Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Forge Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was interesting but also dense - there was a lot going on! It wasn't as captivating as I had hoped (though still interesting) but I am thinking some of that may be due to the translation (I would give it a little less than 4 stars, rounded up). I also felt that from the book synopsis that it was going to be solely about Swietoslawa and, while most of it did in fact revolve around her, there were many other points of views and players and sides that were part of it that I wasn't expecting. It was wonderful to read about a period of time and place that I had no idea about. 

PS I hope the full published version has a pronunciation guide because I am sure I am pronouncing almost every name incorrectly!