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whichcraftidk's review
5.0
Madame Pamita shares a little-written about magical tradition with her personal stories and magical practices of Ukrainian witchcraft. This is a good introduction to the folklore of the area as well as how folklore is the same and different across borders. The magic is practical, beautiful, and unique. This book can be enjoyed by those looking to connect to a familial tradition, curious about Slavic magic, and/or those interested in Slavic folklore.
meta1machin3's review
2.0
The insight into Ukrainian folklore is fascinating, but some of the author’s stylistic choices (such as the sections featuring the POV of “Baba Yaga” herself) are grating.
bubblewombat's review
5.0
I live for books about Slavic culture/traditions/magic written by actual Slavic authors. Sure, authors who aren't from Slavic countries can attempt to explain it, but the same feeling won't be there.
Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft was not only written by a Slavic author, but also had Slavic helpers and extensive research (with cited sources) done which makes me very happy.
The arc I received was only the first chapter of the book, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't even realise it until I got halfway through in no time. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, I just wish it was stated that it was a sample on the NetGalley page.
In that first chapter, and the intro before that, we get to see parts of the author's personal story, a fairy tale, and embroidery patterns. It was enough to convince me to buy the book (but let's be real, I would've bought it on sight anyway). I'm really excited to see what the rest of the book will hold, since we didn't even get to the most interesting part (the spells) yet.
And that mention of the evil eye and someone harming you just by looking at you with it? VERY REAL. It works similarly with objects given with ill intent. That's why my family never let me accept objects given to me by people they didn't trust (my aunt even vacuumed a clear quartz crystal necklace "on accident" because the person who had given it to me very likely wanted to wish me harm).
So yeah, I'll absolutely be reading the full version when it's out. And you should too.
*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft was not only written by a Slavic author, but also had Slavic helpers and extensive research (with cited sources) done which makes me very happy.
The arc I received was only the first chapter of the book, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't even realise it until I got halfway through in no time. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, I just wish it was stated that it was a sample on the NetGalley page.
In that first chapter, and the intro before that, we get to see parts of the author's personal story, a fairy tale, and embroidery patterns. It was enough to convince me to buy the book (but let's be real, I would've bought it on sight anyway). I'm really excited to see what the rest of the book will hold, since we didn't even get to the most interesting part (the spells) yet.
And that mention of the evil eye and someone harming you just by looking at you with it? VERY REAL. It works similarly with objects given with ill intent. That's why my family never let me accept objects given to me by people they didn't trust (my aunt even vacuumed a clear quartz crystal necklace "on accident" because the person who had given it to me very likely wanted to wish me harm).
So yeah, I'll absolutely be reading the full version when it's out. And you should too.
*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*
pinocchionline's review
5.0
Ho avuto solo l'anteprima grazie a Netgalley, ma da quel poco che ho visto sembra molto carino e folkloristico.
Ogni capitolo è diviso in tre parti: una storia del folklore ucraino, un commento dell'autrice sotto le mentite spoglie di Baba Yaga, degli incantesimi o teoria magica che si può dedurre dalle prime due parti.
Purtroppo non sono di origini slave quindi non saprei dire quanto sia accurato, ma fortunatamente vengono lasciate le fonti per ogni singolo capitolo e si può approfondire/verificare facilmente..
Credo proprio che lo comprerò (quindi aggiornerò la recensione su goodreads)
Ogni capitolo è diviso in tre parti: una storia del folklore ucraino, un commento dell'autrice sotto le mentite spoglie di Baba Yaga, degli incantesimi o teoria magica che si può dedurre dalle prime due parti.
Purtroppo non sono di origini slave quindi non saprei dire quanto sia accurato, ma fortunatamente vengono lasciate le fonti per ogni singolo capitolo e si può approfondire/verificare facilmente..
Credo proprio che lo comprerò (quindi aggiornerò la recensione su goodreads)
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