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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had as many grammatical errors as this one. Wrong tenses, missing words or completely wrong words. It was honestly so distracting that I almost stopped reading a quarter of the way through. The plot and characters in no way made up for the struggle. I wanted to like this book, but just ended up being disappointed.
Love the concept and some parts of the story. I listened to the audiobook and it was hard to follow sometimes so I got confused in some areas.
they didn’t kiss until 95% of the way through the book
I thought I was going to lose my mind
I thought I was going to lose my mind
(I received this book as a Sourcebooks Early Read)
Amazing. YA continues to be the genre of some of the best reading out there right now, period. This fantastical tale drawn from both history and mythology is captivating, its two alternating narrators interesting in their own connected ways, and the storylines are complex and intertwine flawlessly from start to finish. The lives of all the characters build on themselves, and it's easy to feel for all of them, no matter which side they're on at any given moment. I was drawn in by the backgrounds of the monsters and men alike, and kept there by the true relatability and tragedy of the characters. I nearly read it in one sitting. There wasn't a single page I didn't enjoy.
Amazing. YA continues to be the genre of some of the best reading out there right now, period. This fantastical tale drawn from both history and mythology is captivating, its two alternating narrators interesting in their own connected ways, and the storylines are complex and intertwine flawlessly from start to finish. The lives of all the characters build on themselves, and it's easy to feel for all of them, no matter which side they're on at any given moment. I was drawn in by the backgrounds of the monsters and men alike, and kept there by the true relatability and tragedy of the characters. I nearly read it in one sitting. There wasn't a single page I didn't enjoy.
“I’ve tasted freedom. I’ve tasted hearts and it’s changed me.”
Villainous, monstrous girls!!! I ate this up completely and had such a good time doing so. It wasn't everything that I wanted, but it got pretty close. This is one of those books that I do think I could reread in the future, because there were a lot of background details that I didn't really absorb, and I'm sure I'd get more out of the story if I did. And while I like the way that this ended, I would love the chance to catch up with these characters in the future once again. Zosia and Marynka are servants to rival witches, monstrous girls with the powers of midnight and midday, and they've been locked in competition for years. Their latest mission is to capture the pure heart of the country's beloved prince, and each girl is trying to get there before the other; Marynka for her mistress, and Zosia for herself. And yet in spite of (and perhaps because of) their enmity, a deeper relationship starts to grow.
This was so fun! I really love the way that it was told, the fact that the girls are both genuine villains who pull no punches and feel very little remorse. But there's a lot of nuance to their story, and reasons why they are the people they are, the monsters they are. Right off the bat, I fell in love with the descriptions of their monster forms: the claws, the iron teeth, turning into smoke and mist. The girls are opposites not just because of the nature of their respective powers, night and day, but also in their general dispositions. Zosia is more calculated and meticulous, while Marynka favours action and bold plans. It was honestly delightful to see them clash, and then work together reluctantly, and then clash again. The short period where they weren't aware of each other's identities, and actually got a bit close as friends, was so good. I wish the book were a bit longer, so that that section could have lasted a bit longer. They had such great chemistry as friends! But the rivalry was even better. It was morbid, but also very fun, how they were playing this game of one-upmanship with people's lives?? Haha... I really loved it. All the bits where Marynka is like 'it's totally normal to dream about and obsess over your nemesis, right??' Girl...
The side characters also made this REALLy great, Especially since they, crucially, never stole the show. The way the book was written, you could clearly see how, in another story, this would have been about the valiant prince and his tortured anti-hero best friend, and their friends-to-enemies-to-possibly-lovers romance. But it's not. The book is about the girl villains, and all that hero shit is happening in the margins. And I really loved it, haha. Jozef and Kajetan were great. I do love holy warriors, friends to lovers, all that. And I think it was a great decision to have them as important, but ultimately tangential characters.
Spoiler
there was a really funny (errr, depending on your sense of humour) moment where Zosia and Marynka are trailing the prince, and Kajetan is trying to foil their plans, and the girls team up momentarily to work against him, get him run over by a carriage or something. And they were so casual and blasé about it, and IDK it just struck me as particularly funny, because in the hero's journey, if this were being told from Kajetan or Jozef's POV, it would be a huge setback, or built up as this big clash with the villains. But the girls are just like 'whatever' about it. I don't know, it was really funny.I did want a little bit more from this. We mostly only saw the grandmothers in flashback and in the girls' internal monologues, and I kinda wanted more of them, to underscore their powers and their plans. There are awful abusive dynamics at play here, but also some genuine affection between the witches and their servants, and I wanted to see some more of the differences between the white, red and black witches. Beata was a great, complicated character, and I wish she had more page time. The whole backstory about the war and the tsarina and the different factions took me a while to wrap my head around, and I don't think I ever fully got it. And I have to admit, as much as I was a fan of our villainous girls, some of the collateral damage and deaths really bummed me out. What can I say! I'm a baby and a softie.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Emily Ellet, and it was really great! Really wide range of voices, and each character sounded distinct. This author is two for two on writing YA sapphic fantasy that I love, and I do hope she'll write more!
Now she was looking at Marynka like she truly meant what she was saying, like she really did want her to come with her. Like Marynka was a prize, as rare and unobtainable as a prince’s pure heart.
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5/5
This book was weirdly hard for me to review. It has a wonderful wintery, folklore feel to it that I really enjoyed. Our 3 main characters are the Morning, Midday and Midnight witches, who are bound to serve the powerful Jaga witch sisters. They find themselves in competition with each other to literally capture the heart of a prince to bring back to their Jaga.
While I felt some of the characters didn’t have as much depth as I would have liked, it was still an enjoyable read for the most part… until the end. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I finished the book and I still don’t know if I like the ending or not
This book was weirdly hard for me to review. It has a wonderful wintery, folklore feel to it that I really enjoyed. Our 3 main characters are the Morning, Midday and Midnight witches, who are bound to serve the powerful Jaga witch sisters. They find themselves in competition with each other to literally capture the heart of a prince to bring back to their Jaga.
While I felt some of the characters didn’t have as much depth as I would have liked, it was still an enjoyable read for the most part… until the end. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I finished the book and I still don’t know if I like the ending or not
