Daughter of the Bone Forest
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
Two girls reluctantly bound by fate must weather a dangerous courtship as a prophesied war grows ever closer in Jasmine Skye's high-stakes, queernormative dark fantasy debut, Daughter of the Bone Forest.
Rosy is a bone familiar, gifted with the power to shift into animals marked with exposed bone. She spends most of her days in the magical Bone Forest, caring for her feral grandmother and hiding her powers to avoid conscription by the Witch King’s army. Until the day that Princess Shaw, a witch known as Death’s Heir, visits the Forest. When Rosy saves Shaw’s life, the princess offers her the chance to attend the prestigious school, Witch Hall, as payment. Though Rosy is wary of Shaw’s intentions, she cannot pass up the opportunity to find the cure for her grandmother’s affliction.
But at Witch Hall, Rosy finds herself embroiled in political games she doesn't understand. Shaw wants Rosy for her entourage, a partner to help lead the coming war. All Rosy wants is to stay out of trouble until she can graduate and save her grandmother, but she can't deny her attraction to Shaw or the comfort Shaw’s magic gives her. Will Rosy give in to her destiny, or will the Bone Forest call her home once and for all?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seventeen-year-old Rosy Holt, who has the rare ability to shift into a powerful bone wolf, wants nothing to do with the Cursed Kingdom and its prophesied war, preferring a simple life at the family horse ranch. When she saves the life of Princess Shaw Colchuck, however, Rosy is offered a spot at the prestigious Witch Hall, where the brightest witches and familiars of the Cursed Kingdom master their magic. She reluctantly accepts, hoping to make the connections required to bring her exiled grandmother home. But Rosy struggles adapting to the unfamiliar rules of noble society and hides her power as a bone familiar to avoid being drafted. Her plans are thrown into chaos when Shaw, the sole heir to the throne, chooses to court Rosy to further her own mysterious goals. As war looms, the two must learn to trust each other with their closest secrets to unlock their magic's true potential. Richly rendered characters, an inventive magic system, and Rosy and Shaw's sweetly budding and emotionally fraught relationship add verve to this queernormative fantasy adventure, in which debut author Skye perfunctorily explores themes of class discrimination and military indoctrination. Rosy cues as white; Shaw is described as having sepia skin and brown hair. Ages 13–up.
