This book had an interesting style... alternating between Tea's journey to becoming a Dark Asha or Bone Witch and looking back from the consequences of this journey. There are magic users in this land of many kingdoms and most people learn when they receive their "heartsglass" in adolescence. The color indicates whether they are magic users or just normal individuals. Tea learns that she will be a Dark Asha when her brother is killed in the ongoing war with the "Faceless," evil magic users that raise up monsters to fight their battles. At Fox's funeral, Tea raises him from the dead. He is still dead but is able to function and think (not like a zombie). Tea is taken by Lady Myckaela to study to be an Asha. Her journey is eventful and the rules and mythology of this world is interesting and original. I would recommend this for YA and adults, both.

The Bone Witch - by Rin Chupeco

The Bone Witch is a young adult fantasy novel that is the first in a series by Rin Chupeco. The book is about a young girl, Tea, that discovers she is a bone witch, a kind of witch that can raise the dead. The entire book is about Tea's journey to become an asha, from how she discovers she has the ability to be a bone witch to her through her entire training process. The book takes place in the present and the past, mostly in the past. The present is told in very short bursts and doesn't add to the story. It moves at an unbelievable slow pace. We learn almost everything about the world of an asha but we learn nothing of Tea's current predicament. The entire time reading, I am patiently waiting for an answer to my only question only to be left with another surprise and no answers. It felt like I just read a 400 page prologue. For parents wondering if this is a book for their young adult reader, I think this book would be appropriate for readers as young as middle school

There is a lot of beauty that's described here - and clearly a lot more story to be told. The first book in a series that sets up another world are always a bit long on description and short on story. This is more of a 3.5 for me - I think it's got a lot of potential and that I may just need to see where the story is going to fully appreciate how it got there.

Wow! I was unsure of the back and forth between past and present, but it keeps the reader engaged and wanting to know why she is exiled. I will definitely be recommending this to my students.

* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Well first off let me explain that there are many reason why I add stars to a books review. I may not always be blown away by plot or characters, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the book isn't well-written. I may add stars for diction and syntax, complexity, research involved, etc.

Such is the case with The Bone Witch. The plot wasn't absolutely dynamite, and some characters were a little underdeveloped, but the complexity of the world and intricate construction of the magical and political universe deserves a lot of merit. I was highly impressed by how unique and detailed the entire asha system was, and to give such a sophisticated idea life is a major accomplishment.

To those who marked this as a DNF, I understand your reasons, as much of the story was quite slow, but I strongly urge you to give The Bone Witch a second chance, particularly if you are a high fantasy fan, because I did find it very satisfying and interesting by the end.

I can definitely see the comparisons to Memoirs of a Geisha here, as Kion at least seemed to be strongly based on Gion, a Japanese city known for it's Geisha history. The Geisha and the asha both entertained patrons in tea houses and were expected to learn music, dancing and etiquette. I loved the idea of magic being woven into the hua (like kimonos) and hairpins.

There are similarities to other cultures apparent in the other kingdoms as well, like Drychta and the middle east, or Istera and Russia (though these are just my guesses). The mix of cultures and original ideas were quite seamlessly blended.

Over all a slow read but highly enjoyable in terms of the unique world. There was also no romance (at least not really) but there are hints of it, and for me that's just fine and dandy!

I will most certainly read the next in the series and recommend The Bone Witch to all high fantasy lovers.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review

I really enjoyed this book a lot! The plot of it all was amazing! And can we talk about that character development? Amazing! I need more!!

I had really high expectations for this book. However, I was unable to continue reading it and decided to shelve it at 45%. I found the storyline hard to follow as it jumps between two characters in the past and present. I will probably try to finish it closer to release date.

This is the first book I've previewed that I can say I regret previewing... only because it will be SO LONG until I can find out what happens next! I loved Rin Chupeco's other books, but this is just beyond fantastic. This will easily be one of the best books published in 2017, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't win several awards. It's brilliant, inclusive, and fresh (a difficult thing to do in the bad-ass teenage girl fantasy genre). Absolutely loved it.

I found this book engaging, beautifully written, with a unique and fascinating world and magic-system. Definitely would recommend for fans of dark fantasy.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch; a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. Tea finds solace and guidance with an older and wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land from training. In her new home, Tea puts all of her effort and energy into becoming an asha - one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and an interesting story. The world building is fairly detailed, as are the characters. I enjoyed the alternatives perspectives that the book is written from and the plot line moves along at a steady pace. The book is basically focused on Tea's training to become an asha, which ends with a test. The reason the I gave the book 3 stars is that I just never really felt like I became invested in the characters and I'm not sure exactly why that is. I can tell you that I usually avoid books that contain necromancy in any part of the plot, as I find it kind of disturbing, but in this case I figured I would give it a try. If you like YA fantasy, particularly witches, I certainly suggest reading this book! And the cover of this book is also quite amazing.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced reading copy of this book.

I love Rin Chupeco’s work and became a big fan after reading Girl in the Well and The Suffering. When I discovered she was coming out with The Bone Witch I couldn’t wait to read it. Then I saw reviews begin pouring in and so many were less than positive that I began to worry but decided to hold out until I could judge for myself.

Chupeco’s writing style was as I expected, beautifully descriptive and splendid so if you are into books with a strong mythology then you should give this one a chance especially as it seems to be the first in a new series.

I had more difficulty getting into this one because I had some trouble understanding what was happening and had to re-read a few earlier chapters once I got far enough in the book to get more information. It has some decent potential but the book as a whole reminded me of the first movie in a trilogy where all the good stuff wasn’t going to happen until the second because the first was just set-up.

It was slower paced than the other two books so I had to adjust my expectations a lot. This book seems more focused on building characters and setting up a new world than creating a huge explosive plot line. It wasn’t bad but I could’ve used more action and plot than getting extreme details about daily routine or clothing.

I liked the characters and became invested in Tea enough that I want to know how she’s going to evolve in this series.

I could see why there were so many negative reviews because Chupeco had shown us what she’s capable of before and this was so different from her previous writing style; it wasn’t a bad book it was just a bit on the lackluster side. Plus there was a completely unneeded love triangle which did a disservice to the story.

There are more positives than negatives to make it still worth your time. The writing flows nicely, there is a great relationship developed between Tea and her brother, and tons of diversity in her characters. I still think it has potential when you realize it’s only the beginning of a new fantasy series so I’ll be checking out the sequel in the hopes that the action picks up.

I regret that I was not able to finish the book, although I saw a lot of rave reviews. For me, the descriptions were too long and too many of them. This book was just not for me.

The language used was stilted - it made it pretty difficult to engage

I loved the blurb, description, and premise but the story fell short of my expectations.
I'm not a fan of huge chunks of information in italics, and I'm not a fan of time jumps in a story so the combination of both gave me a headache. I would probably recommend this book but I couldn't finish it.

I just could not get into this book. I have a hard time selling books that flip from present/past books in our library

I simply could not get into this book and ended up not finishing it.

I am at a loss for words. The Bone Witch blew every expectation I had out of the water and I'm left grasping for words to express my thoughts. As the summary states, it's a "Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind" and while I haven't read either (I know, shame on me), I know enough about each novel to know that if one combines the two it will be epic journey.

We follow a young girl named Tea who accidentally brings her brother back to life after he is killed in battle. Her ability to do so means that she has the ability to control Dark and makes her a bone witch, someone feared and despised by society. Luckily, there's another Dark witch passing through nearby who takes her to the Willows where she will be trained to use her necromancy for entertainment and the good of the kingdom.

“There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws.”

However, once she arrives, Tea realizes that the rigid structure of the Willows is more complex and restricted. As the only other bone witch in the Willows, she has a lot of things to learn and a very important role in society to fill. Amidst the high expectations, Tea continues to challenge every status quo she can and strives to fulfill the duty she believes she has to the world, even if it goes against what the law says.

“We can endure any amount of sadness, for the people we love.”

This story is written in a duo-form storyline that intertwines. The first one follows a bard who seeks a banished Tea out and the second is her story. With the two storylines, you can see how Tea continues to be so strong despite everything that is thrown at her and how she continues to use her powers for what she believes is good.

“Then 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.”

I absolutely loved the amount of detail Rin Chupeco goes into when describing the world of the asha from the complex history to the elaborate dresses. While that can get a bit tiresome at times, the vivid imagery helps to keep the story alive and colorful. I also loved the diversity of the characters from Likh to Fox and Zoya to Mykaela. Each represents a different form of art and holds a different relationship that plays an important role in shaping Tea.

Like I mentioned above, words are hard to express just how blown away I was by the story and how everything was executed. Every twist and turn of the story had my mind reeling for answers and I can't believe that I have to wait an entire year to read the next story, but I definitely will keep an eye out.

I received this ARC copy of The Bone Witch from NetGalley for a review. The only thing I dislike was the trouble or pronunciations of words (such as Asha, Ankyo, & others words) but other than that I like the story. I want to know about Tea's brother Fox and would like to know his perspective on what it's like being bonded with Tea. I never saw that coming at the end wow that was good I totally thought it was the other girl!! I know the guy she was gonna fall for that was easy to see. Now i gotta hear about what happened next, but that's is book 2. This ended well enough!

The cover of Bone Witch picked my curiosity, it's extremely intriguing and looking back, it reflects well the spirit of the book. The book itself did not disappoint and rarely have I been as excited about a new author as I am about Rin Chupeco. The story is original; a young girl accidentally raises her brother from the dead and discovers in the aftermath of the act that she is one of few who possess a talent that is, odd as that sounds, both valued and despised. The main character is extremely interesting and we watch her grow from being an innocent young country girl into a strong magician. We also know that some tragedy befell her, a tragedy that got her exiled and determined to affect the kingdoms in a dramatic way. What that tragedy is is not known and we are dying to get answers to our questions. Other characters, big and small, are introduced and create a wealth of wonderful cast. Each one is well crafted and interesting and adds a certain flavor to the story.
The author has done a great job in world-building. One is simply transported away when reading the story and we discover something new on every page. The story itself is well thought out, exciting and attention grabbing. So much so that I have trouble putting the book down. The text is lyrical yet strong and very well polished. No rookie mistakes here!
The only downside of having read The Bone Witch is that now it's already read and I have to wait a long time until I get my hands on a sequel!
The Bone Witch is definitely recommended, here is an author to look out for!

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and the world they live in is fascinating. The ending left me anxiously still wondering about how Tea ended up where she is now and what she will do in the next installment. Many surprises to come.