Scan barcode
A review by coffee_nd_pages
Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I have no words to describe the emotional turmoil that this book put me through in the last few chapters, but will I sign up to go through it all again - HELL YEAH!!!😭💞
Our FMC, Liska Radost possesses magic which is viewed as dangerous by the villagers and even her family, so she wants to prove them wrong by going into the dark forest and making a wish on the fern flower that grows only once every year. But her plan goes awry when she's halted by the guardian of the forest, who strikes a bargain in return for her wish.
What starts as a dark fairytale retelling of the Beauty and the Beast becomes so much more!!! In short, it is the story of "a boy who loves too little and a girl who loves too much, two threads tangled on the loom of history." (Quoting the line from the book cuz it fits em so well🥺)
The worldbuilding is heavily influenced by the Polish folklore and myths, and we come across a wide variety of demonic spirits that Liska encounters on her journey into the forest. The forest, Driada is a character of its own and it harbours all the evils that exist in the underground, and they're all being controlled from entering into the villages by Leszy, our MMC and the warden of the forest.
The writing of the author is so descriptive and evocative that you could picture it all in stark clarity while reading the book. The forest with its eerie and atmospheric vibes reminded me so much of the original Grimms fairytales where there's always something dark lurking beside our main characters.
Liska, our main character has been treated as an outcast most of her life, so she's started to hide her real nature and has become subservient and being a proper girl that everyone expects her to be. Even then, she's shunned by some of the villagers who label her as a 'witch' and that she'd only wreak havoc to everyone surrounding her. Her only wish in her life is to find a sense of belonging amidst these people, and she goes to the forest for making the very wish but ends up finding it in the most unexpected of places - in the manor of the guardian of the forest. She makes friends with a house spirit which takes on the form of a white cat (Jaga), a young boy named Maksio and slowly starts falling for the wood demon too!! I loved this found family aspect of the novel so much🥺
Leszy, our 700 yr old wood demon and the guardian of the forest, is only a demon by name but a softie at heart!!! He tries to hide his real nature by wearing his antler mask but he cares so much for everyone around him, and also for the humans who fear him. He's initially grumpy to Liska but he can't help falling for her sunshine nature, and her extreme optimism in everything. He even makes her a garden just cuz she asks and melts at the smile that he gets in return from her!!! 🥺🤌🏻
The manor in which Leszy lives is a sentient one, and it starts to act weird at the arrival of Liska. Even though she wants to stay oblivious to what's happening in the manor and to Leszy, she cannot help but be pulled into the mysteries surrounding the demon. In the path to finding out the mysteries and solving them, she ends up healing Leszy, both literally and metaphorically!!! And he in turn offers her the acceptance and safe haven that she so badly craved from her family and neighbours🥺💞
Loved all the other characters a lot too - Jaga, Maksio, Mrok, Kazimiera, Florian and even Marysieńka! I cannot believe that this is the author's debut cuz it's so good! And I'd definitely be looking out for her future works.
Favorite quotes -
- "You are not a monster, Liska Radost. You are sunlight, and you breathe life into everything you touch."
- "She is not the end of anything, but the beginning of everything. He has been dead a long time, and she is his resurrection."
- "In nature, everything balances itself. There can be no winter without summer, no shadow without the sun. You are my soul, Liska Radost. I lived seven hundred years to find you."
Our FMC, Liska Radost possesses magic which is viewed as dangerous by the villagers and even her family, so she wants to prove them wrong by going into the dark forest and making a wish on the fern flower that grows only once every year. But her plan goes awry when she's halted by the guardian of the forest, who strikes a bargain in return for her wish.
What starts as a dark fairytale retelling of the Beauty and the Beast becomes so much more!!! In short, it is the story of "a boy who loves too little and a girl who loves too much, two threads tangled on the loom of history." (Quoting the line from the book cuz it fits em so well🥺)
The worldbuilding is heavily influenced by the Polish folklore and myths, and we come across a wide variety of demonic spirits that Liska encounters on her journey into the forest. The forest, Driada is a character of its own and it harbours all the evils that exist in the underground, and they're all being controlled from entering into the villages by Leszy, our MMC and the warden of the forest.
The writing of the author is so descriptive and evocative that you could picture it all in stark clarity while reading the book. The forest with its eerie and atmospheric vibes reminded me so much of the original Grimms fairytales where there's always something dark lurking beside our main characters.
Liska, our main character has been treated as an outcast most of her life, so she's started to hide her real nature and has become subservient and being a proper girl that everyone expects her to be. Even then, she's shunned by some of the villagers who label her as a 'witch' and that she'd only wreak havoc to everyone surrounding her. Her only wish in her life is to find a sense of belonging amidst these people, and she goes to the forest for making the very wish but ends up finding it in the most unexpected of places - in the manor of the guardian of the forest. She makes friends with a house spirit which takes on the form of a white cat (Jaga), a young boy named Maksio and slowly starts falling for the wood demon too!! I loved this found family aspect of the novel so much🥺
Leszy, our 700 yr old wood demon and the guardian of the forest, is only a demon by name but a softie at heart!!! He tries to hide his real nature by wearing his antler mask but he cares so much for everyone around him, and also for the humans who fear him. He's initially grumpy to Liska but he can't help falling for her sunshine nature, and her extreme optimism in everything. He even makes her a garden just cuz she asks and melts at the smile that he gets in return from her!!! 🥺🤌🏻
The manor in which Leszy lives is a sentient one, and it starts to act weird at the arrival of Liska. Even though she wants to stay oblivious to what's happening in the manor and to Leszy, she cannot help but be pulled into the mysteries surrounding the demon. In the path to finding out the mysteries and solving them, she ends up healing Leszy, both literally and metaphorically!!! And he in turn offers her the acceptance and safe haven that she so badly craved from her family and neighbours🥺💞
Loved all the other characters a lot too - Jaga, Maksio, Mrok, Kazimiera, Florian and even Marysieńka! I cannot believe that this is the author's debut cuz it's so good! And I'd definitely be looking out for her future works.
Favorite quotes -
- "You are not a monster, Liska Radost. You are sunlight, and you breathe life into everything you touch."
- "She is not the end of anything, but the beginning of everything. He has been dead a long time, and she is his resurrection."
- "In nature, everything balances itself. There can be no winter without summer, no shadow without the sun. You are my soul, Liska Radost. I lived seven hundred years to find you."