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tostita's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
cassidycr's review against another edition
3.0
A charming young adult fantasy, inspired by Slavic mythology, follows three monstrous girls who rival on behave of the three Baba Jaga’s—White, Red, and Black.
Overall, I liked this book. I love mythology, and I thought the Polish folklore influence was refreshing. However, some of the writing and the twists were a little confusing. There are two POVs, but it was difficult at times to differentiate between the two characters. Zosia and Marynka almost seem like slightly different aspects of the character, even switching personalities at one point, with Beata being the one that offers more polarity. The ending was also not very satisfying to me. It almost feels like we are thrown into the middle of the story, never quite figuring out the beginning or the end.
I would have liked a little more background on the three Jaga’s. I know that in Baba Jaga folklore, she is sometimes seen as three sisters, but I wanted a little more mythology. Even though it was a little confusing and almost felt a little thrown together, the story was enchanting enough that I finished this book fairly quickly and enjoyed most of it. This is a charming book and now I want to research more Polish folklore, so there’s that!
Overall, I liked this book. I love mythology, and I thought the Polish folklore influence was refreshing. However, some of the writing and the twists were a little confusing. There are two POVs, but it was difficult at times to differentiate between the two characters. Zosia and Marynka almost seem like slightly different aspects of the character, even switching personalities at one point, with Beata being the one that offers more polarity. The ending was also not very satisfying to me. It almost feels like we are thrown into the middle of the story, never quite figuring out the beginning or the end.
I would have liked a little more background on the three Jaga’s. I know that in Baba Jaga folklore, she is sometimes seen as three sisters, but I wanted a little more mythology. Even though it was a little confusing and almost felt a little thrown together, the story was enchanting enough that I finished this book fairly quickly and enjoyed most of it. This is a charming book and now I want to research more Polish folklore, so there’s that!
steamsuccubus's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
jinxin4no's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
velocirooster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jillselwyn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
majesticbi's review against another edition
5.0
romance between two rival villains, and one of them is bisexual.
it had been a while since i read YA fantasy, so i wanted to give it a chance and it was totally worth it. i found the story so original. i loved everything about this book.
it had been a while since i read YA fantasy, so i wanted to give it a chance and it was totally worth it. i found the story so original. i loved everything about this book.
ashley_mrose530's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I actually really enjoyed this one.
The tension between the two main characters was perfect honestly. The rivals to lovers troupe and the banter between them and then their chemistry was superb. The scene when Marynka rubs something off Zosia's face and then licks it off her finger has me absolutely feral. It was so good. The author did a great job of ratcheting up the tension between them as the story went on and I loved that it wasn't broken until the very end. That's how a rivals/enemies to lovers troupe should be! An absolute perfect example of it here.
That being said, there were a significant amount of drawbacks in this book. First of all, the world-building was not that good. I kind of with the author's note would have been put at the beginning of the story because I had the hardest time figuring out if they were all part of the same kingdom or if the witches were traveling to different kingdoms to kill their princes or what was happening. It makes a little more sense that this is all set in one European country, Poland, ravaged by wars. I just couldn't wrap my head around it throughout the whole book.
And then the magic system was odd as well. It seemed like the witches had magic that they could give to whoever they wanted but then there was "evil magic" and "good magic" which made things confusing especially since the "good magic" wasn't seen very often. It wasn't even really defined what made the difference. The good magic was supposedly given by the gods but where did the evil magic come from? And how do they know it's not from the gods as well? It was just really confusing for me.
Finally, the pacing was off a little bit sometimes. It started off really good ass we learned everything and that first line drew me in right away, but then it started to kind of drag as they traveled to wherever the prince was and their whole back and forth sometimes dragged out too much too. I really liked the moment when they found out who each other was and the snow avalanche and things like that where they came together and were actually bantering while trying to capture the prince but everything in between dragged on a little too much sometimes and that made the pacing really odd.
In all, I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes rivals to lovers stories but I would warn them about the pacing and world building for sure.
The tension between the two main characters was perfect honestly. The rivals to lovers troupe and the banter between them and then their chemistry was superb. The scene when Marynka rubs something off Zosia's face and then licks it off her finger has me absolutely feral. It was so good. The author did a great job of ratcheting up the tension between them as the story went on and I loved that it wasn't broken until the very end. That's how a rivals/enemies to lovers troupe should be! An absolute perfect example of it here.
That being said, there were a significant amount of drawbacks in this book. First of all, the world-building was not that good. I kind of with the author's note would have been put at the beginning of the story because I had the hardest time figuring out if they were all part of the same kingdom or if the witches were traveling to different kingdoms to kill their princes or what was happening. It makes a little more sense that this is all set in one European country, Poland, ravaged by wars. I just couldn't wrap my head around it throughout the whole book.
And then the magic system was odd as well. It seemed like the witches had magic that they could give to whoever they wanted but then there was "evil magic" and "good magic" which made things confusing especially since the "good magic" wasn't seen very often. It wasn't even really defined what made the difference. The good magic was supposedly given by the gods but where did the evil magic come from? And how do they know it's not from the gods as well? It was just really confusing for me.
Finally, the pacing was off a little bit sometimes. It started off really good ass we learned everything and that first line drew me in right away, but then it started to kind of drag as they traveled to wherever the prince was and their whole back and forth sometimes dragged out too much too. I really liked the moment when they found out who each other was and the snow avalanche and things like that where they came together and were actually bantering while trying to capture the prince but everything in between dragged on a little too much sometimes and that made the pacing really odd.
In all, I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes rivals to lovers stories but I would warn them about the pacing and world building for sure.
secondhandpages's review against another edition
3.0
DNF @ 56%.
I would like to try it again at another time, because I love the premise and the interactions but the narrator is grinding my nerves.
I would like to try it again at another time, because I love the premise and the interactions but the narrator is grinding my nerves.