A review by theespressoedition
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

How do I say "nope" in Russian? Because that's how I felt the entire time I read this. I wanted to love it. I really, REALLY wanted to love it. I adore folklore and I enjoy medieval European stories, but this just missed the mark for me in almost every way, which was a huge bummer.

There's a part of me that wonders if I would have enjoyed it more in a physical format. I listened to the audiobook and kept getting lost with the truly expansive list of characters (some of which had very similar-sounding names) and the accents. I think if I had just been visually reading, I would have been able to follow everything a bit more and would've found myself getting sucked into the story. Instead, I just kept wondering when it would end.

This is a slow book. And I mean it's molasses. There are so many tiny details and simultaneous plots happening and if you aren't paying close attention, you're going to miss it all. It would take ages for certain things to be explained and it drained my energy really quickly.

My hope is to read the remaining books in a physical format to see if that changes my opinion. I really hope that it does because I want to like these so badly!
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