Why yes, another first in a book series. This is an endless trend in Young Adult fiction. And this book definitely fits that description.
I enjoyed this book, written by Rin Chupeco, and would recommend it to anyone considering reading it. This book follows Tea and her brother Fox as she learns what it means to be a Dark Asha, a Bone Witch. Which is to say, this book follows Tea telling this story to a story collector. Bone Witch means she can brings things back from the dead.
So, non-spoiler thoughts first. This book was well written, but often seemed fast paced. I think the author was trying to go for a high fantasy novel, but ended up with more of a fairy-tale or mid-fantasy feel. Any entry level fantasy novel, if you will. Things would get explained as she went, but a lot of information was actually relevant earlier on in the story. If they fed me information about my life they way they told her, I would have left long ago.
So, would I recommend this book? Yes, if you are thinking about reading it. Is there any romance? No, but I think there will be in the next. Is it a must-by for me? No. Will I be reading the next book when it comes out on March 1st, 2018? Yes.
Okay, now SPOILERS BE BELOW. STOP NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW. Please enjoy the lovely photo below as a stopper
Now, down to business. I didn’t like the stark change of the character between who she was and who she now is without any real explanation. She kept referring to her love, and we finally found out who it is, but we don’t see any of that happen. We don’t know why he is dead. We don’t know why her brother has turned against her. I don’t understand. Why would he EVER leave her side, even if he didn’t agree with her? Why? He is her brother and SHE brought him back. You would think that would send him back to the grave right away.
Also, WHERE IS HER HORSE? And if they did horrible things to those she loved, again, WHY ISN’T HER BROTHER THERE?
The Asha made no sense. You have all this power and all you do is entertain? No, you are not a geisha. You are a powerful spell wielding being. I just, I don’t get it. This honestly degrades the story so much and made me so annoyed. This and the lack of information and why as a BONE WITCH WHO BRINGS THINGS BACK FROM THE DEAD she was a servant and wasn’t trained for two years. How, how does this make sense? And the possibility of her being turned away? PLEASE SEE ABOVE. There are a lot of holes in this story and in this world. That is why this is just a “this book isn’t horrible and has an interesting plot”, and not a Casting Trilogy Amazingness.
