Hey all, Sam here.
I need to get my blog schedule back under control. Too many days my posts go up hours after I’d like them to, and it’s frustrating me. I have these plans to have the posts go up at a certain time, that is 3 pm Central Time, because that’s pretty much when I’ve been posting for years. It seemed an effective time, and my stats seem to be better when the posts go up then and not hours later.
So…I’m going to try to get back to my schedule…starting with today’s book review. I’m tackling another read from my recent Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon experience, and again, I’m just really excited to talk about it.
Let’s dive in.
After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. 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.
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
I enjoy stories that feel like fairy tales, stories that take elements we all know and enjoy from fairy tales and then put them together and manipulate them in interesting ways.
I first found T. Kingfisher a couple years ago…and I can’t remember if it was because of another author recommending her, or if it was a fellow book reader/blogger/influencer, but the first book by Kingfisher that I ever picked up was Clockwork Boys. However, the first one that I read was Paladin’s Grace, which I absolutely adored. So you’d think that I would have started to read pretty much everything else by the author. I want to, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.
It’s also why it took me so long to get around to Nettle & Bone. This book came out last year, in April 2022, and it has sat on my bookshelves pretty much that whole time, and I feel terrible about that, especially since once again I really really enjoyed this book.
Reading Nettle & Bone made me feel like I was wandering through a dreamscape, through a mythical fairy tale, and I was entranced. I mean, come on, a princess, a witch, a knight, a fairy godmother, and an oddball animal companion…that is all the elements of an intriguing story right there.
Marra was a nothing special third-born princess, who seemed perfectly content with her position, being placed in a convent. Her eldest sister is wed to the prince of a neighboring country…and comes back a few years later in a pine box. Then her elder sister is sent to marry that same prince, and when her sister is about to give birth to her first child, Marra learns that the prince is abusive, but that abuse lessens while her sister is carrying his child. It is this knowledge, this desire to protect and save her sister, that leads Marra on a seemingly impossible quest.
I loved watching the misfit crew come together, and I loved watching the bonds grow between all of them. It was the relationships that really propelled the story for me. Yes, the writing and the descriptions helped build the world and develop the story and keep me intrigued by everything going on, but it was the feelings they all had for each other that sucked me so deeply into this story.
I laughed. I cried. I cheered. I gasped. This was just a wonderful story all wrapped up in 245 pages. I’d be very happy to have more stories set in this world, maybe with cameos or guest appearances of the crew in this tale.
I was recently approved on NetGalley for Kingfisher’s upcoming release, Thornhedge, and it also has fairy tale reimagining/retelling vibes to it, so hopefully I’ll be reading and reviewing that in the next couple months.
Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
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