Nettle & Bone

Product Information

Before long, the two set off on the road to the Northern Kingdom, along with the Dust Wife's hen, who happens to be possessed by a demon. Fortunately, the second time, it did work, which makes me think this book is going to be heavily mood-dependent for others too. Besides, when the great hero Mordecai slew the poisoned worm, did he complain about his fingers hurting?

For me, it was a pro, because I don't like Horror most of the time and thinking this was in the genre was part of the failure to read it the first time. Kingfisher is delivering all the classic Fantasy Quest tropes I adore, while glazing the entire tale with a healthy layer of humor. Take my review with a grain of salt because most reviewers seem to be loving this while I had more mixed feelings.

I won't go into what exactly a Dust Wife is, just trust, this one is one of the coolest characters ever written! Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.

Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. There isn’t a weak link in the bunch; each character contributes something both entertaining and endearing to the dynamic. Knowing she has no ability to accomplish anything alone, Marra finds a local witch who can talk to the dead.The very special hardcover edition features a gold foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author. Marra was aware that this was not a good thing, but the odds of living long enough for infection to kill her were so small that she could not feel much concern.

once in a blue moon i will pick up a novel and, from the first sentence on the first page, feel it in my bones that i'm in for a good ride. mutually-disliking middle-sister kania becomes vorling's replacement-bride, and fifteen-year-old marra is shuttled off to a convent to prevent her from marrying and potentially birthing an inconvenient rival to the throne before kania gives vorling an heir. This unlikely team plan to somehow take out the prince and free Marra's family and their kingdom from his tyrannous rule. This land was very damp, and she was grateful for the heat, and yet— “Aren’t you worried that they’ll see the fire?

The world is interesting and I have questions left for the magic but I don’t think the book ever intended to actually deliver all of the details. Marra thought perhaps that the world was so strange and vision so flawed that you soon realized that anything and everything could be a trick of the light. and agnes, the sweetest godmother who will really make you think about blessings and curses and how kindness can sometimes really go a long way, especially to people who haven’t known much kindness. Anyway, it wasn't the topic as much as the dark but funny fairy tale feel that made this book so fun. I’ll forgive all that for Kingfisher’s easy confident writing full of humor superimposed on the hints of a deeper darkness — and my two favorite old ladies and a chicken.