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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
With it's evocative title and beautiful wintery cover, this Baba Yaga inspired fantasy is an amazing, atmospheric and magical tale.
Marisha's time is running out. She's already lost her family to the sleeping plague and fears she'll be next. Penniless and desperate for protection, she accepts a job as apprentice to the notorious koldunya Baba Zima and finds herself drawn into the magical world of koldunry.
Thrust into an increasingly dangerous and seemingly impossible search for a cure, Marisha uncovers hidden connections between the sleeping plague, her own family's history and her haunting dreams of a masked ball, where sleepers are trapped endlessly dancing and a monstrous beaked man shadows her every step...
This is a very well written and evocative debut with a folktale-like quality, full of fascinating folk magic and enchantment, secrets and dreams, mysteries and masked balls, friendship and found family as well as a touch of romance. I loved all of the wonderfully nuanced characters and their growth arcs, especially sceptical Marisha, independent Olena and the complicated Baba Zima. Valdim and Golgolin also deserve special mention as does the sentient travelling house on chicken legs!
Told in dual POV, it is in many ways a character driven novel and I loved the way the pace steadly built to a creschendo - rather like a really great piece of music - it made for a really immersive reading experience. I really appreciated how stories and legends came to play a part in the quest for the sleeping cure and found myself fully invested in all aspects of this magical tale. Indeed, I found that I didn't want it to end and definitely feel there is more to tell, especially for Marisha, so I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed for a sequel!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, A.B. Poranek, Katherine Arden and anyone who loves Baba Yaga tales.
Marisha's time is running out. She's already lost her family to the sleeping plague and fears she'll be next. Penniless and desperate for protection, she accepts a job as apprentice to the notorious koldunya Baba Zima and finds herself drawn into the magical world of koldunry.
Thrust into an increasingly dangerous and seemingly impossible search for a cure, Marisha uncovers hidden connections between the sleeping plague, her own family's history and her haunting dreams of a masked ball, where sleepers are trapped endlessly dancing and a monstrous beaked man shadows her every step...
This is a very well written and evocative debut with a folktale-like quality, full of fascinating folk magic and enchantment, secrets and dreams, mysteries and masked balls, friendship and found family as well as a touch of romance. I loved all of the wonderfully nuanced characters and their growth arcs, especially sceptical Marisha, independent Olena and the complicated Baba Zima. Valdim and Golgolin also deserve special mention as does the sentient travelling house on chicken legs!
Told in dual POV, it is in many ways a character driven novel and I loved the way the pace steadly built to a creschendo - rather like a really great piece of music - it made for a really immersive reading experience. I really appreciated how stories and legends came to play a part in the quest for the sleeping cure and found myself fully invested in all aspects of this magical tale. Indeed, I found that I didn't want it to end and definitely feel there is more to tell, especially for Marisha, so I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed for a sequel!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, A.B. Poranek, Katherine Arden and anyone who loves Baba Yaga tales.
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This was a fun story based on Slavic folklore with major Howl’s Moving Castle vibes. Marisha lives in Chernozemyla, a land inflicted with an ancient sleeping plague. Every ten years on the dot people fall asleep. Both of Marisha’s parents are deep sleepers (people who sleep for more than a year) and her brother left her. Marisha escapes an inevitable arranged marriage at the hands of her awful Aunt by becoming an apprentice to an apprentice for a Koldunya. This particular Koldunya, Baba Zima, controls n orange chicken-legged house that travels from city to city. Baba Zima’s apprentice, Olena, is trying to find a cure for the plague. Marisha must overcome her disbelief of magic to help pursue a cure.
This book is very character driven. If someone does not enjoy character driven books, they will not enjoy this book. I’m not a huge fan of character driven stories, but the folklore was so dang good. The plot takes a back seat to the story told through Baba Zima, Marisha, Olena, and eventually Valdim. The pacing is a little skewed. The book starts off very strong, is incredibly slow, and is non-stop through the last 20%. I really enjoyed the last 20% of the book. I wish there would have been more character development between the two couples. I feel like there was a lot of potential between both love interests to further explore those particular characters. I feel that with some consolidation (the book is over 500 pages) this story would be even more enjoyable.
I enjoyed the book and will definitely recommend it as long as the readers are okay with a slow pace and character driven story. 3.75 stars
Thank you SO much to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the early copy.
This book is very character driven. If someone does not enjoy character driven books, they will not enjoy this book. I’m not a huge fan of character driven stories, but the folklore was so dang good. The plot takes a back seat to the story told through Baba Zima, Marisha, Olena, and eventually Valdim. The pacing is a little skewed. The book starts off very strong, is incredibly slow, and is non-stop through the last 20%. I really enjoyed the last 20% of the book. I wish there would have been more character development between the two couples. I feel like there was a lot of potential between both love interests to further explore those particular characters. I feel that with some consolidation (the book is over 500 pages) this story would be even more enjoyable.
I enjoyed the book and will definitely recommend it as long as the readers are okay with a slow pace and character driven story. 3.75 stars
Thank you SO much to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the early copy.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
slow-paced
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
This book surprised me with how good it was. I don’t know what I was expecting. I think the title reminded me too much of the Sarah J. Maas books. But what I got was a really good book based on Slavic mythology and an interesting magic system.
Though I would have liked more explanation and detail behind the magic involved, this wasn’t that kind of book. This was a book full of mysteries and dangerous plagues. I felt the sleeping plague was a good threat, being both reminiscent of fairy tales and something that could feel like a real threat to our COVID scarred society. The idea of sleeping forever while your family forgets about you and moves on is not a pleasant thought when you get down to it!
The ending was really good. I loved the creeping threat of Marisha’s dreams and though I guessed there was more to them than she realised early on, I felt it was satisfying to watch it play out.
I definitely want to look out more for this author as I really enjoyed this book.
I was gifted this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Crossposted to thewhisperingofthepages.co.uk
I was gifted this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Crossposted to thewhisperingofthepages.co.uk
Published on Goodreads 1/6/2025
Rating:
Review: Very character driven. Started off strong and pulled me in but it was too character driven and not enough plot for me. Wouldn’t move along quick enough. I feel like if the pace would have moved faster I would have stuck with it longer.
Format: 👩🏻💻
Source: #netgalley
adventurous
informative
mysterious
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