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Synopsis (From GoodReads):
In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she's after revenge...
No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life...and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty daeva. With the help of these terrifying beasts, she can finally enact revenge against the royals who wronged her―and took the life of her one true love.
But there are those who plot against her, those who would use Tea's dark power for their own nefarious ends. Because you can't kill someone who can never die...
War is brewing among the kingdoms, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe.
Review:
When I read The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco, about a year ago, I was struck by how flawed the main character was. Tea is a Dark Asha, which means she can raise the dead. She is also prone to go insane if she tries to use too much magic. There's that old saying, "Absolute power corrupts, absolutely." In The Heart Forger, As her magic becomes increasingly powerful, Tea walks a thin line between helping her friends and going fully dark. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there were some things I wasn't fond of.
What I Liked:
Setting: The world of The Heart Forger is lush with magic, enchanted objects, various kingdoms, and people with different supernatural professions.
The Asha are women who are a combination of entertainers (like Japan's Geisha) and magicians. While they mostly entertain men in tea houses, they also are healers. As a Dark Asha, The main character, Tea, is called to destroy monsters.
Deathseekers are men who can do magic. They are mostly soldiers who use their magic to protect a kingdom.
A Heartforger is an artisan who creates heartsglass. These vessels hold a person's essence. I could go on to explain how this all works, but I won't. Discovering all the intricate parts of this world is one of the joys of this series.
Characters:
The main character, Tea, is very complex. While one can cheer her on, the reader also must contend with the fact that she walks on the edge of evil. Her decisions are often risky and affect all the other characters. Sometimes I caught myself being angry with her for being selfish. But she is also manipulated by those in power. I did root for her as I wanted her to break free from being used.
I loved the complicated relationship between Tea and her brother, Fox. Fox is technically her familiar, as Tea has raised him from the dead. But she doesn't control him. They can read some of each other's thoughts, which can be awkward when Fox is secretly romancing a princess, or when Tea is thinking about a man she likes. But Fox also acts as her conscience.
I also enjoyed the diversity of genders and sexuality among the characters. There is Likh, a transgender character who was born a boy but wishes to become an Asha. Other Asha, such as Zoya and Shadi, are lovers. And there are male gay characters, too. These characters all strive to live their authentic life, free from the expectations of society.
Story:
The story is full of intrigue among the Asha, the Faceless (dark magicians who have gone bad), and several kingdoms. There are plots that are decades in the making, as well as newer rivalries and forbidden romances. These were complicated storylines to follow, but the payoff at then end was worth it.
What I Didn't Like:
This book was extremely confusing!!! This occurred in two ways: lack of exposition, and the narrative structure of the book itself.Exposition:
The Bone Witch came out in March 2017. Given the complicated array of characters and plots, could we PLEASE have some kind of recap? There is no way I can remember who everyone is and how they are related to each other. It took me a long time into reading before I felt confident that I knew who everyone was. As frustrating as this was, the confusion was ultimately worthwhile. But I was often worried that I had missed important information.
Narrative Style:
As with the first book, the narrative alternates between Tea (The Bone Witch), and an unnamed Bard who is following Tea in order to chronicle what is happening. This has good and bad points. One the one hand, I like that the action could be seen from another point of view (and one that is more objective than the main character).
However, due to this there is a lot of jumping around between parts of the story, and timelines. Incidents are sometimes repeated from the two viewpoints. This makes me unsure about when things are happening.
Lack of Resolution:
Although I was satisfied with the ending of the book, one of the main plot points was unresolved. Throughout the book, hints are given that one of the characters is dead, and that Tea has resurrected them. Yet at the end, I still didn't know if this person was dead or alive! Considering this plot point is given so much attention in the book, it is unfair to keep dangling this question in front of the reader.
Rating:
Release Date: March 20th, 2018
Author: Rin Chupeco
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Length: 528 Pages
Source: Public Library
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: I loved the intrigue and complicated plot. But to truly enjoy this book, you need to read The Bone Witch just before reading The Heart Forger.
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