*4.5 stars*

I always know I’m in for a magical experience whenever I pick up a France Hardinge novel. Her prose is magical, her characters always have a bit of magic, and the magical atmosphere of her settings always draw me into the story.

I’m happy to say that Unraveller did indeed have all the magic I expected! Reading this aloud with my kids, I was again swept up in a story full of wonder and joy. But it also discussed the power of pain and anger and forgiveness, the consequences of keeping your anger and resentment close until it turns into something you’re unable to control.

Our main protagonist, Kellen, has a talent for unravelling curses. One day he meets Nettle and unravels her curse and they become close friends. But then Kellen discovers he’s become cursed. As Kellen and Nettle investigate his curse, they go on a journey where they discover secrets and lies and the truth about their friendship.

I love the nuance in Hardinge’s writing. She evokes so much emotion and brings her readers along a thought-provoking journey, yet her messages are never heavy-handed. I’m getting so tired of these in-your face YA stories that scream to the roof messages and themes rather than trusting readers to come to those same conclusions simply because the author has written a well-crafted story.

This wasn’t a perfect story for me. There were one too many side quests, so the plot did get a bit muddled in the middle for me. A more tightly edited story would have made this a 5 star read.

But I will be thinking about this story for a long time. It had so many unique and endearing characters, the setting of the Wilds was exceptionally magical and I loved Nettle and Kellen’s growth throughout the novel.

I’d highly recommend picking up this book!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Kids, Amulet Books for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up

Frances Hardinge is the monarch of dark, sophisticated, complex, and eye-poppingly creative YA (though utterly suitable for open minded adult readers) fantasy. Unraveller excels on all of those measures.

Kellen is a curse unraveller, an important role on the island of Raddith, though one viewed with suspicion and sometimes hostility. Kellen and his companion, Nettle, became entangled in a conspiracy to weaponize cursers.

As ever with Hardinge, the characters are vividly created, with gradually blossoming backstories and nuanced feelings and motives. Though teens Kellen and Nettle carry the story, all the others in the teeming cast have full beating hearts and whirring brains. As Kellen and Nettle get deeper into conspiracy, the reader can see them organically growing up and maturing.

As ever with Hardinge, the world building is stupendous. The lore of the curses is off the chart imaginative, from the way they are created to the forms that they can take. The physical geography of Raddith, from the bustling Mizzleport to the deceptive Wilds to the tucked away villages, to the Moonlit Market, are all cinematically evoked.

The plot itself is winding and sinuous. Kellen and Nettle both instigate forward movement and are also dragged along by cynical adults, using them for their own purposes. What seem like cul de sac diversions all ultimately loop back into the main thread and add richness and dimension to the story.

While my preference is for the author’s books that are rooted in the real world (Skinful of Shadows, particularly, and also The Lie Tree and Cuckoo Song), and the more lighthearted high fantasy of the Mosca Mye books, I was thoroughly immersed in Unraveller. I have a nagging doubt that Hardinge appeals less to teenagers than to adults, but whoever reads these novels, I’m glad she’s writing them.

Thanks to Amulet and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Thank you to Amulet Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, Frances Hardinge is one of my favorite children's and YA fantasy authors! Unraveller by Frances Hardinge revolves around Kellen, who has the power to unravel curses in world that is beset by them. His companion Nettle was formerly trapped in bird form before meeting Kellen. Now, Kellen has been cursed, and it's up to him and Nettle to unravel his curse before everything around them unravels.

Here is an enchanting excerpt from the Prologue:

"If you must travel to the country of raddith, then be prepared. Bring a mosquito net for the lowlands and a warm coat for the hills or mountains. If you mean to visit the misty marsh-woods known as the Wilds, you will need stout, waterproof boots. (You will also need wits, courage, and luck, but some things cannot be packed.)
When your ship arrives at the great Mizzleport harbor, remember to trade your gold currency for Raddith’s ugly steel coins. Don’t be offended when the customs folk peer at you through lenses set in hollow stones, or sweep you with iron-fibered brushes. There are reasons for caution where the land meets the sea."

Overall, Unraveller is an absolutely amazing YA fantasy that will appeal to fans of Percy Jackson or Harry Potter. One highlight of this book is the lovely, delightful cast of characters. I felt like I would want to be friends with them. Another highlight of this book is the world-building and fantasy elements. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would say that I liked the author's previous books, like Fly by Night and Deeplight, better. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in January!

In a world where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, only one person has the power to unravel them. Kellen does not fully understand his talent but helps those transformed maliciously including Nettle. Recovered from entrapment in bird form, she is now his constant companion and closest ally.
But Kellen has also been cursed, and unless he and Nettle can remove his curse, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything—and everyone—around him . . .
This book had an interesting cover that drew me to it. I enjoyed the world building and the interesting magic system. The characters had development with the main character, Kellen having some of the best. The book was a bit hard to fall at times due to having so much happening at one time. Overall, this was a great dark fantasy young adult book from a great author.
There are a lot of places where there are spaces in sentences that are big enough to fit a word or two, but it does not seem to have words missing.

Frances Hardinge does it again - an eerie, lovely tale of what it means to hate and to forgive and to live with who you are and the things you’ve done. Although this starts out a little slow and disjointed, everything comes together satisfyingly if you stick with it.

Everything Frances Hardinge writes is incredible, innovative, impeccably paced, and every other amazing thing I can think of. Unraveller is just a continuation of that trend. 10/10 would unequivocally recommend.

Unravelled by Francis Hardinge

I was initially drawn to the cover and the description of this book. I loved the unique ideas behind curses being able to be unravelled and that there was someone who was able to do just that.

The visual descriptions were amazing and I could easily picture myself in the environment.

Unfortunately that is where my enjoyment ended. I felt that there were to many events taking place at once and many times, a character was reintroduced and I had a difficult time remembering how they were connected to the story. I often found myself having to re-read whole pages to understand exactly what was happening.

This book was not easy to follow and if I had chosen to pick this book out for leisure, I more than likely would not have finished it.

Another mesmerising and haunting tale from Frances Hardinge. There are so many layers waiting to be unravelled by the reader and this will be one of those books that gets better with each reading.

This was my first adventure into a Frances Hardinge book. I wasn’t prepared for the length, which I found to be a little excessive. I’m no stranger to lengthy reads, but they need to feel justified. There was a bit too much about too little, and it made keep putting the book down. I’d read for an hour and feel like the story didn’t progress hardly at all.

And it’s weird because it’s a really good book. It is. It probably sounds contradictory, but it was one of the more uniquely interesting books I’ve picked up this whole year. The world building is vivid and fleshed out, the characters drew me in.

I reread few books, but I can see myself reading this again. I’d like to look at the story closer, peer into the beautiful nooks and crannies created by the author, sit with the content, and bask in the lovely story created. Even if it takes me a while.

Amazing! Frances Hardinge has done it again! Fantastic world building, excellently paced, intriguing characters and premise. Although YA, this ticks the boxes for fans of fantasy more widely. Have already sold this to customers - both fans of Hardinge already and new readers to her work.

absolutely loved this book! it was such a fun read, i would highly recommend this books to my friends and family if they wanted a delightful time,

Hardinge has created a fantasy world that is easy to jump right into. The explanations of different parts of the world have been weaved seamlessly into the plot so as not to be overdone or laborious to read. The combination of Kellen and Nettle is wonderful as you can connect to a part of each of them. The book begs the question of whether we are fated to do things, or if we can change the course of our life. How much of our life is ours to control vs what has been done to us? It also looks at the power of strong emotions, especially the negative ones. The story is well crafted and easy to read.

Kellen and Nettle live in a world full of cursers and spiders. marsh-woods and moonlight markets. One person has the power to unravel it all. Kellen’s ability is unique, both a curse and a gift. Trying to help others, he finds himself in a race to save everything – including magic itself.

Beyond a wonderful world-building, Frances Hardinge tells a story of freedom vs. fate, making your own choices and accepting your guilt. The adventures are full of suspense and monstrous creatures, often with a deeper meaning. Hallucinations are a manifestations of suppressed desires, and hate can be tamed into anger…

A spell-binding new tale from the master of speculative fiction - for fans of "Scarlett and Browne".

Full review to come in Locus magazine. Short version: I continue to love everything Frances Hardinge does. Her compassion and humanity, her delightful twists, and her sheer imaginativeness are a consistent delight.

This book is one of the rare ones where I knew I was going to fall in love by the first page (maybe even the first paragraph). I am so grateful to be introduced to this wonderful British children's author and can't wait to dig into Frances Hardinge's back catalogue as well -- but let's get back to the book at hand. Unraveller is a fantastical tale of a land where cursing someone doesn't just involve some choice words lobbed in their direction but rather can cause magical transformation and imprisonment.

Our main character, Kellen, is the only one in this land with the power to unravel curses. He travels around with a companion, Nettle, whom he had freed from a curse of her own, as they clumsily try to help others and learn more about Kellen's gift. Due to Kellen's temper, however, they land in trouble after offending a cursed man they were supposed to help. As the book starts, they are convinced to take a somewhat dubious job in order to avoid facing the magistrate.

The tale mixes passing references to old fairy and folktale tropes with a new and intriguing world, and I loved learning more about it along with our POV characters. The plot moves briskly but not in a rushed way, and the character development throughout the story is realistic and rewarding. I absolutely loved the writing style, the book's message, and its themes (imagine a world with weaponized PTSD where the helpless can exact poetic revenge and you won't be too far off from the country of Raddith).

I will definitely be adding a hard copy of this book to my collection, and look forward to re-reading it many times to come.

"If you must travel to the country of Raddith, then be prepared. Bring a mosquito net for the lowlands and a warm coat for the hills or mountains. If you mean to visit the misty marsh-woods known as the Wilds, you will need stout, waterproof boots. (You will also need wits, courage, and luck, but some things cannot be packed.)"

I received this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book.

It was familiar, but surprising. A fairy tale vibe I didn’t know I wanted. The world building was extensive but never felt overwhelming to understand. Most of all I loved the themes of justice and hatred and forgiveness. Life isn’t fair, there isn’t always a happy ending but there’s usually hope if you look for it, if you don’t give up on it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Unraveller. I often avoid reading stories about the fae realm because they tend to be dark and cruel with creatures that enjoy causing pain. While Unraveller does have these elements, it was a very well woven story. You follow the protagonist, Kellen, who is an impetuous teen with the ability to unravel curses and his companion, Nettle, who he freed from a curse of being a heron. While their journey starts with trying to free others of curses, they soon find that they are fighting for their own freedom. The path is long and complex and filled with unwanted surprises and emotional bogs.

Character development was complex, the story is clean albeit gruesome at times, and is perfect for young and adult readers. It is a great coming of age story that explores societal stigmas, grief, rage, and saviorism.

I highly recommend and would definitely read additional works from this author.

This was a long but satisfying journey through what it means to truly take the time to understand people and their struggles, to stop seeing those different from you, or angrier than you, as enemies and to start seeing them as worthy of helping as much as you can, considering they may not want to be angry, but they only want to be heard; stop judging without context, and realization open-hearted. This book also has shape-shifting (not necessarily at will) and I’m a sucker for a shape-shifting story. If you like magic and traveling friends seeking answers to what’s happening around them, hiding who they really are, and selling cures to their own personal heartache then you’ll enjoy this read. It has lots of sibling angst and at one point a revelation about how we’ve been taught to think about abused women that it left me challenging why it’s still that way. It feels like there’s so much potential to expand this world and the ending leaves you intrigued by where the story could go.

Kellen has the unique ability to unravel curses and return the people cursed to their human selves.
Nettle, her companion, one of the many he has liberated, travels with him. She is the voice of reason that reins in his crazy spur of the moment plans that, more often than not, get him in trouble. In trouble and sometimes, as in the moment the book begins, in jail.

To regain his freedom, Kellen accepts the offer a one-eyed man bound to a wild beast presents to him in name of his master, a member of the Chancery, the board of traders that rules their country.

To fulfill his promise, Kellen and Nettle, helped by the seagull who was Nettle’s brother before he was cursed, and helped or hindered, they are not sure, by the one-eyed man, venture into the wilds that lie at the end of their world. A dangerous world full of magical, unreliable and unpredictable creatures. A world, where the conspirators who oppose the Chancery, have been hiding the cursers still holding their dangerous curses.

A dangerous journey for all, but especially for Kellen because among the cursers the conspirators have rescued are some he has personally uncovered and sent to the Red Hospital, a prison in all but name.
As their journey takes them deep into the wilds, the magic regions no one dares to enter, they find themselves lost deeper still into their own souls where the secrets that haunt them must be confronted if they want to keep their lives and save their world from an even darker future.

I enjoyed this masterfully plotted adventure both for the bold and impressive world the author has created and for the humanity of its flawed and endearing characters. And I highly recommend it.

Five out of five stars.

Fantastic, fabulous book! Mystery, fantasy, and magic!

Kellen, Nettle and Gall are characters!

Incredible plot. Undescribable events and setting.

An absolute MUST, MUST read!

Would give it ten stars if I could!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.