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kneecole's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent
harmshoney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
2.0
DNF! back at it again with my unpopular opinions π«£
first I want to say that if you loved this book, ππππ ππ πππ ππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππ πππ. we all have such different brains & convictions. you're allowed to have your own unique perspective. so, here we go..
I disliked this book so much that I'm in a major funk, & haven't wanted to read or create videos π₯²
this is meant to be a fairytale/folklore story, & that concept fascinates me. as I've stated before, I believe that as a Christian, it's possible to be able to enjoy & learn moral lessons from fiction stories without taking them on as a religion. with that said, these are my issues with this book..
as stated, I enjoy fairytale/folklore.. when they're just that. this, however, did my least favorite thing when it comes to that genre: it mixed in a real religion - Christianity. the *second* this theme came up, I knew I would have a problem. had this story remained solely folklore, I am sure I would have actually enjoyed it a bit more.
why did this mixture bother me? because there was an incredibly strong biased against Christianity. I'll paint a picture for you: this story follows a little girl who is able to see the folklore creatures. the water nymph, the stable guardian, etc. this initially intrigued me before religion was introduced.. thinking it was going to be about those relationships between her & these creatures - a fairytale story. but no.
her stepmother comes into the story. a devout "Christian" & absolutely TERRRIFIED of everything under the sun. she can also see these creatures, & she believes they are demons. this woman is crazy, cruel, & abusive. her "pastor" is a fairytale version of a gospel preacher, oozing with narcissism & having no care or honor for Christ. he had good one-liners, but don't all false teachers? the reviews stated he got worse throughout the story.
so really, this turned into paganism vs. Christianity. the story strongly in favor of the former. the folklore was presented as very real, while Christianity was viewed as a false system of legalism & abuse.
I can't help but see everything through a Christian lens. not sorry π€·π½ββοΈ reading this book, all I could think was, "I'd be the crazy woman calling the creatures demons". because in reality? that's what they would be. in a story, in a fairytale? they're pretend. just like Narnia or Lord of the Rings. but here, they were presented as real in our world & that Christians are crazy, hateful, & wrong to think they're bad. other things I disliked: the writing was probably some of the worst I have read. it was choppy, robotic, confusing, & the story telling was hard to follow & just weird. I couldn't find a "flow" at all. there were far too many characters, most of unimportance. overall, I reallIIIlly didn't like this. so yeah, don't recommend. avoid.
first I want to say that if you loved this book, ππππ ππ πππ ππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππ πππ. we all have such different brains & convictions. you're allowed to have your own unique perspective. so, here we go..
I disliked this book so much that I'm in a major funk, & haven't wanted to read or create videos π₯²
this is meant to be a fairytale/folklore story, & that concept fascinates me. as I've stated before, I believe that as a Christian, it's possible to be able to enjoy & learn moral lessons from fiction stories without taking them on as a religion. with that said, these are my issues with this book..
as stated, I enjoy fairytale/folklore.. when they're just that. this, however, did my least favorite thing when it comes to that genre: it mixed in a real religion - Christianity. the *second* this theme came up, I knew I would have a problem. had this story remained solely folklore, I am sure I would have actually enjoyed it a bit more.
why did this mixture bother me? because there was an incredibly strong biased against Christianity. I'll paint a picture for you: this story follows a little girl who is able to see the folklore creatures. the water nymph, the stable guardian, etc. this initially intrigued me before religion was introduced.. thinking it was going to be about those relationships between her & these creatures - a fairytale story. but no.
her stepmother comes into the story. a devout "Christian" & absolutely TERRRIFIED of everything under the sun. she can also see these creatures, & she believes they are demons. this woman is crazy, cruel, & abusive. her "pastor" is a fairytale version of a gospel preacher, oozing with narcissism & having no care or honor for Christ. he had good one-liners, but don't all false teachers? the reviews stated he got worse throughout the story.
so really, this turned into paganism vs. Christianity. the story strongly in favor of the former. the folklore was presented as very real, while Christianity was viewed as a false system of legalism & abuse.
I can't help but see everything through a Christian lens. not sorry π€·π½ββοΈ reading this book, all I could think was, "I'd be the crazy woman calling the creatures demons". because in reality? that's what they would be. in a story, in a fairytale? they're pretend. just like Narnia or Lord of the Rings. but here, they were presented as real in our world & that Christians are crazy, hateful, & wrong to think they're bad. other things I disliked: the writing was probably some of the worst I have read. it was choppy, robotic, confusing, & the story telling was hard to follow & just weird. I couldn't find a "flow" at all. there were far too many characters, most of unimportance. overall, I reallIIIlly didn't like this. so yeah, don't recommend. avoid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
valpyre's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
one of my fave authors reviewed this, so i had to check it out for myself and i'm so glad i did. this was a really refreshing read.
i'm not super familiar with russian mythology and folklore, and i appreciated the way this wasn't just a beat for beat retelling of a fairy tale. the way magic was intertwined with the way of life in the country, and with the main character in particular, just made sense -- i never felt too overwhelmed by new information, but there is a glossary at the end for reference.
i wasn't sure how to feel when i saw that the narrative involved multiple pov's but i really appreciated them all in the end as they lent sympathy to all the characters. the chapters/sections of different pov's were also brief enough that i appreciated the information i was learning, as opposed to just wanting to get back to the main character. even the omniscience of the prose was so smoothly written that it didn't break flow for me.
i'm really interested to see the development of the mc's magic so i'm diving right into the second book!
i'm not super familiar with russian mythology and folklore, and i appreciated the way this wasn't just a beat for beat retelling of a fairy tale. the way magic was intertwined with the way of life in the country, and with the main character in particular, just made sense -- i never felt too overwhelmed by new information, but there is a glossary at the end for reference.
i wasn't sure how to feel when i saw that the narrative involved multiple pov's but i really appreciated them all in the end as they lent sympathy to all the characters. the chapters/sections of different pov's were also brief enough that i appreciated the information i was learning, as opposed to just wanting to get back to the main character. even the omniscience of the prose was so smoothly written that it didn't break flow for me.
i'm really interested to see the development of the mc's magic so i'm diving right into the second book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Gore
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Death, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
geminisoul's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was just so immersive. I couldn't help but fall in love with Vasya and enjoyed watching her grow into herself. I can't wait to read the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
janieboucher's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
Minor: Body shaming
doodeedoda's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent
libellchen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Physical abuse
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
4.5
Sometimes too descriptive but this was mostly only in the beginning to set the background, introduce everyone, etc. That made it hard to get into the story but finally around 65 pages I was intrigued!
Who is this stranger? What does he want with Vasya? I was hooked and didnβt want to put the book down! I loved the folklore and βspiritsβ throughout the story. It was very atmospheric and tense! The characters were confusing at first and it wouldβve helped to have a guide to everyoneβs names and their nicknames to keep track. I got used to it after awhile luckily!
Overall an exciting and interesting tale π I canβt wait to continue the series and see what happens with the characters!
Overall an exciting and interesting tale π I canβt wait to continue the series and see what happens with the characters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Grief, Gore, Animal death, and Religious bigotry
colorcrystals's review against another edition
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, and Animal death
Minor: Animal cruelty and Fire/Fire injury
bookycnidaria's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexism, Violence, Mental illness, and Rape