I had the good fortune of having the chance to read this book early, and it is such a fun read! Our main character, Kosara, is a (self-labeled) mediocI had the good fortune of having the chance to read this book early, and it is such a fun read! Our main character, Kosara, is a (self-labeled) mediocre witch with an unfortunate tie to the (self-labeled) jilted Tsar of Monsters, the Zmey, who's determined to get back at her for dumping him. He is as awful as you are probably imagining (and then some). When his attempts to punish Kosara come to a head, she makes a desperate, snap decision to sell her own shadow (and along with it her powers) in exchange for a quick escape, a choice that leads to consequences that ripple across her entire, demon-riddled city.
My favorite part of the story were the monsters. And there are a lot of monsters--kikimoras, karakonjuls, varkolaks, yudas, samodivas, rusalkas, upirs, wraiths, varkolaks, to name a few. I love folklore, and it was a delight to read a story centered around Slavic folklore, full of creepy, unique creatures and dazzling, double-edged magic that’ll tangle you up the moment you look in its direction. The descriptions and scenes surrounding the monsters were vivid and delightful, sometimes sad and other times disturbing, but always memorable and toeing that line between terrifying and just down-right cool. Watching Kosara interact with these fearsome edges of her world (and, in a way, form an integral part of those edges) was entertaining.
On a bit of a side note, I don't see many books set in the dead of winter, and that was something I really loved about Foul Days; it just felt like winter, cold and dark but also ethereal and magical in its own, slightly menacing, way. Reading it in the middle of summer was a nice distraction from the heat wave(s) outside!
Oh, and there's a side character who gives cutesy names to karakonjuls. That is very important.
All in all, I enjoyed Foul Days, and I recommend it to anyone who likes witches, unhinged (and unfortunately magic-savvy) exes, horrifying monsters, and/or ice-chilled stories that make you remember just how bewitching a season deep-winter can be.
Merged review:
I had the good fortune of having the chance to read this book early, and it is such a fun read! Our main character, Kosara, is a (self-labeled) mediocre witch with an unfortunate tie to the (self-labeled) jilted Tsar of Monsters, the Zmey, who's determined to get back at her for dumping him. He is as awful as you are probably imagining (and then some). When his attempts to punish Kosara come to a head, she makes a desperate, snap decision to sell her own shadow (and along with it her powers) in exchange for a quick escape, a choice that leads to consequences that ripple across her entire, demon-riddled city.
My favorite part of the story were the monsters. And there are a lot of monsters--kikimoras, karakonjuls, varkolaks, yudas, samodivas, rusalkas, upirs, wraiths, varkolaks, to name a few. I love folklore, and it was a delight to read a story centered around Slavic folklore, full of creepy, unique creatures and dazzling, double-edged magic that’ll tangle you up the moment you look in its direction. The descriptions and scenes surrounding the monsters were vivid and delightful, sometimes sad and other times disturbing, but always memorable and toeing that line between terrifying and just down-right cool. Watching Kosara interact with these fearsome edges of her world (and, in a way, form an integral part of those edges) was entertaining.
On a bit of a side note, I don't see many books set in the dead of winter, and that was something I really loved about Foul Days; it just felt like winter, cold and dark but also ethereal and magical in its own, slightly menacing, way. Reading it in the middle of summer was a nice distraction from the heat wave(s) outside!
Oh, and there's a side character who gives cutesy names to karakonjuls. That is very important.
All in all, I enjoyed Foul Days, and I recommend it to anyone who likes witches, unhinged (and unfortunately magic-savvy) exes, horrifying monsters, and/or ice-chilled stories that make you remember just how bewitching a season deep-winter can be....more
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