Really wanted to like this book more than I did. The technique of switching back and forth between preset and past is jarring, especially since the present Tea is much different than past Tea. Pronounced Tayuh, by the way, which we aren’t told until halfway through the book. At first I thought the “asha” were powerful magic users, and I guess they are, except they spend most of their time entertaining men at parties. We are treated to lengthy descriptions of clothing and hair adornments. I will probably read the second book out of curiosity about what happens to change Tea, but I’m not rushing out to buy it ( )

I really liked this book. I was drawn in by the graceful prose from the beginning. It reminded me of the tones that I remember from Marillier's books. The worldbuilding wasn't as complete as I'd like since there was only a clear view of the immediate area. I got the feeling that other areas would be fleshed out if/when Tea visits, but don't consider that a negative in any way--you can't criticize a world as clearly drawn as what we do see.

It was also refreshing to see a non-European based fantasy world. With a strong asian influence, the culture was as graceful as the prose.

My only real criticism is the cliffhanger ending. The book alternates between present narration by a character that is interacting with Tea as chapter introductions, to past reminiscences from Tea herself. At 432 pages, there was plenty of room to answer some of the questions brought on by the present/past conversation.

The Bone Witch is listed on Amazon as age level 12-17 and grades 7-12, but I never got the immature feeling that so many YA books usually convey. I highly recommend this one to any epic fantasy fans.

( )

I really enjoyed this. This is probably one of the best books I've read in quite a while. I'm really glad I found it. ( )

At 2 1/2 hours into the audiobook version there's a description of a character that goes on and on about how physically ugly the character is to explain why the character is unlikable. ( )

I've been dying for some good fantasy lately and boy did I find some. The Bone Witch was such a great interesting read and Chupeco did such a great job with her story. The back and forth from present to past was awesome and really made you keep reading to find out what the hell happened and what was going on. The main character Tea, was such a great character. She had a depth and attitude to her that delighted me to now end. The descriptions of the magic and the world Chupeco created was great and one way she draws you into the story. I really love her descriptions of the Hua's and the heart pendants and what it means.

There was a couple of things I had a problem with, one was the names and locations in the story. I was so confused on keeping track and who was from where that I had to constantly keep backtracking to read over some things. This made the book longer to read than I liked. The ending had me so interested to see what the hell happened and what made Tea become how she is. I really can't wait to read the second story to figure things out. I can only hope it gets better and clears up some of my questions. ( )