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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I loved this- it felt like reading Howl’s Moving Castle mixed with Russian fairy tales. The characters were all (every one of them) interesting, including the guinea pig fowl and the house itself! It felt like a complete story, and also like an adventure waiting to happen. Marisha’s character was absolutely familiar to me, and relatable, and I wanted more!
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy!
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Howl's Moving Castle meets Baba Yaga.
Marisha doesn't believe in the magic of the koldunya (women who use magic to help and heal), but she's desperate enough that she secures a position in the house of the koldunya Baba Zima to escape her current life. Not only is she fleeing the threat of an arranged marriage, she is also fearful of the approaching plague. Every ten years the sleeping plague arrives, sending people into a year-long sleep if they're lucky, if they aren't, like Marisha's parents, they remain deep sleepers.
Marisha becomes the assistant to Olena, Baba Zima's apprentice, who is determined to discover a cure for the plague. She's a prickly character, pushed and tested constantly by Zima. As they continue their research, Marisha becomes haunted by strange dreams of masked dancers and sinister bird-faced men.
The story immediately drew me in, it's not fast-paced action, instead there's a lot of daily life in the house: Marisha learning her role, growing in confidence and understanding, discovering the hidden wonders of the house (I love a sentient building - it even skis!), Olena desperately trying to prove herself. I liked the mix of these elements with the darker mystery that is threaded throughout.
My only issue was that the ending felt a lot faster-paced and dramatic than the rest of the book, although I did like the setting for it.
I don't know if there are going to be more books with these characters, but I'll certainly look forward to reading more from the author.
Thanks to Hodderscape for providing me with a netgalley review copy
Marisha doesn't believe in the magic of the koldunya (women who use magic to help and heal), but she's desperate enough that she secures a position in the house of the koldunya Baba Zima to escape her current life. Not only is she fleeing the threat of an arranged marriage, she is also fearful of the approaching plague. Every ten years the sleeping plague arrives, sending people into a year-long sleep if they're lucky, if they aren't, like Marisha's parents, they remain deep sleepers.
Marisha becomes the assistant to Olena, Baba Zima's apprentice, who is determined to discover a cure for the plague. She's a prickly character, pushed and tested constantly by Zima. As they continue their research, Marisha becomes haunted by strange dreams of masked dancers and sinister bird-faced men.
The story immediately drew me in, it's not fast-paced action, instead there's a lot of daily life in the house: Marisha learning her role, growing in confidence and understanding, discovering the hidden wonders of the house (I love a sentient building - it even skis!), Olena desperately trying to prove herself. I liked the mix of these elements with the darker mystery that is threaded throughout.
My only issue was that the ending felt a lot faster-paced and dramatic than the rest of the book, although I did like the setting for it.
I don't know if there are going to be more books with these characters, but I'll certainly look forward to reading more from the author.
Thanks to Hodderscape for providing me with a netgalley review copy
slow-paced
This book has been compared to Bear and the Nightingale as well as Juniper and Thorn. I have read both and honestly don’t really see any similarities. The book does contain Russian folklore but I wouldn’t say that makes it comparable to the Bear and the Nightingale. There were some aspects of this book I enjoyed. I liked the quirky house and Guinea-pig fowl. But nothing hooked me into the story. It was very slow. I never got attached to any of the characters. I was really hoping to like this, but it didn’t work for me. The story is very character driven, which I’m usually a fan of but this is an exception. Much of the content felt very “slice of life” with descriptions of mundane tasks and chores. This definitely could’ve been cut down a bit. I just wanted more from it. I kept waiting for something to hook me and it never did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
This is such a strange story, but I really enjoyed it in the end. I think the blurb doesn’t do a good job laying out what to expect here either.
This is a slow-paced, character driven fantasy story. The bulk of it is spent in the house, with Marisha learning to become an apprentice, and Olena searching for a cure for the sleeping plague. There’s a lot of day-to-day life in the chicken leg house as they work and travel to different towns. We get a hint of something mysterious around the 30% mark, but we really don’t pick it back up until around 65% in.
Olena and Marisha both have a lot to learn about each other and working together. Baba Zina fosters an atmosphere of secrets and competition. There are a lot of layers and secrets and intricate connections that are revealed by the end. The character development is well done and I appreciate the growth we see.
The last 20% has a lot of action and magic and emotional impact. I think a lot of people will enjoy the ending. There’s a bit of an open end to allow for possible more adventures in the future, but this also works really well as a standalone.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own
This is a slow-paced, character driven fantasy story. The bulk of it is spent in the house, with Marisha learning to become an apprentice, and Olena searching for a cure for the sleeping plague. There’s a lot of day-to-day life in the chicken leg house as they work and travel to different towns. We get a hint of something mysterious around the 30% mark, but we really don’t pick it back up until around 65% in.
Olena and Marisha both have a lot to learn about each other and working together. Baba Zina fosters an atmosphere of secrets and competition. There are a lot of layers and secrets and intricate connections that are revealed by the end. The character development is well done and I appreciate the growth we see.
The last 20% has a lot of action and magic and emotional impact. I think a lot of people will enjoy the ending. There’s a bit of an open end to allow for possible more adventures in the future, but this also works really well as a standalone.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Marisha is a young woman struggling to find her way in the world following her parents falling to the sleeping plague and her brother, Dima, leaving her to find a way to make money for the family. Marisha finds a job as the assistant to Baba Zima and Olena, a travelling koldunya and her apprentice.
The novel weaves between Marisha and Olena's perspectives as they find a way to work together in the search for a cure for the sleeping plague. The tale was rich in folklore, and felt perfect for getting lost into on a cold, dark wintry night. The development of the characters was well placed, and I found myself rooting for each of them.
My main critique of the novel would be the pacing, which was overall good, but the ending seemed very sudden and with a lot of threads unresolved. I think these will be resolved in a sequel, however I'd have liked a bit more of the resolution within this tale.
Overall, an enjoyable read I'd give 3.75 stars and would recommend to anyone looking to curl up into an atmospheric, folklore inspired tale of a cold, wintry evening. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this novel.
The novel weaves between Marisha and Olena's perspectives as they find a way to work together in the search for a cure for the sleeping plague. The tale was rich in folklore, and felt perfect for getting lost into on a cold, dark wintry night. The development of the characters was well placed, and I found myself rooting for each of them.
My main critique of the novel would be the pacing, which was overall good, but the ending seemed very sudden and with a lot of threads unresolved. I think these will be resolved in a sequel, however I'd have liked a bit more of the resolution within this tale.
Overall, an enjoyable read I'd give 3.75 stars and would recommend to anyone looking to curl up into an atmospheric, folklore inspired tale of a cold, wintry evening. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this novel.