Do not judge a book by its cover. I did with this book and regret it. It was very disappointing that a cover so beautiful was hiding such a confusing, poorly written, slow read. Were these women geishas, witches, warriors or some combination? I really don't care. I read to 42% and just could not go any further.

A vividly descriptive high fantasy

THE BONE WITCH by Ren Chupeco is a YA high fantasy (witches) novel with a cliffhanger that promises a sequel.

The eye-catching cover and the ironic opening line of the blurb piqued my curiosity and excited my inner nerd. I requested and received an advance copy eBook from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

In a world of witches, Tea is a teenager who accidentally raises her brother from the dead and thereby discovers she is a highly revered yet highly feared necromancer, who holds the power to save her kingdom from demons at the slow expense of her own life.

The opening line of Chapter One is the opening line of the blurb, and in my opinion, the best line in this book:

Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise.

That line! I loved it! And I had high hopes, VERY high hopes of an enchanting, engaging tale, but that one fantastic line proved to be not only an empty promise of an ironically humorous sister-dead-brother dynamic, but sadly, it was also by far most interesting piece of this 400+-page book. It’s a great sales line, but the irony there is certainly not indicative of the pages that follow. Though the writing is beautiful, the alternating chapters of Tea’s past and present serve up a constantly interrupted tale that effectively sucks this story dry of adrenaline. Most disappointing was the utter lack of plot, the omission of Tea actually accomplishing (or not accomplishing) any sort of goal, and the endless reminders that Tea is a special sort of witch. Together, this formed a perfect storm of no-connection-whatsoever to Tea and threw my skim engine into high gear.

Readers will easily know from the prologue (available as a free sample on Amazon–just click here) whether this is a tale they’ll love or not love.

For ages 11 and up. This novel contains mild violence and language, and some romance, but no sex. The adrenaline, “edge-of-the-seat” factor is low, and readers who like a fast pace may find themselves skimming much of this book. Still, this book would no doubt appeal to fans of high fantasy who enjoy beautiful writing in a slow-paced, lyrical tale, told in alternating chapters of flashback and present time.

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I’m an adrenaline junkie, and this book put my brain to sleep.

THE BONE WITCH earns 2 North of Normal stars.

So I actually only got around to reading 17% of this book. I didn't finish.

Many many many people have told me and I've seen others say that this book does get better, you just have to get far enough into the book.

But I tried. Oh boy I tried. The beginning is just so info-dumpy and the two different POVs really confuses me. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think the book is bad at all. In fact the world is intriguing. And it's a diverse book with a diverse cast and background. Unfortunately it just didn't get off to a good enough start for me to keep going.

Perhaps in the future yes, I'll pick it back up again. But it's not gripping me enough to read and review in time for Tuesday when it hits shelves - and I have a load of other review books to work on.

I'll try to get back to it again and update this feedback, but for now. This novel is not for me.

Plot:

From the very first sentence, this book is just incredible. Every sentence, every second, every word draws you in a little further, a little deeper, engaging your little reader’s heart more and more into this chilling, creative, and complex story—until you realize it was actually quicksand from the beginning and you have drowned and now are dead.

Okay, so maybe that was dramatic, but the fact of the matter is this story started out brilliantly. Literally from the very first sentence, I was amazed at the way the author drew the narrative. And I was thrilled: I love the sound of a book when it’s a storyteller telling a story or a character telling their own story; there’s just something so special about that style that tugs on my heart every time. Also, I had no idea what was coming next, yet I was content to see where the author would take me. To savor the storyworld, sampling a bit at a time, until we reached what I was sure would be an absolutely epic ending.

And it was… in a way. But it didn’t end up quite the same as I had hoped it would. For one thing, the “catching the baddie” bit fell through for me. It wasn’t strictly random, but the way it had all been set up… it was far too hidden for the reader to figure out anything until the characters explained it all. And I mean, I like being surprised—by books—and not being able to predict every plot twist—in a book—but I at least want a fighting chance, lol, at figuring out whodunnit. In The Bone Witch though, there were a lot of loose pieces lying around with no real way to put them together until the characters do it for you. And when they did explain it, it was logical, but it didn’t come together naturally. It wasn’t one of those where I went, “Ah, that makes sense!” when it all came out, but more like “Um, well, okay. If you say so, Tea.”

Secondly, the story is told in a kind of intertwining fashion (which I actually liked): there’s the bard telling the story of his meeting with future Tea and then there’s future Tea telling her story, what happened to bring her to that place. Except we don’t find out what happened to bring her to that place. And I mean, I know it’s a series, so I’m sure that’ll all come into play later, but I would’ve liked to have had more answers before the end of this book. The two pieces barely seem to be of the same story; they’re definitely in the same world, but I just can’t mentally connect the future/present Tea with the little girl in the story. There’s too big of a gap there, and my brain refuses to leap it. :p

So all in all, it’s a beautifully epic read. But for me, the ending left quite a bit to be desired.

Plot: 3 ½ stars out of 5.

Characters:

I love Fox so much. He was an amazing brother, protective, but not overprotective, wise enough to help her, never one to hold her back, and always there to catch her when she fell. He had a slightly sarcastic, witty sense of humor, but knew when to sober up when need be. I adored him, and though I’m not 100% on continuing the series, him at least, I would love to see more of.

Young Tea was… not reckless, but occasionally careless because she wanted to do the right thing and she thought she knew what it was, but was liable to make a lot of mistakes along the way. But I liked her because she was fiercely loyal, she loved with everything she had, and more than that, she did all in her power to help those she cared about (future her may or may not be trying to do the same thing, but I suppose that’s a problem for future books). Though she often went against the grain (and consequently, the ruling Asha), she wasn’t rebellious for rebellion’s sake; her driving motivation was always the well-being of someone dear to her. And she was never willing to risk them.

Characters: 5 stars out of 5.

Writing Style/Setting:

The writing in this book, though. It’s gorgeous, painting every scene with careful detail. The world is deep and clear, like Island of Exiles, but darkly magical in a fashion all its own.

The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite. But the girl was fiercer. She held no weapons except for the diamonds glinting like stars above her brow, against hair like a dark mass of sky. She wore no armor save a beautiful hua of mahogany and amber spun from damask silk, a golden dragon embroidered down its length, its body half-hidden by her waist wrap. She raised her arm, and I saw nothing. But the creature saw, and its wrath gentled, until it did little but whimper.

“Kneel,” the girl ordered, and—against all expectations—the daeva obeyed.

Writing Style/Setting: 4 ½ stars out of 5.

And so, we come in at just under 4 and a ½ stars out of 5. I really enjoyed the reading of The Bone Witch, but honestly, I’m kind of upset that things turned out the way that they did and I would’ve liked a better explanation for them before the book came to a close.

I will agree with the assessment that nothing much happens. The author is building such a complete and different world that the reader has much to take in. This bothered me off and on, but wasn't a huge concern until I realized how close the end of the book was and how the story hadn't exactly started. This entire book is just prelude to the story of why Tea now feels compelled to tear her world down. It's odd to finish a book and realize that not only is there more to the story, but that you don't really know what the story will be. You only know the end result. Very odd.

We don't even know the identity of the other boy to whom Tea will be attracted. That in itself, is a fine bit of work with her meeting 3 boys that day and only later finding out their identities.

This is masterful storytelling and I can't wait to read more.

We’ve never dived into a fantasy world quite like Rin Chupeco’s The Bone Witch, and that’s both a good and bad thing.

Eleven-year-old Tea (pronounced: “Tay-uh”) didn’t mean to bring her eldest brother, Fox, back from the dead. She’s a little too young to be developing magical powers. And yet Fox is animated and aware once again, marking Tea as one of the most rare and dangerous among the ultra-powerful, magical ashas: A bone witch. In a land cursed by deadly, animalistic mutants known as daeva, Tea is one of very few people who can temporarily kill these constantly reanimating threats. But when she’s taken to the nation of Kion to be trained, Tea learns there is much more to being and a bone witch-- and an asha in general-- than she ever could have imagined.

Now, a famed bard finds seventeen-year-old Tea in exile, and she’s ready to tell him her full story.

The world of ashas is rich and clever. From heartglasses and traditional dances to rare demons and bigoted tensions, Chupeco creates not just a setting but a culture that Tea and the readers must embrace. There’s a sense of feasibility in such a descriptive world and I kind of wanted to visit Kion. It helps that the writing was a bit flowery to give it some extra pop, but not overly purple prose.

Unfortunately, setting up that world also causes some pacing issues. After a pretty explosive opening, things slow down dramatically as the new society is introduced. The story follows Tea over the course of about 4 years, and for the vast majority of that, there’s not a ton happening. Still, the novel gets us a blow-by-blow: Showing her routines repeatedly as she goes from fledgling asha to true apprentice, as she learns about the techniques and the people in her new community, including an especially intriguing royal family from a neighboring nation.

This would have been a little less painful if these interactions were shown, but they are often told. For instance, young Tea has a crush on Prince Kance and she sees him fairly often, but we only see a few actual interactions between them play out. We’re mainly just told that she visits him for dinner regularly once she becomes an asha and they get along well-- which would be fine, if their relationship wasn’t one that was meant to capture the audience’s attention.

The novel has varying success with secondary characters. Some characters really connected with me, like the only other known bone witch, Mykaela, Tea’s sweet, determined but… you know.. reanimated corpse brother Fox, and loud and proud asha sister Polaire. But it felt like others, like Prince Kance, his militaristic cousin Kalen, and the smart asha sister, Althy, were glossed over a bit. While characters like Polaire were probably more fun to write, the others probably could have added more to Tea’s arc.

We alternate between a full-length chapter on Tea’s past and a short interlude between older Tea and the Bard. As previously mentioned, Tea’s giving the bard the full story as to how she’s ended up in exile. Unfortunately, the “full story” includes things that aren't explained in this book. Multiple hints are dropped and some pay off, particularly at the end, but not all of them. Some references from Tea’s time with the Bard may have more meaning in later books, but it's a long con.

This is where I’m torn: The interludes break up the pace uncomfortably and seemed to hint more at future books rather than focusing on this story, but older Tea is pretty fascinating. She felt more like a true villain creation story than even the likes of Marie Lu’s The Young Elites series, where the main character’s descent was heavily based on her being a scapegoat and everyone else’s general lack of empathy. You don’t know exactly what, but it’s pretty easy to glean that Tea has done genuinely terrible things. Carefully. Intentionally. And she’s going to do some more terrible things on her quest for vengeance, without a hint of concern.

Older Tea’s purposeful brutality and slow reveals lead to a surprise ending that leaves you dying to find out exactly what got her (and some other characters) to that point. We imagine telling that story is what the second book in the series will aim to do, so despite all the misgivings we have with this book, we’re still reluctantly curious to see where things go.

3.5 Stars – Rounded

Amazingly intriguing premise sets the base of this story: we know that we are to meet Tea as she discovers how to wield and manage her powers of Necromancy, making her different from her family and friends, in worlds that are miles from her own. Told in two narratives of past and present, Tea shares her story with the Bard who found her living alone on an island laden with bones. Slowly the worlds unfold for us as Tea, in her desire to tell her story gives us descriptions and moments from her past that inform her ‘now’ and give readers insight into her current circumstances in which she was banished to this island.

Starting with her resurrection of her brother and meeting her mentor in another Bone Witch, the rich descriptions outline the history and mythology of the place, giving an understanding of the forces at work, the distinct feel and look of each kingdom, the bright colors worn by the Asha (magic wielders) and how those colors signify their ‘specialties’ and position within the world. Add to that the creation stories that bring forth the good, evil and supernatural creatures created in Daeva and how the more modern day societies used those creatures and beliefs, including necromancy, arranged marriages, court politics and even warrior cultures play their part in the world in which Tea was born.

Chupeco’s attention to detail is flawless, and while these details could (and did) morph into some mundanities that did not always feel relevant, the lushness of the descriptions do build a world that is easy to visualize, nearly palpable in the imagination. The one drawback to this description-heavy story is the time that is consumed as the world is built, leaving little time for actual action or revelations. But, fear not, the writing is beautifully crafted, and if you, like I, keep reading, the moments for Tea in her battle with Daeva brings startling discoveries, and is well worth your time.

From the Tea of the past we see the daring, bold and perhaps stubbornly curious young girl, who is now more jaded, and cautious. Still, we have questions about her ‘whys’, the reasons for her change and just why she is banished. Insets with her family show the bond and caring, and moments with the Asha who took her on to train are amusing and add more lightness to the story, while the descriptions of her in action in the past show just how bold and determined she is to make changes. While this wasn’t a read in one sitting sort of book due to the volumes of description and world building that could overwhelm, reading in small doses as the world slowly builds around you, allowed the story to unfurl and unfold, leaving me anxious to continue and discover answers that will hopefully be revealed in the next book.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I just absolutely loved reading this book! It was utterly fantastic, and I loved the writing, and the world, just oh! It was an amazing book, and that the second book doesn't have a placeholder (unless it's The Heart Forger!), that I have no idea when it's going to come out, it's just evil!

This book takes place over the course of over 2 years. Most of that is the process of becoming Asha. Because she's so powerful-and because she's a Dark Asha, her training is accelerated after incidents happen. And yeah, the training was really interesting-but this wasn't a fast paced novel!

I think the parts that I really enjoyed the bits between the chapters. They were dark, and in the future, and they hinted at what was to come in both the majority of the novel, how she ended up like she did, and what she was going to do! Well, it showed what she was doing and explained what she was going to do! It was really fantastic and interesting, and worked so well with the rest of the book!

There were a lot of moving pieces. From the political unrest because of the Faceless, the fear and hatred of Asha, the cost of being a Dark Asha, becoming an Asha, and the guys she tells us she fell in love with...yeah. So much, and made this book have so much depth and it was just so fantastic!

Loved reading this book, it was absolutely fantastic, and I can't wait for the sequel!

This book was pretty dang good, like absolutely nothing I have ever read before. While putting new spins on some of the typical elements of fantasy, the story simultaneously adds in completely new ones to make this completely unique and incredible world, and is made even more interesting by the altering time periods and the perspectives they provided. Looking forward to the sequel and seeing just exactly how Tea got to where she was in the present perspective from where she had been before, along with what will come next.

I just couldn't get through this one - I wanted to like it, but the lack of a plot and over descriptiveness left a lot to be desired. The general premise could have been executed so much better, which made it extra disappointing.

DNF at 22%

I was stupid excited for this book. I loved the premise and hello there, gorgeous cover. Sadly it was quite a disappointment.

What I read of the story was quite slow. There are descriptions of everything. Literally. Full descriptions of people's clothing and what they looked like and their skin and the landscape and inch by inch mentions of where they were traveling to. It all got rather tedious.

Couple that with a back and forth POV of someone doing an interview of sorts with Tea when she's older and the eleventy billion realms/towns/people and I was just done.

I did like the relationship between Tea and Fox and wish it would have been more prominent. I wanted magic and necromancy and darkness. I got something that appeared promising, but I don't have the patience to see if it delivers. From the other reviews I'm seeing, it doesn't.

**Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for providing the arc free of charge**

This was a slow burn of a novel. Every chapter was just another taste of a very detailed and atmospheric story. It’s written in a very old fashioned way of story-telling, through the perspective of a character retelling her experiences from memory, rather than as they happen. I found myself eagerly pushing towards the snippets of her present-self that is only glimpsed at the end of each chapter, rather than being caught up in the storyline that takes place in her past. It was heavy in the description of the culture and visuals of the world, which were gorgeous, but there just wasn’t enough action for me to focus on it for long periods at a time. However, the ending left me wanting so much more from this character and the world she lives in, that I am already highly anticipating the next book. If this was just a stepping stone to a greater plot, then I’m completely on board.

DNF at 15%.....for now. Unfortunately, I just could not get into this book, and believe me I desperately wanted too. The concept behind this story is so creative and unique. I loved learning about the powers these characters have, and the way everyone wears their hearts inside a necklace called a heartsglass, which allows our main character, Tea, to read their emotions. However, it is confusing and a bit slow and these factors made it difficult for me to concentrate on reading. And I know 15% is not a proper time to review a book, which is why I'm ending this here. I really want to learn more about this world and these characters, so I plan on coming back to it. Hopefully next time I'll be able to understand this first 15% more which will allow me to stay focused so I can continue with this fascinating story.

Before I read this story, I looked on Goodreads for what others thought about it and I was quite surprised by the amount of negative reviews. Most of them cited that the story was slow and not much happened in it, thus causing readers to lose interest. Bearing that in mind, I started to read.

What I discovered was a story with beautiful prose, rich in detail and character development. The book has been branded as a fantasy Memoirs of a Geisha, and I would have to agree with this description. The asha are very much like geisha in terms of the obligations they have to tea houses, and in the manner in which they dress. What makes the asha different, however, is there power and magical abilities. While I found the concept to be interesting and well-executed for the most part, I wish the asha had been given a more powerful or stronger image; it's great to hear about their singing and dancing abilities but I'd much rather have the asha also be admired for their fighting skills by their guests.

I really liked Tea's character. Her voice (not referring to her singing or anything, by the way) for this story was beautiful and spellbinding and I loved to hear all of the descriptions of different aspects of her life. I enjoyed reading about her internal struggles to keep the darkness at bay, and I liked that the love interest angle was not overdone. It was also really cool to have the story told from her present self's reflections of her past behaviour; it kept me wanting to know more about how she ended up in her present condition. I think the author did a fabulous job on that front!

The magical elements of this novel were fantastic. I loved everything from the runes to the undead demonic beasts to the mind control to the heartglasses. Everything was unique and important and it would always intrigue me enough to keep me wanting more!

Overall, I was quite impressed with this novel. It had a mature and lyrical tone and while it may have plied the readers with a great deal of detail, it allowed for the building of an intricate world and an intriguing story line. I would recommend this to anyone who was a fan of Memoirs of a Geisha (which I adored!) but with a teen fantasy angle. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!

I struggled to read this book. I really wanted to enjoy it, and it has many aspects, from its inspiration in Zoroastrian mythology/ethos, to the presence of novel, seeming transgendered characters. But the characters a so... flat. So lacking in sparkle or humor or life. I felt like I was reading prose that was just narrative, which took itself too seriously to take risks. The one scene I enjoyed most, training with Lady Hami, was brief but lively action. The book opens with maps of islands but the differentiation between different countries/regions is pallid and verbose. I'm giving the book three stars because of the novel's general inspiration, which was so novel, but definitely not character development or world building. I made the major mistake of reading an excerpt from a forthcoming book of another author I love during the reading of this book. That digression immediately presented the strong contrast between characters and a world illuminated versus what I felt here. Rin Chupeco clearly has imagination. She needs to further her craft if she is going to explore her his sort of fantasy.

*HUGE thanks to Sourcebooks Fire, Netgalley, & Rin Chupeco for the eGalley of The Bone Witch

***4 STARS***

PLOT

The Bone Witch is a beautifully dark woven tale filled with dark magic, runes, tradition, sisterhood, greed, loss, and betrayal. We meet our protagonist, young Tea who has just been discovered as a Necromancer. In the very first pages she raises a familiar back from the dead & is cast as a Bone Witch. Feared but very much needed by her kingdom to keep them safe & away from the Daeva (aka beasts), Bone Witches are still few and far between. Tea is mentored by one of the most powerful Bone Witches in the land far away from her family. We follow Tea as she studies to become an Asha by taking lessons in the arts, history, physical combat, meditation, etc. which gave me Geisha vibes all the way. Tea starts off as a novice in a Asha-Ka where she must earn for the house she lives in & climb her way up to being a well respected & highly sought out Asha. Her training is rigorous & through a network of sisters she is taught the art of entertaining very important nobles, politicians, and royals. Tea however, won’t be your average Asha since as a Bone Witch, her calling is the Dark. Bone Witches are the only asha that can kill Daeva whenever they resurrect & the time spans for resurrection are different for all Daeva. Tea sees the task that Bone Witches take on for what it truly is…a sacrifice. For every Daeva that is slaughtered, the Bone Witch is physically & mentally drained. Their lives are spent hunting & killing Daeva for a kingdom that sees them as lepers because they are able to raise the dead.

CHARACTERS

The main protagonist Tea is a Bone Witch who is discovering just how powerful she is among the few Bone Witches that are left. She is young and has to depend on her new found Sisters to show her the ropes & teach her how to control her power. I loved that Tea was hungry to learn everything she possibly could to further her ascension in the ranks. I’ve grown accustomed to meeting female protagonists in YA Fantasy that tend to only be about self or having these GY-NORMOUS (totally made this word up lol) egos…Tea is none of that. She is humble enough to remember the kitchen staff as she grows in rank, seeing her sneak them food because she remembered what it was like to go without, spoke to her character. I ABSOLUTELY love that Tea is a POC (person of color) because they are so rare in Fantasy (YA or Adult) & like many of my fellow blogger buddies have mentioned, if you can create a whole host of supernatural beings then it can’t be that far fetched to include POC’s in Fantasy. Tea is mentored by Lady Mykaela who is known as the best of the best & was the person to personally seek a young Tea out when she sensed her powers at work. Lady Mykaella’s story is also told in bits & pieces, we get a sense that she’s suffered heartbreak & carries a heavy burden. I enjoyed seeing this female bond play out positively on the pages. We also get introduced to some of the asha who play supporting characters & those who work within the village selling all of the things an asha needs from head to toe (clothing, hair, magical potions woven into clothing). Of these my faves were Polaire who also serves as a Sister to Tea & made me giggle with her brash no hair on the tounge comments, Rahim who custom designed all of the asha’s Hua’s always brought color to the page, Likh who worked in the special hair trinket store is a boy who wanted nothing more than to become an asha & dance all of the traditional dances. I loved that Likh felt comfortable enough in his own skin to go for what he wanted & stay true to himself. With an array of characters of all ranges, The Bone Witch gave me a new set of characters to love & worry about haha!

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

Ok, so here’s where it gets a bit tricky! I am a lover of lush worlds and if done right, I don’t mind the slower pace or the attention to detail. That being said, I did feel that plot was sacrificed a bit in place of characters & world building. It isn’t until the very end that we come full circle with what led to Tea being in her current situation (no spoilers). I didn’t mind the slow pace at all because I truly can get lost in a world & lose track of time as a whole when the writing is as good as it is in The Bone Witch. I also feel that The Bone Witch makes for a great Adult Fantasy even if it is YA Fantasy. I say this because of the complex magic system, AMAZING world building, and fleshed out characters that suck you in. This isn’t a book you’ll read in one sitting, I actually gave it my Junior’s Strawberry Cheesecake treatment…that is I savored it for as long as possible. Each & every time I picked it up, I sunk into the nearest recliner and shut myself down to the real world. This is very descriptive writing & if you enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha, then this is a must have! as a person who enjoys reading about other cultures, I enjoyed the Asian influences in this Fantasy setting. The story alternates between past & present. In between the chapters we are given brief accounts of Tea’s past in pages that are italicized, however they are being recounted in the present. Tea decided to call on an Asha whose specialty is that of a historian, to chronicle her side of the story. It is within the pages that are italicized, in between the chapters that we get Bard’s POV as he chronicles Tea’s stories. Being that this is book 1 in a series & since the author has hooked me in with her writing style, I know I will definitely be picking up the next installment. I also feel that we will see the action we wanted to see in this 1st book, in the next one. Tea’s story is far from over, I am super curious as to what she has planned up her hua’s sleeves cuz THAT ending!!! smh I need more 🙂

My Bookish Peeps, those of you that have read The Bone Witch please drop your thoughts or links to your reviews down below. I’m curious to see how it fared with you all & do you plan on continuing with this series? If so….are you team Kance or Kalen? BAHA! I kid I kid! 😉

This is a slower paced fantasy because the magic and world are incredibly descriptive and fairly complex. It delves into the lives of witches, and others with magic, and their training, more specifically on Tea, our lovely little bone witch. This focuses greatly on character development than anything, building up to the magic (like a learning witch would), and then allowing us out into the world.
What keeps the book compelling is the back and forth between past and present, which is Tea telling the story of how she was exiled and how her heart turned black. (I really loved the colored heart idea and how it can tell if someone contains magic, if they are sick, and if they can give it away and the complexity of the hearts. The present is a tease of what is to come, and there are hints of a lost lover.
There is what seems like a set up for a love triangle, but it never comes to that, which worried me. If there will be one in the future, I can tell it won't be necessarily a love triangle, but more of a change in heart, which is realistic.
Also, did I mention there's a dragon. BONUS POINTS!

My only real complaint is that this world has a lot of its own terms and the names are complex and unpronounceable (to me). I kept losing track of who was who and what each term meant; I learned over time but I also did start to keep a list to keep myself straight. This could have been more of a personal problem than anything.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be buying a copy for myself when it releases! Can't wait to see what the rest of this series has in store because I can tell it will be one hell of a ride!

This is a story about a girl named Tea.
No, not like the drink, but “Tey-uh,” instead.
She loved her brother, Fox, so much, that she raised him from the dead.

Now necromancy is not a praised trick.
Instead of being in awe of her magic,
Her village called her a bone witch.

Though her witchcraft could help heal sickness and hearts,
A bone witch was feared most of all,
Because no one understands their darkness and their art.

Tea is forced to leave her village, family, and friends.
She is taken under the wing of another bone witch,
Where she starts a new life with a darkening power to spin.

Summoning the dead can be seductive and dark.
Tea is told by strangers that she is soulless from the start.
But our heroine is fierce and remains protective over her heart.

With the rare gift of death magic, Tea can control others’ minds.
She has the ability to conquer monsters, dragons, the Faceless, and spies.
But her gift comes with limitations, and love and trust is not easy to find.

Although this story is very slow in pace,
It is the love interests that might keep you vested and make your heart race.
Or maybe you will fall for the boy who loves to dance and dress in lace.

Tea’s story is filled with twists and turns; a bewitching tale so deep.
She’s infatuated with a Prince, so prepare yourself for a romance that slowly reaps.
And I promise you this, when you begin The Bone Witch, you will find no time to sleep.