I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing.
The Bear and the Nightingale
by Katherine Arden
Genre: YA Fantasy
About: Vasya has grown up on tales of the Winter King - a god who kills his brides if they be not brave enough. She knows of the old gods and she sees the house spirits, but when a new priest comes to their lands he brings fear and death to the old ways. A harsher winter than any they've known is the result. If her family are to survive the frost, Vasya must seek out the Winter King for help - and be prepared for the cost that comes from such power.
The Good
The characters in this tale are wonderful. I loved Vasya: she's fierce, wild and witchy and will do anything to protect her family. Her family are also easy to love. I loved Pyotr for staying so steadfast to Marina, Dunya for her honeycakes and fireside tales, Koyla for somehow being that brave fool you still want to protect, Sasha is pious to a fault but brings something special to the pages, Olga -bless her- does her duty with a smile, Alyosha endlessly teases, and Irina could have been cruel like her mother but chose sweetness. There are so many lovely family moments and I cared about them all.
The Bad
I also loved the baddies. The priest, the mother-in-law, the suitor, the Witch King and the Bear were all creepy and off-putting in their own special way. But they don't feature as much as they could do. So much of the beginning is Vasya simply growing up. There's magic, but there isn't conflict. It isn't until halfway through the book before Vasya really has to fight. She shows herself as brave before this, but it's when her suitor arrives that you finally see her having to make choices.
The Somewhat Iffy
As much as I loved all the characters, I think the story would have made more sense to have been strictly from Vasya's POV. We jump around to other characters but don't really get their story. Olga and Sasha disappeared after the beginning and her family only appear when they're needed to tell us something about Vasya. It's her story but the narrative wanders through the minds of everyone and takes the focus off at times.
Overall
This is a beautifully told fairy tale with unique and loveable characters. But the story is slow - as if Dunya was holding on to a talismans that kept us from the story because we're not quite ready for it to begin...
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