Book: Tallow and Bone by Rhiannon Hargadon
Reviewed by Spreading.Pages
Rating: God Tier
I don't think I have been so entirely wrecked by a book, ever. I was completely consumed from the moment I started reading. Cooking? Reading. Washing dishes? Reading. At the bar for lunch? Reading. There was zero way I could stop until I completed Amity's story.
"The best witch is the one nobody notices, the one in the background, quietly humming."
This book is so absolutely brilliant. I am not sure I even have words to express how beautiful it is. A Salem With retelling with historical research on point is only one portion of this tale. It is also a slow burn love triangle for a woman, a witch, who was so alone, so absolutely isolated from any human contact. It is the explanation of the feelings and struggles of a new mother when they aren't what society expects. Most of all, it is a cautionary tale of secrets and mob mentality/herd behavior leading to absolute pluralistic ignorance.
"Something is quite wrong here."
The connections between the characters is spelled out in such detail from the very beginning. The words on these pages will transport you. I felt as though I was there, in Salem, in the disgusting, putrefied cesspit of a town. I saw the way those women were manipulated and persecuted. I was absolutely gutted over and over.
"For a man desperate to be rid of me, you spend an astonishing amount of time finding reasons to put your hands on me."
Tallow and Bone is not just a book, it is an experience. It is long, but I could read twice as many words about this story. It is sensual and titillating; yet I could have taken even more from Amity, George and the Witch. It is suspensful; from the very beginning I was making assumptions and guesses. Who is the Witch? Where is Amity's mother? What will happen to Amity? It is sorrowful; in character arcs but in the absolutely relatable way post-partum depression is painted. I have never, NEVER, felt this way upon completion of a book. God tier cannot even touch my feelings on this. Absolute wonder. Total chaos. Destroyed.
"We're not finished."
What to Expect:
🕯️Elemental magic
🖤Friends to lovers
🕯️Found family
🖤Forced proximity
🕯️Epic, slowburn romance
🖤Lots of spice
🕯️Emotional devastation
Some additional quotes that absolutely enthralled me:
"The fire does not care what type of wood feeds it. It devours indiscriminately. And when it is done, only ashes are left."
"There are real witches in Salem, and there there are the women playing at it. Both groups are in danger. They'll be hunted. If this blooms, if it spreads, it will be just like the witches of Europe. Real and imagined."
"The witch inhales sharply. I know, even without looking, that he's clenching his fists. That if he opened them, he'd burn through my dress. Clearly I'm a fool, because instead of the thought scaring me as it should, I find that particular idea intensely attractive."
"Like every bad daughter, I know how to leave a house without waking anybody."
"I'll lie. I don't need to know your secrets to keep them."
"My love is not a prize, doled out only when you have been good or presentable."
"Whatever you do, don't give up. Don't let them take your wildness. And if you ever doubt, even for an instant, know this: you are my heart and soul, my blood and tallow and bone. Nothing and no one will ever make you less."