She soon learns the eldest sister has died under mysterious circumstances. Marra, as the youngest of three, is sent to a convent for the Saint? Goddess? – Our Lady of the Grackles. Marra is the youngest princess in the Harbor Kingdom, her eldest sister Damia was sent to marry Vorling, the Prince of the Northern Kingdom in the hopes of strengthen an alliance between the two nations. Hero or not-now joined by a disgraced ex-knight, a reluctant fairy godmother, an enigmatic gravewitch and her fowl familiar-Marra might finally have the courage to save her sister, and topple a throne. Seeking help for her rescue mission, Marra is offered the tools she needs, but only if she can complete three seemingly impossible tasks:īut, as is the way in tales of princes and witches, doing the impossible is only the beginning. But her sister wasn’t so fortunate-and after years of silence, Marra is done watching her suffer at the hands of a powerful and abusive prince. This isn’t the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince.Īs the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an uncaring throne. Most princesses want to marry the prince, in this case, the princess wants to dispose of the prince.

Nettle & Bone is a slight veering from those horrific, uneasy tales, but there’s an undercurrent of dread nonetheless.

Kingfisher has been taking up space in my “must read list” for a few years thanks to her horror novels.

Nettle & bone