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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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:
Complicated
i think i may have read this book a little fast because if someone asked me the plot of this book i could only give them bits and pieces. the only thing i had trouble with were the characters named but that was probably because there were a Lot of characters and most of them went by nicknames as well as their normal name. also!! this whole book felt like one really long prologue. which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!! it was just a little slow at places. it was definitely one of the more slower build books i’ve read but that didn’t take away from its amazing ending and the set up for the sequel. i cant wait to read the next book. i love vasyas character and i would love to read more of her. she’s 100% a horse girl tho so idk
This book really reminded me of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and The Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian, stories rooted in old Slavic myths and legends, where winter is its own terrifying character and the heroines are gritty, hardworking girls living in semi-poverty and snow.
What stood out to me most wasn’t just the folklore and magic, but the commentary on gender roles. The book paints a striking portrait of what “being a girl” meant in that world. There’s a moment where someone says, "What you call cages is the lot of women,” and it just sat with me. It shows how, historically and in a lot of literature when a girl is wild or headstrong, the solution is almost always to marry her off. Someone will “break” her. Make her someone else’s problem. And you see this tension play out in the way characters react to Vasya. Some seem genuinely gleeful at the idea of her being subdued. Others, like her father, show regret, even as they suggest the same path: “Though a savage, she needs a husband. It would steady her.” But then he imagines her stuck sweating over an oven, and that thought fills him with a strange sorrow. That nuance was really moving.
The book also wrestles with the tension between Christianity and the old pagan spirits creatures of the forest and hearth and how those two belief systems pull at the soul of the village. But for me, just as central was the conversation about a girl having no place in that world unless she became a nun or a wife. Vasya refuses both paths, and the danger and freedom of that decision ripple throughout the story.
I liked Vasya as a character independent, wild, intuitive but I did wish there had been a bit more interiority at times. I wanted to hear more of her thoughts, especially as she made big decisions. I also expected more from Anna Ivanovna; I thought she would be a much bigger and crueler presence, but her character faded more than I thought she would. That said, it was a nice break from the evil stepmother trope it leaned more into the mentally unwell stepmother trope.
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Kathleen Gati, and she did a fantastic job. Her accent work was excellent and gave the whole book a richer, more immersive tone. While her voice did sound a little older than the teenage Vasya, it didn’t detract much. In fact, hearing the story read in a Russian (?) accent made it feel much more authentic and vivid than it might have felt on the page.
What stood out to me most wasn’t just the folklore and magic, but the commentary on gender roles. The book paints a striking portrait of what “being a girl” meant in that world. There’s a moment where someone says, "What you call cages is the lot of women,” and it just sat with me. It shows how, historically and in a lot of literature when a girl is wild or headstrong, the solution is almost always to marry her off. Someone will “break” her. Make her someone else’s problem. And you see this tension play out in the way characters react to Vasya. Some seem genuinely gleeful at the idea of her being subdued. Others, like her father, show regret, even as they suggest the same path: “Though a savage, she needs a husband. It would steady her.” But then he imagines her stuck sweating over an oven, and that thought fills him with a strange sorrow. That nuance was really moving.
The book also wrestles with the tension between Christianity and the old pagan spirits creatures of the forest and hearth and how those two belief systems pull at the soul of the village. But for me, just as central was the conversation about a girl having no place in that world unless she became a nun or a wife. Vasya refuses both paths, and the danger and freedom of that decision ripple throughout the story.
I liked Vasya as a character independent, wild, intuitive but I did wish there had been a bit more interiority at times. I wanted to hear more of her thoughts, especially as she made big decisions. I also expected more from Anna Ivanovna; I thought she would be a much bigger and crueler presence, but her character faded more than I thought she would. That said, it was a nice break from the evil stepmother trope it leaned more into the mentally unwell stepmother trope.
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Kathleen Gati, and she did a fantastic job. Her accent work was excellent and gave the whole book a richer, more immersive tone. While her voice did sound a little older than the teenage Vasya, it didn’t detract much. In fact, hearing the story read in a Russian (?) accent made it feel much more authentic and vivid than it might have felt on the page.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Highly recommend if you are looking for a fantasy/adventure that has a fresh setting. Couldn’t put it down
Absolutely gorgeous! The prose, the characters, the magic, I am in love with this world and these characters and I can't wait to read the next book!
This book was STUNNING. I loved every minute of it!
beautifully narrated, the world building the characters everything was on point!