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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Writing 4/5
Story 4/5
Narration 4.25/5
The story was wonderfully written, I loved seeing both pagan and Christian mythology interwoven. It didn't spend too much time explaining things which I really appreciated. The characters came across as a bit two dimensional, except for the main character who was very well developed.
Story 4/5
Narration 4.25/5
The story was wonderfully written, I loved seeing both pagan and Christian mythology interwoven. It didn't spend too much time explaining things which I really appreciated. The characters came across as a bit two dimensional, except for the main character who was very well developed.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
it was good! but didn’t rlly do anything for me, not memorable
also i found the misogyny/sexual violence gross to read - it wasn’t addressed in any interesting or satisfying way and i don’t care for that kinda ‘realism’ 🤷🏾♀️
also i found the misogyny/sexual violence gross to read - it wasn’t addressed in any interesting or satisfying way and i don’t care for that kinda ‘realism’ 🤷🏾♀️
No, this series is not for me. I wish I saw the YA tag before picking it up. My review is a rant that I'm not even sure makes sense, so everything is hidden under spoilers.
Arden has a talent for gorgeous, atmospheric writing and the premise is good, but I didn't enjoy how some characters were handled.
The worst example for me is Anna, introduced as a teenage girl whose only want is to join a convent to quell what she thinks are hellish hallucinations, only to be forced to marry, have sex with, and bear the child of a much older man. Anna is a victim of all the perils of womanhood that the protagonist Vasilia is desperate to avoid, but rather than having a sympathetic or even believable arc, Anna suddenly becomes a stereotypical evil stepmother whom the writing treats as an object of annoyance or ridicule. When she surprises her husband by waking him up at one point, he puts her in a "businesslike choke" (Chap 15) before realizing who she is, and the moment is glossed over without apology. If she appears on a page it's only to show how miserable, naive, and socially isolated she is. Whenever she opens her mouth it's only to scream, shriek, or speak shrilly and meanly to her stepdaughter. I can understand Anna's backstory turning her into a villain, but she is written so flatly that—I'm sorry for saying this—she's more like a literary punching bag. What a waste of a character.
Showing violence or misogyny, even to this extent, isn't the issue for me, even though I felt so tired seeing it shrugged off because it's an older setting, having to read every time any man had any sort of thought about a young girl, mostly about Vasilia. The issue for me is that commentary on such misogyny seemed selective, just totally absent beyond Vasilia asserting her need for freedom of choice. It's how the narrative still establishes Pyotr as a hero with a huge capacity for love and sacrifice despite making his second wife so unhappy; it's how, in a fairytale setting, Konstantin somehow escapes all supernatural punishment despite arguably being a bigger antagonist than the titular bear. And finally it's how, because of these contradictions and chapters dedicated to their inner lives, these men end up seeming like more complex characters than say Anna, Irina, or even Olga, who disappears at the beginning.
Wild how Anna suffers a violent death as a sort of consequence for her attitude, but the power-hungry, pedophile priest that led her to it and nearly destroyed the village apparently sticks around for the entire trilogy. He actually gets his sorry life saved multiple times in the first book by the very girl he's obsessed with and tries to force into a convent. That's the final disappointment for me: getting edged with the threat of him dying throughout the whole novel but never truly getting to experience the joy of Father Konstantin getting eaten by a creature.
Arden has a talent for gorgeous, atmospheric writing and the premise is good, but I didn't enjoy how some characters were handled.
The worst example for me is Anna, introduced as a teenage girl whose only want is to join a convent to quell what she thinks are hellish hallucinations, only to be forced to marry, have sex with, and bear the child of a much older man. Anna is a victim of all the perils of womanhood that the protagonist Vasilia is desperate to avoid, but rather than having a sympathetic or even believable arc, Anna suddenly becomes a stereotypical evil stepmother whom the writing treats as an object of annoyance or ridicule. When she surprises her husband by waking him up at one point, he puts her in a "businesslike choke" (Chap 15) before realizing who she is, and the moment is glossed over without apology. If she appears on a page it's only to show how miserable, naive, and socially isolated she is. Whenever she opens her mouth it's only to scream, shriek, or speak shrilly and meanly to her stepdaughter. I can understand Anna's backstory turning her into a villain, but she is written so flatly that—I'm sorry for saying this—she's more like a literary punching bag. What a waste of a character.
Showing violence or misogyny, even to this extent, isn't the issue for me, even though I felt so tired seeing it shrugged off because it's an older setting, having to read every time any man had any sort of thought about a young girl, mostly about Vasilia. The issue for me is that commentary on such misogyny seemed selective, just totally absent beyond Vasilia asserting her need for freedom of choice. It's how the narrative still establishes Pyotr as a hero with a huge capacity for love and sacrifice despite making his second wife so unhappy; it's how, in a fairytale setting, Konstantin somehow escapes all supernatural punishment despite arguably being a bigger antagonist than the titular bear. And finally it's how, because of these contradictions and chapters dedicated to their inner lives, these men end up seeming like more complex characters than say Anna, Irina, or even Olga, who disappears at the beginning.
Wild how Anna suffers a violent death as a sort of consequence for her attitude, but the power-hungry, pedophile priest that led her to it and nearly destroyed the village apparently sticks around for the entire trilogy. He actually gets his sorry life saved multiple times in the first book by the very girl he's obsessed with and tries to force into a convent. That's the final disappointment for me: getting edged with the threat of him dying throughout the whole novel but never truly getting to experience the joy of Father Konstantin getting eaten by a creature.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Felt just like an old fairy tale
It was a well-written story, just not for me.
It was a slow start and there were so many characters and side-characters introduced it was hard to keep track of everyone and to care about anyone. I also had a bit of a hard time with all the Russian names. Part 3 did pick up as far as pacing goes, but overall it's much more of a slow-burn story.
Overall, if you like a slower paced, fairytale-inspired story with lots of folklore and some whimsy, with severe, religious antagonists along with more fantastical villains, I think you'd enjoy this book.
I still think I might pick up the second one. I think Arden is a fantastic writer, I just tend to like stories with a bit more action better to slow, atmospheric book. But I am hopeful that where we left off in the story might bring a bit more adventure into the second book.
It was a slow start and there were so many characters and side-characters introduced it was hard to keep track of everyone and to care about anyone. I also had a bit of a hard time with all the Russian names. Part 3 did pick up as far as pacing goes, but overall it's much more of a slow-burn story.
Overall, if you like a slower paced, fairytale-inspired story with lots of folklore and some whimsy, with severe, religious antagonists along with more fantastical villains, I think you'd enjoy this book.
I still think I might pick up the second one. I think Arden is a fantastic writer, I just tend to like stories with a bit more action better to slow, atmospheric book. But I am hopeful that where we left off in the story might bring a bit more adventure into the second book.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes