The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden
4/5
This is the kind of book that makes you want to go read a whole encyclopedia of Russian folklore. There's so much going on without it feeling like you're being force-fed the information. Vasilisa is a daughter like her mother's mother, or that's what her dying mother claims as she justifies her existence. Her whole life has been riddled by accusations of witchcraft and other-worldliness, all she wants to do is to protect her family from the demons she feels pushing in.
It's really a beautiful story, amazing imagery, amazing world-building. The only reason it wasn't a five star read for me was the disconnect that I felt from the characters. I think that's really just the way that it is for books like this, it's just the general effect of the writing, I just prefer to root for my characters a little more. I wish a few of the things had gone a little more in-depth, I feel like a lot of the storylines and mythology were just picked up and dropped rather quickly.
Overall though I definitely recommend it. It's the kind of book that you feel like you're learning stuff but simultaneously you're enjoying yourself. I can't wait until the sequel gets off the hold list because I've heard it only gets better from here.
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