing happened so far. ONE!!!

I know that this is a YA book, but the synopsis reads as if it would appeal to adults too. Not this adult.

But I will persevere -although I abide by my thoughts on this: you don't need to drink the entire glass of milk to know that the milk is spoiled.

I shouldn't have to read this far to be pulled into the book."

This was at 50% and as I found myself trying to finish I did realize that there are some aspects that are interesting about this otherwise boring novel -I liked the fact that the author took so many cultures (Japanese, Indian, Iranian and most likely more) and melded them into this work. However, the fact is that up to the point that I stopped, NOTHING happened...NOTHING!!!

What we did get was an interesting look into what must have been a school for Geisha's that also taught some magic and self-defense. (which makes me want to read [book:Memoirs of a Geisha|929] ). We got a brief look at Tea raising he brother from the dead as well as some rats and a murder victim.

Have you ever read Laurell K Hamilton and noticed how she can take pages and fill them with the most useless trivia, mind numbing descriptions and repetitive filler? Well this author is doing the exact same thing...and even does it better than LKH.

Perhaps young teens will like this book, but I think an older mind will want to pare this down into something more readable. It is a shame that I just couldn't force myself to finish, because I can see that this has the potential to be an interesting series -but not if the author keeps writing just to fill the pages.

*ARC supplied by publisher.

*I received an advance copy from Netgalley for an honest review.*

The Bone Witch starts off slow and it took me a while to get into it. The story alternates between the past and present, but it is easy to tell the difference. By the end though, it left me wanting more.
The story follows Tea, who discovers that she is a bone witch when she accidentally raises her brother from the dead. This leads to her going to train with a mentor to learn how to control her powers.
The majority of the story is about Tea learning to become an Asha. The Asha are like Geisha, and use their magic to earn money for the house they belong to by entertaining patrons. Since bone witches, or Dark Asha, are rare, Tea's training is sped up. The Dark Asha use their powers to stop Daeva, think demons, that terrorize their world. Tea's mentor is one of the few Dark Asha left and it is taking a toll on her health.
Overall I really liked this book, but only gave it 4 stars because of the slow start. Tea is an interesting character. She is strong, not spoiled, and feels real. The world building was done well.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series and would recommend this to fans of Shadow and Bone, The Crown's Game and Throne of Glass.

I found this book to be something to wrap yourself in. I enjoyed every word, every twist, every moment. It was beautifully written and I cannot say enough amazing things about it. Between the concept, character build, the author has a hit on their hands!

This book had so much potential, I had such high expectations for this book, but I too quickly became bored in this book. Which shouldn't happen! I mean she's raising people from the dead! And yet we get to only witness two cases of necromancy 25% of the way through the book? It's just a much too common case of too much world building, not enough action.

I liked the characters, I liked the idea of heartstones and necromancy, but the plot was sloth-ish for me.

2/5 stars

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it, like expected. I will be featuring my review of this title on Obsessive Book Nerd eventually, just not at this time.

This was an interesting and intriguing introduction to a new series that has lots of potential moving forward. I found that while reading The Bone Witch that my interest was at its highest when I was reading about Tea experiences as a young girl learning about her powers and how to become an asha. The training and treatment she endured in her quest to become an asha and learn to control her powers, at times reminded me of Memoirs of a Geisha and the training that the main character endures in that story. At the same time that I was held spellbound in regards to Tea's training, my interest in the story waned when the narrative would shift back to the present day where Tea is speaking with the interviewer about how she got to where she is. These small snippets between the broader story I felt detracted from the main story and it wasn't until the end where I felt I truly appreciated these snippets and where they were heading. As it stands, it is the cliff hanger ending that will ensure that I read the subsequent books in the series and I hope that the series becomes more interesting as it continues.

The Bone Witch is a high fantasy book set in a world with asha, or witches. The asha are traditionally women and they are fighters who can draw ruins to manipulate the elements. Their male counterparts are called Deathseekers and are the soldiers. Our main character, Tea, finds out she is an asha when she raises her brother from the dead at his funeral. But, only special asha called bone witches are able to bring back the dead. The story then follows Tea as she is taken to be trained in her new found powers and learn all about the asha life. We see her train through her lessons starting at the very bottom where she scrubs floors, all the way through to where she fights giant creatures called daeva. Additionally, the story is told from two different points of view. We start out with an unnamed narrator who meets Tea when she is seventeen and these glimpses are given to us in short bursts at the beginning of each chapter. The main chapters of the book are told from Tea's point of view beginning when she first learns she is an asha. This makes for a unique reading experience as you try and put together the pieces of the story.

One of my very favorite things about this story is the relationship between Tea and her big brother, Fox. She really loves and looks up to him, so when he dies, it's completely heartbreaking and she unknowingly raises him from the dead. He then becomes her familiar and we get to see how their new relationship unfolds. This book has so many amazing elements and details I don't want to give them all away here, but I really, really enjoyed this read. I do want to give a word of warning, however. This is not a romance fantasy or super fast-paced. The world is complex and the story unfolds in a way to introduce you to all of these complex elements. It's the kind of book where you can really immerse yourself in the world because there is so much of it within the pages. I would recommend this to people who enjoyed Three Dark Crowns because I think it has some of the same elements, dark fantasy world, lots of detail, slow in places but so, so worth it!

I have never DNFed a book until now. The writing seemed nice but the story line was dull and did not hold my attention. I tried for three days and could not make it chapter 6. This is DNF for now so I will go back to it at some point to give it another chance. No rating because I did not finish.

A captivating and well-written fantasy - definitely a must-read for teens who enjoy well-written characters and good worldbuilding.

The premise of this book was great, as was that first paragraph. It definitely started with a bang, making me want to keep reading. Sadly, that was the high point.

This book suffered from a quite severe case of "nothing-happens-ness." That dark, terrible illness of many books, which makes me wonder how it passed through all the revisions it must have passed. You've got a great concept, a girl who's a witch who can raise the death, and seemingly the start of a good story, said girl raises her recently deceased brother and an older witch takes her from her village to a sort of training house for witches so she can learn but also so she can be protected from those who hate her kind. However, after that, it's all description, endless, boring, pointless description. Of dresses, of places, of events. Nothing feels immediate, everything feels removed. It isn't until about 30% in that something mildly happens again, and then again at about 90%. Definitely not ideal.

There are massive, massive information dumps. Paragraphs upon paragraphs of nothing but exposition. I understand that in fantasy world building is key and that the world needs explaining but despite all the information dumps Rin Chupeco threw on us poor readers, the world did not feel alive to me. I didn't really care for much of what happened, all the kingdoms and different types of ashas just felt hopelessly contrived.

The "present" first-person telling of Tea's journey is interspersed with "future" glances of an older Tea, told also in first-person but seemingly by a different person she calls Bard. The voices don't really sound much different, and those "future" sections are really the only source of slight mystery in the book. In them you get little tidbits that don't make much sense about characters who have died or that now Tea is exiled, etc, which do help generate some interest in the future of the story but also feel like a cheap cross between a spoiler and those "coming up on General Hospital" advances in soap operas. Without them, the story in the "present" would be even more boring. Knowing some of the things the "future" sections tell you, keeps some interest in finding out how X event came to be but that is not how good fiction works. The "present" should be able to stand on its own.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book. The world building is weak at best, the characterization is almost non-existent (the main character is as bland as a blank piece of paper), the writing could be good but is often bogged down by its own lengthiness and lack of proper editing. The concept I liked, the execution just failed the concept.

Of course, this is the first in a series, so things could get better. Although, a bad first book is not very promising.

Would I read a second installment? Probably, because I am a sucker for spoilers and I do want to know how some of the things teased in the future sections came to be, but I could also live without it.

Side note: I sort of blame this book for the reading slump into which I fell for about two weeks. Every time I opened it and started reading, I'd get this wave of indifference and while it usually takes me less than three days to finish a book, this one took me about two weeks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I was approved for this book sometime during the second half of last year, and I have since been very excited to get to reading this book. I would have read it sooner, but requested enough books up to February of this year that I was completely "booked" (haha) and therefore unable to get to it until late Feb. Needless to say, I was quite happy when I was finally able to pick this book up and start reading. (I was also excited about the cover of this book! Isn't it lovely?!)

From the start, this book was quite different from what I had expected. What I was thinking this book would be like, I believe, was something like a gothic, dark fantasy..type thing. Or maybe something like The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling, which was a terrifying dark fantasy, (I could not read that book at night, for the most part).

What I got in stead, was intriguing, and a little confusing. The world building is detailed, and all things (food, clothing, landscapes, cityscapes, music, culture etc.) were very easy to imagine. The world which Chupeco created is very inviting, and lush. I could have read about the world in The Bone Witch forever!

Something about this book kept me at an arm's length, however, and I was happy when I was able to figure out what that was. This story is told by two narrators, at two points in time. A bard searches out Tea, the bone witch, during "present time" (calling it that for simplicity's sake), and Tea then tells the bard her "past" story. Both narratives are written in the first person, but despite this, I found myself unable to feel close to either of the narrators, much less caring for either of them. I really wanted to love this book, and all of the necessary elements are there, except for a likeable narrator. I did not hate either of the narrators, don't get me wrong, but they both felt a little flat, monotone, and just...unlikeable to me because of this. Therefore by default, the story itself was not as enjoyable for me as it should have been. Think of it as a story being told to you by a person you dislike, or have zero feelings for; it does not matter how great or exciting the story was, ...you would simply not be enjoying it as much as you could if say, it were told to you by someone else, or someone you like or are close to.

The writing was good, a joy to read, and I did not encounter any awkward phrasing. I also loved that the world was a mixture of the book Memoirs of a Geisha and the manga/anime series Inu Yasha (although at times it felt a little too Memoirs of a Geisha-ish...if that makes sense. Some of what happened just seemed like a reflection of what happened in the aforementioned book, to me at least). Beautiful, magical maidens fighting monster/demons with runes while wearing lovely, Japanese-inspired outfits. This type of story is very much up my alley! I simply think that if the story had been told in the third person (and with a different MC), or simply told by different characters (whom I could have clicked better with), that my experience with this book would have been better, and my rating a lot higher.

That being said, my overall opinion of this book changed considerably during the last few chapters of this book. I even felt a bit of a liking for Tea due to a particular development in the story. This portion of the plot, and how the book ended, made me really want to give this series another shot by reading the sequel when it comes out. I am aware after all, that sometimes the first book in a series may require a lot of set-up, and that the more exciting parts of a plot may not begin or take place until the next book.

Finally, (since I feel as if I have been rambling for far too long), I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Japanese inspired fantasies (for example, containing story lines, creatures, clothing, foods, etc. which are inspired by current or past Japanese culture). I would also recommend this book to those who enjoy fantasy, and are a fan of Memoirs of a Geisha, and/or Inu Yasha and other similar Japanese manga and animes. And I would also inform those who I recommend this book to that there is a lot of "set-up" and world building, and that they may not click with either of the narrators at first, or at all.

I thought I can get into this book, but I really could not. Just so magically with having the powers and between one witch and another. The names. This is first time I thought I would enjoy the book because of its cover, but I'm sorry, I could not finish it.

At first I really struggled with this book. I don’t know yet if it was just because it’s an eARC, but the italics made it really hard for me to focus on the words. However, I really wanted to read this book, so I just kept pushing on. Turns out the italics are used to differentiate between current time and past time. Whilst still frustrating I did get used to it.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. The backstory was amazing, well written, full of stuff going on, but the present time sections just kind of bored me.

The way this book ended… wow. I cannot wait for the sequel! This book left me with so many more questions than answers, and for now I can hope that they get answered in the sequel.

The premise is good, but the way it was executed bothered me. I don’t mind too much though because this was a unique take on the style of YA/Fantasy novels. Luckily after about half way, I actually found it kept drawing me in and zoomed through the rest of it. I WILL be adding this to my physical collection in the future.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

​The Need To Know: An inventive, captivating tale perfect for all YA and fantasy-lovers.



The Bone Witch is a feast of magic, grotesquerie, and heart.

From the first two sentences: “The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite. But the girl was fiercer”—to the last, I was engrossed in the story of the bone witch, Tea. This is a young woman who is intelligent and brave and by turns secretive and cunning, who is not afraid to risk anything—even alienating those she loves—if only she might save their lives.

The novel opens when a Bard approaches Tea, the bone witch, who has been exiled to a beach littered with animal’s skeletons. The Bard asks to hear her story and Tea acquiesces. The rest of the book intersperses the Bard’s observations and conversations with Tea with Tea’s account of the last three-ish years of her life.

Tea’s story begins when she was 14, when she brought her dead brother, Fox, back to life. A bone witch named Mykaela comes to retrieve Tea and tells her that she will be taken away to receive bone witch training. Where Tea is from, bone witches, witches who are capable of bringing beings back from the dead and sending them back, are highly feared. Though she is not eager to leave her family behind, something within Tea luxuriates in the feeling of the magic within her.

Once Tea reaches Ankyo, the seat of her training, she must face enemies within her own community and also those without. And her journey is more complicated than others’ because she is extraordinarily powerful and she senses the injustices of the bone witch’s life more than most.

This novel is action-packed, with Tea and others battling grotesque creatures which rise from the ground, taking combat and dancing lessons, and learning to create runes made of blood. But The Bone Witch doesn’t sacrifice thoughtful characterization for the sake of plot. The characters are nuanced and well-developed, and Chupeco deploys her stellar vocabulary to create a world that is vivid and atmospheric.

This was a fantastic YA fantasy read that kept me riveted to the page, lost in a world that Chupeco created.
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The exciting news doesn't end: there will be a sequel!

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I received a copy of this book free from Netgalley but all opinions included here are my own.

Have you ever read a book where no rating really feels right for it? You know it's not a five; it's too flawed for that. Likewise a one is much too harsh. Two doesn't give it quite enough credit, but a four also overlooks major missteps, and three looks a little 'meh'.

But I think I'm going with three. Even say three and a half for the Bone Witch. And even that is painful because the parts that are good, that are strong, are really strong. It's just . . . those parts are not the entire book.

This is a book that does actively have a lot going for it. A fascinating magical system (something I always adore in fantasy; it's magic, surprise me! Make it new and exciting!), a protagonist I can root for, a world that feels full and realized, a lovely prose, and surrounding characters that are interesting in their own right.

But the plot. The pacing. The actual story part that should put characters through their paces ... it's just sort of middle of the road for me. Not terrible, but not what it feels it should be. Which is a glaring shame. I didn't struggle to get through this book; I wanted to read it! But I could only manage a chapter or two at a time because so little physically was going on that sometimes reading the individual chapters was like reading little vignettes: interesting, but nothing that made me tear through the book to watch the story unfold. And that's heartbreaking in a story like this. It really is.

Tea is a dark asha, a bone witch, a being able to raise the dead, a talent she discovers when she accidentally raises her brother. From there she's swept off to learn the ways of the asha and how to understand and harness her new power. It's a designation of both power and prestige, and the reader is treated to watching Tea learn courtly manners and the skills necessary to grow into her mantle as a Bone Witch. We see her make friends--and enemies--of the other asha and a prince and others--and her relationship with her brother is lovely. It's a diverse cast of characters in an interesting world where people literally wear their hearts on their chests and cast spells using runes of blood drawn in the air. Where the asha play music and dance but also wield incredible elemental power and protect the people of their kingdoms. See what I mean about a one being way too rough? This is five star worthy stuff! I WANT this to be a five so badly. Even a four.

The problem is, there is so little imposing conflict. There are 31 chapters in the book and, honestly, by chapter 24, I was curious as to what the climax of the book could be. What issue was going to arise that would need solving? Because at that point I had Tea advancing in her training, coming into her own--which is lovely, don't get me wrong--but no lingering threat. No sense of impending dread, which I should have had.

Now, the book is told in a strange-ish way. The chapters contain events of Tea learning her powers, but also a flash-forward of sorts where she is already an asha who has been exiled but we don't know why. I feel like this should have created more suspense than it did, and maybe for some other readers it will. But even with me wondering what had happened that Tea ended up exiled, these flash forwards felt at times gimmicky, and didn't salvage the fact that no action was occurring. For a good while this is okay, because the story is character-driven; you're watching Tea learn and make mistakes, develop a crush on a prince, and watch over her brother. But even so, there still needs to be a sense of conflict, and by 3/4 of the book, I wished for more of one.

The end felt a little rushed, as if after chapters of meandering along someone said, oh my god we need to wrap this up! And then BAM! Conflict! Danger! Death. Suspense! Betrayal! A cliffhanger! It was a lot very, very quickly and I ended up finishing with the feeling of 'huh', that was different rather than me *needing* book 2 right away. Maybe I'll pick up book two next year, but I don't feel pressed, and I wish I did.

One and two stars are really too low for The Bone Witch. But I think five and four may be a bit too high with such glaring pacing issues. The details to the world are there. The characters are there. The world-building, the magic, the prose, the concept. But the story, the story to make you want to keep going was a little lacking, at least for me. I didn't struggle, but I did find myself flipping ahead a few times to see how many more pages a chapter was because I wanted to be finished reading for the time being. That's not how I wanted to feel about this book at all.