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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
A beautifully written book. I loved the fairy tale-esque elements of it. It is very slow going though, the plot picks up pace toward the very end.
I was disappointed to learn that it was a trilogy because honestly it would have been a solid standalone. But because it's a trilogy there are a lot of questions that when unanswered but that were hinted at constantly. It's a little frustrating to be baited along but obviously that's what makes a sequel so appealing.
I was disappointed to learn that it was a trilogy because honestly it would have been a solid standalone. But because it's a trilogy there are a lot of questions that when unanswered but that were hinted at constantly. It's a little frustrating to be baited along but obviously that's what makes a sequel so appealing.
Unique (to me) story, good ending, slow middle, terrible patriarchal lines that were hard to continue through.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This has been sat on my TBR for about 2 years. I don’t know what made me reticent about picking it up but I really enjoyed it when I did!
It’s a Russian folk/fairytale retelling that reads like a Brothers Grimm- dark, tense and fabled. That style of writing doesn’t always lend itself to building warmth for its characters but I felt a fondness for the FMC and her ‘friends’.
Glad I finally read it!
It’s a Russian folk/fairytale retelling that reads like a Brothers Grimm- dark, tense and fabled. That style of writing doesn’t always lend itself to building warmth for its characters but I felt a fondness for the FMC and her ‘friends’.
Glad I finally read it!
Man, I've been on a roll with these whimsical, fairy-tale-cum-traditonal-fantasies lately! I loved how insanely immersive this was. I loved how winter was rendered so beautiful and so very, very cold. I loved the heroine and her whole family. I loved how christianity mingled with traditional slavic paganism. I loved the unapologetic nods to very, very early feminist thought.
There's a character in this who reminds me so much of Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, who is one of my favorite villains. I got such a masochistic joy from reading him.
Anyway! This is in turns painfully nostalgic and warm and terrifyingly bitter and downright scary. Reading was dreamy and gripping and I'm definitely going to pick up the next book in the trilogy even though I think this one works perfectly fine as a standalone.
There's a character in this who reminds me so much of Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, who is one of my favorite villains. I got such a masochistic joy from reading him.
Anyway! This is in turns painfully nostalgic and warm and terrifyingly bitter and downright scary. Reading was dreamy and gripping and I'm definitely going to pick up the next book in the trilogy even though I think this one works perfectly fine as a standalone.
Reads very much like a child fairytale. I was expecting it to be geared towards adults.
Good but has weird charectrisations that don’t allow true understanding of motivations and inconsistencies.
Okay but why did we have to have a marvel-esque fight scene at the end? Not the best of the Slavic fairytale inspired books I’ve read but pretty fun. personally I could do with some more yearning; wasted potential with the priest being evil imo. Horses!!! <3
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think listening to half the book is "giving it a chance." It's just not my thing. I know I'm in the VAST minority. I just can't listen to it anymore. Maybe Russian fairy tales just aren't my "thing."
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced