This is a 2024 Lone Star novel.

I don't think I'm a Frances Hardinge person. It took me FOREVER to read this book, and I had to make myself pick the book up. I had trouble following what was going on, as the characters are moving around constantly. The initial catalyst got lost in the moving around with Kellen unravelling curses.

So, Kellen unravels curses. Someone seems to be collecting cursers; Kellen and Nettle are recruited to help discover what is really going on, only to discover the Kellen has unknowingly been cursed. You'll meet Nettle's brother, a bird, who helps them as needed. They run about meeting different people, unravelling curses, and try to solve the overall mystery. ( )

Actual rating: 3.75/5, rounded up

Unraveller was my third Frances Hardinge book, and by now I can safely say I'm looking forward to catching up on all her books! As with the others I read, this book was just dark and creepy enough which made it a perfect November read. The world-building was also spot on, with the main storyline enriched with little nuggets of local lore, customs and magical creatures. I alternated between the e-book and the audio version for this, and I have to say it worked beautifully: the audiobook narrator in particular did a spectacular job bringing all the characters to life!

The plot was very original and definitely highly engaging: in the land of Raddith, anyone who strongly hates another person may curse them and only one boy, Kellen, has the power to unravel curses. Kellen himself is cursed, however, and unless he can learn how to unravel his own curse, he risks destroying everything and everyone around him. The story soon starts to show its multiple layers and, just like a complex tapestry we follow a thread at a time until the whole picture is clear before our eyes. The author does a great job weaving and unweaving the tale and the luscious, atmospheric setting plays a big part in that.

As Kellen and his friend Nettle journey across the land, they engage in a series of quests, unravelling various curses as they go. Pretty soon, it started to feel as though we were deep in a cycle of travel, quest, curse, unravelling and repeat. Although some of the places they visit and the characters they meet were fascinating, it did start to feel a little repetitive at times, and there was an almost endless parade of secondary characters who were introduced and left so fast I struggled to keep up with them. Sadly, this also meant I didn't really grow attached to any of them so that, when a few made a further appearance at a key point later on in the book, I was mostly unfazed.

This was really a shame, as in contrast I liked the main characters very much! Both Kellen and Nettle were unique, complex and deeply flawed and I loved them both so much for it. Their friendship and loyalty to their other friends and family members were an absolute delight to read about, and I really appreciated how they were called out on their mistakes and worked to put them right. There was real character growth here, which made me even sadder that it was limited to the main characters only.

Unraveller is a perfectly creepy read, perfect for readers who are looking for vivid settings and original world-building, despite the story dragging on a bit in the middle.



I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )

Oh Kellen really did need to be brought to realise how his treating others was just not on.
In a world where spider-like Little Brothers can grant someone a curse, sometimes that curse is used more for harm than good. When Kellen is cursed his unraveling skill goes out of control and it might just bring the world to an end if he doesn't control it.
In essence this is a story about control and the importance of control and also about the power of love, there's a lot of sibling love here and a lot of hate for people who need hatred, only a warning about how hate can damage the hater as much as the person they hate. I found it really interesting and really wanted the characters to succeed. ( )

Teenager Kellen is an Unraveller - someone who can undo curses. Nettle is his best friend who he freed from the curse of being a heron but who still has a touch of strangeness to her. Their mission to discover why cursers are being spirited away from their iron-bound prison takes them into the dangerous Wild, where nothing is as it seems and it's hard to tell truth from lies.
Another excellent and dark YA tale from Frances Hardinge. ( )

In a country where anyone can cast a curse on one's enemies, Kellen has accidentally become an unraveller of curses. But now he discovers that he himself has become the target of such a curse. Can he unravel his own curse on time?

I adore dark fantasy, and this book reminded me of fairy tales and novels I loved to read when I was growing up, and which made me fall in love with books. I devoured it in record time. I found the characters very accessible and relatable, even though it has to be said that one often has to read between the lines, and they have real emotional and psychological depth. The pace varies, with slower sections that fit the story and aid character development, with the pace picking up when it needs to. The plot is imaginative and unpredictable to a degree while still following certain familiar fairy-tale tropes, and there are plenty of twists. From the first page I felt myself being drawn into this world and became completely immersed, to the degree that I resented having to find food and drink and having to spend time with my family because I was itching to get back to the story; I could very happily have read the whole book in one sitting, if my body hadn't protested its need for sustenance, sleep and calls of nature. Simply wonderful. ( )