Book: Tallow and Bone by Rhiannon Hargadon
Reviewed by BookBunLady
Rating: 4/5
Thank you to author Rhiannon Hargadon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
In this Salem witch trial retelling we follow The Merriweather family who are not exactly the most honest themselves. Every family has secrets and each of them, sins of their own. These character personalities are not written with your typical main character energy. Running and hiding to save their own lives can be traumatic and most would do anything to mask their despair and take what they need to survive. At times, I was like, how where these children raised? Other times, it was almost comical how thieving and manipulative they are. As we venture through the book we learn why they are who and what they are.
The magic system was not complicated, it was a mere sprinkle of it. I would have loved to see Amity (Our FMC) learn more magic, but this is a Salem witch trial retelling and we all know the real history of the witch trials, it was never really about the "magic".
The world building was written vividly and I could easily visualize Salem as told by the author. I do feel like it could have been shorter and told just as well.