DNF - 15% I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. All of the descriptions were SO LONG and the "plot" was moving at a snail's pace. I was so bored reading this book and when I saw that other reviewers thought the second half of the book was even slower, I decided to cut my losses. This one is just not for me.

I am so, so disappointed in this book, which started out so strong.

The first few chapters of this novel set you up for a fantastic story: set in a world where people literally wear their hearts around their necks (the emotional heart, their soul, not the actual organ), Tea is discovered to be a dark Asha, or bone witch, when she raises her brother from the dead at 12 years old. Bone witches are rare, and she's taken away from her family, across the land, to learn to fight demonic creature to protect the world.

I finished the book feeling angry, and it took me quite a while to realize why. But it hit me - this book was leading me on. You see, between each chapter is a short segment that takes place when Tea is 17. She now has a black heartstone, is exiled to the ends of the earth, and is raising demons of her own. It teases how she will do a terrible, despicable thing, that will kill "the one she loves" as well as her mentor. All the while, the novel teases this insane act: what did Tea do to deserve banishment?

Spoiler alert - we never know.

After the brilliant beginning, the story quickly becomes really dull. We follow Tea as she grows from a 12 to 15 year old. We follow her year as an indentured servant. She then follow her classes as an Asha novice. All the while, she grows in age, but I don't think she grew as a person. She still is stubborn yet goes with the flow of things. There's a subplot about her friend who must dress as a girl to avoid getting recruited as a soldier (that's not really developed, then then left hanging). It's just... dull. Nothing that happens seems to alter Tea as a person, or stick to the story. Things. Just. Happen.

So I kept reading this book, to see what she does that is so terrible to send her to this exile, and... nope, that's for the next book! I feel betrayed. Authors don't owe anything to their readers, but I feel like they broke the unwritten pact between author and reader. They led us on with the promise of conclusion and finality, only to tell us to get the next installment. I don't TRUST that the author can or will deliver.

Even the big twist at the end of the novel was actually a small twist. It's sudden, unexpected, and felt hashed.

I did quite like the world building in this novel, but there was too much description, not enough plot, and got dull, fast. I'm sorry I hung on until the end, and I should have put it down when I started getting bored.

I could not get into this book. It just didn't hold my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire, for the ARC, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. I enjoyed the sweeping fantasy world Tea grew up in with her parents, brothers, and sisters (all witches). When 11 year old Tea brings her dead brother back to life on the day of his funeral, her world dramatically changes and rather than being respected, she is now an object of scorn and fear as one who can raise the dead. Tea is nursed back to health and quickly taken with her brother, Fox, to train as an asha by a bone witch, Mylaeka. The story is told in the past and the present (kind of had some confusion there). I loved the witches, the heartglass, and the many other scary demonic beasts and dragons. I will definitely be reading this series because there are still so many questions that I need answers to and am rooting for Tea and Fox’s bond to become even stronger. As a bone witch, I want to see Tea be a force and learn/explore more about who she is and those she must serve with lots of suspense and action.

5 Asha Approved Stars

I'm absolutely in love with this book! The intricate details the author put into The Bone Witch is flawless. She opens up a whole different world of witches, humans and the creatures that live amongst them. I have never read a book quite like this one.


The Bone Witch is about a young girl named Tea who just found out that she's a dark asha or a Bone Witch. Lady Mykaela took her under her wings to teach her how to harness her dark power before it consumes her. Also to protect her as people look down on Bone Witches as they think they are evil.

Even though Tea is young starting out in the book I never really got the sense I was reading from a young girl's perspective. She seemed much older and wiser beyond her years and I think that's another reason why I enjoyed this book so much. There was some acting out like you have from any young girl but it wasn't annoying and didn't make you want to put the book down.

In fact I couldn't put it down. I read it every free chance I had and dreamt about it when I wasn't reading it. That's the amazing world and storyline Rin created. You could close your eyes and see the landscape, the Asha'ka, all the different hues, the oracle and her home, the Asha, and even the daeva.

The Bone Witch is an intriguing tale of beauty,love, deception and what one would do at no costs to avenge the love she lost.

This book ends on a giant cliff hanger. That took a star away for me.

Folks who enjoy the "frame story" narrative used in Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles may enjoy this, as a similar technique is used in this book, even down to a bard being the one who is hearing the story.

I like the magic system in this book, and I'm very interested in the main character. I feel like this is a book that's going to be marketed to the YA audience, but I think there's plenty of crossover appeal to adult fantasy fans as well, Tea may be young, but she's pretty ruthless. I also very much enjoyed all of the non-Western influences in the story, from the food to the clothing to things I probably can't recall right now.

Okay, I give this more of a 3.5 stars rather than a 4 but since that isn't an option I've rounded it up. But sake for review its a solid 3.5. I really, really loved the beginning. It hooked me from the start. I found the writing to be beautiful and simple, yet very compelling. It reminded me in style a bit like The Bear and the Nightingale-although I liked that book much more over all. But the sense of reading an other world story and a very old timey, interesting fairy tale is here with this book too. I felt like the story started so strong that it started to fall a bit flat and not as interesting as it went on and in some cases started to feel like other fantasy YA that I've read in the past year. I really liked this story overall and I found the world this author is writing about to be so interesting that I definitely want to continue on with it. I'm looking forward to more-I felt the ending was too abrupt and open ended.

I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Like a well-crafted chocolate truffle, melting in one’s mouth, some stories are just as beautifully created. The Bone Witch is a wonderful story about magic, betrayal, love and fate. I have to warn any reader, though, this book starts out very slow, which can be a bit of a turn off for most since it takes about 20% for the story to fully begin and capture the reader.
The plot is intriguing. As slow as it begins, the plot is mysterious enough to keep me motivated to continue, mostly because of the prologues that accompany each chapter. The slow narration of the protagonist’s life and her metamorphosis from a simple village girl into the bone witch, and the political and social implications as well as the burdens that come with becoming what she was meant to be are a great foundation for beautiful storytelling.
The narration was well chosen for this type of story. Written in the first person point of view, it provides the reader with a level of insight and knowledge into the protagonist’s life that was extremely beneficial to the overall beauty of the story.
The characters were created very well, with great depths and multidimensional personalities that enriched the story tremendously. I enjoyed both the main and secondary characters equally. The dry humour and wit shown by all and the mysterious male interest make for a great mix.
The writing was captivating. Before I knew it, I was flying through half the book without knowing it. It flowed effortlessly.
Overall, I read a few reviews that voiced their displeasure about this story, which I could not really see while reading it myself. It was a great story, great world building and a perfect set up for the second installment, which cannot come soon enough. I would recommend it to anyone, who enjoys mystery, magic, fantasy and a strong female lead.

This was a very unusual book. The timeline moves back and forth a bit from the present day from the Bard's point of view to Tea's past in her point of view.

There are dragons or dragon-like creatures (not quite sure on that) that rise up and terrorize cities. The "Asha" have magical abilities and especially dark "Asha" have the ability to put them back down to keep the towns safe. The book seems like it is set in a cross between China, Japan and India. The "Asha" seem to be similar to the Japanese Geisha to me. They are taught to dance, sing and entertain the nobles when they come to town. But they are also taught to fight and use Runes.

Tea is discovered to be a dark Asha when she accidentally raises her brother. The end of the story has a bit of a cliffhanger and now I have to see what happens in the next book.

Huge thanks to Netgalley for providing me a ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I DNF'd this book at 43%. I may revisit this book over the summer when I have more time.

I loved the premise of this book and the cover is absolutely stunning.. However, it just fell short of what I think the author had hoped to portray to readers. When I first started this book, it felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. The imagery was stunning, but I had no idea what was going on. Words were being thrown around casually that had yet to be explained, and I was a little hesitant on if I should continue. I knew those questions would be answered at some point, but I really dislike that initial feeling of utter chaos and confusion.

Tea also is special. Snowflake special. I just couldn't relate, and I found it extremely hard to understand that while she's becoming the most powerful Asha ever....she doesn't do much to influence the plot. Again, since I DNF'd this book, I don't know exactly what she did beyond that point, so perhaps I am mistaken. I also struggled to understand the magic system, and I feel like by the halfway mark I should be able to understand the basic rules of the world's magic as well as see some definable plot.

Just because this wasn't my cup of tea doesn't mean it won't be yours. I'm positive that this will be liked by many. I really enjoyed the emphasis on the sibling bond, the Asha, intriguing premise, and I think the way the story switched from present to past frequently worked out wonderfully. The writing was beautiful and descriptive, but I just struggled to related to the main character and wasn't really grasping what the plot was by the time I was nearly halfway through the book.

I was really looking forward to reading this one. The cover is amazing (so much so that I promised myself to get the hardback version after reading it through). The surmise promised so many awesome things - hints of the Asian culture, myths, a character's struggles, and magic.

The writing itself was lovely. The world comes to life on so many levels. The society, the inner struggles and daily life are easy to sink into. There were times when I'd hit a phrase, and it'd make me pause because it described things in such a beautiful and perfect way. This isn't something I've run into often and was surprised to find myself stopping just to repeat such perfect phrases.

The book is written as a flip-flop between two settings/times. The first is set in the future, when the Bone Witch (Tea) is with the bard, who is recording her tale. These sections were usually only a few pages as a sprinkle between the heart of the book-Tea's story. Still, these were the settings I enjoyed the most, since they were the ones which radiated the most personality, emotions and sympathy.

The second setting/time is Tea's story itself. This is narrated from Tea's stand point and begins with her not knowing of her powers until her brother dies, and she accidentally raises him from the dead. Although this is the pulp of the book, the characters remained at an arm-length away, making it very hard to connect with them. This was especially disappointing in several of the relationships (Tea to her brother), where the emotional bond was told to be strong and could have been beautiful, but was never given a chance to leave the typed word.

The plot itself promised much but didn't hold pace. The descriptions and explanations of the society take over. Although they are masterfully done, the plot is left in the shadows making especially the second of the of the book fall into a slow pace.

There is a romantic triangle, which is a thing of personal taste. With a better character connection and emotions, this could have offered more.

Summed up, this simply wasn't what I'd been hoping for. The writing is beautiful, and I'm sure others might enjoy the tale simply for this lovely depth. However, without a tighter connection to the characters, and a more distinct and quicker paced plot, it wasn't a read for me.

I will be honest, I struggled with this book. Even though I found the main character, Tea, and her brother, Fox, to be very interesting, the story dragged. I liked the two different points of view that take place, one in the present and one in the past. There were too many details and which caused me to lose interest. I did like the premise of this book, I just wish it kept my attention better. It sounds as if there will be a sequel. I will give it a try because I think story still has lots of potential.

The Bone Witch
by Rin Chupeco

Book has a lovely cover which catches the eye with it's haunting design. The lonely girl on the cliff edge and the skull a hint at things inside.

I suggest you read this novel instead of using the audio version. The story goes back and forth between past and present. It can be confusing to listen to.

I had trouble with this story. The beginning was interesting but I just couldn't get into the plot. The second part was too much information about the "training" and costumes of the asha. It was not as interesting as the first part.

Sorry, but this is just not my kind of novel.

I received this novel from NetGalley for an honest review.

DNF @ 46%

I'm trying so hard to like this, I promise, but it's just really boring. Nothing is happening, and from all the reviews I'm seeing, unfortunately nothing does happen. There is so much potential for a great story here with interesting magic and being able to bring people back from the dead. It is very well written, but it's all bogged down by too much description (every dress had a full paragraph describing it!) and just not enough excitement.

At times I actually was getting pulled into the story, but then the chapter would end and the story would jump over to the future where Tea was telling her story and it just pulled me back out of the story. I'm sure that was going somewhere, but it was more jarring and kept making me pause my reading to do something else.

I always feel so guilty putting a book down, especially a review copy but I don't want to force myself to read something that I'm not enjoying.

I tried so hard with this book but it was dreadfully slow and it just wasn't what I expected. I really liked the character but the slow pace just wasn't working for me.

The Bone Witch has a gorgeous cover and a unique and interesting premise, but sadly does not live up to expectations. The world-building is confusing, the pace slow, and the timeline shifts between past and present in between every single chapter makes for a frustrating read. Add that to the fact that pretty much nothing happens in the whole book, this novel becomes a disappointment.

Rin Chupeco does set up a good and interesting introduction to her story: the prologue and the first chapter are engaging, hooking us right from the start. Her writing is very easy to follow, despite her love for describing what everyone is wearing in detail. Unfortunately, the excitement — and plot — ends after the first couple of chapters. Instead we are left with a novel that drags us along the main character’s daily life, turning this into a very boring reading experience.


The most disappointing thing about The Bone Witch is that it has a very promising beginning. It’s mysterious and engaging, and the first chapter is a great set up to what could have been an amazing story. The relationship between the main character, Tea, and her brother, Fox, has a lot of potential and is very interesting at times. But then the shifts in timeline come in.

All of the numbered chapters are about Tea, from ages 12-15 as she finds out about her gift and trains to be a bone witch. And in between every single one of those chapters there is a passage from Tea, as a 17 year old, as she talks to a Bard. She’s telling her own story, which most of the time involves her commenting on what just happened, or giving spoilers to what is going to happen in the next chapter. Not only does this make for a super boring read, but whenever something interesting starts happening, the timeline shifts so Tea can comment on it, and everything fizzles out.

It also doesn’t help that most characters sound the same. There is very little character development, even as we read about Tea growing up for three years. I think a great part of this might be attributed to a big chunk of the novel being mostly descriptions of clothes, rituals, and places. It leaves little space for characters to grow and develop, which hurts the story in the long run.

This also means the love triangle, which we get a warning about from Tea herself, falls flat on its face. It is extremely difficult to buy into it, since any kind of development or connection gets lost in between all of the descriptions and stories and tedious world-building.

One thing that does remain interesting throughout all of it are the heartsglass. The author has mentioned in her own GR review that “almost everyone literally wears their hearts around their necks.” That’s actually true, and the one part of the world-building that is intriguing to read about. Sadly, that has little to no impact on the actual plot.

In the end, The Bone Witch is a struggle to get through. Nothing happens, there is very little plot, the characters are underdeveloped, and the timeline shifts ruin all the excitement the story brings up.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was almost painful to make it through. I received an ARC from Net Galley and had been excited to start a unique and creepy read about a "Bone Witch" who could raise the dead and practice dark magic, but I feel like the backstory of the world took over and I did not have enough of the witch in the story. The setting of the story felt like I was reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" and there was very little about raising the dead and magic. The book was rather long and boring and the only relief I had was a small amount of humor from Tea's brother, Fox.

I really feel like a lot of the backstory and mythology should have been set aside in a separate book (such as Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs) or separate novellas. We could have used a small portion of what we actually received as far as world history. The flash forward sections of the story felt rather forced as well and may have been better suited as a separate novella.

Fox was the only character worth reading about. Tea felt forced and seemed much older than she was supposed to be. Though I appreciate the author trying to add some sort of nod to the LGBTQ community with Likh and Rahim, their characteristics felt forced as well. And with all the backstory we were given, I don't think we were given enough on the main conflicts of the story, which were the Daeva.

There were only a few scattered moments in the book that kept my interest enough to finish it. I have to give the author credit for attempting to write a story that could have been quite unique, but I feel like she missed the mark. I honestly only finished the book so I could review it and, though I was not expecting the villain to be revealed as the villain, there were very few surprises and unique attributes to this story. I would not recommend this to anyone and will not be continuing the series.

The book took a while to get into and was a bit confusing, but super kudos for creativity. The pacing I found to be slow, sometimes tedious. I think I was expecting more action with such amazing characterizations of the good and evil characters. However, the world building is top notch. There’s no holding back on description in this book, if you can handle it. I didn’t always enjoy the flipping of perspective between the past and present, but I’m the type of reader who wants everything in the now and not the past. So, no fault of the author on this; it’s probably me. I’m not patient through long passages on what already happened and find myself skim reading, which I probably shouldn’t. But all of it was worth it for the twists at the end. I’ll be picking up the next in the series.

Thank you to Netgally for kindly providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great, great book. Weaves together magic, dark mysteries, and action ... already anxiously awaiting the sequel!

It’s taken me a while to get through this book, but now that I’m done, I find that it’s occupying all of my thoughts. I’ve been thinking of Tea, Fox, the daeva, the rest of the Asha, the Willows and the asha-ka so often, it’s only slightly discerning.

Basically, The Bone Witch is a deep, gorgeous fantasy filled with exquisite power, dark creatures and a characters that will stay with you long after they’re gone.

“The perhaps we should carve a world one day where the strength lies in who you are, rather than in what they expect you to be.”

Tea Pakhlavi used to be nobody. Until the day she raised her brother from the dead, on the day of his own funeral.

In the kingdom of Odalia, Bone Witches are ones to avoid. They can raise the dead and compel the living and are the only witches that can control the daeva, creatures made out of nightmares that want nothing but death and destruction.

Tea is taken away from her home, and her country to live with other Asha – the most powerful of witches. As a Dark Asha with immense power, Tea is quickly introduced to a world of scheming, darkness and power that is hidden under a mark of beauty, grace and perfection.

And the world will never be the same for it.

“This is my new family. This is my new identity. I will be the bone witch the kingdom fears, and I will make them pay.”

One of the things I loved the MOST about the book WAY the story was told – the first with Tea where she began as an Asha Novice, and to where she is now, an exiled bone witch with immeasurable power in the Bay Of Skulls, plotting her revenge against everyone that wronged her.

It was such an intense feeling, seeing her begin as someone who didn’t know what she was capable of to a force to be reckoned with and IT MADE ME LOVE HER ALL THE MORE. While this book was the start of her path, I CANNOT WAIT for Rin Chupeco to fill in the blanks.

Another thing I loved was the ATTENTION TO DETAIL. Whether it was politics, secondary characters, the plot or the magic, this book HAD IT ALL. There were so many characters and places and kingdoms that overwhelmed me at first but WOW did it all come together and make me fall in love.

One of the things I DISLIKED was the slow pace of the beginning, and it took FOREVER (about 30%) of the book for me to even feel like I was enjoying it.

However, the only thing that REALLY bothered me was the relationship between Prince Kance and Tea. It felt like SUCH A CLICHÉ PLOT POINT AND I WANTED TO ROLL MY EYES. Apart from a few interactions, we SUDDENLY hear that OH DAMN “Stay away from the Prince” and “You’re a danger to him.” And I a) WAS NOT FEELING IT and b) could not FATHOM the romance between then and c) WAS NOT FEELING IT.

Will I be reading the sequel? HELL YES.

Will I be hoping to see more Dark Magic? UHM YES.

A deeply woven, must-read fantasy book for all lovers of the genre (and an anti-hero.) 4 stars.