Tea, like her sisters, is a witch. When her brother, Fox, died, she found out purely by accident that she is a special type of witch, a necromancer. During her grief, she brings him back from the dead. This makes her a bone witch. A bone witch is shunned from society and is greatly feared. Luckily, she is taken under the wings of an older, experienced bone witch. She puts in a great amount of effort to become an asha, someone who can do magic as well as be a social companion. These are dangerous times, however, and Tea has to make some choices that will effect her and those around her forever.

I’ve heard this described as a cross between Memoirs of a Geisha and The Name of the Wind. I can see where they are coming from. Because of the story telling aspect, it definitely reminded me of Name of the Wind, although it is definitely geared to a young adult audience. I enjoyed the way the book was written. Basically, you have a bard who is pulled to a location where Tea is living in exile. She has brought him there to share her story with him and have it told. The story alternates between Tea in the present and Tea in the past. It was very easy to follow, but also took a long time to develop. As this is the first book in a series, I do understand the need for all the groundwork for the story, but it did slow down the plot.

I see this getting mixed reviews. It’s either love it or hate it. I actually loved it. It was a very memorable read. I finished it a few weeks ago and still find myself thinking about it. I give this a 4 out of 5 star ranking. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is gorgeous but the plot is non-existent. I loved the summary provided but by the time I finally finished the book, I couldn't remember why I was intrigued in the first place. First half was much better than the second half.

This is the first time in a long while I have read a book that I didn't want to put down. I fell asleep reading it on two nights, and I switched it to text-to-speech during meals. I was captivated by this world and the characters living in it.

I LOVED the main character.
I LOVED the storyline.
I LOVED the beautifully descriptive writing.
I LOVED the surprising twists.
I LOVED the fresh and brilliant magical system.
I LOVED the fantastical beasts.
I LOVED the sociopolitical undertones and messages.
I LOVED the LGBTQ elements.
I LOVE that it is a series and I get more of Tea's story.
I LOVE that there was no romance.
I LOVED IT!

The world was just so unique. I fell in love with the magic system and the land, but especially the magic. It was just so intriguing I couldn't get enough of it.
One of my favourite aspects was the heart glass. I want a heart glass. That would just be so cool!
I always find necromancy an interesting topic in a book. No matter what happens, some dead people are coming back to life, so it should be interesting.
It wasn't the best book ever, but it was really a good start to the story.
Overall, I think the author did a great job and I can't wait to see where she goes with the series. Consider me intrigued.

Tea's sisters are all named after flowers, but she isn't. They are all asha, but she isn't. Not exactly. She finds out what she is when her brother, Fox, is laid to rest and she hears him calling to her. She finds out that she is a Bone Witch when she raises him from the dead. Soon after, Lady Mykaela takes her away--Fox in tow--to train her in the ways of her art.

And that's where I basically lost all interest.

I really wanted to like this but I had such a hard time with it. I felt totally out of my comfort zone and element with this book. I felt like I had been thrust into a new culture without any prior knowledge of it and without any means of learning about that culture. I could not for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on the majority of the time. There was so much description and extensively vague worldbuilding that I found myself wanting to skim through it but I knew that I would be so lost if I didn't read every single word. Then again, I was still lost, even when reading descriptions over and over. It really didn't help that the plot seemed to come to a grinding stop at about 20%.
A few things I did like:
- The cover (Sooo gorgeous!)
- The necromancy
- The monsters
- Heartglass

Heartglass was a very interesting concept in which an asha or Bone Witch could draw a person's 'heart' or soul out into a glass necklace so that they could give their heart away to whoever they were in love with. But in doing so, you gave the person control over you. Better hope whoever you fall in love with has the best intentions.

I'm pretty disappointed in myself for not finishing this book because I do not like to DNF books. Maybe this just wasn't the right time for me to read this. Perhaps I will come back to it in the future and try again because there were a few things that really stood out and had me interested in the first place.

*Sigh* When I read the description for this book, I had high hopes and was super excited to get a copy.

The story had a really great start. We are introduced to Tea, who turns out to be a Bone Witch and accidentally raises her brother from the dead. Because this is shunned upon in her village, she ends up leaving with an older bone witch who trains her to become an Asha.

After the witch takes Tea, the story becomes slow..too slow for my liking. Nothing really happens after that (no joke), which was disappointing. I was expecting a much faster paced book about witches and dark magic. One that would be packed with action. Instead, I got more of a story about Geisha. Had I known this ahead of time, I wouldn't have chosen this particular book. I also thought it was a bit too descriptive which made me lose interest. Unfortunately, I did not end up finishing this book, which is a shame because I really wanted to like it.

It may not have been my cuppa 'Tea', but perhaps it might be yours.

This is a true fantasy novel with weird animals, strange powers, and countries/names you can’t pronounce, and I really liked it.

There are alternating chapters. The chapters in italics are the present told in the Bard’s first person. The Bard is here to hear Tea’s story and then ultimately tell others why she is doing what she’s doing. She says that she is going to destroy what she can because “they” killed the man she loved. In these chapters you learn about Tea’s powers. She is one of the most powerful bone witches; she has been cast away or has chosen to leave--we’ll find out later. She’s clearly powerful, knowledgeable, and angry, yet she’s not crazy or unkind. Obviously, something happened that has pushed her to right a wrong as she sees it. The other chapters are Tea’s story, told by her in first person, so switching first person between chapters does require effort for your brain.

Tea begins her story explaining, “I never intended to raise my brother from his grave.” A year before Tea is supposed to gather for spring equinox where teens receive their heartsglass, which you wears around your neck. This is your “heart.” Witches, like Tea’s sisters, trace Heartsrune spells to fill the hearts. Many witches, like her sisters, are respectable, but bone witches are definitely not. No one in her family has ever been a necromancer, but when Fox, Tea’s brother dies, “The syllables tripped on my tongue, tasting old and formal. It felt as if they came from someone using my mouth as a passageway through which words not my own raced. I had heard Fox. I had seen him move…. I dashed toward the grave….As we watched, a cold, gray hand rose up, scratching and stretching, and gripped the tufts of weeds growing close to the grave. The strange being lifted itself out of its earthly prison…..but then it smiled, and it was Fox’s smile, quiet and kind.” Tea now has a familiar and it doesn’t exhaust her powers.

A bone witch happens to be nearby. As Tea would be treated badly, Lady Mykaela comes to fetch Tea and Fox and take her to the Willows where she will learn how to use her powers. Witches, called asha, are trained here. It’s an odd world--they entertain people with dancing and fellowship. Tea meets many people, including the prince, and gains knowledge. She’s the only bone witch in training, but she’s principled and powerful. Lady Mykaela is the only bone witch in the area, so she becomes exhausted. Tea will have to learn quickly in order to complete the duties required of bone witches.

I liked the novel although I’ll admit I’m not sure I understand the kingdoms, the False Prince, the Faceless, and the weird animals. I has a slight passing understanding. I should probably re-read the beginning where it’s explained. I can see some people having trouble with the novel because it’s not a fast-paced novel where there are fight scenes, etc. It challenges your brain as you figure out this strange world. At the end, Tea has raised her animals from the dead and is headed off to destroy, but I don’t think book two will be about this destruction. I think it will be her romance and why she’s declared war. There is no romance in this novel--it’s completely Tea’s story. It’s definitely an interesting and fascinating book that is getting a lot of press.

It's a bit confusing at first since we're just being introduced to this world and the characters are using words we have no meaning for so it feels like we're essentially being dropped in a foreign world without any guidance but the more you read the more you begin to understand. Excellent story and I definitely recommend!

In the past few years, some of my favourite books have been those which were suggested to be primarily by someone saying, “read it; just trust me”. Generally, this phrase comes up when the premise is just too weird to sell a book. For example: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor involves monsters and the slow collection of human teeth. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater is about a magical horse death race into the sea. Neither of these descriptions gets an immediate affirmative from me, but I loved both of these books immensely.

Thus, when I read the premise of The Bone Witch — girl accidentally raises her brother from the dead and discovers she is a powerful witch that most people probably won’t like — I was actually reasonably on board. I’ll be honest and say that I can’t give it 5 stars, but it was certainly a great read.

One of my favourite things about this book were the short bits between chapters featuring a glimpse into the future life of the main character (aka: the bone witch) Tea. It reminded me of the way in which Patrick Rothfuss formatted The Name of the Wind, and anything that relates your writing to Patrick Rothfuss is a good sign in my books. It left me totally fascinated and puzzled by how Tea ended up where she did, so I’m certainly on board for a second book.

I struggled a bit with the details of Tea’s training; I was awfully tired of reading about her learning to dance. I think the story would have been well-served by a greater focus on her physical and magical training, rather than the cultural elements of her role as an asha-ka.

In short, the concept of The Bone Witch is phenomenal, and I look forward to reading the next book to see where things ended up for Tea!

What an incredibly rich story with details and imagery that sparked incredible pictures in my mind's eye. The asha have a geisha feel but then add a spot of mystic reminiscent of The Last Airbender story line. Tea is the reluctant hero that you can't help but sympathize with and admire as she learns that she is to be a dark asha and that she will most likely be THE dark asha. I could not put this book down even while vacuuming!

Not for everyone, but those who get it, will devour it!! I get it!

The Bone Witch was cover love at first sight for me. The beautiful swirls of purple, the beautiful young girl and the skull in the middle was an ultimate 10/10 score for an enchanting cover. I didn't look too hard at the plot before I knew it was about a Bone Witch by the name of Tea that resurrects her brother from the dead and it hooked me enough that I wanted to read it even though I had so many other books to read!

It's funny because when I was reading the first 20% of the book it really reminded me of Memoirs of a Geisha. Then I saw the blurb on Goodreads saying that it was actually compared to Memoirs of a Geisha so that's pretty cool. With that book, we follow a young girl taken from her family and thrust into a sensual, dangerous new world of riches and expensive tastes and entertaining men. It is also told from the point of her younger self and looking back in reflection. With Bone Witch, Tea accidentally resurrects her newly dead brother and is then taken to a new town where she trains to become an asha, women with gifts of witchery that wear expensive hua dresses, book parties where they entertain gentleman and take classes for dancing, instruments and more. It's also told from her younger self and her present day self so the similarities are about 85% or more.

The rest is a magical and unique world of witches. Tea's older sisters are good witches favoured in her community. A forest witch or a water witch are always welcome in a town where their gifts will help but a bone witch is something to fear or put up with at the most for the majority of people. But it's clear they need them because the bone witches can raise the dead or put them back so when the monstrous creatures called daeva rise every decade it can be the task of a bone witch to slay them.

Another added quality of this book is the heartsglass. It seems like everyone has a heartsglass that they carry on a necklace around their neck. They symbolise and show their hearts and when people marry they can exchange them. If you give your heart to the wrong person and they don't give it back or break it, you'll never be the same. The very wealthy can pay to make new hearts or disguise a bad heart but bone witches like Tea can take a glance at someone's heartsglass and look below to their true heart and face.

I didn't feel like there was any real romance in this book so at least if you're not a fan of romance you can rest assured. She definitely talks of two loves she met and there's passing mentions of one boy she likes and her meetings with him but there's never a real focus on them. It's not a bad thing but I would have liked to have seen just a little more. I think her friendships and her relationship with her brother were much more defined and I'm glad for that because I loved reading about the other asha and Fox.

I do feel like the entire plot was sort of glossed over at times. There were a few key points to the story, Tea's rise to being a bone witch, life as an asha, her brother's undead life and even her romance off to the side but it seemed like this were all dropped at one point to another point and none of it was actually finished at the end. It was pretty interesting for me up until the 75-80% point in the book where the plot just dropped and all it had built up to didn't seem to amount to anything for me. I still enjoyed reading it but I actually lost interest about 80% and it wasn't a constant flow of reading after that. All in all, I loved reading something so similar to another story I loved and instead of feeling like a rip-off (when many events felt like a mirror image) it did feel like a beautiful expansion but I just lost interest in it towards the end. The ending did give me some hope for the next book and I can see it being really interesting from what happened at the end of this one.

No review. I read about 40% of it and couldn't force myself any further.

This sat awhile before I finally got to reading it. Well written and a good way to pass time. We'll developed story and characters.

*I received a free copy, Via Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire in exchange of an honest review.

If you read the reviews by others, you will see that the reviews are pretty bad, because of the pace of the book. Yes it tends to be overly descriptive, and the story building is rather lengthy. I saw that a lot of readers DNF'd this book, as that is not something I like to do. I stuck it out.

I'm glad I did. I enjoyed this book, I appreciated the world that Rin Chupeco was building it was beautiful and worth being patient for. Also how refreshing is it, to read a book where the romance takes a backseat? I do look forward to reading the sequel, if it does happen. It's not a book that's for everyone. But I sure enjoyed it. Guys, it's worth a shot, and you never know, YOU might love this book!

This book was absolutely amazing! I kept seeing it on various social media, Instagram, Facebook etc so when the opportunity to read it came I jumped on it. WOW it reminded me of Memoirs of a Geisha meets high fantasy. The story is about a girl named Tea who inadvertently raises her dead brother from the grave at his funeral. Thus revealing her power as a bone witch. The bone witch is a needed member of the community but looked down upon due to their dealing with Dark Runes. Her instructor (a powerful asha/ bone witch)finds her and takes her to train as an asha. asha are like geisha in their traditional dress and instruction. Tea is set to be one of the most powerful dark asha ever. This is the first book in a trilogy and I am dying to find out what she does next!

**** Big thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!****

I was super pumped when I found out Rin Chupeco was writing not only another book but a dark fantasy book! So of course I went into this book expecting to love it since I loved “The Girl From the Well” and luckily for me I was not disappointed.

The Plot

While I was very much invested in the plot of this story I will admit that the pacing was pretty uneven it was borderline slow. It felt like this book was more so setting up for the next book than having any real action on its own. This is a book you have to be a little patient with.

I also really liked how the story was told from two different POVs one being a Bard whom an older Tea tells her life story in the present and the other being told from the past by a younger Tea. I have to say the present day Tea is very dark and mysterious and I found her to be the most interesting I want to know what happened to her to make her this way! So this does jump back and forth throughout the story between the present and the past which I thought worked really well in this book, it made the story more suspenseful and interesting, it kept me reading!

The story may not be the most fast paced or action packed but it’s still super interesting with all of the world building. I absolutely loved reading about the asha and their magic as well as the horrible monsters the daeva which were actually pretty terrifying. Reading about how Tea is such a rare breed of “witch” and watching as she comes to terms with her Dark abilities and learning how to use them was just a ton of fun.

The world building was also spot on and very creative, it provided just enough to keep me happy and withheld enough that I am interested to learn more in the next books. I loved the concepts of the magical Asha, the demonic monsters Daeva, the mythology of the world, and the different aspects of all the Kingdoms. Also the magic system was interesting as well. There was definitely no lack of world building here and at the same time there was no info dumping either.

The writing was something I had a sort of love-hate relationship with, on one hand I liked it and thought it was very beautiful but on the other hand I found it to be almost TOO descriptive at times. It did help me visualize things a little better but the in depth details got a little tedious after while, I can only read about clothes in that much description before it gets old.

THAT ENDING THOUGH! It wasn’t necessarily a cliffhanger but at the same time it left me crying because I don’t want to wait a YEAR for the next book!

The Characters

Overall the characters were pretty great in this book, I did feel some lacked a little development though especially the secondary characters because I would have liked some more background on them. I still got very attached to a lot of them mostly the other asha characters such as Althy and Polaire!

The more central characters were a little better such as Tea, her brother Fox, and her mentor Lady Mykalea. We got a lot more background on these characters and I assume we are only going to get more as the series goes on.

The Romance

I’m happy to say that the romance did not play a HUGE factor in this story, it didn’t take center stage and didn’t take precedence over the plot. Apart from that it wasn’t really developed either, once again I’m assuming it will be explored more in the next book.

There is a bit of a love triangle although without spoilers I will say it isn’t what you think it is a first, they kind of throw a red herring our way and it WILL surprise you when you get to the end. I hate love triangles and this one didn’t bother me at all!

In Conclusion

Overall I was very satisfied with this book even though it did bother me a little bit that so much is left to be determined in the next books. The world building is the strongest (and best) part! I am VERY excited to continue with this series and so far Rin Chupeco has yet to disappoint me!

What I Liked:

The overall story was intriguing
The world-building was great and creative
The POVs between past and present was interesting
The ending left me wanting MORE
The characters were pretty well written
The romance didn’t take over the plot

What I Didn’t Like:

The writing got a little TOO descriptive at times
I wanted just a bit more background on some of the characters

Recommend?

If you’re interested in reading a dark YA fantasy I highly recommend this one, it combines all the best parts of fantasy with a little bit of horror since the monsters and sometimes the magic get very creepy. Also if you liked Chupeco’s other duology I think you’ll love this one too!

I was incredibly disappointed with this book. I wanted to stop reading about 70% of the way through, but seriously, the only parts that kept me reading (and intrigued!) were the small chapters written in the present tense. It gave mystery to the book because we really wanted to know who the narrator was there, and while it was a surprise, it wasn’t enough to save the book.

However, I will give credit where it’s due: the world building was amazing albeit a little confusing at times. I didn’t realize until after I finish the book that there’s actually a small appendix in the back of the book listing the countries. There is also a map at the front, but reading an eARC, it’s a bit tedious to get to the map. Despite that, I loved the very distinct Asian influence in the book. The way Tea becomes a full-fledged asha, and the way particular tea houses patron ashas and pay for them to be trained, etc., reminded me a great deal of geishas. Now, I don’t know much about geishas outside of the few articles I’ve read. But the dancing and singing lessons Tea was required to take were offset by history lessons, lessons in healing, and combat training. The descriptions of the hua (outfits worn by the asha) along with the food and the culture of this fantasy world.

I also really liked the concept of heartglasses and how they were readable and changed color with a person’s mood. One of the few things that I wasn’t convinced of or had me confused as Tea’s relationship with the Prince. They had romantic feelings toward each other (I guess?) but it was very…mild, and it didn’t pull on my heartstrings or make me feel giddy. Overall, I was disappointed with that. They didn’t have a lot of scenes together for me to form a deep attachment to them and be convinced of their romance. As for Tea’s brother whom she raised from the dead… I also felt that lacked in certain areas. He becomes known as her “familiar,” and I can appreciate the connection they share but what other purpose did he have when Tea raised him from the dead?

In terms of characters, I thought many of them were only mildly developed. I really wanted to know more about Mistress Parmina’s past, especially if she was as famous as Tea thought she was. I liked Lady Mykaela, and other asha who became Tea’s “sisters.” I also really liked Likh, and his desire to break from the mold of society by dressing in a hua and dancing. It seems obvious that becoming an asha is restricted only to females, and while Likh knows that and the possible shame it would bring to his family, he surprises everyone by performing a well-known asha dance.

I really expected something fast-paced with a lot of action, but I didn’t get it. This book was incredibly slow and dull. Others might appreciate that, and sometimes I do, but not in this book. Granted, there are a variety of interesting characters, and I certainly didn’t see how the ending would unfold, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save this book for me.

I'm not one to leave a book unfinished, so it wasn't lightly that I gave up on this particular story. I wanted so much to love this book, the cover drew me in and the premise hooked me. It started out slow, so I gave it a chance to get better, thinking it would. I made it 60% of the way through this book before I decided that I just did not want to finish it.

It was an excruciatingly slow story with very little action. The characters all seemed transparent and boring to me. I didn't connect with any of them and I found that I really didn't care to know how they fared by the end of the story. It jumped between time lines with each chapter, which wasn't bad, I actually liked how it pushed the story along, at times. It focused a lot on her lessons to be an asha though, and they all seemed drawn out and unnecessary.

I was thrilled for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book, it could have been so good, but The Bone Witch just fell flat.

First off let me say the cover is AWESOME looking. Love the purple and it just overall stands out.
So I am not too big on fantasy books just because sometimes the worlds that are created either do not appeal too me or they just seem way too far fetch for my liking. When I saw this author's name I wanted to give her a chance on this book because I have read her other work and loved the books she wrote.

The author has an amazing way with describing things in this story from the huas that the asha's wear. You can just see the bright colors and design that is within the descriptions. Another neat thing was the Runes that are drawn in the air. I could literally see them being written and the detail that they were given. Another neat thing was the heart glasses that play a huge part in this world that has been created.
We follow Tea as she has become a bone witch something that is feared among the many villages and villagers. Though it seems that Tea is able to learn at a fast pace which is really neat, we see how she grows over a small time period and how she thinks of others even when putting herself in danger.
Now there is not much fighting and I think that is because Tea is having to learn about the Dark that she has because of who she is. So I am hoping that maybe in the next book we see what Tea can really do. I really liked the twist that came when figuring out who the Faceless is and we get that towards the end of the story, I can honestly say I was not expecting that.

As far as characters go I liked all of them they were special and unique in their own way and really stood out. Though I would have liked to see what had become of Likh who we learn isn't like a lot of other males especially the Deathseekers.
I have to say my favorite character is Polaire her quick and witty responses were awesome.

I can't wait to read the next book when this author has it coming out.