The Bear and the Nightingale

Vasilisa grew up at the edge of the Russian wilderness where the weather is harsh and cold for most of the year. Winters are particularly cruel, but she has many pleasant memories of her siblings and her nurse by the fire telling fairy tales to pass the time. Since her mother died in childbirth, her father goes to Moscow to present his sons to royalty and find a new wife. He brings home Anna, a young woman from a royal family who is also notorious for seeing demons everywhere. She and Vasilisa butt heads immediately because Vasya sees creatures as well, but knows they are house spirits or domovoi that make their lives easier in exchange for tribute. The arrival of a fiery priest Kostantin creates fear of hell and damnation in her town and causes other people to shun their domovoi, which causes further misfortune and weakens them to the attack of sinister forces.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderful merging of Russian society as it adapts to Christianity and Russian folklore. The very beginning has Vasya's nurse Danya telling her fairy tales of the cruel winter and how humility and kindness get you further than selfishness. I wasn't quite drawn in until Vasya sees and interacts with the domovoi in her house. The people that live near the Russian wilderness, away from big cities, believe in Christianity and go to church, but also pay tribute to their house spirits or domovoi more out of habit than anything. Unbeknowst to most of them, these gifts of food and drink help them immensely by extending the use of resources and keeping crops and cattle healthy. Once these creatures are shunned due to the fire and brimstone antics of Father Konstantin striking fear into the villagers' hearts. Now, the domovoi have weakened, leaving the humans with dwindling resources and mounting fear, unaware of the supernatural danger their spirits protect them from.

Everyone knew Vasilisa was different right from birth. As she grew up, she realized she could see and understand the domovoi and other creatures right out of her nurse's fairy tales. Over time, she learns to care for and respect them. Through her friendship and tribute, they respect her in return and teach her how to move silently through the forest and how to talk to horses. As she grows into womanhood, Vasya keeps her sweet nature entwined with a wildness and confidence that others find troubling. Vasya is an amazing character that does what she can, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Her perseverence proves to be unshakeable even in the face of the disapproval of her whole town. Unfortunately, her only future paths are in the prison of either marriage or a convent. Her access to the supernatural world helps her break out of her social norms. The supernatural forces she faces are out of her realm of reality and understanding, but it doesnt stop her from fighting for her family and her town anyway.

The only other person with any knowledge at all that fairy tale creatures are real is Anna, Vasya's stepmother. She fits into the evil stepmother trope well, but she's more fleshed out than that. Everyone around her assumes she's crazy because she sees what she assumes are demons everywhere. She's basically Vasilisa, but intent on ignoring the creatures instead of getting to know them. Her existence throughout life is tortured because no matter how devout she is or how hard she prays, these demons plague her. Instead of trying to educate Vasya, Anna simply abuses her whenever Vasya acknowledges the domovoi. I had sympathy for her because she doesn't understand her situation and feels constantly attacked. However, she lost my sympathy when she decided to abuse her stepdaughter and taking everything she can away from her. This character shows how Vasya could have been had her temperament or upbringing or attitude been different.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderful book that I couldn't put down. The fairy tale elements are woven in throughout, contrasting with the real world woes of the townspeople. Vasya interacts with many figures from Russian fairy tales using her knowledge of their tales and her generous nature. It takes a little while to hold my interest, but once it does, it doesn't let go. Katherine Arden is amazing and I would love to read whatever she writes next. This book is highly recommended to fans of Neil Gaiman or fairy tale literature.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Shadow and Bone

Alina Starkov is unimportant, unremarkable, and never really excelled at anything. She grew up as an orphan in an orphanage with Mal  and together they enlisted for the military when they were old enough. They are cartographers together, Mal being the talented one, and they run into trouble when their regiment crosses the  barren and dangerous Shadow Fold that splits the nation Ravka with impenetrable darkness and winged carnivorous monsters. When she and Mal are about to be monster food, light bursts from her, scaring away the monsters, and she passes out. She later finds out she is the most rare type of Grisha, a Sun Summoner. She is immediately whisked away by the Darkling, the most powerful Grisha, to the palace where she endures training (both fighting and magic) away from everything she has known. She is told over and over that she is the savior of Ravka and will be able to destroy the Shadow Fold and unite the nation again, but the power in the wrong hands can be dangerous. Should she stay with the Darkling in the palace and take him for his word or should she leave and ensure her power won't be abused?

I didn't really know what to expect starting Shadow and Bone. When I started it, I was a little confused with all the Russian jargon and visualizing the world. I usually appreciate being thrown into the middle of a world and figuring it out as I went along, but this one was a little harder to get my head around. This all turned around when Alina discovered her power in the dark and sinister Shadow Fold. After a bit of a rocky start, I was completely immersed in this world and in awe of it just as much as Alina as she is thrown into an entirely different realm than she is used to. The palace offers physical comforts like she has never known, but the training (both combat and magical), the politics, and the two faced nature of the many of the people around her take a physical and mental toll on her. Her life had been so straight forward before and generally unremarkable that this new experience where people either want to kill her or worship her is a shock. It isn't all fun parties, good food, and people fawning over her. Life as the only Sun Summoner is hard when everyone expects you to save the country.

I really liked the characters in the story in particular. They all were realistic and fully realized. Alina's psychology fascinated me. She had no idea for years and years that she had this power because she suppressed it. All are tested as children for power and she successfully kept her power in check and did so for years afterwards, eventually without even knowing it was there anymore. This suppression had serious physical repercussions. She was perpetually tired, never really had an appetite, and was generally sickly. When she finally learned to harness her power and call it on her own, her health improved greatly. I really liked that her psychology had a huge effect on her physically and also the drastic difference in her after she accepted her power after denying it for so long.The Darkling, the most powerful Grisha, is frightening and attractive at the same time. His motives and emotions are never apparent and he keeps a lot of secrets. His real role in the plot isn't revealed until well into the novel. He is a fascinating character that I can't wait to see more of.

Shadow and Bone was a wonderful read that took me about a day because I needed to know what happened. I loved this Russian influenced world with its unique magic system and vibrant characters. I would  have like a glossary in the back of the novel because I forgot the meanings of some of the Ravkan words, but it might be included in the finished book. I would recommend this to anyone tired of formulaic boring YA. I can't wait for the next book!

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

**** Check out Leigh Bardugo's site where she has a glossary and pronunciation guide of Ravkan words, Ravkan inspired recipes, artful maps, and more! This book comes out June 5th. Check it out and pre-order here! ****