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corriejn's review against another edition
4.25
I... wouldn't even know where to start in categorizing this book. It's strange/creative/not quite like anything else, but I found it engaging and entertaining (with the exception of some dream-sequence-ish passages that at times dragged a bit).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book has been on my TBR since high school. The concept/plot sounded really cool. And it is really cool. I love fairytale retellings. I love love urban fantasy. The execution, however, left a little to be desired.
I was so so confused the whole book. While I do think some things were explained, it was done so gradually or so vaguely that I am still not sure why or how they happened (how's this review for vague, lol??) I do not like being spoonfed lore/plot, but this book was too far to the other extreme. It was too frustrating for the little payoff we got. I am still unsure if the magic of the world is an open secret, an obvious fact of life, or completely hidden from everyone except a select few. At different points in the novel, any of these could be true.
The characters were interesting, but I'm not sure I liked Vassa. No offense, but she was so stupid. I don't know if I found the book so confusing because she was so confused the whole time or because it was just confusing. Like, I get that we had slightly more bg as the reader, but I feel like certain things were really obvious and she just didn't get them.
I was so so confused the whole book. While I do think some things were explained, it was done so gradually or so vaguely that I am still not sure why or how they happened (how's this review for vague, lol??) I do not like being spoonfed lore/plot, but this book was too far to the other extreme. It was too frustrating for the little payoff we got. I am still unsure if the magic of the world is an open secret, an obvious fact of life, or completely hidden from everyone except a select few. At different points in the novel, any of these could be true.
The characters were interesting, but I'm not sure I liked Vassa. No offense, but she was so stupid. I don't know if I found the book so confusing because she was so confused the whole time or because it was just confusing. Like, I get that we had slightly more bg as the reader, but I feel like certain things were really obvious and she just didn't get them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
greenlivingaudioworm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
darquedreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.75
After finishing this one I had trouble finding words. It was so good. It was dark and beautiful and comical and deep. It was Alice in Wonderland meets Nightmare on Elm Street. It was tense and gritty, but also lighthearted and hopeful. It was sprinkled with a little bit of Addams family vibes, and it had all the attributes of a gothic faerie tale. It was fast paced and full of exciting twists, and it was oh so satisfying.
I know there's been a lot of reviews from people who felt like they were missing something while they read this one. People who were often confused by some of the elements in the writing, and story line, and became lost. And, while a lot of the time it seemed like I was wandering down a dark, deep, rabbit hole, I found that "not all who wander are lost." It all felt captivating and profound, and I was able to "read between the lines," as they say.
I also did not feel like the story was as gruesome as some people made it out to be. It was just gruesome enough. Some of it was down right hilarious, which added to the overall feel of the story. Like Goosebumps style nostalgia.
I didn't feel like I needed pages and pages of world building and explanations for why things were the way they were. Everything just fit, and I accepted it all because it was all perfectly done. The characters played their roles well, and tugged on my heart strings (especially Erg), and the plot, with the underlying retelling of Vasilisa the beautiful, hit all the right notes like a haunting melody.
I know there's been a lot of reviews from people who felt like they were missing something while they read this one. People who were often confused by some of the elements in the writing, and story line, and became lost. And, while a lot of the time it seemed like I was wandering down a dark, deep, rabbit hole, I found that "not all who wander are lost." It all felt captivating and profound, and I was able to "read between the lines," as they say.
I also did not feel like the story was as gruesome as some people made it out to be. It was just gruesome enough. Some of it was down right hilarious, which added to the overall feel of the story. Like Goosebumps style nostalgia.
I didn't feel like I needed pages and pages of world building and explanations for why things were the way they were. Everything just fit, and I accepted it all because it was all perfectly done. The characters played their roles well, and tugged on my heart strings (especially Erg), and the plot, with the underlying retelling of Vasilisa the beautiful, hit all the right notes like a haunting melody.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Vomit, and Abandonment
mourningstarr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide and Torture
starlesscircus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
vanessa_44's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
zahrowl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
ravensandlace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com
I might have to stop reading Russian fairy tale retellings because so far, I have not been a fan of the ones I have read. I didn’t care much for the Bear and the Nightingale. And I did not like Vassa in the Night at all. It was a chore to read and I just did not like it at all.
During the course of the book, I was bored and confused. I didn’t understand how Baba Yaga could get away with literally murdering people and hanging their heads in the street? This book took place in modern day New York. Even though there was magic involved, I find it hard to believe that no one did anything about this. If you are going to have a magic system in your book, you have to make sure it makes sense, otherwise the reader is just going to be upset.
While I didn’t care for Vassa, my biggest character complaint lies with Erg. Erg is a magical doll that Vassa takes care of as it was given to her by her mom. Erg was awful! I couldn’t STAND her. She treated Vassa poorly and guilt tripped her all the time. She had no concern that her actions were hurting Vassa and putting Vassa in situations that she couldn’t talk her way out of. Now, I don’t know if Erg is part of the original fairy tale but if she wasn’t, I don’t think she needed to be in this book. She did nothing but upset me.
I think my problem with the book wasn’t realistic enough. It had a magical system like I mentioned above but it wasn’t blended in well enough. It felt like the magical system was battling to fit into the real world. It just wasn’t well done at all. There were characters in the book that I assume were from the original fairy tale but they didn’t make sense to the world. The whole thing was just a big plot of confusion.
Overall, I didn’t like this book as you could all probably tell. Maybe I would have liked it if I had read the actual fairy tale? I’ll never know. All I do know is that I need to stay away from Russian fairy tale retellings for a while because so far they have not been a hit with me at all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping