So I picked this book up a while back on Netgalley. I thought it looked interesting and I LOVE the cover. This was my first book by Rin so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But it took me a while to finish. I put it down several times and finally picked it back up to push through.

There are several things I really enjoyed about The Bone Witch. The writing flowed nicely and I liked Rin's style. I really liked the idea behind what the Bone Witch does: raising and putting the dead back in the grave. Interesting!

It was a little on the slow side for my liking. All the talk and not enough action. Until the ending and then it seemed to all happen at once, for the next book. I would have much rather had it all spread out so it was somewhat more enjoyable and not so rushed. I don't enjoy clothes descriptions and rooms and what people look like. I typically skim over descriptions in books because I form my own anyway. So if I did that here, there would be lots of skimming.

There are witches, a prince, undead, so many mythical type things going on here and a lot of it was a little confusing but I liked the idea behind it all. Not sure if I'll pick up the next book or not.

My rating: 2/5 stars

Excellent story! Beautifully crafted and engaging. Characters are well developed and the plot is meticulously designed. The only disappointment is not getting full resolution at the end; now I am eagerly anticipating the next installment! Thank you for the opportunity to read the galley!

A fantastically written novel which takes you on a satirical dark ride. I absolutely loved the characters and the darkly magic entrenched plot. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo - trust me - I've been looking for a series to compare to her books and finally, I have found it!

I loved this book. The beginning was a little slow for me, but after that I was so into it. I liked that you didn't really know exactly where the story was going. The end of each chapter being the present was a great idea. I'm so happy I got to read this early, but it's going to be so long until the next one comes out! I can't wait to see what happened next, and where they're going to go from here.

The Bone Witch has a really good premise and engaging characters, but it could benefit from a stricter editor. Too often the story bogs down in mundane details about wardrobe and food. I was going for more fantasy, less homage to Memoirs of a Geisha.

The Bone Witch is only the second book I read this year, and I already feel bad for the other books that have to love up to it. Rin Chupeco has created a mysterious, deep and intricate world to which I'm already longing to return. The writing is exquisitely wistful, especially during the Bard's parts. I loved the dual narrative of both Tea and Bard, and past and present, and watching it all knit together.

It's not going to appeal to readers who need a quick pace, spunky, chatty heroine and a simple plot to keep their attention, but for readers who need to sink into novels, and live them alongside the narrator, it's a jewel.

I finally finished this book and, honestly, did not like it. I tried once before and finally skimmed through it just to complete it. I've sworn off YA and I don't like books about witches in general so I'm not sure why I wanted to read this. Sorry, this was just a bad choice on my part.

An absolutely perfect blend of magic, mystery, and the same kind of beauitful language Chupeco has become known for.

Rin Chupeco’s “The Bone Witch” has picked up considerable pre-publication hype which for the most part fails to deliver upon. Personally, I don’t think making bold comparisons with the likes of “The Game of Thrones” does the book any good at all, as invariably it is going to disappoint. Sure ‘Tea’ is a pretty cool and engaging teenage lead character, but she really is no ‘Daenerys Targaryen’ and should not be compared to the ‘Dragon Queen’. George RR Martin is a giant of the genre, this author is just starting out, so let Rin Chupeco find her own legs. Much more fantasy than horror, “The Bone Witch” follows the story of a junior witch called Tea who travels the kingdoms with her mentor and her undead brother whom she has brought back from the dead. For a teen novel it was pretty slow and heavy in parts, and I don’t think it has quite enough going for it to challenge the seasoned adult fantasy reader, so I’m unsure of crossover appeal. However, this sturdy read spent ages on the world building, which was involving in parts and very convincing, but the story just moved along too slow for my taste. It has all the hallmarks of classic fantasy novels, ranging from family, friendship, love to betrayal, spliced with Tea’s story of a quest for justice and vengeance, against all those who have wronged her. The question is, will you care very much? I’m not too sure….. I much preferred this authors “The Girl from the Well” which was a straight horror novel. Like the previous novel, this book has a lot of eastern influences in the story and it many ways that made this fantasy world very believable. As Tea progresses up the greasy pole in the world of magic, the dangers and intrigue also increase. This type of court plotting was entertaining enough, but the interconnected sequences failed to convince and it became more prominent as the novel progressed. It must be said that the dead brother was a pretty great character and has many of the novel’s best lines. As I said, it was more of a fantasy read and I would aim it at girls more so than boys, but if you’re expecting another “Game of Thrones” you will be sorely disappointed. Of course it finished for a sequel, but I for one will not be on the edge of my seat.

DNF about 60% through. This book was just not for me. The story was not to my liking and the characters were not 3 dimensional. I didn't understand or care for them, nor did I feel sympathy or..... well, anything for them really. I couldn't spend any more time on a book I wasn't enjoying.

I procrastinated about reviewing this book because I wasn't quite sure that I liked it. The book started out strongly - there were 2 points-of-view. The present was told by a bard and the past was told by the main character, Tea. It's obvious that something serious happened because the beginning of the book reveals that Tea has been banished to an island by herself. I enjoyed the writing style, but I wish there had been more substance to the book and less of the airy descriptions.

There were also some holes in the story that didn't make sense to me. First, I didn't understand how Tea was able to accidentally resurrect her brother, Fox, from death. Supposedly, she has magical powers, but later in the book, in the descriptions of asha training, ashas (witches) have to draw ruins, sometimes using their own blood to create spells. How does one accidentally draw ruins when one doesn't know how to do it? It occurs later on in the story, too, but with some sort of stone that amplified Tea's powers. I also didn't understand the point of the heartglass. Everyone has a heartglass (from what I can gather, some sort of stone) that changes colors according to their moods. If you love and trust someone completely, you can exchange heartglasses with them, but it makes you vulnerable if they no longer love you at some point. It's also supposed to make ashas weaker not to have their heartglass. If you lose your heartglass and you don't care about the person that you gave it to, you can have another one made for you at great expense. It seems ridiculous to me. You're not born with these heartglasses attached to you so why bother going through the expense in the first place if it makes you vulnerable? The book said that only really wealth people could afford to have another heartglass made. How did the average person obtain a heartglass in the first place? Maybe I missed something in the story that explained this? It seemed like there were too many magical things going on in the story that the author couldn't even keep track of them all.

I also didn't understand some of the societal descriptions in the book. People feared Bone Witches because they practiced "dark" arts. Dark, in this case, means that they bring things back from the dead. If they fear them, why would they call them Bone Witch, which is considered a derogatory term, instead of dark asha? Throughout the book, there's a hint that dark ashas are somehow bad, but they're the ones protecting everyone from the daevas (monsters), at great personal risk. The author said in the book that people fear and hate people they need. That may be true of some people in a group, but I can't see a whole society behaving like that. Even if it were true, why would someone who was so useful and powerful need to dress up and entertain rich people at parties?!?

As if it weren't enough that Tea has to face people who hate her and awful monsters, she also has to face an enemy known as the Faceless. The Faceless appear to have strong powers, but we have no idea why they're trying to harm everyone. There's no explanation about why some people have power and some don't. There's no explanation about why some people are born with more power and others aren't.

This leads me to my biggest problem with this book - it started a bunch of interesting characters and possible story lines, but then it never went anywhere. I kept waiting for explanations or something and there was just nothing. Fantasy books still have to make sense within the scope of that fantasy world. I felt like this didn't. The ending of the book was supposed to be a cliffhanger to make the reader excited about the sequel. I just felt disappointed that I read an entire book that was basically just a confusing prologue.

I don't think I could recommend this book to others.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary e-book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Bone Witch, quite simply, is a captivating read. I expected fantasy and magic, but I didn't realize how fantastic and magical the writing would be. The Bone Witch cast me under its spell from the very beginning. Chupeco skillfully and artistically weaves past and present together to give the reader a sense of gripping intensity and an irresistible force that compelled me to keep reading into the early hours of the morning when I finally finished this wonderful novel, satisfied, but eager for more.
The Bone Witch delivers a magical realm that feels comfortably familiar and vibrantly new. The rules of this fantastic new world make perfect sense in the lyrically beautiful setting that Chupeco's descriptive voice brings to life.
The fully realized characters will steal your heart. They're flawed yet heroic. Uncertain yet unstoppable. Fiercely tragic and smart and witty and enchanting.
I'm eagerly anticipating the next book, even while I'm dreading some of the dark paths these favorite characters are going to tread. People usually try to avoid heartache and tragedy, but in the Chupeca's hands, Tea's future holds a bright kind of darkness! Or a dark kind of brightness! Whichever it is, I'll know I'm in good hands.
Fully recommend!

DNF. The formatting for the ebook was atrocious and made it difficult to read.

An interesting premise that was not implemented as well as it could have been. The plot seemed thin and there was no clear end goal or purpose. The narrative meandered and lost itself in its extended flashbacks and occasionally over-zealous narration. I found myself falling out of the story rather than staying in it as there were some odd formatting issues and a decent amount of grammar and spelling issues (ARC). I also don't think some of the metaphors fit for the background of the protagonist. They just didn't seem like something she would say or know.

Some concepts were also left very abstract. After reading I still am not able to explain the concept of a heartglass. Is it made of the emotions you have? Does it take your heart literally out of your chest and transform it? How do you live without your heartglass if it gets lost or shattered? It is tied to your life so someone could break it and you die? Then how can you get another one if you lose one? That part unfortunately didn't make sense to me.

However this novel does have a lot of potential and I'm sure the grammar, formatting and spelling issues will be cleared by the time it reaches publication. I think the idea of bone witches, versus just the usual elemental witches is a unique and creative touch and I definitely enjoyed seeing that explored. Many of the characters were well-conceived and some of the in-the-moment plot points were original and fascinating.

I do think there was too much narration versus action (tell vs. show if you will). I most enjoyed the moments spent in the main character's point of view. I think that that the monsters too were creative and well-written. However, there was a lot of history introduced in large chunks that later was not needed. I think this slowed down the novel and a better integration of only the most core historical facts as needed would greatly improve the reading continuity, which as is is kind of choppy.

Overall there were too many little issues I found with the novel (its implementation not its concept) that I couldn't stay as into it as I really wanted to. While this book didn't resound for me, I look forward to seeing how this author develops artistically as she refines her style.

I received an ARC of this book for free for an honest review.

Books that start with necromancy and end with (apparently) necrophilia should not work, one would think.

But apparently sometimes they do. Just ask Rin Chupeco, or read her book The Bone Witch when it comes out on March 2, 2017. Then you'll see. Now, according to Amazon the recommended ages for this first book in a coming YA series are 12-17. I read it anyway, because I was lucky enough to get an advanced read copy through NetGalley and the book's publisher, because just about any book will make me happy. However, I would not let a twelve year old read this book - if I had a twelve year old. Why?

Necromancy, possible necrophilia (at least platonically) are big reasons. But Chupeco also focuses heavily on war and violence and political intrigue... and those topics are important, but perhaps best explained in a different setting.

All that being said... YA books about twelve year old girls who discovers she is a (dark) witch when she accidentally raises her brother from the dead are surprisingly good! I feel it important to mention that said girl, named Tea, is not in love with her brother... it's a different dead person, see.

The story is compelling on the whole; a collection of city-states vastly different from one another and yet united against destructive mythical creatures, that women are at the forefront of society and the last line if defense against the dragons, that it is a female driven society...

It does falter in places, though. Chupeco has tied a large part of the story to color - the color of dresses, flowers, uniforms, and heartsrune necklaces. Each color has a meaning and there are a lot of colors heavy with meaning. It is nearly impossible to keep it all straight. I hope that final editions have appendices with lists and explanations for readers. I would have liked that. Chupeco also spends a lot of time... organizing. Organizing is a good word. And it makes sense. It is the first book in a coming series so the world needs to be organized and established.

So despite the slow moments of organization, The Bone Witch is a compelling start to a series and I will keep an eye out for the next book. It is going to be good!

Tea doesn't realize that she is special, until the day she raises her brother from the dead. That event ignites the beginning of her epic journey to harness her power. Tea is a "Dark Asha", very rare, and reviled by most. Her singular job, once properly trained, will be to rid the land of monsters that the people call "Daeva". But the ability to raise creatures from the dead isn't the only reason others are leery of Tea, her extraordinary gift means that other Asha aren't as powerful as they'd like to be.

I enjoyed getting to know Tea, both from her point of view, and the alternating voice of a young woman (I think) who is interviewing her. She is a strong, loyal and smart young lady. However, I had a hard time following the story line. Chupeco's description of the world in which Tea lives relies too heavily on my imagination. I didn't have any background knowledge on which to draw and the maps didn't fill in enough blanks for me.

I found myself confused by the characters and which land they came from. I was also confused by the different abilities various Asha had. It felt to me as if this book was written to become a movie. I needed visual cues to help me through the story. Chupeco writes in detail of the "hua" or dress that all Asha wear. She describes her characters in detail so that you could practically smell them. But, I just had a hard time putting it all together.

The ending was also perplexing. I have no idea why Tea was exiled, why this young girl is interviewing her, what happened to her brother, and why this particular person ends up as her love interest. I guess I'll have to read the next one to get my questions answered.

In summary, maybe I'm too old to follow the plot lines in this story. I don't see any reason that it couldn't go in a middle school. I added it to my book order, we'll have to wait to see if it circulates. I'm hoping at least one of my regulars will read it so that they can explain it to me!

two stories intertwined - a fantastical read that leaves you wanting more, I am hoping for a sequal!

The Bone Witch was a fantastic read! Chupeco has a wonderful talent for enveloping you in Tea's world. The characters are well developed and the story took many unexpected and exciting turns. Fantasy readers, both adult and young adult, will enjoy this book- especially those with an affinity for Japanese culture (many elements of Geisha were woven into the development of an Asha.) I can't wait to read the next one!

Thank You NetGalley!

I wanted to so badly like this book. It sounded like it had a lot of promise.

I just couldn't really get into the story. I felt like I was just reading words that didn't really go together. The premise is really interesting to me. But I really just have to say, that I couldn't connect with the story. I felt confused at times, and even when I re-read the story, I just didn't get it.

I don't usually care for fantasy novels , good read if that's what your into