Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

15 reviews

thebankofbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

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

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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

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I picked up this one as a book club read and it lives up to the writeups I read on it. Set in Russia it tells the story of a girl who has The Sight, who catches the attentions of the two Lords of Winter and Storms. (Definitely a similar flavour to Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver)

It's a nuanced story that illustrates the tensions between Russian Orthodox Christianity and the practice of tending household gods, and also the tensions between the traditional roles of women and the desires of the main character to have her own freedom.

The harsh climate of the setting creates a hostile environment, that makes people getting on with one another even more intrinsic to survival. It also increases the perceived risk of either, not being God-fearing, or severing ties with the old gods that have protected the people so far.

Also cool spooky freehold havens are fun, and spiritual presences that have more than one form make  for dream logic that really pulled me into the story.
I shall follow up on this read as it's only the first book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Death of parent

shadereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Child abuse

saskiajva's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It was definitely an interesting book and i am curious about the next one! I do think there are some things the author can hone; i wasn’t a fan of the political or marriage plot lines as it didn’t really capture my interest, and I would love to see some higher stakes. I highly recommend googling the creatures discussed while you read as it adds a lot to the book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Forced institutionalization

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

What a rich lore-heavy narrative tapestry this story turned out to be. I'm SO glad I listened to the audiobook versus reading physical or digital, as I think all the names and Russian phrases would have tripped me up as a reader and detracted from my enjoyment of the overall story. But as a listener, I loved Kathleen Gati's delivery of each character and distinguishing between spoken dialogue and narrative story with the use of accents and other modular voice changes.

I loved the integration of traditional Russian folklore. The house spirits, the forest sprites, the monsters. I appreciated how the village began with such a lovely integration of the Old Ways and Christianity, sharing reverence for both in equal measure. Yes, the village still side-eyed the idea of a witch, but everyone still left offerings for their Domovoy and the Vasila, out of respect.

Vasyia simultaneously wise beyond her years and a petulant child in the way only a teenage girl made to grow up a bit too fast must be. Alyosha was such a wonderful brother, and though he may not have fully understood what was going on, was ride-or-die for his sister and wanted nothing more than to keep her safe. Anna and Father Constantine were characters I loved to hate, but also felt for the struggles they went through as their own hopes and dreams were dashed by the will of another.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death of parent

Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, and Grief

mmefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's hard to believe that Katherine Arden is not Russian (or just Slavic) because of how authentic this book feels — it is clear she's very knowledgeable on the subject. Well integrated myths and Russian terms brought back memories from my childhood, while masterfully crafted 14th century Rus' landscapes made me want to read more Slavic-inspired fantasy. 
And to think that it's a debut novel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, and Rape

laurenw's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death

kappafrog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Death, Blood, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, War, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty

emfass's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

 Comfort reread of one of my favorites series.

Kathleen Gati does a beautiful job as narrator, capturing the characters, the dialects, the world of medieval Rus. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Sexual assault, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Self harm

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Rape