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uselesspirateraven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
ewitsmich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death, Sexual violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
sn8man's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
shadowearitei101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
mmelibertine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
twoweeeeks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Sexual violence
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The story was enchanting and magical with a big focus traditional gender norms and values in medieval Russia, as well as religious bigotry in traditionally pagan areas. However, these topics were handled really well and were written to evoke emotion in the reader.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm
dragonaion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
The story takes place in a realistic Russian village and appropriately shows the hardships of winter, how women were treated in such a time, and the clash of Christian religion with pagan beliefs.geooo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse and Rape
itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I think if you read books purely for vibes and you enjoy richly described dark fairy tales you'll probably enjoy this boom greatly.
What I liked:
- Vasya was a realistic protagonist who was easy to empathise with. Though set mostly in the Russian countryside, I think anyone growing up on the fringes of society in some capacity can relate to Vasya's struggles as our world seems to be heading in a darker direction and we're expected to keep our heads down and not question anything.
- I also enjoyed Vasya's family's dynamics with each other.
It really paid off when Dunya died and eventually came back as a thrall of The Bear, and Pyotr chose to sacrifice himself to bind The Bear. Dunya's ghastly resurrection was especially hard to read. Vasya did not end up in any last minute unnecessary romantic relationships or forced by the plot to "find the right man". I don't know if she is explicitly aromantic, asexual or aromantic asexual but it was depressingly refreshing to have a female lead whose freedom from romantic or sexual relationships was seen as a good thing. It would have been so easy to have her hook up with the Frost King at the end and major kudos to Arden for not going there. More MCs like this please! The bar is subterranean!
What I didn't like:
- I feel like the bulk of the plot was backended towards the last third of the book. While it was necessary to build up
the village's conversion to Christianity through fear and the consequences of ignoring the demons that used to help them the same things kept happening and got very repetitive to the point of it being accidentally comedic. Seeing how this is Arden's debut novel, I'm sure she can improve her pacing in later novels. - Some of the characters do end up feeling kind of tropey. While this is to be expected in fairy tales, said characters feel more like a means to progress the plot rather than be organic characters or twists on the trope they were embodying.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault