The Bear and the Nightingale
(Winternight Trilogy #1)
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind--she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed--this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.
What I thought:
I love fairy tales, and this one is dark and twisty, and there are so many stories within the story. This book is so immersive. The world is so well drawn and equally as fascinating. I loved, loved, loved Vasilisa. I adored her relationships, especially with her brother.
There's a juxtaposition of the new Christian God against the old gods, which is first highlighted by Vasilisa's nurse's stories and her devout brother, and then amplified by her father's new wife and the priest against Vasilisa's wildness. There's a constant tension built in by the harsh wilderness, their remote location, and the bitter, killing cold.
I loved the themes here and how the narrative brilliantly weaves together so many familiar tropes all the while making them seem fresh.
I'm definitely a fan of this series and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a lushly rendered fantasy world.
Rating: ***** (5 stars)
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RATING SCALE:
5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you.
4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book.
3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it.
2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.
1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.
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Happy reading,
Chelly
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