Brilliant. Completely and utterly brilliant how this book addresses not merely the topics of gender, artificial intelligence, life and death but also Brilliant. Completely and utterly brilliant how this book addresses not merely the topics of gender, artificial intelligence, life and death but also the nature of reality and what makes us human. Moreover, it is incredibly "meta" and I just loved the subtle and not-so-subtle references to other works, ideas, etc.
And I found another 'when-in-need-of-comfort-and-hea'-book for myself. Usually I go back to either Wolfsong by TJ Klune or Carry the Ocean, but with And I found another 'when-in-need-of-comfort-and-hea'-book for myself. Usually I go back to either Wolfsong by TJ Klune or Carry the Ocean, but with this one I, apparently, found another 'angst with a happy ending' story to read when I feel down. This is a wonderful Beauty and the Beast retelling with beautiful twists, compelling writing and brilliant, lovable characters. I'll probably re-read it again before the year is over.
Recommended for those who enjoy m/m pairings, retellings and a sharp-tongued protagonists. ...more
2.5 stars What I liked was the structure of the short stories, namely that one was encapsulated by the next, and the LGBT+ tones of it, because yes, re2.5 stars What I liked was the structure of the short stories, namely that one was encapsulated by the next, and the LGBT+ tones of it, because yes, representation matters and it's not like fairy tales do not invite us to re-interpret them (and many do have rather blatant LGBT+ undertones and hints as it is). However, the collection itself was slightly a bit too simplistic for me. On various occasions it lacked depth and coherent argumentation/logic why the characters acted the way they did. I appreciate the intent, but the execution could have been much better. ...more
Finally. Finally an appropriate portrayal of Russian culture and folklore. After the absolute disaster of Deathless I had given up hope of
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Finally. Finally an appropriate portrayal of Russian culture and folklore. After the absolute disaster of Deathless I had given up hope of reading anything non-offensive by Western authors. Frankly, I have never been happier to be proven wrong. I don't even know where to start with the review because I am so put off by the fact that the author didn't butcher it. Okay... *takes deep breath* Please bear with me if this ends up being more of a stream of consciousness than a review.
Let's start with the (for me) most important point - research. From the first chapters on it becomes rather obvious that the author has done rather a lot of extensive research. Moreover, that Arden knows how to work with the given information and never crosses the line into the area of the offensive. But that's not all. She even gets the genders right!!! Moscow is referred to as she/her. This is a big deal for me for the simple reason that by now I am (unfortunately) used to the fact that people mess up the genders of many words/names in Russian because they just don't inform themselves and apply ALL the stereotypes that there are to Russia and Russians. At this point I could start a socio-critical essay and dive into lengthy explanations, but I won't. Because the point is - from a cultural point of view Arden got everything right.
The novel is not plot-driven, mind you, and I can imagine at least some readers finding themselves bored and annoyed by lengthy descriptions, background stories, etc. so I think a warning is necessary here. I enjoyed it rather a lot since I am generally fond of character-driven stories and a lot of worldbuilding and background stories if they are wrapped up nicely. And it was the case in this novel. The writing is truly beautiful. That said, it is not easy. There are multiple point of views that contribute to the overall complexity, the writing is deeply atmospheric and intricate and has rather the vibe of older lore to it. Given the fact that the novel is set sometie in the Middle Ages in the depths of Rus' the difficulty is unsurprising and even welcome, at least for me.
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Other aspects I immensely enjoyed were, amongst others, the atmosphere, worldbuilding and the creatures from Slavic mythology. The atmosphere can be summarised in one word here: authentic. Calm and not necessarily cheerful, but truly magical. The creatures that feature in this novel contributed a lot to the overall atmosphere and worldbuilding, naturally. And here a remark, at one point I had to do a lot of research on Slavic mythology and discovered that most creatures (and pagan gods) of Slavic mythology cannot be put into neat categories of good/bad. One could claim that this is generally true for many mythological creatures, however I found the Slavic ones to be even more morally grey and ambiguous than e.g. the Scandinavian ones. Arden did a fantastic job here for she portrayed the creatures exactly like that. Morally grey and complex. Magic is a complicated thing, depicting it is even more so. And then add the factor of a clash of religions to it and you get quite an interesting picture. I loved the fact that Arden addressed this issue of the pagan religion and the Christian orthodox one clashing in such a subtle and thoughtful manner. Even after the Christianization of Kievan Rus' the Old religion never truly died. Instead it intermixed with the new one resulting in a lot of superstition and strange practices and much more. In The Bear and the Nightingale the stories of old are wonderfully alive.
That said, this book truly is somewhat a mix between historical fiction, retelling and fairy-tale. Due to the high level of authenticity it is difficult to shove this novel into just one category and I still find myself struggling to do so.
What else, what else? Ah yes, the characters. Vasya is one of the few protagonists of contemporary books I can relate to rather a lot. She is wild and complex and simultaneously somewhat transparent and naive. What can I say, she is a 'round' character with a lot of depth who underwent a long process of character development and whom I am looking forward to in the next novel. But the secondary characters are rather impressively written as well. Even characters who feature only a few times have a distinctive character and complexity to them, they are not just devices that serve the purpose of speeding the progression of the plot along. I appreciated that. Oh yes, I really liked the character of Morozko. I hope there will be more of him in the next installments because this character has a lot of potential. And on that note - there is no love-story present in this novel. But there is potential for the development of one in the next books. We'll see what the author decides. In connection to that - you will not find any cliché YA tropes here, thankfully.
Lastly, a note for readers who aren't Russian/don't speak/understand Russian - I strongly recommend you to read the Glossary at the end before you start reading the novel itself because many terms/words/creatures may be unfamiliar and confusing to you at the beginning.
Highly recommended regardless of your reading preferences. This is just an all round good and enlightning read....more
After the Paranormalcy trilogy, which I had started but abandoned, and the Chaos of Stars, which was far from good as well, I had not expected anythinAfter the Paranormalcy trilogy, which I had started but abandoned, and the Chaos of Stars, which was far from good as well, I had not expected anything out of the ordinary in this one. That said - there is nothing ordinary about this story and nothing light or happy either.
I cannot say that I absolutely adored it, but there really is not one negative thing to say about this book. At least nothing, that bugged me enough to write it here. So let's start the gushing, shall we?
Excellent research. Sure, there is one major twist that changes everything, your whole perception, of the novel, but also plenty of minor changes, as it is to be expected from a historical fiction novel. But apart from this necessary changes for the story many aspects were excellently researched. And I always appreciate a certain degree of historical accuracy in a novel. So kudos for that and the period that was chosen. You know how dozens of authors like to fixate themselves on certain countries? So the countries chosen for this one were like a gulp of fresh air. I hope that more author's will follow White's example so that we'll have more diversity in this genre. The story of Radu and Lada. Or basically, everything else in this novel. The POVs alternate between Lada and Radu, following their stories as they grow up in a world full of intrigues and conflicts of fate, mentality, gender-roles and sexuality. The writing, which I'll mention but briefly, is beautiful and elaborate. There is no lack of world-building, atmosphere or action. The latter is mostly due to Lada and her fierce personality. Lada is not a typical protagonist, particularly if you take into account that she's a girl. I would not describe her as either psychotic or a psychopath, since Lada lacks all the superficial charm of a psychopath, but rather as someone who is bitter and furious. Lada is all anger and violent passion and cunning, calculating mind. She does not care for anything but herself, her Wallachia, her brother (questionable) and her people. It was fascinating to follow the process of her growth, how she changed and how these changes affected her relationships. Then, there is her younger brother Radu (the Handsome). While Lada prefers to let physical violence rule conflicts out, has no sense of tact or understanding of human nature, Radu is the perfect opposite. Soft and yielding and all in all a perfect manipulator. He is the perfect spy. And his relationship with his sister is something I enormously enjoyed and I am looking forward to the changes in said relationship in the following books. Another aspect I loved was how the siblings challanged gender-roles. Not only that of the past, but the echoss of the traditional gender-roles in the present. And in connection with the gender-roles another point comes in. The pyramid of power. It's pretty complicated in this novel, to put it mildly. Watching the characters' attempts at navigating between the different levels of power and intrigue was truly captivating and White did well here. She intertwined gender-roles with power hinting here and there at mistakes that are at times still made in the present. I was deeply impressed by that, but maybe that's just the scholar in me speaking who is slowly loosing the ability to read a novel without interpreting and interconnecting.
But White didn't stop here, oh no. The topic of religion is addressed in a very interesting manner repeatedly and if I recall the actual history of Vlad the Impaler correctly the conflict of religions is yet to come. And I am looking forward to it. I enjoyed how White's take on the Islam of that time and the various nations that could be found in the Ottoman Empire. There is no negative connotation whatsoever of the Islam, which was unexpected but appreciated. It was like a short excursion in the past and again, White did well. Of course there is also Mehmed, the Sultan. Yeah, I did not really like him although, I understand why he means so much to both Lada and Radu. Both Lada and Radu are more well-rounded and authentic than him, but perhaps that's the author's intention. Anyway, Mehmed adds to the overall complexity of the novel and especially to the endlessly complex web of relationships between characters. There is no love-triangle, at least it didn't feel like one to me, but there is unrequired love and forbidden love and the question posed what love is and how powerful it truly is. Love has many faces in this novel, and not all of them are nice, but I still liked the author's take on it. (view spoiler)[And though I knew that ultimately Lada wouldn't choose Mehmed, I still cheered when she finally left him. I've grown rather tired of the mottos - "All you need is love" and "Love will save the world" etc. I am tired of romantic bullshit. There are many types of love and I am sick and tired of author's who focus solely on romantic love. Urgh. So kudos for Lada who chose her country instead. (hide spoiler)]
To sum it up, a very dark and unique read that reflects a lot of research and makes me look forward to the next installment. Though, I am anxious about Lada's future and what Radu and Mehmed will be up to in the next books. So far, it doesn't really look good for her. Highly recommended. ...more
Straight up - I didn't like it. Not one bit. Although I love Leroux The Phantom of the Opera.
What we get is a misunderstood special snowflake protagoStraight up - I didn't like it. Not one bit. Although I love Leroux The Phantom of the Opera.
What we get is a misunderstood special snowflake protagonist. She is a total Mary Sue with a seraphic voice. She is angelic, pure, etc. thus perfectly fitting into "The Virgin" archetype. You know the Virgin-Whore dichotomy? Yeah, it's something I cannot stand and it is rather prominent in this novel. We get one cliché after another, amongst others the tortured hero/love interest with far more depth than the female protagonist. He is also very handsome, charismatic...All-round Prince Charming. We get the "quirky" friend who is a natural redhead to make her stick out of the crowd, you know? We get the popular guy who is assumed to be a jerk by the protagonist at first but actually turns out to be a really good guy and she is genuinly surprised about it. Like, wow, could it get more stereotypical? Oh yes! How about the bitchy blond rival who is horrible to our special snowflake protagonist for no reason at all and is defined by her striving for success and actually being interested in a guy. There is also the mousy friend who is a hard worker, has had something tragic happen in her past and is a genuinly decent human being with no character at all. Of course, also a secretive secret school of secrets with totally weird teachers whose quirks don't add anything to the plot and instead make you ask yourself what sane person would hire such people. Another thing is the - at least one dead parent who is horribly mourned and partially used as a plot device.
There is more, but everything else has to do with the plot and certain actions of the characters so I won't list them here because - spoilers. Frankly, I hated Rune from the first moment, her relationship with Thorn made me want to gag because "same old, same old" only really oversweeted and with a bit too many supernatural touches. I get that the author apparently liked the concepts, but hell, the novel doesn't need to be an assembly of them. (view spoiler)[The incubus/succubus-thing, the Twin Flame-thing and then the magical seeing auras and putting voices from one person into another while bringing a body to life...Too much. (hide spoiler)] The writing is pretty, but by now the writing isn't enough for me. I am just pissed off that one of my favourite stories was messed up like that.
Also, watching/eavesdropping on girls at night is creepy. It was creepy in Twilight, it's creepy here. And shutting a girl up with kisses and all types of "superintimate" and "charged" and "electrifying" touches is not cool as well. Ugh.
Generic "teen"-romance with many "original" (debatable) elements. About as deep in its meaning (whether there is a message/meaning/moral in thi[image]
Generic "teen"-romance with many "original" (debatable) elements. About as deep in its meaning (whether there is a message/meaning/moral in this one is also debatable) as a puddle.
Yes, the prose was beautiful, I liked the images the author created rather a lot. I liked that there was an attempt to intertwine Greek myths with Indian ones, as I liked the Indian elements in general, but the rest? It was lacking. There was no significant plot apart from the cliché, well-known story of Hades & Persephone or rather "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" with a lot more whining and pining and less happening, it was overly cheesy, completely predictable and more often than not totally boring. Maya does nothing unless she is told, manipulated, (insert verb here) by someone else. So if it wasn't for other characters, most of whom are more intelligent than Maya, there would have been no action from her side at all. She is a pretty stupid protagonist who constantly fucks things up which is reflected in the amount of pages. Honestly? There are thousands of retellings by now. The ones it resembles very strongly are Cruel Beauty and A Court of Thorns and Roses and I liked both of better than this one. So not really recommended, although it was not entirely bad either...
This book had so much potential. So freaking much. However, the execution was rather poor, to be honest. Scheherazade iSame old, same old.
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This book had so much potential. So freaking much. However, the execution was rather poor, to be honest. Scheherazade is a brilliant character, her tales are mesmerising, the setting is fantastic. The original, to be short, is a masterpiece. I loved it as a child and I plan to re-read it very soon. I expected a retelling to be at least good, to have a factor of originality. I expected it to offer something new.
It didn't. Insert dramatic music Seriously. It didn't. All it added to the story was a freaking love-triangle which I most definitely did not appreciate.
An obsessive guy blinded by jealousy on one side, and a suffering hero on the other. Right. As I've said - same old, same old. I won't even bother with a long review for this reason. There are stories being told in this retelling, sure, but even the stories aren't written particularly interesting. The writing, although enjoyable, is not captivating or extra-ordinary or even beautiful. It should have been at least one of the three for me because - remember the original. There is little plot, the king takes a new wife every day and kills her off every sunrise. The protagonist however is clever enough to intrigue him with her story so she stays alive. Soon she discovers that he is not the monster she though he was and there is something about her that makes her like a drug to him blah blah blah.
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The plot is focused on the love-story, and to be more precise on the love-triangle. Hence, no real plot, no action until the very end and that part is rather rushed. It is not even about Shazi's survival after some 40 pages anymore, which is a pity. The love story reminded me on the countless other YA stories I've read. Even the lines are similar. Accordingly, the characters all acted rather predictable. And not very believable too. Not appreciated.
So my problem with this book, the lack of originality, the lack of depth both when it comes to the characters and the setting, the rather simple writing and lack of atmosphere. If you take into account the time and the setting it could have been brilliant. Instead, it focused on the love-triangle, with no character development whatsoever and resulted in another plain, predictable read. Maybe it is just me, maybe I expected too much from a YA book, I don't know, it just did not work for me.
Not recommended unless you really love YA and don't mind the predictability. ...more
And my reaction every single time was like: [image]
My biggest prGreat premise - unsatisfactory execution.
The whole time the book was like: [image]
And my reaction every single time was like: [image]
My biggest problem with this book was that it tried to be something extra-ordinary and unique and great, but both the plot-line and the characters felt like rip-offs from Cruel Beauty. As somebody who is fond of the original Red Riding Hood tale and had if not very high, but expectations nonetheless, I must say that I was extremely disappointed. First, there was the lack of a real plot, and instead Rachelle's whining and describing and thinking and most definitely too much of it all. Take that out and the book would have ended up being some ~70 pages long. Things should have happened. And even when nothing happens I have the opinion that something has to be explored, like the Forest in this case. The bloodbounds and the firstborns and God knows what and who else. Did that happen? No. Their origin, their behavior, skills, there was more than enough material to take it a step further but instead Hodge kept standing in one place.
Second, the characters. Rachelle was like Nyx but less self-aware and more self-pitying. She was beyond annoying and to avoid spoilers I will not elaborate on what exactly she did and simply say that she chewed on one and same issue over and over and over again. Not only was she unlikable, but she was downright awful because she refused to accept herself. Erec and Armand were like Ignifex and Shade. EXACTLY like them. Meaning that once again there was the love triangle that was not a love triangle because it was so obvious. And maybe, if I hadn't read Hodge's other book before, I would have ended up liking the characters. But I read it and so this one ended up being a disappointment for me. Both the primary and secondary characters were repetative and shallow and so very one-dimensional that I could not help but roll my eyes too often for my own liking.
I could go on like this, complaining about dozens of details, forever but I won't because even writing the review all I feel is boredom. Dragging plot with very little progression, no character development, a gloomy atmosphere that annoyed me after a while that's what I got in this book. But worst of all - it was just a copy of Cruel Beauty, same motives, same characters, same plot, same everything and that is something I do not forgive as a reader. Yes, I know authors tend to repeat certain themes or types of characters in their books, that is normal, every author has something like a "trademark", but this felt like the author simply changed the names and the setting, there was nothing new. First time you tell a hilarious joke everyone will laugh, but already the second time if you do it right after the first, some people will not find it amusing anymore, but strange. I am one of those who will not listen to the same joke being told over and over again.
Feel free to disagree with me or hate me now but I do not recommend this one because I think that it is simply not worth the time.
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