Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Book Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Book: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★ ★ ★ 


This is a beautiful fairy tale fantasy based on Russian folklore and stories. Beautifully told with beautiful imagery. I really enjoyed it and became very immersed in it all.

To summarize, it's about a girl who is born to a noble family who lives far from the city up in the cold harsh northern forest. Her mom has magic, and when she is born, her mom knows this daughter will carry on that magic. But the mom doesn't live through the birth.

So then we watch this girl get older and deal with all the things that are different about her and have all the town people look at her like she is a witch.

The mythical but not so mythical being, the winter king, finds her and claims her for his own. He is a fascinating mysterious person and therein lies my only frustration with this book. I wanted SO  MUCH MORE with him. And it was just getting good with that when it ended! I wanted a sort of Beauty and the Beast type of thing going on and it just didn't quite get there... but it HINTED so many times. So I was left feeling a little ... wanting.

Maybe there will be more of him in the next books? But I think someone said no... so I can't decide now if I should keep reading them, or not.

Suggestions?

Anyway. If you love darkish creepyish fairy tales, this one is for you!


1 comment:

  1. I've heard so many good things about this one, but I STILL haven't read it. One of these days!

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