Title: The Bone Witch
Author: Rin Chupeco
Series: The Bone Witch #1
Pages: 411
Published: Mar 7th 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
This eGalley was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.
I was completely captured by the cover for this book and it did not disappoint. This book is a fantasy following the journey of young Tea who is training to become an asha (who in description really reminded me of geishas) , a bone witch who guards the population from daevas, dragon like creatures.
The book is slow, but in a good way. It is very descriptive and everything is clearly beautiful in this world. It is not slowly as to make you bored, but rather there is a lot of world building and Chupeco truly takes her time in describing and revealing details of that world for the reader. There were a lot of different new words (I believe there is a glossary in the printed version, which would've been very helpful). It is a cozy, beautiful read, rather than an action filled fantasy. While there is no definite information about sequels or how long this potential series could be this first book felt like it was setting up the situation and world for the following books (if there are any). The Bone Witch did not end completely in a cliff hanger but prepares us for more and I'll be truly disappointed if I don't get to know what happens after.
The Bone Witch was written from two perspectives. The first (and major) was of the young Tea while she is training to become a Bone Witch. It is first person and told more in past tense as if though Tea is looking back at this. The second is more abstract. It is from the point of view of a story teller who is visiting a girl (supposedly Tea, although this is not clarified). This is at the end of each chapter, and much shorter. It seems to be told in present time. I got the feeling that the journey of Tea is leading up to this storyline of the girl. I realise, when I'm trying to explain this, that it may sound complicated, but it truly isn't. It's rather clever and I liked the interlocking narratives.
I would definitely recommend this as a different, more low key fantasy. I see it more as a magical book than a high fantasy. And although there are dragons it is not very action filled. As a first book of a series this looks very promising and I would highly recommend it because I truly enjoyed this.
Plot Summary:
The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spine. But the girl was fiercer.
Tea is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy makes her a bone witch, who is feared and ostracized in the kingdom. For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that can reach beyond the boundaries of the living - and of the human.
- Goodreads
Favourite Quote:
"Return to me once you have entered a mind from where three heads sprout" - The Oracle from The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
My Rating:
8/10
Other Books by this Rin Chupeco:
The Girl from the Well
The Suffering
