In Nettle and Bone we follow Marra, the third born princess of a small kingdom, who was raised in a covenant ready to be used as a pawn (like her older sisters) by a neighbouring kingdom and its prince. It turns your typical princess fairy godmother fairytale upside down.

I loved Marra, she pushed through her fears and committed to saving her family after realising that no-one would help them but her. The first 20% had a time jump that made it a little difficult for me to initially connect with her and other characters but I quickly became familiar with her.

It explores motherhood, forced pregnancy, domestic abuse and miscarriages, both for an individual and those who care for them, with such tenderness and care that I truly appreciated. Other aspects of the novel including the world building and the magic system fell a little flat for me but didn't really detract from my overall enjoyment.

Throughout the book we meet more characters until we reach a motley band including; a nun(ish) princess, an undead dog, a chicken possessed by a demon, a witch who can communicate with the dead, a fairy godmother and a rather handsome brooding mercenary. I really enjoyed the moody tone with spots of humour and I will definitely read more from Kingfisher.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the advanced readers copy.