Remember how I said you'd be hard pressed to find The Perfect Book™️ within the first week of the year?

I'm not saying I did find it, but I think I came pretty close to it.

Nettle & Bone was not a book I originally intended to read. I actually only checked it out on Libby because I wanted another book by T. Kingfisher but it wasn't available, so I figured I'd give this one a shot. And good gods, am I glad I did. 

Nettle & Bone is what Blood Over Bright Haven was trying to do, I think. Tell a story about a corrupt system with underlying feminist opinion in a fastasy setting. The key difference (minus the fact that I did not imagine Elphaba the entire time I read this one, and the MC --Marra -- is not racist) between the two is that Nettle & Bone is far more subtle about it's message. More importantly, however, it tells an excellent story without being too on the nose about it all.

The leading character of the story is Marra, a princess from a harbor kingdom, who is the youngest of three daughters. Without spoiling too much, something happens to Marra's oldest sister and so the middle sister must marry the prince instead. Marra is sent away, because if she has a child, that child could steal the throne from her sister's husband and heir. Though, Marra makes it clear throughout the story that she has no interest in having children (a lead after my own heart, honestly). However, upon visiting her sister, Kania, Marra learns that Kania stays pregnant to avoid being abused. 

Marra does not like this, and decides that she's going to do something about it. And does something about it, she does.

From the beginning of the story, it read like a fairytale, which was it's intended goal. T. Kingfisher does an excellent job hopping between past and present moments, showing how Marra leaves her home and comes to terms with it. The world she's created in this book is amazing, really, and I want to know more about the Blighted Lands and the story behind it. 

More importantly, though, I want to know more about the dust-wife, which is a witch that Marra seeks out to save her sister. The dust-wife is never given a name, except when Fenris (the love interest) addresses her as "Lady Fox," after the witch pokes fun at Marra who has "build yourself a dog and found yourself a wolf. If a fox shows up looking for you, we'll have a proper fairy tale" (Kingfisher, 99). She's snarky and knowledgeable and completely whack, with her demon chicken, and I love the dust-wife, okay? I aspire to be that. 

Fenris is introduced about a third of the way in, after Marra is told she needs something to help save her sister. That something happens to be Fenris, who she saves using dental hygiene. Once again, if you're expecting romance, don't get your hopes up but do enjoy the very, very slow burn that is Marra accepting that he's not going to hurt her, that she might actually be attracted to him, and that he's a good person. It was an excellent introduction to romance without making the entire story about it, and still ensuring that Marra remains the one who is trying to save her sister, even though he's there to help.

Overall, I highly recommend Nettle & Bone. It's a short read (less than 300 pages), packed full of interesting moments and characters. I'm excited to get my hands on more books by T. Kingfisher, because if they're all even a slight bit like this, I'm going to enjoy them.