Community Reviews
This book was selected by my students as our final read for the 2022-2023 school year. Our theme last year was fantasy, and this book hits the mark. I am not a huge fan of fantasy novels -- they just don't grab me because they become repetitive. I read Tolkein as a child, and I loved The Hobbit, but it's been a very long time since a fantasy novel kept my attention (I read the whole Throne of Glass series and meh...).
The Bone Witch changed that!!!
Opening hooks:
"The beast raged; it punctuated the air with its spite." (The Bard's narrative)
“Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise.” (Tea's narrative)
GREAT first lines!!!
I really like The Bone Witch! I'm surprised, too. When I started the reading, I was so frustrated with poor writing that I almost put it down, BUT I'm glad I didn't. Despite the need for better editing, the story was extremely engaging and I just HAD to know what happened. It definitely kept my interest once I was inside the world Chupeco created.
It does have a big of Shadow and Bone vibe to it, but I liked this better. There's a clear influence of lore woven into the plot and I found myself researching information about necromancers and fantastical creatures.
Tea is a great character. She's spunky and smart and as vicious as she needs to be. Her power to raise the dead is a nuanced skill that other witches don't posses, hence her being called a "bone witch." And her brother Fox, after he's raised from the dead, is well-written as a person in his own right and as Tea's big brother. Their sibling relationship is fantastic and I loved every second of their communication and commitment to one another.
The way the narrative is written is similar to a Greek chorus. We have a bard that is there to tell her story because the people want to know about the life of a bone witch (Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind also uses this story telling device). Switching points of view between Tea in real time through her own point of view and the bard's words asking questions about the history of her story keep the book moving a pretty fast clip (I've seen a few reviews that say this is a slow-burn narrative, but I disagree. The romance is slow-burn, but the major conflict is not). It also really helps the reader make connections in Tea's life as we meet her in the bard's narrative and how she becomes the witch she is.
The magic in the book is extremely complicated. I had a hard time keeping up at first, but as you continue reading, it gets easier to understand the way of the asha and how their training progresses.
I immediately bought the rest of the series, and have read the second book The Heart Forger, but that's for another review. Book three is The Shadowglass of which I also have and will read soon.
I give this novel a solid:
★★★★
I thought it was unique, and while the writing wasn't great (Again, I had some major editing issues with this one as a I read...the curse of being an editor), it didn't ruin the book for me. So, there's that fifth star that eludes the overall review. A heavier hand in editing would have made it a solid five.
The Bone Witch changed that!!!
Opening hooks:
"The beast raged; it punctuated the air with its spite." (The Bard's narrative)
“Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise.” (Tea's narrative)
GREAT first lines!!!
I really like The Bone Witch! I'm surprised, too. When I started the reading, I was so frustrated with poor writing that I almost put it down, BUT I'm glad I didn't. Despite the need for better editing, the story was extremely engaging and I just HAD to know what happened. It definitely kept my interest once I was inside the world Chupeco created.
It does have a big of Shadow and Bone vibe to it, but I liked this better. There's a clear influence of lore woven into the plot and I found myself researching information about necromancers and fantastical creatures.
Tea is a great character. She's spunky and smart and as vicious as she needs to be. Her power to raise the dead is a nuanced skill that other witches don't posses, hence her being called a "bone witch." And her brother Fox, after he's raised from the dead, is well-written as a person in his own right and as Tea's big brother. Their sibling relationship is fantastic and I loved every second of their communication and commitment to one another.
The way the narrative is written is similar to a Greek chorus. We have a bard that is there to tell her story because the people want to know about the life of a bone witch (Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind also uses this story telling device). Switching points of view between Tea in real time through her own point of view and the bard's words asking questions about the history of her story keep the book moving a pretty fast clip (I've seen a few reviews that say this is a slow-burn narrative, but I disagree. The romance is slow-burn, but the major conflict is not). It also really helps the reader make connections in Tea's life as we meet her in the bard's narrative and how she becomes the witch she is.
The magic in the book is extremely complicated. I had a hard time keeping up at first, but as you continue reading, it gets easier to understand the way of the asha and how their training progresses.
I immediately bought the rest of the series, and have read the second book The Heart Forger, but that's for another review. Book three is The Shadowglass of which I also have and will read soon.
I give this novel a solid:
★★★★
I thought it was unique, and while the writing wasn't great (Again, I had some major editing issues with this one as a I read...the curse of being an editor), it didn't ruin the book for me. So, there's that fifth star that eludes the overall review. A heavier hand in editing would have made it a solid five.
This book has been on my TBR for long enough that I've plumb forgotten what it's doing there in the first place. I vaguely remember... being really geeked about it? It's possible that I took a shine to it because it was a more successfully pulled off version of my own OC and Head AU. For that reason alone, I'm very biased about this book. Whereas a lot of readers seemed less than enthused about it, I'd already had my own back-log of research I'd done five years ago for a very similar story I wanted to tell.
The Bone Witch is the first in a trilogy (but personally, I felt like it was strong enough to stand on it's own, if you don't intend to read all three novels).
Tea is a simple village girl who accidentally raises her brother from the dead. Necromancy is an especially unusual ability in Tea's world, and once it's discovered, an Asha (witch) collects her and her brother and trains her to become a "Bone Witch." Bone Witches are valuable, but also feared and ostracized - and though Tea works very hard, she still struggles against her own self-restraint.
There is another perspective in this book, but I found them easy to ignore altogether. A lot of readers didn't enjoy the changes in POV, but I chose to skip them altogether. This will probably come back to get me in the end if I finish the series.
I really love that Asha are basically Geisha. It was the main appeal for me, which I'd reference before. As a Westerner, there's a lot I don't know about Geisha, but I know enough to know it isn't what Americans typically think they are (Arthur Golden lied to us). Because there is a lot of very intentional mystery surrounding them, they're pretty safe as models for some original fantasy. Asha aren't just entertainers and artists - nor are they witches. They are, primarily, warriors. (!!!) I love that these women are well-rounded. In fantasy especially, women are typically damsels in distress or the absolute polar opposite - masculine in every way but their feminine bodies. I love to see feminine women who are also tough!
There's a very diverse cast of characters, and I'll love to see what is done with them all as the series progresses.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you enjoyed this review, you can find it and others like it here.
The Bone Witch is the first in a trilogy (but personally, I felt like it was strong enough to stand on it's own, if you don't intend to read all three novels).
Tea is a simple village girl who accidentally raises her brother from the dead. Necromancy is an especially unusual ability in Tea's world, and once it's discovered, an Asha (witch) collects her and her brother and trains her to become a "Bone Witch." Bone Witches are valuable, but also feared and ostracized - and though Tea works very hard, she still struggles against her own self-restraint.
There is another perspective in this book, but I found them easy to ignore altogether. A lot of readers didn't enjoy the changes in POV, but I chose to skip them altogether. This will probably come back to get me in the end if I finish the series.
I really love that Asha are basically Geisha. It was the main appeal for me, which I'd reference before. As a Westerner, there's a lot I don't know about Geisha, but I know enough to know it isn't what Americans typically think they are (Arthur Golden lied to us). Because there is a lot of very intentional mystery surrounding them, they're pretty safe as models for some original fantasy. Asha aren't just entertainers and artists - nor are they witches. They are, primarily, warriors. (!!!) I love that these women are well-rounded. In fantasy especially, women are typically damsels in distress or the absolute polar opposite - masculine in every way but their feminine bodies. I love to see feminine women who are also tough!
There's a very diverse cast of characters, and I'll love to see what is done with them all as the series progresses.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you enjoyed this review, you can find it and others like it here.
L
I loved loved loved loved this book. I can't even say how much I love this book because I would fill up this box with loved. Our main character is a girl named Tea. She finds how she is a dark asha or a bone witch when she accidentally brings her brother back from the dead. Tea did not now that she had this power and the people of her village does not approve of her. Lady Mykeala comes to the rescue and brings Tea with her the the Valerian House where she is first taken in as a servant to the house until Tea is tricked to go to another house to entertain. It is here she uses her asha powers to bring up corpses and dead rats. This shoots her straight into her asha training. This book is amazing and the only con about it is that this is a series. I love it so much and my heart was broken when it ended. Thank you netgalley for giving me the ebook so that I could review it. If you like mystery, suspense, and I caught a few Japanese vibes in it with the different houses and the extent that the ashas go to dress up so elegantly then this book is right up your alley.
M
One of my favorite books. Two stories unraveling at the same time. Magic, mystery, witches, high stakes. This book has it all. It may be a little difficult to get into at first but given it a chance. The main character Tea embodies being morally grey and you don’t know if you’re falling in love with the hero or the villain. The writing is beautiful and detailed. The characters are complex. The plot keeps you turning the page.
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