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A review by mitzee
Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
5.0
A solid PG-13 fantasy romance. There’s conflict, a villain, a mystery, loss/grief and great characters. Definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a dark but easy romantasy read that isn’t too spicy.
Below is a summary for myself, spoilers in here:
I think this takes place in Poland? The writer is Canadian, of Polish descent and the monsters mentioned in the book, like the kikimora and striga (which are ones that appear in The Witcher - also from Poland).
The book is about a girl, Liska, who has been able to talk to demons as a child. She’s been hiding this from the ppl in her village because it’s rare and humans are generally afraid of magic. But in the woods she knows there are magical creatures there - although none of which she thinks are kind.
She runs away to the woods after a falling out with her cousin and best friend who married a guy suspicious of
Liska. In the wood Liska meets an antlered fey who promises to teach her magic. She doesn’t know but he’s struck a bad deal with a spirit/god and has been deemed a warden of the wood (like dryads?). His original goal was to teach her magic and sacrifice her to the God in place of him, which he has been doing for centuries. But they end up falling in love and she is special - she kills the wood spirit/god/demon and thinks she saved her love but he ends up sacrificing himself because he can feel it coming back.
In the end she returns to her mother’s home. Reconciles with her cousin whose husband is dead now (maybe Liska killed him?) and decides she is going back to the woods. The epilogue closes with her taking on an apprentice (another little girl) to teach magic. At night Liska will go out into the woods to look for a stag and when she tries to touch it she can’t. Until one night she can.
Below is a summary for myself, spoilers in here:
I think this takes place in Poland? The writer is Canadian, of Polish descent and the monsters mentioned in the book, like the kikimora and striga (which are ones that appear in The Witcher - also from Poland).
The book is about a girl, Liska, who has been able to talk to demons as a child. She’s been hiding this from the ppl in her village because it’s rare and humans are generally afraid of magic. But in the woods she knows there are magical creatures there - although none of which she thinks are kind.
She runs away to the woods after a falling out with her cousin and best friend who married a guy suspicious of
Liska. In the wood Liska meets an antlered fey who promises to teach her magic. She doesn’t know but he’s struck a bad deal with a spirit/god and has been deemed a warden of the wood (like dryads?). His original goal was to teach her magic and sacrifice her to the God in place of him, which he has been doing for centuries. But they end up falling in love and she is special - she kills the wood spirit/god/demon and thinks she saved her love but he ends up sacrificing himself because he can feel it coming back.
In the end she returns to her mother’s home. Reconciles with her cousin whose husband is dead now (maybe Liska killed him?) and decides she is going back to the woods. The epilogue closes with her taking on an apprentice (another little girl) to teach magic. At night Liska will go out into the woods to look for a stag and when she tries to touch it she can’t. Until one night she can.