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Nettle & Bone

By: T. Kingfisher
Narrated by: Amara Jasper
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Publisher's summary

2023 - Hugo Award - Winner

2023 Nebula Awards - Nominee, Short-listed

2022 NYPL Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022 NPR Best Book of the Year, Long-listed

2022 BookPage Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022 Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year Long-listed

From Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes an original and subversive fantasy adventure.

This isn't the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince.

It's the one where she kills him.

Marra never wanted to be a hero.

As the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an uncaring throne. But her sister wasn’t so fortunate—and after years of silence, Marra is done watching her suffer at the hands of a powerful and abusive prince.

Seeking help for her rescue mission, Marra is offered the tools she needs, but only if she can complete three seemingly impossible tasks:

—build a dog of bones

—sew a cloak of nettles

—capture moonlight in a jar

But, as is the way in tales of princes and witches, doing the impossible is only the beginning.

Hero or not—now joined by a disgraced ex-knight, a reluctant fairy godmother, an enigmatic gravewitch and her fowl familiar—Marra might finally have the courage to save her sister, and topple a throne.

"Nettle & Bone is the kind of book that immediately feels like an old friend. Fairytale mythic resonance meets homey pragmatism in this utterly delightful story. It's creepy, funny, heartfelt, and full of fantastic characters I absolutely loved!”—Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage

©2021 T. Kingfisher (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Deeply satisfying and darkly funny feminist fairytale.... At its heart a story of good people doing their best to make the unjust world a fairer place, this marvelous romp will delight Kingfisher’s fans and fairytale lovers alike.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Blending fairy-tale familiarity and common-sense characters, Kingfisher’s prose balances grim circumstances with humor and heart. Readers of Alix E. Harrow’s A Spindle Splintered and Melissa Albert’s ‘The Hazel Wood’ series should pick this up immediately.” —Library Journal, starred review

"Kingfisher’s combination of comedy with feminist rage in a complex fairytale setting makes for a wholly entertaining read." -- Buzzfeed

What listeners say about Nettle & Bone

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful and touching

Ursula does it again. This is a lovely and wonderful story with shades of her horror genre talent mixed in. The characters are fully fleshed out and enjoyable. highly reccommend.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome Book

Very good book with a bunch of really creepy bits. Would love to have more in the same world.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The beginning is slow but stick with it

The beginning of this book has very little to do with the rest of the story, which is really good so stick with it. You will enjoy the tale.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

Great story, just like a fairytale. I am looking forward to future reads from this author and on continuing this plot line.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

This was a fun book with great character layout. The audio was excellent. I’ve read (listened to) two books by this author and going to look for more!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic .. fantastic … fantastic

A genuinely fantastic and whimsical story from beginning to end. Witty banter, hilarious quips, wholesome characters, and a fantastic adventure. With booktok there are so many books that receive good reviews or that blow up with popularity, all of which are usually very poorly written. This story is spectacular. Not many like this anymore and we should grasp onto it like the gem that it is. Love love loved it. The protagonist is undeniably human but so likable and incredibly strong. Thank you to the author. Also the narrator was spectacular as well and truly grasped the necessary inflections and bits of riotous humor. I would call this book a dark comedy adventure romance lol. It checks every box!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

original and lovely

epic fantasy in a world where there is magic, and beautifully written, what is there not to like! while some of the fantastic beings are not new creations, the characters are a fresh take. I really enjoyed this book. probably her best to date!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this!

I had borrowed the ebook from the library, which I had read very fast to see what happened, and thoroughly enjoyed the author's characters and story, with little bits of wry humor in all the terror and suspense. Then I got this and heard so much more! The narrator's voice is good for the narration and the main character, and all the others are distinct and perfect. There are 2 delightful old ladies, an ex knight, and a demon chicken, as well as our lead.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A new fairy tale

This was so well done. The story, the reader, it was all so good! I would recommend for anyone looking for a fast listen that was time well spent!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Expected cliche but it's nothing like that...

I was not so much interested in the plot and really thought it would be a cliche damsel in distress story. I was happily, completely, wrong. I should have known better considering the authors previous books I've listened to.
It was like a less Hollywood D&D and in a good way because it was unique, charming, witty and the hen was honestly just a topper on the cake because, I have hens and I'm pretty sure they're possessed.
I found myself in each character in one way or another and kept guessing at the direction the entire story would go! I love that no part of the story is long, boring and drawn out beyond attention span.
I have happily recommended this book to people before I even had it finished and will certainly continue to do so as well as read other words from this pleasantly unique author!

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