The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco- 4.75 stars [arc review]

This was such a wonderful read!
I was very much looking forward to it ever since I read the book blurb and saw its amazing cover art. Isn't it the most impressive book cover?
There was no way a YA Fantasy lover would not be at least curious about it!

Blurb by GoodReads:

Tea is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized in the kingdom. For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that can reach beyond the boundaries of the living—and of the human.

One of the most interesting features in The Bone Witch is that the story is told from Tea's perspective, from the future... She has been banished from her home and is somewhere remote with a very different heart from the heart she once had. In between chapters the reader get glances of a much older Tea, with secrets and a blackened heart. Those chapters are rather dark and heavy. And of a younger Tea, who is still learning to master her skills...she is brave and with an almost happy-go-lucky attitude.

The main character in this well written story is as you probably guessed Tea. Very early into the story she finds out she is a bone witch (or an asha) when she 'accidentally' brings her brother back from the dead. Luckily for Tea (since bone witches are not loved in her home town) another bone witch is nearby when Tea resurrects her brother and comes to the 'rescue'. She takes Tea and her brother away so that Tea can be properly trained in her craft. Her relationship with her brother blossoms through out the book and it is one of the main things I looked forward to while reading it. His deadpan not-funny-at-all jokes are oddly and strangely enough: heartwarming!

We are introduced to many  different characters through the story and it is hard to talk specifically about each one of them. The main focus was definitely Tea and no one else.

I received the book as an ARC from NetGalley
and loved it so much I HAD to get the paper copy!

We have a prince, Kance, who is very kind and sweet but perhaps a tad clueless. Tea is infatuated with him from the very begging but not much happens between them. Romance really is not on the radar in this book. It is obviously with its ending that it will be on the next book (and I am looking forward to it), but it isn't here.

There is the ever overprotective Duke, Kalen. His job is to protect the prince and he takes that duty very seriously. He is worried about Tea and the potential relationship between her and the prince. Tea and Kalen are my favorite characters, I kept wanting to know more about him and considering the ending I am sure I will! I could not have been happier with that ending actually.

The King's brother is an apprentice to the forger of hearts. A sweet and very clever boy who I am hoping to see more in the next book too.

And than there are the ashas that Tea is both leaving with and learning from. They become her sisters and her family away from home. They protect her and she protects them. The relationship is certainly not always easy, but it is most definitely entertaining. All ashas surrounding Tea have very different personalities and are therefore unique in their own away. It is impressive to me that Rin Chupeco managed to give so much heart and soul to so many different characters in one book!

Had the book kept its fast pace through out I would certainly have given it a 5 star. But at some point half way through the book I had to stop for a little while as I found it dragging. That did not last long though, and only a few pages further it was 'all happening' again, which is why it still deserving of a high mark.

I would most certainly recommend this book to anyone that loves young adult fantasy. It delivered in every way.

I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this series!

Go Read!