Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

“The trees were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen. The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires.

Her fingers bled where the wire ends cut her. The earliest cuts were no longer bleeding, but the edges had gone red and hot, with angry streaks running backward over her skin. The tips of her fingers were becoming puffy and less nimble.

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.”

-Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

I think it’s safe to say that I am in my T. Kingfisher era. This is the third book I’ve read by this author, and it is one that’s going to stick with me for a long time. I absolutely loved and adored every bit of this book, the only thing I’m sad about is that I read it so fast.

Nettle and Bone reads like a dark fairytale. Marra is the third daughter of the king and queen, a princess in her own right, though she doesn’t really bear that mantle very much in the book. Her eldest sister, Damia died shortly after being married to a prince. Marra suspects the prince killed her but cannot provide it. When her second eldest sister, Kania, is forced to wed the same prince, Marra worries that Kania will meet the same fate, at the hands of the prince.

Marra has been living at a convent, not quite a nun, but not quite a princess. She is tormented by how to help her sister, until someone points her in the direction of a dust-wife. The dust-wife agrees to help Marra kill the prince if she can accomplish three tasks: sew a cloak of nettles, build a dog of bone and catch moonlight in a jar.

It’s not long before Marra has the dust-wife’s help. Accompanied by a demon chicken, bone dog, an ex-knight, Fenris, who cannot return home because he is a murderer, and a godmother, Agnes who is rather good at curses (but a bit in denial of that fact).

I thought this book was going to be dark all the way through, but it wasn’t. The humor, banter and snappy dialogue between the characters was fantastic and fun. Agnes and the dust-wife might be my two favorite magical women who come together (for some reason they reminded me Esme Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and I think that’s a very good thing, in fact). I loved that Marra was not a typical princess or nun. She was often full of doubt and uncertainty, but she stuck to her ground and continued to do what was right because that is what she believed in.

This world, this story were brilliantly written and engaging. I think T. Kingfisher is a marvel, and I love the fairytale qualities all of her stories that I have read so far have. I also liked some of the darker themes that T. Kingfisher touches upon in this book, and I don’t want to spoil them by saying too much, but there is a lot of depth and sadness in this book too. I am excited to read more by her. I think The Hollow Places will likely be my next read by her.

If there was anything more I could wish for after reading this book, it’s I would like to know more about the demon chicken.