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lavenderhimbo's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted to love this book, and I adored the prose and style as well as some of the characters. However, I felt like the magic/fantasy/politics were under explored for how cool they could have been. I was also uncomfortable with some of the themes around marriage and pregnancy. The queer relationship/character are also barely explored and do not feel very genuine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Sexual assault
zluke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Incredibly moving, beautifully written, but also really sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Rape
Minor: War
kitkatkick's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Antisemitism, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Genocide
Minor: War and Fire/Fire injury
Major religious persecution, very explicit (though not “graphic,” per se) description of a major character burned at the stake, graphic description of a main character buried alive and suffocated, attempt at infanticide, mentions of mass murder by burning people within a Synagogueeh1736's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Child death, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Murder and Rape
mightydroz's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book was a very strange read after the author's first book. The first half is complex and fascinating, and then it takes several very confusing turns until the end with no conclusion that I can understand? Might be someone's cup of tea but I struggled to finish this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Racism, Murder, and Violence
briannad4's review
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicide
Minor: War
imds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Death, Murder, Antisemitism, Suicidal thoughts, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicide
ninegladiolus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Sometimes, you have such astounding hopes for a book and they fall flat on their face. Unfortunately, that’s what happened with me and Rena Rossner’s The Light of the Midnight Stars.
The novel follows the tales of three Jewish sisters who each have their own specific type of magic: Hannah, Sarah, and Levana. Raised in the forested village of Trnava by their respected rabbi father, a violent and traumatic tragedy forces the family to flee the village and start a new life away from their heritage and traditions.
There are definitely elements I loved about this novel. The way Rossner weaves Jewish folklore and history into each one of the POV characters shows the love, care, and research she put into crafting this story. It truly was a story inextricably shaped by Jewish experiences to a degree I haven’t seen in a fantasy novel before, filling a dire gap in speculative fiction. I won’t personally speak to the quality of the representation within, but there are Jewish reviewers who have spoken on this and I would encourage you to seek out their reviews! In addition, the prose in many places was quite beautiful; this definitely got a fair number of highlights for poignant turns of phrase.
The main thing that didn’t work for me about this novel was that it tried to do WAY too much with the space it had. With three POVs (one of which was rendered in verse for a large portion of the novel), lots of interjected side stories, a complete shift in names and language at the turning point of the book, and each sister’s character arc going in vastly different directions after said turning point, a plethora of historical information mixed with magical elements… there just wasn’t enough space to accomplish the ambitious goals this novel had. A side effect of this is that I felt like I never got to really know Hannah, Sarah, and Levana as characters; so much of their chapters, in addition to jumping around right as many of them hit a stride, felt almost allegorical in nature instead of like three dimensional characters. As such, this made many of the emotional beats of the novel miss the mark for me.
I also feel it’s important to warn readers, particularly Jewish readers, that there is a LOT a antisemitic violence and trauma in this novel—far more than I was expecting, and with very little comfort by the end. This is representative of historical events, particularly in the 1500s, but if you aren’t in a place to handle detailed depictions of antisemitic violence, please give this one a pass until such a time as you are. On top of that, this was compounded for me by the other content warnings listed at the end of this review. From the synopsis and marketing, I was expecting a much lighter and fantastical tale, and I definitely wasn’t in the head space for this read.
This is a relatively minor note in comparison, but one of the reasons I picked this up was because I understood there to be a sapphic relationship within. While one of the sisters is LGBTQIA+ (I would say bisexual if the term existed in the 1500s), her relationship with what I would term a genderqueer character does not get a lot of focus AT all and it’s definitely not a romance as far as mood or genre considerations. Another note for readers who might have been interested for the same reasons.
Overall, this just wasn’t the book for me, as much as I wanted to love it. I still plan on checking out The Sisters of the Winter Wood at some point because I can absolutely see the skill and care Rossner brings to her craft. As long as you’re in the space to deal with the content warnings provided, I’d still recommend this to readers looking for a standalone fantasy book with a powerful foundation of Jewish history and folklore.
Thank you to Orbit for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
CW: extreme antisemitism, extreme misogyny, rape, graphic depictions of violence, religious bigotry, murder, infanticide, confinement, and sexual relations between minors and adults.
The novel follows the tales of three Jewish sisters who each have their own specific type of magic: Hannah, Sarah, and Levana. Raised in the forested village of Trnava by their respected rabbi father, a violent and traumatic tragedy forces the family to flee the village and start a new life away from their heritage and traditions.
There are definitely elements I loved about this novel. The way Rossner weaves Jewish folklore and history into each one of the POV characters shows the love, care, and research she put into crafting this story. It truly was a story inextricably shaped by Jewish experiences to a degree I haven’t seen in a fantasy novel before, filling a dire gap in speculative fiction. I won’t personally speak to the quality of the representation within, but there are Jewish reviewers who have spoken on this and I would encourage you to seek out their reviews! In addition, the prose in many places was quite beautiful; this definitely got a fair number of highlights for poignant turns of phrase.
The main thing that didn’t work for me about this novel was that it tried to do WAY too much with the space it had. With three POVs (one of which was rendered in verse for a large portion of the novel), lots of interjected side stories, a complete shift in names and language at the turning point of the book, and each sister’s character arc going in vastly different directions after said turning point, a plethora of historical information mixed with magical elements… there just wasn’t enough space to accomplish the ambitious goals this novel had. A side effect of this is that I felt like I never got to really know Hannah, Sarah, and Levana as characters; so much of their chapters, in addition to jumping around right as many of them hit a stride, felt almost allegorical in nature instead of like three dimensional characters. As such, this made many of the emotional beats of the novel miss the mark for me.
I also feel it’s important to warn readers, particularly Jewish readers, that there is a LOT a antisemitic violence and trauma in this novel—far more than I was expecting, and with very little comfort by the end. This is representative of historical events, particularly in the 1500s, but if you aren’t in a place to handle detailed depictions of antisemitic violence, please give this one a pass until such a time as you are. On top of that, this was compounded for me by the other content warnings listed at the end of this review. From the synopsis and marketing, I was expecting a much lighter and fantastical tale, and I definitely wasn’t in the head space for this read.
This is a relatively minor note in comparison, but one of the reasons I picked this up was because I understood there to be a sapphic relationship within. While one of the sisters is LGBTQIA+ (I would say bisexual if the term existed in the 1500s), her relationship with what I would term a genderqueer character does not get a lot of focus AT all and it’s definitely not a romance as far as mood or genre considerations. Another note for readers who might have been interested for the same reasons.
Overall, this just wasn’t the book for me, as much as I wanted to love it. I still plan on checking out The Sisters of the Winter Wood at some point because I can absolutely see the skill and care Rossner brings to her craft. As long as you’re in the space to deal with the content warnings provided, I’d still recommend this to readers looking for a standalone fantasy book with a powerful foundation of Jewish history and folklore.
Thank you to Orbit for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
CW: extreme antisemitism, extreme misogyny, rape, graphic depictions of violence, religious bigotry, murder, infanticide, confinement, and sexual relations between minors and adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape
mj_james_writes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Light of the Midnight Stars
By. Rena Rossner
P. 416
Format: eArc
Rating: ***
**********************
I received an e-arc from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
**********************
The Light of the Midnight Stars is a Jewish inspired YAish fantasy story. The story follows three sisters born to a Jewish Rabbi. The story starts when the middle child turns twelve and follows them into adulthood.
I personally have never read a Jewish inspired fantasy story and I appreciated the uniqueness of that. It is also a historical fantasy, which I surprisingly enjoyed for the most part. The characters were relatable and developed with the exception of the youngest sister. I also appreciated the way that a few characters battled with the internalization of gender and gender expectations.
I really enjoyed the novel at first. You got a sense of community and tradition with fantastical elements. It was a bit concerning to read about a thirteen year old getting engaged. I am sure it was historically accurate, but not acceptable now and it was uncomfortable reading about. The storyline also turns very dark and you are left with a tale of misery, and a message that women must always sacrifice for the next generation, a message that seemed contrary to the internalized battle of gender identity and was just a lot.
The story also transitions to more of a fairy tale. The third sister has a plot line that is way to fantastical and her dialogue turns from prose to verse. I didn’t enjoy this storyline at all and to then read that this was one of the main focus for writing the book threw me off even more.
I am sure that this book will become beloved by many. It is excellently written, it was just too much for me. Also, there are trigger warnings for just about everything. It is a dark fairy tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Suicide, and Murder
leahsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.
I’ve recently come across a lot of OwnVoices Jewish books, but this is the first time that I’ve ever read a Jewish-themed fantasy. I loved the book, and devoured the entire thing in a single day. I knew that this most likely wasn’t going to have a happy ending, just like so many stories throughout Jewish history, but to me, it was worth every moment.
I’ve never read a mainstream book that fully integrated Jewish religious practices and customs into the story before this one. This book is very much a book written by a Jew for a Jewish audience, but it also makes the frequently unknown and commonly misunderstood aspects of Judaism accessible to a wider audience. To me, this book felt like coming home. There was something about reading a book where the prayers of my people, the religious practices, and the customs were slipped into the text in such a natural way. I grew up exposed to Orthodox Judaism, which is close to how the characters practice their faith, and it’s so rare to see in books.
The family of Rabbi Isaac Solomonar live a pious life. They each have their own form of magic which is strongly linked to their faith. The rabbi has three daughters: Hannah, with her ability to connect to the earth, grow things, and heal; Sarah, with her unpredictable and often uncontrolled connection to fire, and her frustration with the limitations of being female; and Levana, with her connection to the stars. The strength of this book was the way the story was told through the eyes of each of these MCs, who had their own goals and struggles, even as they intertwined. I managed to connect with each of the sisters, as different as they were.
When tragedy strikes on the heels of the Black Mist, a pogrom (antisemitic massacre) occurs and the family has to leave the town. They find a new place to live, but make the decision to change who they are to draw less attention to themselves. This means new names, a new profession for Rabbi Isaac, and a complete turnaround in regard to their religion. They pose as non-Jews to better fit in, but this also means giving up the link to their magic.
The Black Mist itself is a combination of symbolism for antisemitism and the Black Plague, which are historically linked. Jews in those times were often blamed for the Plague, and pogroms were frequent. There’s a fantasy element to the Black Mist as well, in that it wasn’t just a disease or an ancient hatred, but more of a sentient evil, looking for cracks to work its way into.
In addition to the fantastic Jewish rep, there was a queer aspect to the story. The way that Jewish, female, and queer identities were introduced and addressed were intriguing, and I loved that representation, even though my heart broke for the queer characters and what their lives were like in those times. Life is always hard when you live outside of the majority culture, and it was even more difficult in those times.
While this story wasn’t an easy read, it was a good one. This story told the poignant, difficult, bittersweet, and often painful history of my people. Life back then was very different, and this book illustrated a lot of that. The content warnings were a normal part of life for people living in the 15th century, which is when this book was set.
I loved so many aspects of this story, but I did feel like there were a couple of loose ends. I would have liked to see a little more development of some of the characters, and it felt like the parents completely faded after moving to their new town. The ending felt a little rushed, but it left me with a beautiful sense of fulfillment after the very last page. And after reading the author’s note, I was blown away by the intense amount of research and the personal connection that the author had to the story itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Murder, Grief, and Death
Minor: Rape