Reviews

Okay I slept on this one.

This is a very intricate novel, with a lot of world building and a lot of attention paid to the world that's created. And I really liked the world that was created: I thought it was interesting to spend time in, and I could tell it was heavily influenced by Jewish and Eastern European stories and culture. (I have since found out that is Hungarian!) I really liked a lot of things, but these are brutal worlds with a high cost. If u know me...I often love that shit.

I think so many things in this book are great and full of potential: the beginning of the book had me kicking my feet in excitement, because it was so cinematic and intense, filled with blood and betarayal. This can be gory and v visceral -- there are a lot of set pieces and descriptions here which I found extremely evocative and I thought it fit into that idea of a fairytale, stripped of its whimsical charm. There's a particular bit where Evike and Gaspar are tempted into a witchs home and it's so hideous and awfully described and I loved it! I think that's where this shines for me and I absolutely adored those parts.

Other parts were not always as good for me. I think there were some pacing issues. I didn't always stay as fully engaged as I wanted to be, because certain parts dragged and other parts sped by too quickly. This makes sense to me because I saw it's a debut and it's such a dense fantasy, so although there were pacing issues -- and I would say pls be aware of them, because it could really detract from your enjoyment -- I was still pretty impressed with it. I think it's just how cinematic I thought it was, how positively I felt towards this frightening world that was created.

I have some issues with the ending of the story in that...I didn't like it. Obviously, as a reader, you have your own ideas about what would be a satisfying ending and I didn't find that I got that here.

Spoiler

From the moment that Evike tries to kill that stupid bird and then gets brought back to the kingdom, nothing played out in a way that felt right to me. I enjoyed the battle, when Virag and all the women from the village appeared, but it felt a bit wrong. I don't know what it was, precisely. Maybe I'd have to reread it to get it but the conclusion was lacking for me. I'd have preferred something else. I don't understand how we're supposed to see what was taken from Evike for killing that bird in exchange for something else, which is so highlighted throughout the text. Yes, she lost her magic! And yes, the visions made the king die which set about the rest of the climax but what did she gain then and there? I just don't think it made a lot of sense, especially given the repetition of the different folk tales throughout.

Also, I really liked Evike and Gaspar in different parts of this book and I liked them best when they were arguing with each other. I think there's a lot of potential here and I'm really excited to read other stuff by the author in future but there was just something not quite there for me, things I had reservations about or that didn't manage to hit just as well as I wanted them to.

I've been going back and forth about rating this a three or a four. Both of them feel like lies, because it completely depends on what part of the book I'm talking about. I didn't like the ending anywhere near enough to give this a four but I loooved the beginning and I'm feeling generous today. A gentleman's four, because it's a debut and because I thought the first quarter of the book was a perfect match for me.

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