Reviews with content warning for Gore - Vassa in the Night

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

8 reviews

creolelitbelle's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

3.5 stars. I'm only vaguely familiar with the story of Baba Yaga, so I cannot say how well of an iteration this book is of that tale. Vassa does not have a ton of depth as a character considering her struggles and mission, but I enjoyed her journey working (and living) at Be-Wise for three nights. For a dark fairy tale set in our modern world, the tone and setting are spot-on with creepy vibes and a true lasting nighttime. Babs is unpredictable, and that left me wondering what would possibly transpire next. Erg adds so much to the story; without her, the plot would die early on with Vassa's death. I would have liked more of Vassa's sisters, Stephanie and Chelsea, even if only them fighting to have Vassa release as a scene. They felt like minor supporting characters that could have played larger roles. An epilogue showing how Vassa stays connected (or not) to her new friend after the events at the store and reuniting with Stephanie would have been great to tie up lose ends.

Edit: Having read from worldhistory.org who Baba Yaga is in the old Slavic folklore, I view this book as an accurate, creative modern retelling set in a Brooklyn neighborhood. The stepsisters, the doll, and the store (house) with chicken legs are all there.

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carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

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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.

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fei_chan's review against another edition

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4.75

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darquedreamer's review against another edition

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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.

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