Book Review: The Bone Witch

The Bone Witch
By Rin Chupeco
The Bone Witch #1
Hardcover: 432 pages
Sourcebooks Fire
March 7th 2017
Categories: Fantasy, Witches, Historic
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My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ |4/5|

Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there's anything I've learned from him in the years since, it's that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles...and make a powerful choice.

I really enjoyed this story, but I understand why it is not for everyone. There is a huge divide when reading reviews for The Bone Witch; people either love it or hate it. I am of the former category, but I am also a huge fan of world-building. My inner history nerd was all aquiver with the cultural knowledge bomb that is life as an asha. Asha are the magical equivalent of Geisha girls, and this world is rife with Japanese culture. The Asha are adopted into a house at a young age, taken care of and trained, and when they are old enough to make their 'debut', their debts to their house are paid back through performance fees. It is a strange concept, and one that I am not overly familiar with. I enjoyed learning more about the culture and their way of life.

Tea is our main character, and she is the youngest dark Asha in the kingdom. Dark Asha is the proper term for a bone witch, one dealing in death and darkness. A huge majority of the population is afraid of her abilities, but the other Asha revel in them. Her ability to call the Dark is the only way to defeat the daeva, a dragon-like creature that plagues the continent. There was once a great curse placed upon the land. Every ten years, seven daeva rise from the dead and wreak havoc across all eight kingdoms. They are powerful, destructive creatures and their rise can result in the ruination of the world. Tea is a flawed character; vulnerable to the darkness and the feeling of calling it into herself. The Asha have no choice but to begin her training; the only other bone witch in the land is dying.

"There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your flaws."

I fell in love with the characters in this story; their flaws and weaknesses only making them more complex and developed. The twists and turns, especially that one at the end, had me questioning my own sanity! I enjoyed Tea's drive to want to change the world however she can. Her petition to allow male Asha, as well as her want to find a way for bone witches to call the Dark without destroying themselves in the process. The fact that she doesn't accept things that she thinks are wrong is one of my favorite traits of hers. She wants to find a way through problems, not just around them.

"Then perhaps we should carve a world one day where the strength lies in who you are rather than in what they expect you to be."

My greatest issue with this book was the way that women were treated as trained puppets. It made me nauseous at times, reading about the way women were treated by men. The Asha exist to entertain rich men; they are taught from a young age to sing and dance for them, and while they are paid well and taken care of to do so, ugh. It just frustrated me. I understand that was the author's point, but there were certain situations throughout the book that made me cringe.

"Our opinions do not matter, and if you have to swallow your pride to keep them happy, then so be it."

Whuuuut?! I feel like I absolutely would not have survived in this world! My filter-free mouth would have gotten myself into heaps of trouble, dealing with people that subscribed to these views. All in all, I really enjoyed this story. The world was fantastically written and described, the characters were beautiful and flawed, and the story line flowed smoothly. I'm happy I own the second book, The Heart Forger because that ending was INSANE though, Miss Chupeco! I wasn't ready!

<3 Morrighan