Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden

65 reviews

mysimas's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Maybe more of a 3.5* book, but it made me happy, so rounding up.

Sometimes I felt like I was reading one of those horsegirl stories for young teens — seriously, the obsession of this book with horses is astounding — but other than that, I was sucked into the 14th century Russia and fell in love with both its human and magical inhabitants alike (with the exception of Konstantin who was a major creep and eerily similar to Hugo’s Frollo — ew, just ew, get them away from me!!). 

There’s strong themes of religion (Christianity killing the old gods and in extension the humans) which I didn’t mind as I’m not Christian (but I can see why some Christians wouldn’t be happy with this theme), and just as strong themes of female oppression, and it was cathartic to see Vasya’s small victories in this regard. 

My major complaint is the book ends rather abruptly and some questions remain unresolved (such as thee importance of Vasya’s blue pendant). Maybe they’ll be dealt with in the sequels??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death

olma's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

A dark, magical read set in 14th century Russia. I enjoyed the main character, Vasya, who is described as wild and frog-like. 
I will say that I disliked that the step-mother was implied to be a teen. Yes, I know that’s historically accurate, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

vigil's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

*re-read, even better than i remember it to be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Death, Grief, Violence, Animal death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Pregnancy

thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

4.0

Hey look, I finally read this! And then proceeded to devour the next two books immediately, so pretty safe to say I loved it.

Definitely going on my new faves list.

CW: y'all it's set in like the 14th century so

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexism, and Blood

Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

lydia_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Self harm and Death of parent

ainereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Violence, and Misogyny

thereadinghammock_mserinv's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a rich lore-heavy narrative tapestry this story turned out to be. I'm SO glad I listened to the audiobook versus reading physical or digital, as I think all the names and Russian phrases would have tripped me up as a reader and detracted from my enjoyment of the overall story. But as a listener, I loved Kathleen Gati's delivery of each character and distinguishing between spoken dialogue and narrative story with the use of accents and other modular voice changes.

I loved the integration of traditional Russian folklore. The house spirits, the forest sprites, the monsters. I appreciated how the village began with such a lovely integration of the Old Ways and Christianity, sharing reverence for both in equal measure. Yes, the village still side-eyed the idea of a witch, but everyone still left offerings for their Domovoy and the Vasila, out of respect.

Vasyia simultaneously wise beyond her years and a petulant child in the way only a teenage girl made to grow up a bit too fast must be. Alyosha was such a wonderful brother, and though he may not have fully understood what was going on, was ride-or-die for his sister and wanted nothing more than to keep her safe. Anna and Father Constantine were characters I loved to hate, but also felt for the struggles they went through as their own hopes and dreams were dashed by the will of another.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death of parent

Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, and Grief

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• 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

3.5

Obsessed with the atmosphere and setting of the book, I loved the wintery medieval Russian setting and the pastoral, quaint, and lyrical writing style. It was giving very much folk tale, very much warm and cosy, and I was just fascinated by the world and magic that the author created.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Sexism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

katieluvs2read's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Animal death, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

jelliestars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Alcohol, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Child death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, War, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism