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Rin Chupeco

The Bone Witch Kindle Edition

by Rin Chupeco (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

694 ratings

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"A high-fantasy Memoirs of a Geisha, Chupeco's latest excels in originality" —Kirkus Reviews

A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Serpent & Dove and The Cruel Prince.

Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price...

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, 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.

Riveting and atmospheric, The Bone Witch is perfect for readers looking for

witch novels for adults and teens
stories with diverse representation and multicultural influences
dark fantasy YA books and series
original worldbuilding and captivating writing

Praise for The Bone Witch:

"A fantasy lover's fantasy" —Foreword Reviews

"Mesmerizing. Chupeco (The Suffering) does a magnificent job of balancing an intimate narrative perspective with sweeping worldbuilding, crafting her tale within a multicultural melting pot of influences as she presses toward a powerful cliffhanger."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

"Chupeco delights us with a fascinating world and a rich atmosphere for a story that is exceptionally written from beginning to end."—Buzzfeed

"Readers who enjoy immersing themselves in detail will revel in Chupeco's finely wrought tale. Game of Thrones fans may see shades of Daenerys Targaryen in Tea, as she gathers a daeva army to unleash upon the world. Whether she is in the right remains a question unanswered, but the ending makes it clear her story is only beginning." —Booklist

The Bone Witch Trilogy:
The Bone Witch (Book 1)
The Heart Forger (Book 2)
The Shadowglass (Book 3)

Length: 358 pages	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled	Page Flip: Enabled
Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $3.49 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English	Age Level: 12 - 17
Grade Level: 6 - 12

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Product description

About the Author

Despite uncanny resemblances to Japanese revenants, Rin Chupeco has always maintained her sense of humor. Raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. She's been a technical writer and travel blogger, but now makes things up for a living. Connect with Rin at www.rinchupeco.com. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

"Fans of high fantasy looking for diverse representation will be eager to get their hands on this book...this will become a series to be reckoned with." - School Library Connection

"Chupeco craftily weaves magic, intrigue, and mystery into a captivating tale that will leave readers begging for the promised sequel." - School Library Journal

"The Bone Witch is a fantasy lover's fantasy, with a rich history and hierarchy of its own. The secrets and workings of its magic are revealed slowly in a suspenseful novel that is sure to appeal to those with a love of serious, dark fairytales." - Foreword Reviews

"Readers who enjoy immersing themselves in detail will revel in Chupeco's finely wrought tale. Game of Thrones fans may see shades of Daenerys Targaryen in Tea, as she gathers a daeva army to unleash upon the world. Whether she is in the right remains a question unanswered, but the ending makes it clear her story is only beginning." - Booklist

"Readers intrigued by the carefully crafted magic and the evolution of Tea's character from a homesick, guilt-ridden girl into the fierce warrior who opens the tale will discover a multi-faceted drama of revenge and heartbreak." - RT Book Reviews

"A high-fantasy Memoirs of a Geisha, Chupeco's latest excels in originality... Chupeco is a writer to watch." - Kirkus

"Mesmerizing. Chupeco (The Suffering) does a magnificent job of balancing an intimate narrative perspective with sweeping worldbuilding, crafting her tale within a multicultural melting pot of influences as she presses toward a powerful cliffhanger." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An adventure with light romance that will appeal to fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas." - VOYA Magazine

"In this sweeping high fantasy, Chupeco concocts a grim world of magic, both light and dark" - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Rin Chupeco already captivated and horrified us with The Girl from the Well, but she may have outdone herself on this one. The Bone Witch is the first in a new series about a young witch who realizes she has the dark gift of necromancy after she accidentally raises her brother from the dead. Now, an older bone witch has taken Tea under her wing to teach her the art. The story has been pitched as high fantasy meets Memoirs of a Geisha, so yes, you need your hands on it now." - Bustle.com --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN : B01HN3X3NM
Publisher : Sourcebooks Fire; Reprint edition (1 February 2018)
Language : English
File size : 14016 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Not Enabled
Print length : 358 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 15,557 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 31 in Dark Fantasy for Young Adults
- 53 in Wizards & Witches Fantasy for Young Adults
- 104 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy for Young Adults

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694 ratings

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Jade

The worldbuilding is great, I love the world building and the descriptions are lovely.

Reviewed in Australia on 4 August 2017

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THE BONE WITCH is slow to start. The worldbuilding is great, I love the world building and the descriptions are lovely. However, not a lot happens and it drags for a while in the middle before finally getting to the plot in the last ten to fifteen percent of the book.

There is so much world building; there's so much information on the cities, and the beliefs, and what each form of dress means to each person's role. But it's so much filler. I found myself skimming a lot of the time where Tea was preparing to become an apprentice and then learning to become an asha. I loved Tea learning the realities of being asha and finding out what could and couldn't be done with magic, but I preferred her learning it on the move with Mykaela rather than at House Valerian.

The characters were probably the best part, but even then there didn't seem to be too much to them. Tea seems to pick up what she needs mostly through instinct, but it was nice to know that as she was learning time was passing—although at times it didn't seem like it—and she wasn't instantly proficient at everything. I liked her relationship with Fox, and I liked that despite both of them being close siblings they still hid things from each other and each tried to keep the other from harm.

This book has girl hate. There are quite a few female characters, but many of the ones Tea's age are either mentioned in passing, rarely involved, or looked down on in some aspects. One of the rivalries seemingly gets resolved with no real interactions between the characters before the change; part of that could be excused as to how the asha system is set up with 'sisters', but I would have really liked to see the development within the book itself.

I liked the parts between chapters where Tea was talking to the Bard, I liked seeing where she is now and where younger Tea is going to end up. Speaking of, I liked seeing potential hints as to how she ended up where she did within the numbered chapters. I can't wait to see what paths she chooses and how things develop.

This book felt a lot like build up. There's a potential plot. There's a potential love triangle. There's a potential change coming. I felt like this book needed more, but the second one in the series may explore everything further. I just wish this one had more plot than it did, as it really felt like it was mostly filler.

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Smithy

Really Really Good

Reviewed in Australia on 8 July 2018

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This is not to be missed. Book 1 of a trilogy - I downloaded the second one as soon as I finished the first & if it hadn't been close to midnight I'd have kept reading. Can't wait to get work out of the way tomorrow so I can keep reading.

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Kindle Customer

carefully created drama

Reviewed in Australia on 14 February 2021

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It pulls you in slowly, you realise you're addicted and can't stop.

It's draw card is the simplicity, it makes reading enjoyable.

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Katherine

Interesting read

Reviewed in Australia on 27 June 2020

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The two timelines definately keep you interested in how the character went from A to B!
Get the geisha feels from the characters, only with the added magic

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Alex

DNF

Reviewed in Australia on 6 December 2019

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Not a fan of this book but not because of the audio, just didn’t like the book

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Read3rz Re Vu

Necromancer meets Memoirs of a Geisha – 4.5 stars!

Reviewed in Australia on 13 October 2018

“There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws.”

Necromancer meets Memoirs of a Geisha – 4.5 stars!

Expected publication in March 2017

Tea is a witch like no other that’s been born into the eight kingdoms for decades; when her powers awakened, she unwittingly used her powers as a necromancer to resurrect her dead brother. As a new and rare Bone Witch, she must follow her path to become a fully fledged dark Asha wielding dark powers that could either save or destroy her world; powers that are misunderstood, feared and frowned upon.

This book is amazing with creative world building mixed with lyrical, engaging story-telling. The Bone Witch has exceeded my expectations, it’s got an absorbing and interesting premise which is used to explore the themes of self-discovery, journey, politics and diversity. Tea’s apprenticeship to become a dark Asha is akin to that of the Memoirs of Geisha, very interesting! Book 1 sets up well for the sequel which I just can’t wait to read! I also enjoyed how the story was told using foreshadowing, like a story within a story through alternating perspectives. It is very well written and highly recommended read for readers who enjoys a YA fantasy story somewhat similar to Memoirs of a Geisha but with magic, the walking dead, monsters, potions, magical dresses, spells, prophecies, necromancing and amazing world building.

Other interesting quotes:

“you will always have a weakness, and that will always make you believe you have no power when someone exploits it. There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws.”

“People will never be what you make of them, but at least your own heart stays yours and true.”

– NJ

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Top reviews from other countries

SugarGlass

The Bare Bones

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 November 2018

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I really liked the cover of this book and the sound of the plot. Tea is a young girl with the ability to harness the Dark Arts, a Bone Witch. On the day she revives her brother from the dead, she is swept from her home into the realm of the Asha. Initially the book starts out very strong, with nice worldbuilding and pretty imagery, as well as an interesting magic system. I've seen the "girl awakens mysterious power and gets taken from her tiny village to be trained" plot plenty of times before, but I was still happy to come along for the ride anyway.

The problem with this book is that the second half turns into 'Memoirs of a Geisha' all of a sudden. It's like the author was re-reading it as she was going through the writing process and said, "Yes, I need more of THAT in my novel!" I mean, I like Memoirs of a Geisha, but when the plot of a book revolves around witches who have the power to raise monsters from the dead and kill them, you really don't need to waste half the novel with the main character learning how to dance and sing. The author also has a habit of introducing places that don't actually matter at all because we never see the places mentioned and they only affect the story very tangentially, so it just comes across like padding. Similarly, she throws in a lot of side characters who are extremely two-dimensional - I could sum up the majority of them with a couple of words at most and none of them were particularly memorable or interesting. I tolerated most of them, liked Kalen and hated Polaire. Tea herself is kind of hard to read about after a while, she's sympathetic initially but she quickly becomes rather headstrong and bratty, constantly complaining when things don't go her way and categorising people as good or bad based off her own personal opinions, though granted half the characters she talks to pretty much constantly tell her to shut up and stop being a silly little girl, while the others praise her for her magic.

The ending was ridiculous. I guessed the 'twist' on the final page pretty much from the first instant that the person the twist involves was introduced. I actually rolled my eyes over how predictable that was. And the second 'twist' was bad for the exact opposite reason - the Reader is given no proper context for it, so it comes off like the characters are showing off how clever they are because they knew things the reader had no way of knowing. The excerpts with Tea and the scribe also render much of Tea's backstory kind of pointless because we already know how it's going to work out.

Unfortunately, what irritated me about this book to start became full-blown annoyances by the end and so I won't be picking up the sequel.

3 people found this helpful

Books by Becci

Fantasy meet ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2019

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Don’t be put off by the necromancy /raising the dead element. When I read the synopsis I assumed it would be more along the lines of ‘Gideon the Ninth’ (skeletons, death, creepy, light horror) but it has a more standard fantasy vibe which I enjoy far more.

The world building is phenomenal, its intricate and detailed, beautiful, well thought out and has enough originality for me. If you literally wore a representation of your heart around your neck, would you give it away to someone?! Not sure I would!

This book clearly has a heavy Asian influence throughout the story and I loved that! The author is a Chinese Filipino, so that makes sense however the description of clothing and the Asha lifestyle sounded very much like the Geisha traditions of Japan, whereas the Daeva, I believe, comes from old Iranian languages ( Yes I googled that!) Additionally she has taken inspirations from Filipino Witch doctors for her Dark Asha. (I also googled that!)

The format really works for me. It starts set in Present time with a Bard meeting our Main character and she is going to relate her story to him, therefore the bulk of the story is actually flashbacks of her life. There is a present day narrative in between each chapter which worked so well. At the end of each narrative there tended to be a sentence that just forced you to read on and foreshadowed some really interesting things to come!!!

Characters- I think the author focused more on the world and history building than the individual characters, which I’m hoping comes out more in the sequels. It didn’t ruin my enjoyment of this book at all, but now that I think back on it I don’t have a lot to say about them. Additionally the romance is limited but it’s been set up nicely for more to happen in the sequels, which as Tea is only 12-15 in this book works fine for me!
Plot- some people have found it a little slow, because there’s a lot of world building and descriptions, I can see their point but personally I was never bored, because the things she was describing were so damn interesting. The ending was amazing (and makes me want to reread it now to see what I’d missed!)

I was gripped throughout, finishing this very quickly as I didn’t want to put it down. It’s not perfect but I’d easily read it again and ordered both the sequels before I had finished it. I think the negative are nit picky and depend on your preferences, i loved it so it gets 5 stars from me!

Cheryl M-M

Complex and compelling

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 March 2018

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I loved the writing and the descriptive style, it fits well with the flow of the story. Chupeco takes the reader to the past, the present and also Tea in the future. The future speaks of darkness and vengeance, the past of pain and death, and the present of uncertainty and discovery.
The parallels between the asha and Geisha’s are an interesting element of the story. Women are considered entertainment for the men, and yet the asha are also revered at the same time. Tea finds it difficult to reconcile her inner turbulence with the dainty and effeminate skills her peers excel at.
She finds a home thanks to Lady Mykaela, who intends to train her as a dark asha, but first she is asked to follow all orders blindly and instead of exciting learning opportunities she becomes nothing more than a skivvy.
The ability to read a person via their heartglass is such an interesting concept. It leaves doors open for discrimination, judgements and exclusions. Mykaela can see the potential in Tea, but has no idea just how much power she has, and neither does Tea. Unfortunately the power also escapes on occasion, which is code for loss of control.
One of Tea’s lighter dark moments is raising her beloved brother from the dead, which binds them in a way they both find it hard to cope with, especially when he starts to defy the strange connection they have.
Throughout the story the reader is given a glimpse of what Tea becomes and is heading towards, and it isn’t pretty. Which event or betrayal turns her into the powerful bone witch with an axe to grind? The dark being intent on destroying those who have wronged her.
This was hands down one of my favourite reads of 2017. Chupeco is incredibly talented, has masses of potential, and deserves to be right up there with the big names in the Fantasy genre. This is YA, so I would really like to see the author let loose beyond the borders and restrictions of young adult.

2 people found this helpful

Iza

That ending!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2019

Verified Purchase

The Bone Witch is a book that kind of challenged me. It took me a few months to read because of the detailed scenes. The writing style is interesting, the way the POVs change, because it's sort of a story within a story - I know there's a term for it but I can't remember it - kind of like Wuthering Heights, where Nelly tells Mr. Lockwood the story of Catherine and Heathcliff.

See, the heroine, Tea, tells the story of how she became a witch - a bone witch, one with a stigma the other type of witches don't have - to a sort of bard, who not only listens to her, but also gets to witness her in action - resurrecting monsters.

So Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, who was killed by one of these monsters. That is the trigger for everything that would happen after: she must leave with another bone witch to apprentice and learn how to master her powers - which happen to be out of control and that's dangerous for everyone.

To be honest, while I did like the novel and all the characters, I felt that the entire book was this huge prologue - world building, things are explained, characters are introduced - because we don't really get much of Tea's journey, just the mere drop from the ocean.

Why? It's because of the ending that I say this. An ending that definitely had me adding books two and three to my TBR - I'm hoping to get to them, soon!

4 solid stars. Again, that ending!

Sarah (Feeling Fictional)

The Bone Witch

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2017

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Tea had no idea she was a Bone Witch until the day she accidentally raised her brother from his coffin in the middle of his funeral! She didn't quite bring Fox back to life in the traditional sense of the word but his spirit is back and his body is now much more indestructible than it was before. Although people often seek out Bone Witches when they are in need of help they are also treated with suspicion in most villages so Tea is lucky to be accepted as an apprentice to another Bone Witch called Mykaela. Tea and Fox travel with Mykaela to the city where Tea will begin training in magic skills to become an Asha.

The story is skilfully told in two parts, there is young Tea who is a little naive and desperately trying to find her place in the world, she is eager to learn and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, then there is an older Tea, one who has obviously seen more of the world and who has become jaded because of it. She is a harder character and one who is set on revenge for the wrongs she has suffered and she is telling her story to a travelling Bard. The two stories unravel alongside each other and it was really interesting waiting to see how the younger version of Tea would eventually become the older one.

I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book but I enjoyed every minute of it. The main complaint amongst my friends has been that the story was a little slow to unfold and they struggled with some of the language but I personally though the writing was absolutely beautiful. Yes this is a fairly slow story but the world building is so rich and detailed that I just loved spending time exploring it. I can definitely see why the story is compared to Memoirs of a Geisha because Tea's apprenticeship was very similar to Geisha training. This is a fantasy world but it's definitely based on Japanese culture and I think Rin Chupeco did a brilliant job bringing those two elements together.

The Bone Witch is a very promising start to a new series and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the sequel to find out what happens next.

2 people found this helpful

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