27 September 2024
Nettle And Bone Review And Book Club Questions
Reviewed by: Melissa Ng
Quick Facts
Book Publication Date: 26 April 2022
How I Read It: eBook on indyreads - borrowed from my local library
Where You Can Find Nettle And Bone By T. Kingfisher: Amazon Australia* | Kobo US* | Kobo Canada*
Content & Trigger Warnings: Domestic violence, spousal abuse, miscarriage, child loss
Nettle And Bone Summary
Nettle & Bone follows the story of Marra, the youngest of three princesses. After witnessing her sister Kania’s suffering in an abusive marriage to Prince Vorling, Marra decides to take matters into her own hands and save her sister.
With the help of a gravewitch, known as the dust-wife, and her demon-possessed chicken, Marra is tasked with completing three impossible tasks:
- Weave a cloak from nettles
- Make a dog from bones
- Catch moonlight in a jar
Upon completing these tasks, the dust-wife agrees to help her kill Prince Vorling.
As Marra embarks on her quest, she’s joined by an odd but endearing group of companions – a former knight named Fenris, and a fairy godmother named Agnes.
Together they journey to confront the prince and free Marra’s family from his tyranny.
Nettle And Bone Review
Nettle & Bone is my first book by T. Kingfisher, and while it was an enjoyable read, it didn’t fully capture my attention in the way I had hoped.
The story begins mid-adventure, with Marra completing the bonedog task, and then jumps back to the beginning to explain how she got there.
This structure made it a little hard to get into the story at first, but it started to pick up as more of Marra’s backstory was revealed.
The strongest aspect of the book is its quirky cast of characters. The dust-wife and her demon-possessed chicken were particular standouts for me.
T. Kingfisher weaves humour into the story, balancing the darker elements of this fairy tale-inspired adventure. I loved the misfit nature of the group and their interactions, which often had me chuckling.
That said, I felt the book stayed on the surface and could have explored its world and characters in more depth.
At around 250 pages, it’s a relatively short read, and I often find myself wanting more from shorter fantasy novels. I believe that a longer page count would have allowed the story to fully flesh out its world-building and character dynamics.
The romance subplot between Marra and Fenris felt underdeveloped and somewhat unnecessary. It’s a very light romance, and I found myself wishing it either played a bigger role or wasn’t there at all.
Overall, Nettle & Bone has all the elements of a classic adventure: magic, a band of misfits, and a quest to take down a tyrannical villain.
While it didn’t quite deliver on the depth I was hoping for, it’s still a fun and easy read for fans of dark fairy tales.
I could see this working well as a movie adaptation, thanks to its unique characters and whimsical tone.
If you like fantasy novels featuring a band of misfits on a quest, you might also like to read my review of Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland.
Nettle & Bone Book Club Questions
- Who was your favourite character and why?
- Did you enjoy the length of the book? Did you think it could have been longer?
- Did you enjoy the dark fairy tale elements of the story?
- Did Nettle & Bone remind you of any other fairy tales?
- Did you find any of the horror elements particularly creepy?
- Did you think the novel’s blend of humour and darker elements worked well together?
- How do you think Marra’s time in the convent shape her character?
- Why do you think the dust-wife helped Marra even though she didn’t complete the third impossible task?
- What did you think of the romance between Marra and Fenris?
- Do you think Marra’s mother should have done more to protect her daughters?
- The book touches on some heavy themes like domestic violence and miscarriage. How do you think these were handled?
- Have you read any of T. Kingfisher’s other books? If so, where does Nettle & Bone rank?
- If Nettle & Bone were adapted into a movie, what actors would you pick to play each character?
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