Reviewed by ladygrey on
The story keeps changing until the very end. Which is good. The characters are decent enough. I liked the Eastern European vibe (very well evoked) except the seedier parts like the smoking and cursing (which there wasn’t a ton of, but it was blisteringly sharp) and all the unseemly bits.
I couldn’t help but notice the similarity with Practical Magic (which I’ve only watched and never read). But I do think this leaned more heavily on local lore and so can be given credit as its own thing. A slow moving thing, but there are enough tiny revelations or new questions to give it the barest of momentum.
One thing I did really like is there aren’t a lot of secrets. I mean, there’s TONS of secrets but as the main characters discover the story, they don’t hide it from the important people in their lives. They talk about it and they tell the truth and they’re really all in it together which was refreshing.
The language was intentionally flowery and even subtly poetic to try to evoke this world of magic, but really it was the Slavic culture that defined the story more. I didn’t need all the particularly appropriate metaphors and scenic description. There was quite a bit in this book I didn’t need and also a little bit I liked.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 17 June, 2020: Finished reading
- 17 June, 2020: Reviewed