For the month of July, my good friend Maria and I are reading The Bone Witch series. Maria recommended the series to me a while back when I was looking to get into fantasy fiction.

The series is written by Rin Chupeco, a Chinese-Filipino young adult fiction writer. They are the author of The Bone Witch Trilogy (The Bone Witch, The Heart Forger, and The Shadow Glass) The Girl From The Well, The Suffering, Tales of Unquiet Women, The Never Tilting World duology, and more.

The Bone Witch trilogy is my first fantasy book series, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when going into this book but after finishing I can really say I enjoyed it.

The story takes place in a world of eight kingdoms: Istera, Tresa, Dannoris, Yadosha City-States, Kion, Odalia, Arhen-Kosho, and Drycht. All of which have their own cultures and practices, but they all share commonalities as well.

Our story takes off when Tea, who is from Odalia, accidentally brings her older brother, Fox, back to life. You see, “necromancy did not run in my family’s blood, though witchery did.” Tea is different, more powerful than the witches in her family and her gift makes her an infamous “bone witch,” also known as a dark Asha.

After discovering her abilities, a beautiful, older, more experienced Bone Witch named Mykaela comes to her home and offers her a place at the Valerian, a home that trains young Asha, in Kion.

The story features two different timelines: the current timeline in which Tea is 13 years old and training under the Valerian house as a dark Asha, and one that is a future timeline where she is a 17-year-old young woman on a hunt for vengeance. I’m sure you’re asking, vengeance for what? But I won’t tell. 😏

The current story timeline also features a small amount of potential romance. There is a prince, Kance, who, to my disappointment and later enjoyment, is a seriously underdeveloped character who lacks substance. But as I completed the first novel (and started the next book in the series, The Heart Forger), I realized Chupeco does this on purpose. There is also Kalen, who exhibits what Maria likes to call “love to hate potential.” I don’t see it, but the novel’s foreshadowing definitely tells us differently.

Speaking of foreshadowing, the dual timeline in the novel really works as a foreshadowing tool that ties together what, on the surface seems, as loose ends. The dual timeline also works to speed up the pace of the novel. The time from the beginning of the novel to when Tea becomes an official Asha is relatively short. This should tell you that her road to “Asha-hood” is not the center or climax of the story. Quickly after Tea makes her debut as an official Asha, she becomes a tremendous asset to the eight kingdoms and, as a result, a success for the Valerian house. However, as the future timeline indicates, something dark will happen that causes Tea to seek vengeance.

This was the perfect introduction to fantasy because the writer takes ample time outlining the world of the eight kingdoms. Chupeco’s use of detail when describing the various characters, characteristics of the eight kingdoms, fight scenes, emotions, etc., is exciting to read. Their ability to balance a plethora of detail with the complicated storyline is truly exceptional.

I would recommend this book (and the entire trilogy) for those interested in stepping into the fantasy fiction world. This book is definitely young adult friendly. Although there are mentions of suicide and brief descriptions of what we would consider self-harm; however the author does an excellent job of not making those parts the center of the moment and not portraying those actions in a positive light.

Thank you for reading,