Anne's Reviews > Nettle & Bone

Very enjoyable fantasy story about a princess on a quest to save her sister.

The beginning of the story should have really sucked me in, but it just didn't. I don't know why it took a bit longer for me to connect with Marra. But she slowly grew on me, and eventually, I was completely into her quest. The whole crew grew on me, in fact.
Of course, my favorite character was the gravewitch and her demon chicken.
Because really. How do you not love a woman who has a demon chicken?



So Marra isn't actually anything really special. And she's not destined to be anything special. She's the 3rd princess in her family, and basically being held in a convent juuuuust in case her older sister can't have a baby with her princely husband and she needs to step up and take over.
Huh? <-- you ask
See, her older sister isn't the first of the 3 sisters to be married to the prince.
Her oldest sister came back to them in a pine box a few years after her marriage. An accident, they said. And the middle sister was sent off to be another political bride that would secure peace and the safety of her kingdom. And if she can't produce a male heir, she may be the next to have an accident.
Because as Marra learns while at her sister's bed during her niece's birth, Prince McEvil enjoys hurting his wives.
And that's when Marra decides he needs to die.



The rest of the book is Marra figuring out how to accomplish that and gathering the people who will help her save not only her sister but also her kingdom, as well.
The gravewitch and her chicken of course. A knight who can't go home due to some well-deserved killing. And Marra's own fairy godmother, who proves that you can choose your own path.
Because Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo is for punks.



Recommended.