I enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read and it gave me more of a cozy vibe than the typical fantasy books I would read. I liked the fantasy elements of this novel as well. The thing that could have made this book better was fleshing out the characters more. I feel like only know the surface things about each character especially with the side characters. Usually, I find that books could usually cut down a few 100 pages but for this one, I wished there were at least 300 pages added to this book because I was left wanting more.

Maybe this is a niche reference, but this book was very reminiscent of Starkid's Cinderella's Castle and that's pretty much all I could picture the entire time.

Nettle is a short YA fantasy novel that pays homage to faerytales both in content and in form. With less than 300 pages and quick pacing, it's a fast and easy read. I'm not super familiar with faefolk lore outside the variations I've seen in other fantasy novels, so I don't know how much this adheres to traditional folklore. However, I'd say the faeries in the story align more with those in The Cruel Prince or Cassandra Clare's Dark Artifices series. It also just gives "twisted fairytale" vibes as a whole, which is why it reminded me of Cinderella's Castle, and I've also seen it compared to Rumpelstiltskin, and I think that comparison is fitting as well.

After falling through a portal to the faery realm, Nettle makes a deal: if she completes three tasks for the faery king, she will be allowed to return home, and her sick grandmother will be healed. The catch? These tasks are impossible. The plot is fairly straightforward and follows Nettle trying to outsmart the tasks she's been given. She befriends Conor, another human trapped by fae deals, and some other residents of the faery world. The pacing is very quick (there's not much time to dwell on subplots), which lends itself to an easy read, but it can make the story feel a bit shallow at times. In general, I do think the story can lack depth at times, but because it feels like an homage to fairytales, I'm willing to excuse some of the shallowness. I think the ending plot twist was fairly predictable, but I wasn't a huge fan of the ending itself. It makes sense (sort of), but it feels a) a bit rushed and b) like it lacks closure. The plot itself is interesting, but it lacks a bit of depth that allows for proper connections with characters, and it makes the ending feel wrong tonally.

I thought the cast of characters was intriguing on the surface, but I wish there was more exploration of them. Nettle is your typical YA fantasy protagonist; she's not like other girls (she likes walking barefoot), she's clever, and she's brave enough to face off against beings far more powerful than her. That being said, she felt a bit like what I call an "invisible narrator" in that, although the novel was written in first person, I didn't feel like I was actually getting any personal information from her. She existed, but I feel like outside a few character traits, I didn't know much about her. Conor was the most interesting premise-wise, in my opinion. His actual character reminded me of Braeden from Serafina and the Black Cloak, and I really would've liked more page-time from him. His dynamics with Nettle felt a bit rushed at first, but I enjoyed their friendship. There seemed to be implied connections with Ellion that were never explored, which was fine because I didn't really care for him. I've had enough broody, shadow fae men, I don't need more. The rest of the cast served to flesh out the world well; I really liked the twisted fairytale aesthetic they created, and I think all of the characters were relatively enticing. The only other complaint that I have with the characters is that the king felt a bit pathetic toward the end of the book, despite being a cunning protagonist up until that point.

Nettle is a short but sweet YA fantasy perfect for fans of faerytales where the faeries are more cunning than kind.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.25/5

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC! Giving this one 2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3 here.

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. On paper, it should be right up my alley. I love fairytales, whether original or retelling, and I love trickster fae characters. The truly stunning cover really drew me in. Our weird girl MC Nettle fell into a fairy world and has to complete 3 tasks before the fairy king will send her home? Tell me more.

But once I started reading it just wasn’t for me. The book starts at a breakneck pace and barely slows down to let you appreciate the world or grow attached to the characters. The characters themselves are flat and interact in a surface level manner, and the romance is just unnecessary and not at all realistic. The plot is obvious imo, but as a fairytale-lover that generally doesn’t bother me because… well that’s pretty much par for the course when it comes to fairytales. And the writing style reads more middle grade with a few big words sprinkled in than YA. It’s quite dialogue heavy. That does make it a super quick and easy read though. The illustrations were also a nice touch, and I think overall this book could work for a younger audience.

A short beautiful story with fantasy family love hope. The MFC is an outcast who has only her grandmother and strikes a bargain with the fairy king to save her. The author did a good job of pulling in the reader even with it being a short story

There are two kinds of books with faeries. The kind that are more folklore based and the ones that use some of the tropes but ultimately are more like bedazzled humans with special abilities. This book fell more into the latter category. Which is fine, those books tend to be incredibly popular and lots of people love them. I prefer more of the other type. I did like the use of nettles in this story, and the impossible tasks. But the characters, world, and writing felt flat to me.

(Thank you to NetGalley for the arc)

A solid 3.5 stars from me. Nettle is like The Folk of the Air by Holly Black's much younger sibling. It's got the same thrilling and mischievous fae that are more akin to those in traditional folklore than they are to the magical elf-people from a lot of popular romantic fantasy books. This charming book is very short and easy to follow with its predictable plot twists but that didn't make it any less fun to read.

Books like Don't Let The Forest In or Your Blood, My Bones really stand out to me in the Young-Adult/Teen genre because they're very mature; in contrast Nettle by Bex Hogan doesn't really delve past surface level plot, world, or character-wise. I think that it would be greatly enjoyed by a much, much younger group of people and could have probably been written without the romance sub-plot since it was sudden, though expected, and didn't seem to develop before or after Nettle herself suddenly stumbles across it. Considering the fun that I did have while reading this book I wish that there were about 200 more pages so that time could be given for things in the world to settle, for emotions to be felt and dealt with, for the details of the world itself to come into better focus, and for an attachment to really solidify for any of the characters. I want more depth. I love these real fairy-tale worlds and the trickster fae that inhabit them.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book!!

Nettle is a gorgeous, story rich fairytale that has made me nostalgic for the bedtime stories of my youth. Our protagonist, Nettle, gives off major "weird girl" energy, but in the most endearing way possible. She cares for her grandmother and the palace in the meadow they live. The first two chapters focus on Nettle and her desire for her grandmother to get better and not die. It is because of this desire and the fear that her grandmother will die that the plot truly kicks off. Nettle abandons all of the warnings she has heard about faeries and pledges she will "do anything" if they help her grandmother.

Her first mistake was seeking out a faerie bargain. Her second mistake was thinking that they would keep their promise. Once Nettle arrives in the faerie realm, she is asked to complete three tasks. Upon their completion, the faerie king will send her home and heal her grandmother. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Faerie tricks are everywhere in the novel to keep Nettle from completing her task. As Nettle tries to complete the first task, cutting nettles (the plant) in the moonlight, the author spins a gorgeous web of drama in the faerie realm. The king and queen have been estranged from each other for sometime. As the novel goes on, Nettle believes that she may have some part to play and her tasks aren't wholly unconnected

Nettle does use first person pov. I'm very picky with those types of narratives, but somehow it just works. Between the gorgeous descriptions and the mysterious characters, I could not put the novel down. Now, Nettle isn't entirely without help in her tasks. She meets Connor, a human boy who has been in the realm for centuries, and Ellion, a shadow faerie who is devilishly handsome and works for the king. Nettle grows an attraction to both characters for different reasons. Personally, Ellion is my favorite.

I won't spoil the ending, but I highly recommend reading Nettle. The book's conclusion is predictable if you follow the hints left by the nettles. But it's predictable in the way that we all know Snow White wakes up, Cinderella's foot fits, and the beast becomes human once more. It's predictable in the way that fairytales are ingrained in our bones and our hearts. We turn the page with each pitfall with the understanding that good will triumph over evil and love will save the day.

As for Nettle's ending, you just have to follow the twinkling bells into a patch of nettles to find out for yourself.