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lktx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Bright & the Pale is Jessica Rubinkowski’s debut novel, a YA fantasy inspired by Russian folklore. The reader follows Valeria, a teenager in the Thieves’ Guild, on a mission that leads her returning to her home a decade after she escaped a magical freeze.
The world is dark and tragic, as it Valaria’s life so far. Her people are slaughtered by the tsar, rounded up into prisons, and she lost her Guild partner, Alik, the year before. Along the journey, she unravels the truth about how and why she was chosen for this trip back to Knnot Mountain. A large chunk of the book takes place inside the caves of a mountain and as someone with claustrophobia, I felt the fear the characters had at times.
I thought all the characters were complex, with the exception of one at the very end, an almost comically stereotypical antagonist, “waxen skin” and all.
I listened to the audiobook and while I thought the narrator, Carlotta Brentan, did a good job overall, there were times the tone was almost whiny. Other than that, I enjoyed the voice she used for Val’s character, though some of the others could use some work. The audiobook is about 9 hours, a nice length, and it kept me hanging on to find out what happened next until the VERY end. The last sentence is banger. I immediately put the sequel, Wrath & Mercy, into my queue.
Pros:
- Interesting world full of ice and snow, dark and very obviously inspired by Russia. I also loved the addition of Adaman, inspired by Mongolia.
- Love that the YA trope of the hero’s birth was flipped on its head and it felt like watching the birth of a villain.
- The love interest is a nice departure from genre tropes–no love triangles or anything except two teens into each other but having a really hard time admitting it to the other, for their own reasons that make sense.
Cons:
- I thought the middle/Act 2 dragged a lot and it made me wonder if the book was originally too long and got cut into a duology.
- Aforementioned stereotypical antagonist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, and Violence
libbygriffin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This had so much potential. A journey to claim a valuable item from a deadly mountain. I love journey books, and I saw the potential in this. What dampened my feelings towards this book was the main character. Her choices were consistently stupid and badly thought out. She assumes and only sees things on the surface level, and doesn’t think deeper into it before coming to a conclusion- which results in many misunderstandings.
Spoilers!!!!
I was definitely not expecting a “Descent” style monster to be in this book! So eerie!
Spoilers!!!!
I was definitely not expecting a “Descent” style monster to be in this book! So eerie!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Slavery and Ableism
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
kirstenf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Genocide
criticalbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Grief, and Gaslighting
zghutcheson01's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It seems like things just happen to the characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
shadesofkate26's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Genocide
Minor: Blood
egurgens's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
First of all: I absolutely loved this book. The idea, the execution, is just fantastic. Plot twists, political plots, gods, monsters, some horror, romance, family, ugh. Just so good. The only thing that I struggled with is that there was a lot of down time the mountain where there could have been more plot. Also Valerias main character trait is her anger, which sorta makes sense, but I would’ve liked some more variation. I definitely need the next book, like, now. But it doesn’t come out until next March 😥
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Torture, Violence, and War
jupiterlee's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I am not usually one for reading books based off folklore as I sometimes feel like it will either be a retelling or it will ruin the folklore it's based off but since I am not familiar with the folklore this is based off I can say that it was a pleasant surprise.
It wasn't folklore heavy and whether that is a good thing or a bad thing will entirely depend on individual taste, but for me it was enough. It was a unique concept for me and it really was a great introduction to this type of folklore for me.
As a fantasy book however I did feel that some world building was missing, but it was made up with action from the start. It was a fast pace book that focused on the plot and nearer the end we started learning a bit more about some of the characters. I did find myself taking a break from it though as I did feel in the middle it dragged a little: this isn't the type of book that should haven't taken me two weeks to read. However by the end I was totally hooked again and I look forward to seeing the fate of these characters.
It wasn't folklore heavy and whether that is a good thing or a bad thing will entirely depend on individual taste, but for me it was enough. It was a unique concept for me and it really was a great introduction to this type of folklore for me.
As a fantasy book however I did feel that some world building was missing, but it was made up with action from the start. It was a fast pace book that focused on the plot and nearer the end we started learning a bit more about some of the characters. I did find myself taking a break from it though as I did feel in the middle it dragged a little: this isn't the type of book that should haven't taken me two weeks to read. However by the end I was totally hooked again and I look forward to seeing the fate of these characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, War, and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault, Death, and Blood
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