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A review by mspilesofpaper
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Once, there was a princess of a small kingdom who watched her oldest sister die and her second-oldest sister suffer at the hands of a cruel prince. Marra, the tongue-twisted, anxiety-ridden, shy, third-born daughter escaped the traditional fate of being a princess to be married off to some uncaring prince by being the spare in case the second-oldest princess dies as well. Raised in a convent, though never being a nun, Marra watches her sister suffer at the hands of her husband. Until she has enough and seeks help from a dust-wife who gives her three impossible tasks as part of a deal: to build a dog of bones, to sew a cloak of nettles, and to capture moonlight in a jar. Together with the dust-wife, a fairy godmother, a demon in a hen, and a disgraced ex-knight, Marra sets out to save her sister and to kill a prince.
Nettle & Bone is a dark and twisted fairytale-esque story with a cynical, pessimistic and shy hero who does not want to be a hero. In the first part of the book, we're introduced to Marra who is currently fulfilling the second impossible task that was given to her by the dust-wife: to build a dog out of bones. In a retrospective chapter, we also learn how she sewed a cloak out of nettles (which damaged her left hand). The second part of the book is basically a road trip. The dust-wife and Marra travel together to find help to deal with the task at hand: to kill a prince. A disgraced warrior, Fenris, and a reluctant fairy godmother join their ranks. While the first part is relatively dark and sets the character of Marra, the second part is more fast-paced and funnier due to witty dialogue and more plot points.
I did like Swordheart more because it turns out that twisted fairytale-esque stories are not for me. Though if I would have to describe the book in a few words, it would be: "a darker homebrewed DnD campaign but equally hilarious because the characters pull stuns that the DM did not foresee", which might be a fitting description for the general vibe of all Kingfisher's books because Swordheart also felt like a DnD campaign (though less dark and less fairytale-esque).
Read if you like:
✔️ dark and fairytale-like settings
✔️ older characters (Marra is in her 30s)
✔️ a hint of romance
✔️ found family trope
✔️ books with DnD vibes
Nettle & Bone is a dark and twisted fairytale-esque story with a cynical, pessimistic and shy hero who does not want to be a hero. In the first part of the book, we're introduced to Marra who is currently fulfilling the second impossible task that was given to her by the dust-wife: to build a dog out of bones. In a retrospective chapter, we also learn how she sewed a cloak out of nettles (which damaged her left hand). The second part of the book is basically a road trip. The dust-wife and Marra travel together to find help to deal with the task at hand: to kill a prince. A disgraced warrior, Fenris, and a reluctant fairy godmother join their ranks. While the first part is relatively dark and sets the character of Marra, the second part is more fast-paced and funnier due to witty dialogue and more plot points.
I did like Swordheart more because it turns out that twisted fairytale-esque stories are not for me. Though if I would have to describe the book in a few words, it would be: "a darker homebrewed DnD campaign but equally hilarious because the characters pull stuns that the DM did not foresee", which might be a fitting description for the general vibe of all Kingfisher's books because Swordheart also felt like a DnD campaign (though less dark and less fairytale-esque).
Read if you like:
✔️ dark and fairytale-like settings
✔️ older characters (Marra is in her 30s)
✔️ a hint of romance
✔️ found family trope
✔️ books with DnD vibes