I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and the world they live in is fascinating. The ending left me anxiously still wondering about how Tea ended up where she is now and what she will do in the next installment. Many surprises to come.

Tea's journey to becoming an Asha stands out because the magic system in The Bone Witch differs from other books I've read. In this world people wear their hearts around their necks. The color of them means everything, and exchanging them can actually ruin your life. The asha are part mythical warrior and part courtesan. Half the time they're training magic and the other they're wining and dining men in tea houses.

Chupeco creates a deep, fascinating world that's so full of history and description it's hard not to get sucked in. The problem is you're getting pulled into quicksand. Tea spends most of her chapters giving painstaking descriptions of the hua, clothes, that asha wear. These descriptions go on for pages. Along with description of their hair and hair accessories. There's painting a picture and then there's forcing someone to swallow the paint. These descriptions feel daunting for the reader. I hope during edits these get trimmed down substantially.

The other cardinal sin of this book is the love triangle. The old Bone Witch tells you upfront she fell in love with only two men so at least we know it's coming. But this triangle is no different from all the others, one guy's nice, one's a bad boy. Take your bets as to who wins in the end. I would've loved the story so much more if it explored young love in The Bone Witch world. Instead of succumbing to the same old YA trope.

It has such a compelling opening, straight into a richly imagined world. Immediately, I was fond of the protagonist, Tea, and her reluctance to join the world of the Asha. Her brother, Fox, is equally interesting. I could picture him in vivid detail.

By chapter 2, I was hooked and knew I'd be pulling an all-night reading session. I love a book that is unforgiving like this and drags you in.

The dual narrative is intriguing. It tantalises you with some details about the older Tea but leaves you desperately wondering what has happened in the time lapse between the main story and these italicised interjections.

I can't mention the ending without ruining the experience for the next reader. But to the author, Rin Chupeco, I say this... If there isn't a follow up novel, I'll find you and smash your heartsglass!

I couldn't get into it. I'll refrain from requesting any more fantasy titles.

The premise for this book and the world the author created are very interesting and captivating. However, the story itself is a little clunky. The story is told through alternating chapters of present day and flashbacks. The opening to the story and the present day are a little heavy handed and overly dramatic, where the flashback sections are the most colorful and interesting. I really enjoyed following Tea's journey and training in the different arts, along with some of the twists and turns, and the characters along the way. It seems to borrow heavily from Japanese/Geisha culture regarding the training, which was fine, if a little unoriginal and unnecessary. The author had a lot of cool original ideas like the Heartsglass necklaces and magic that it didnt need the influences from real life. The ending was a little confusing, but it is trying to set up material for a sequel, so I would be interested to see where the story goes from there and learning more about the magic and demons. I'd recommend this to any YA/teen fiction fan.

With short, concise chapters weaving past with the present, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco, quickly hooks its readers with its ability to seamlessly entwine magic and fantasy. Reluctant readers and YA fans both will love this book. Our first encounter with our protagonist, Tea, is her resurrecting her brother from his freshly dug grave. Tea's ability to resurrect the dead shocks her community who haven't seen a Bone Witch, or dark Asha, in someone so young. Tea is equally horrified and enthralled with her new found magic; she is curious, but cautious as to what this means for her future.

I received an ARC from the publisher at Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was out of my normal genre but sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a try.
It took a little to get used to the style of writing, but once I got it down pat it was easy to understand.
This book is about a witch who had no clue about the power she could wield. She has her whole life upended within minutes of her brother's funeral.
I loved reading about the different powers the asha had to defend themselves and their land.
Looking forward to seeing the next book come out, although this doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it leaves you wanting more to see how things turn out.
If you enjoy sci-fi like books, I believe you will find this book very interesting.

Beautiful cover, wonderfully written but the two timelines going on in the story were a little confusing to begin with.

When Tea accidentally resurrected her soldier brother from the dead it changed her life's path forever. Although she's not sure if it is for the better or not, but Tea better learn fast for there is darkness coming, and it will be Tea who has to make the tough choices.


This is such a beautiful book to have such dark forces corrupt it's pages. The way the older witch takes the younger to teach her the ways, just like a Geisha, but also those like Tea must learn how to fight and defeat the dark, almost like one of the pretty dances described in the book, the ying and the yang of life. This book was great and I really hope we get to find out what happens to Tea and the rest.

the link for this review will go live on March 7th 2017

So I picked this book up a while back on Netgalley. I thought it looked interesting and I LOVE the cover. This was my first book by Rin so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But it took me a while to finish. I put it down several times and finally picked it back up to push through.

There are several things I really enjoyed about The Bone Witch. The writing flowed nicely and I liked Rin's style. I really liked the idea behind what the Bone Witch does: raising and putting the dead back in the grave. Interesting!

It was a little on the slow side for my liking. All the talk and not enough action. Until the ending and then it seemed to all happen at once, for the next book. I would have much rather had it all spread out so it was somewhat more enjoyable and not so rushed. I don't enjoy clothes descriptions and rooms and what people look like. I typically skim over descriptions in books because I form my own anyway. So if I did that here, there would be lots of skimming.

There are witches, a prince, undead, so many mythical type things going on here and a lot of it was a little confusing but I liked the idea behind it all. Not sure if I'll pick up the next book or not.

My rating: 2/5 stars

Excellent story! Beautifully crafted and engaging. Characters are well developed and the plot is meticulously designed. The only disappointment is not getting full resolution at the end; now I am eagerly anticipating the next installment! Thank you for the opportunity to read the galley!

A fantastically written novel which takes you on a satirical dark ride. I absolutely loved the characters and the darkly magic entrenched plot. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo - trust me - I've been looking for a series to compare to her books and finally, I have found it!

I loved this book. The beginning was a little slow for me, but after that I was so into it. I liked that you didn't really know exactly where the story was going. The end of each chapter being the present was a great idea. I'm so happy I got to read this early, but it's going to be so long until the next one comes out! I can't wait to see what happened next, and where they're going to go from here.

The Bone Witch has a really good premise and engaging characters, but it could benefit from a stricter editor. Too often the story bogs down in mundane details about wardrobe and food. I was going for more fantasy, less homage to Memoirs of a Geisha.

The Bone Witch is only the second book I read this year, and I already feel bad for the other books that have to love up to it. Rin Chupeco has created a mysterious, deep and intricate world to which I'm already longing to return. The writing is exquisitely wistful, especially during the Bard's parts. I loved the dual narrative of both Tea and Bard, and past and present, and watching it all knit together.

It's not going to appeal to readers who need a quick pace, spunky, chatty heroine and a simple plot to keep their attention, but for readers who need to sink into novels, and live them alongside the narrator, it's a jewel.

I finally finished this book and, honestly, did not like it. I tried once before and finally skimmed through it just to complete it. I've sworn off YA and I don't like books about witches in general so I'm not sure why I wanted to read this. Sorry, this was just a bad choice on my part.

An absolutely perfect blend of magic, mystery, and the same kind of beauitful language Chupeco has become known for.

Rin Chupeco’s “The Bone Witch” has picked up considerable pre-publication hype which for the most part fails to deliver upon. Personally, I don’t think making bold comparisons with the likes of “The Game of Thrones” does the book any good at all, as invariably it is going to disappoint. Sure ‘Tea’ is a pretty cool and engaging teenage lead character, but she really is no ‘Daenerys Targaryen’ and should not be compared to the ‘Dragon Queen’. George RR Martin is a giant of the genre, this author is just starting out, so let Rin Chupeco find her own legs. Much more fantasy than horror, “The Bone Witch” follows the story of a junior witch called Tea who travels the kingdoms with her mentor and her undead brother whom she has brought back from the dead. For a teen novel it was pretty slow and heavy in parts, and I don’t think it has quite enough going for it to challenge the seasoned adult fantasy reader, so I’m unsure of crossover appeal. However, this sturdy read spent ages on the world building, which was involving in parts and very convincing, but the story just moved along too slow for my taste. It has all the hallmarks of classic fantasy novels, ranging from family, friendship, love to betrayal, spliced with Tea’s story of a quest for justice and vengeance, against all those who have wronged her. The question is, will you care very much? I’m not too sure….. I much preferred this authors “The Girl from the Well” which was a straight horror novel. Like the previous novel, this book has a lot of eastern influences in the story and it many ways that made this fantasy world very believable. As Tea progresses up the greasy pole in the world of magic, the dangers and intrigue also increase. This type of court plotting was entertaining enough, but the interconnected sequences failed to convince and it became more prominent as the novel progressed. It must be said that the dead brother was a pretty great character and has many of the novel’s best lines. As I said, it was more of a fantasy read and I would aim it at girls more so than boys, but if you’re expecting another “Game of Thrones” you will be sorely disappointed. Of course it finished for a sequel, but I for one will not be on the edge of my seat.

DNF about 60% through. This book was just not for me. The story was not to my liking and the characters were not 3 dimensional. I didn't understand or care for them, nor did I feel sympathy or..... well, anything for them really. I couldn't spend any more time on a book I wasn't enjoying.