Nettle & Bone

Book Title: Nettle & Bone

Author: T. Kingfisher

Date Started: November 5th 2024

Date Completed: November 14th 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

If you've been aware of my reviews for a while, you'll know I am a sucker for fairy tales and their retellings. Even if they're nothing new, I still love devouring their quests and riddles - Nettle & Bone is no exception, but sadly wasn't on the highest peaks of the pile.

My main challenge with this book was that there were no stakes, and thus not much momentum. Everything happens rather easily, and Marra (out protagonist) often doesn't have much to do with the resolutions. Even the darker themes of systemic domestic abuse and individual exposition - something that felt like it had the opportunity to nuance the plot - sadly didn't really turn up in the story itself. The whole thing felt rather TV, which was a bit of a shame given the 30-year-old protagonist.

I enjoyed the old-fashioned fairy tale world with its bone dancers, fairy forts, and angry ghosts. The best part was the first few chapters, where we are thrown right into the middle of Marra pursuing the impossible tasks she has been given. It felt creative and atmospheric, but unfortunately once we walked out of the mist (with Marra only completing two of the three tasks, no less), everything became quite straightforward.

Nettle & Bone was a pleasant enough read, but does it offer anything new to the fairy tale retelling craze? Not really.