Roger's Reads – Page 2 – Author & Book Reviewer

Review of Rabi and Matthew by L.A. Witt

January 31, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Rabi and Matthew is a gay romance story which the blurb describes as “A queer retelling of Romeo & Juliet, except no one has to bury their gays.”

The Story

This novel follows Rabi Hashmi and Matthew Swain who meet one night at a party and end up falling in love. Simple enough story. Well, not really. What makes this story interesting is the decades-old rivalry between the two families as their two fathers run against each other in the election for a seat in Congress. What we have here is Democrat vs. Republican, Muslim vs. Christian and years and years of mistrust and hatred between the families.

Rabi and Matthew know that their love will not be without its challenges, that falling in love with each other in the middle of a war that has the potential of turning bloody is probably not the wisest thing. But they can’t resist the attraction and the feelings that grow between them and decide to take a chance. They meet in secret, often heading out of town in order to lower the risk of running into someone who could report back to their families.

I thought the scenes with them getting to know each other during their secret rendezvous-vous were heartfelt and endearing. Little did they know, however, that the pot had reached its boiling point, and hatred along with escalating racial tensions now threatened everything they hold dear…and not everyone may end up a happily ever after.

A Queer Romeo & Juliet

I loved the entire premise of a queer telling of Romeo & Juliet, with a white Christian boy from a racist Republican family falling in love with a Pakistani Muslim boy from a Democrat family, with both families obsessed with their hatred. The author expertly handled the storyline, and I was impressed with the clever parallels with Romeo & Juliet.

I also give the author extra points for not stereotyping our main characters as either Romeo or Juliet. Neither one of them fit those roles, for which I was grateful. Now I will say that there is definitely some Insta-Love going on here, but given that it’s a retelling of the classic Romeo and Juliet, I could overlook it. I thought their whirlwind romance was tender and sweet, with there being a powerful chemistry between them. It was a joy seeing the two of them fall deeper in love with each other, in spite of the dangers from everyone around there.

A Plethora of Themes

There are so many interesting themes that run through this novel: racism, hatred, gun violence, violence in general, xenophobia (particularly Islamophobia), homophobia, and politics to name a few. There are some scenes in the book that are absolute insanity, with the hatred, bigotry, and violence overtaking all semblance of reason.

So that being said, this story had plenty of edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting drama that gripped me and held me until the emotional ending. This is the kind of book that takes your heart, tosses it into a blender and then slowly puts it back together at the end; though I will say that the journey was exhilarating.

Remember…It’s A Love Story

Now, it’s important to remember that this novel, though it may not seem like it at times, is a romance and not a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet. That’s not to say that horrible things don’t happen in the story, because they do. But ultimately, this is a love story, and though the characters don’t end up with perhaps an ideal happily-ever-after, the ending is perfect in light of the events that take place in the book, so in this way, it was a satisfying conclusion.

My One Niggle

I had one main niggle with this book and with one particular scene. It was after our two main characters have just gone through a horrendous experience….I mean the ultimate worst. They dash out of town, rent a hotel room and then jump into bed and have sex. I thought, “Oh come on! Really?????”

I can’t see how anyone in their right mind could or would think about sex being in their situation. This scene struck me as unrealistic, and I just couldn’t buy into it. I actually found this scene so far-fetched and unbelievable that I was ready to bail on the book. But I did stick it out, and I’m happy I did because the author more than made up for it by giving us a beautiful and touching ending.

Verdict

Rabi and Matthew was one heck of a rollercoaster ride, one for which you might want to have a tissue nearby. There are a lot of intense scenes and heavy topics in the book, and at times, it is difficult to read. But ultimately, I ended up loving this emotionally satisfying story, and I found myself tearfully be rooting for our two heroes as chaos erupted all around them. I thought the novel was well-crafted and deeply engaging, with even a twist or two to keep things interesting. Recommended!

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10 Releases in 2019 That I Want To Read

January 29, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is a list of 10 books that are to be released this year that I’m looking forward to reading this year, if all goes well. There are so many good books coming out this year but these are the ones that are on the top of my wish list. I’ll be adding more specific category lists in the coming weeks.

The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

Shaun David Hutchinson is one of my favorite authors so I was excited when I heard about this.

This story follows Dino whose parents own a funeral home business. Dino’s former best friend July dies suddenly and while Dino is working on her makeup, she comes back life. But she’s not alive yet not dead. So Dino and July attempt to figure out what’s happening to her.

Sounds like a super-fun book — and I believe this is due out in February.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Brigid Kemmerer is another author I really like – I loved her Elemental series that I read awhile back which I plan on rereading down the road.

I don’t know too much about this one except that it’s a retelling of Beauty and the Beast— and I do so love reimaginings!

This follows Prince Rhen, who is cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over until a girl falls for him. The kicker, is that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction and has destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

But then there’s woman named Harper Lacy who enters his life, causing him to hope that there just may be a way out of his predicament.

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

I’m not that much for contemporaries, really, but this one really caught my attention.

This follows Jack and Kate who meet at a party and fall in love. But as it turns out, their love story is rather . . . complicated. Because Kate dies; yet their story doesn’t end there. For some reason, Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Healthy, alive and charming as ever. So Jack decides that if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’s gonna take it. However, Jack soon learns that his actions are not without live and death consequences.

Sounds like something I’d really enjoy.

These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling

This story follows Hannah, who is a powerful witch — a real witch with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself because if she’s ever caught using it in front of a non-witch, she could lose her powers for good.

But when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire and evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over town, and Hannah’s pretty sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: her ex girlfriend Veronica. And all sorts of chaos ensues.

I love me a witchy book so I’m looking forward to this one.

Black Enough by edited Ibi Zoboi

So Black Enough is an anthology edited by Ibi Zoboi who is

by National Book Award finalist, that delves into the closeted thoughts, hidden experiences, and daily struggles of black teens across the country. There are supposedly stories from a spectrum of backgrounds— both urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants and more.

I’ve read some of the blurbs for the stories and what I’ve seen so far sounds absolutely riveting so I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.

Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins

So this follows Dorothy in the year 1913 who is forced by her mother into an engagement to a wealthy man for financial reasons but she’ll do anything to escape, including sneaking away from her wedding and bolting into the woods to disappear.

Fast forward to the year 2077 where we follow Ash who is on a mission to rescue his professor/mentor who figured out the secret to time travel so that together they can put things right in their devastated city. But searching for him entails endless jumps through time.

And of course, you guessed it, Dorothy collides with Ash and ends up getting sucked to the future — or what’s left of it. Sounds intriguing! And those of you who know me know that I love time-travel novels. Hell, I even wrote one!

Superman: DawnBreaker by Matt de la Pena

This is book four in the DC Icons series but none of them are dependent on the other books — each book is its own story. I read the Batman book which I really enjoyed so I already pre-ordered this one.

So Superman: DawnBreaker follows a young Clark Kent before he becomes Superman. Kind of like Smallville maybe?

So naturally, Clark has to keep his powers hidden. But one day, he follows the sound of a girl crying and comes across Gloria Alvarez, and in so doing discovers a dark secret lurking in Smallville. Turns out, Clark’s not the only one hiding something big.

So he teams up with his best friend, Lana Lang to search for the truth of what evil really lies below the surface of Smallville? And what will it cost Clark to learn the truth about his past?

I’m an old comic book nerd from way back and Superman has always been one of my favorites, as was the TV Show Smallville. So I’m looking forward to this.

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

I’ve read a couple of Bill’s other books, one of them being Openly Straight which I liked so I was excited to learn he has a new book coming out.

So this follows two boys, Max and Jordan. Max is chill, big into sports and video games, is gay and out to his mom and his buddies and everyone cool with it. Supposedly he had some intense encounter (sexual?) with an older kid that he doesn’t want to think about, ever, so I take it that this wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Now Jordan is the complete opposite of chill. He’s never been kissed though he is searching for Mr. Right, who, according to him, probably won’t like him anyway. He also has a spiraling out of control mother. He also believes that he’s the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

So at some point, I gather these two meet and according to the blurb, they both have to face their biggest fears. Cool.

A Place for Wolves by Kosoko Jackson

So this follows James Mills who is pissed at his parents for dragging him away from his life, his best friend and sister, Anna and he’s feeling really, really alone at the moment.

Enter Tomas. So falling for Tomas is unexpected, but sometimes the best things in life are.

But a war that has been brewing finally bursts forward, filled with violence, pain, and cruelty and rips their world apart.

So James and Tomas can only rely on each other as they decide how far they are willing to go―and who they are willing to become―in order to make it back to their families. Sounds super intriguing and I do believe this will be out in April.

The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos

This follows Ruby Chernyavsky who has been told the stories since her childhood about the women in her family who once possessed of great magical abilities where they could remake lives and even hold off death itself.

But they were forced to flee their Russian home for America. Today, these stories seem no more real to Ruby than folktales, except for the smallest bit of power left in their blood: when each of them comes of age, she will have a vision of who she will be when she dies — a destiny that’s inescapable and inevitable.

Ruby is no exception, and neither is her mother, although her mother attempted to run away from her fate years ago, abandoning Ruby and her sisters. But you can run but you can’t hide — because there is no escaping one’s “Time”.

But then, Ruby’s great-aunt Polina passes away, and, for the first time, a Chernyavsky’s death does not match her vision. Suddenly, things Ruby never thought she’d be allowed to hope for—life, love, time—seem possible.

But as she and her cousin Cece begin to dig into the family’s history to find out whether they, too, can change their fates, they learn that nothing comes without a cost. Especially not hope.

Another witchy novel that I’m excited about.

HONORABLE MENTION: THE TOLL by Neal Shusterman.

The only reason that it’s not among my 10 list is that I don’t know if it’ll be released this year or not. This is the third book in the Arc of a Scythe series that I really loved. So if it comes out this year, I’ll be picking it up, post haste.

How about you? What new releases are you looking forward to?

Review of The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

January 29, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up.

Given that I love Shaun David Hutchinson’s work, I was super excited when I heard that he was releasing a new novel. I was doubly excited when I heard that it was about the dead who won’t stay buried. I recall reading a blurb where this book as described as “Six Feet Under meets Pushing Daisies” and I was immediately hooked given that I loved both of these shows (Six Feet Under follows a family who owns a funeral home; Pushing Up Daisies follows a pie maker who can bring people from the dead with just a touch — and return them back to the dead permanently with a second touch).

Introducing Dino

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried takes place over the course of two days and follows a young man named Dino whose parents own a funeral home business so being around the dead is nothing new for him. What is new, is the dead coming back to life. As it turns out, Dino’s ex-best friend July dies suddenly, and Dino is trying to work through his grief at her passing. He always believed that eventually, they would find each other again and renew their friendship. But now, it was too late for that, and we begin to see Dino’s regret at all those words that now, will never be said.

Where The Dead Don’t Stay Dead

Dino is alone in the basement with July’s body, working on her makeup in preparation for the funeral — his way of saying his final goodbye — when suddenly she comes back to life. Well, not to life exactly. She’s conscious, sentient but her body is still dead: no heartbeat, no breather and given that she had just recently undergone an autopsy, it’s unlikely that any of her organs are working either.

What follows is Dino and July’s attempt to figure out what’s happening to her, all while rehashing their former friendship, each blaming the other for its end.

Dino and July

It was fun seeing Dino and July rushing around town trying to solve the mystery of July’s reawakening, positive that she could return to her dead state at any moment. They also revisited their friendship — over and over — and in so doing, discovered that they were both to blame and that there were a lot of things in their past they both left unsaid when they should have spoken up.

I thought this illustrated nicely the ups and downs of friendship and just how complicated those relationships can be. I thought it was also a gentle reminder that the time to mend a damaged relationship is now because we may not be as fortunate as Dine and July were in receiving a second chance.

Race Against The Clock

As Dino and July soon discover, they do not have the luxury of time to slowly figure out what’s happening with July. Though July’s death may have ended, her decomposition has not which means she’s not smelling as fresh as she once was. When people around them begin to comment on the stench, they both realize that their time is limited. Moreover, it turns out that July’s resurrection has had a ripple effect throughout the world and has affected the natural course of life and death.

On Friendship

The beating heart at the center of this book is the friendship between July and Dino, and I thought that the author handled it exceptionally well. It was fun seeing them as they bickered with each other over petty annoyances, dug up old hurts and released old anger and resentments. But additionally, they also joked around and ended us rediscovering the joy of their friendship.

I also liked the fact that it wasn’t only one of them who was at fault but rather, they both were responsible for the break in the friendship. So in this way, we got to take a look at the idea of unfinished business but from both sides as they both begin to realize that it’s those you love who end up hurting you the most — and vice-versa.

It was also refreshing to see a male and female friendship that didn’t end in love or where one of the two was agonizingly pining for the other.

July and Dino’s Characters

I thought that July and Dino with wonderfully complex, vivid and empathetic characters and felt their characterization was especially powerful. The author did an excellent job of bringing these two to life in all of their complexities, faults, flaws, and imperfections, making them someone the reader could easily relate to (or at least I could).

I thought July is a terrific character. She’s multi-layered, flawed, impulsive, and once we move past her harsh exterior, we see that she is also insecure and deeply hurt by the loss of Dino’s friendship. Though she comes across of self-centered and bitter, we see another side of her unfold as the novel progresses and we begin to understand the reason behind some of her actions. I couldn’t help but fall in love with her character by the end of the story.

I found Dino to be well-crafted, awkward but an endearing character and I loved how loyal he was to July — and how willing he was to help her even though their friendship had ended badly. He ended up being quite a complicated character who, though he thought he was self-confident and knew what he wanted, really was just as insecure as the rest of us. This was especially evident in his relationship with his trans boyfriend Rafi as he navigated the ups, downs, and uncertainties of their relationship in addition to confronting some hidden truths about himself in that process.

I liked how the story was told from alternating points of view, allowing us to get an in-depth peek at what was going on inside of their head. This really helped me to more deeply understand their feelings and motivations, making them all the more relatable and all the more real.

Final Verdict

I thought this was a lovely heartfelt novel about two teens who were given a little extra time to resolve the unfinished business that was left between them. I loved that fact that it was up to the reader to determine just whose unfinished business caused July’s return.

I loved how this dark and somewhat grim situation is lightened by realistic dialogue and genuineness of feeling between our two main characters, and the witty banter and shenanigans made this a joy to read. The quirky and crazy plot in this story was kept steady by the realism and the truth of the situation; this is, of the grief of losing a friend with so much unsaid still left between you.

As usual, Mr. Hutchinson did not disappoint, and I ended up loving this tender story which held me in rapt attention from start to finish. It was a story with The emotional depth and plenty of heart, and I became so emotionally invested by the end of the book that I felt as though I were saying goodbye to close friends.

This book is set to be released in February 19, 2019 but it available now for pre-order.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review of Art Matters by Neil Gaiman and Chris Ridell

January 28, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Art matters cover image Art Matters is a little book written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Ridell, both whose work I really enjoy, and is drawn together from speeches, poems, and creative manifestos. The book explores art and shows how reading, imagining and creating can change the world.

One of the chapters was familiar to me – the one entitled Make Good Art, Gaiman’s famous and moving 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. You should be able to find it on YouTube – I think that’s where I first saw it (I’ve watched it several times)

There is also an essay entitled “On Libraries,” which is a passionate argument for libraries that discusses their importance to our future and how they foster readers and daydreamers.

Now, this is a tiny book without a lot of words – one that you can probably read in about 20 minutes but one that you can spend weeks, months, years, a lifetime pondering. It is chock full of breathtaking illustrations and profound wisdom in short, concise to-the-point prose that celebrates art and outlines methods for artistic success. And not just monetary success but also personal fulfillment.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom spread in so few pages that I’m not going to say anything more, lest I take away someone’s enjoyment in reading it and discovering these gems for yourself. Let me just say that it’s inspiring and well worth the read.

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Review of Cub by Paul Coccia

January 26, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Cub Paul Coccia book cover Cub is a short LGBTQ young adult novel that follows a seventeen-year-old chubby young man named Theo who loves to bake and is quite good at it. He dreams of attending culinary school and opening up his own bakery one day. Knowing that Theo is an excellent baker and deserves recognition, his best friend Di enters him into a cooking competition at a new trendy restaurant in Toronto called Heat. The contest will last for several weeks, with one contestant being eliminated after each weekly round. The rest of the story revolves around the competition and Theo’s interaction with the head celebrity chef KCC and the other contestants.

As Theo begins to win rounds, he attracts the attention and admiration of not only the audience who is watching the competition but also of KCC, who makes it quite clear to Theo that he’s interested in much more than Theo’s baking ability. He lets Theo know that if Theo does what KCC wants — in and out of the kitchen — then he’ll help Theo to launch his career. So now Theo has to decide just how far he’s willing to go to achieve his dreams.

We need to keep in mind here that KCC is much older than Theo — I got the impression that he was in his late 20’s or 30’s — and Theo is still a minor at seventeen. So the scene where KCC aggressively comes onto Theo was super-predatory and cringy to me, which I imagine is what the author intended.

Truth be told, one particular scene reminded me of something I personally went through when I was sixteen, so it was a tad difficult for me to read. I found it a bit upsetting and “triggery,” though I imagine it’s a difficult scene for most people to read. It definitely pulled me outside of my comfort zone.

But in spite of me feeling uncomfortable, I thought the author handled the situation extremely well and did an excellent job of portraying the range of mixed emotions that Theo experiences whenever KCC hits on him. On the one hand, here Theo is, a pudgy seventeen-year-old who has attracted the sexual attention of a gorgeous celebrity chef, one of his idols, in fact. But on the other hand, Theo feels that things are moving way too quickly and the situation feels “wrong” to him — the fact that the man is considerably older than Theo could be adding to that sense of wrongness. I thought it was riveting being in Theo’s head as he tried to sort this all out.

Though this is a short book, I thought it was an incredibly well-told story. I loved seeing Theo’s growth throughout the book, as he moved from someone with low self-esteem to someone confident and self-assured. It was lovely seeing Theo beam as he gained more and more admiration from the audience during the competition. At the beginning of the book, Theo was shy and terrified of being put into the spotlight, but by the end of the book, he was confident — master of his world — and he completed the required baking trials with finesse.

My one real niggle is that the book is too short! It’s more of a novella, coming in at 144 pages and though the story was good, it could have used some additional character development. We’re given just enough details to follow the story but I think this novel would have been richer had we delved a little more in the head of Theo, KCC, and Di.

But this short and sweet book pulled me in early, on the strength of Theo’s character, who I thought was absolutely lovable and found myself rooting for him throughout the competition and the book.

Though a couple of scenes were unsetting, the story invites readers to ask themselves whether, when placed in a similar situation, they would make the same choice as Theo. So in this way, Cub is a thought-provoking and touching story, at times poignant, at times playful but tremendously moving. Though the novel was short, it packed a punch. It was an engaging novella, and I found it easy to become invested in the outcome. I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author. Recommended!

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Review of The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

January 24, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Thank You Netgalley for providing me a free review copy in exchange for an honest review

This is the third and final volume in The Winternight Trilogy and boy what a journey it’s been. It’s difficult to write this review as I’m sad that this series has ended — but I’m so glad I went along for the ride.

Now it is difficult to review the final book in a series while completely avoiding spoilers for the prior books. So if you haven’t read The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, consider yourself warned, though I do try to make all my reviews as spoiler-free as possible. But still, this is not a book that you can read as a standalone novel.

The Story

The Winter of the Witch picks up right where the events of The Girl in the Tower left off: in the aftermath of a deadly fire that torched much of Moscow, and immediately, we hit the ground running. Vasya’s enemy, Father Konstantin Nikonvich, a priest who has lost his faith, has vowed vengeance on the girl and is able to incite the townspeople into a murderous rage, convincing them that she was responsible for the fire and that she’s a witch. Well, he wasn’t lying about the fire part — she actually was kind of responsible for that. So a frenzied mob storms Vasya’s courtyard, captures her, puts her in a cage and attempts to burn her to death as a witch. Exhausted and wracked with grief after having lost a dear friend, she manages to escape and is on the run, fleeing for her life.

Having left Moscow, she undertakes a perilous journey for her survival and the survival of her people, traveling into a strange and somewhat haunting otherworldly realm where nothing or nobody is as they seem. Along the way, she meets all manner of mythical creatures: a feisty mushroom king, a fierce old witch woman who holds a surprising secret, an unfriendly firebird, an angry river spirit, powerful gods/demons such as Lady Midnight whom Vasya isn’t quite sure are friends or foes and all manner of domovoi.

But what’s most interesting is that along the way, she uncovers long-buried secrets about her family history, her bloodline and her legacy helping her to finally understand who she really is. It also becomes evident to the reader that she is indeed a girl who is straddling two realms, both literally and figuratively, with ultimately the fate of both resting in her hands.

But no matter what obstacles are placed in front of her, Vasya finds a way to overcome them, intent on her main goals: to search out the only creature who can help her to save her cousin’s kingdom from the rapidly approaching Tartar armies and assist her in restoring balance after old and deadly enemy resurfaces and is intent on destroying Moscow. She also vows to help the chyerti (the blanket term for guardian spirits and creatures of Russian folklore) coexist with humans. But to accomplish her goals, she first has to make a drastic inescapable decision, a choice she’s not sure is the correct one.

This book is considerably darker than the other two. There’s a lot more danger, a lot more warring going on and beloved characters perish resulting in some heartbreaking scenes. But if it’s any consolation, some old friends return, also resulting in some emotionally intense scenes.

It was so much fun seeing Vasilisa Petrovna in this third book. She has grown incredibly since the first novel, both personally and magically. She is fierce, committed, and unapologetic — indeed a force to be reckoned with and can definitely hold her own against those who wish her harm.

Vasya comes into her own in this story as well as finally discovers the power that resides within her. But as is her custom, she makes more than her share of mistakes along the way, rendering her all the more human, all the more likable and all the more relatable. I love the fact that our heroine, as well as the secondary characters, are not black or white but all have their admirable qualities (even the villains…well, some of them) along with their flaws and faults.

It was heart-wrenching at times to watch Vasya as she desperately struggled to balance the real with the magical and the light with the dark, while figuring out how to convince her leaders, both human and folk spirits, that Christianity and chyerti can coexist.

Speaking of the secondary characters, they were amazingly well drawn and vividly rendered. Arden does an admirable job of getting into the heads and hearts of all of her characters, both the main ones and her secondary ones. More than that, she brings them all to life, allowing them to thrive and grow in their complexity.

The many magical creatures from folklore that played essential roles in all three books are utterly fascinating, sometimes dangerous, and always wondrous, and the author really brought them to life in this series. The character arcs take some very interesting twists and turns in the novel, especially those of the twins, Morozko the Frost Demon and Medved, the Chaos Demon in which we learn a lot more about them, their past and their motivation.

I found this book to be epic storytelling.

Final Verdict

The Winter of the Witch was utterly bewitching and immersive with its larger than life dynamic characters, action-packed plot, and lush narrative. Once again, the author has expertly weaved together historical and fantastical elements to create a truly atmospheric story filled with magic, wonder, and hope. It’s a masterpiece of a book — a tale of a clever girl who manages to outwit men and devils alike. I also loved the powerful message about coexisting that Arden teaches in this book, a message that many may find especially resonant in today’s times.

This book had so many themes, messages and other compelling tidbits running throughout: religious zealotry, grief, madness, battle, death, chaos, an evil priest, a brave heroine, mythical creatures, good vs evil, human vs non-human, the bond of family and blood, the never-ending battle between the old ways and the new, madness, a touch of romance and at the end of the day, redemption. There’s definitely a lot going on here.

I’m often somewhat leery of reading the final book in a trilogy because oftentimes, I end up disappointed. Not this time. In the stunning conclusion, everything is resolved, all loose ends are tied up, including Vasya’s heritage, her place in her country, her place in the world, her relationship with Morozko, the conflict between Christianity and the chyerti, Morozko’s relationship with his brother and Vasya’s place in her family. I sobbed at the end — but in a good way.

After three amazing, books, I’m finding it a tad difficult to say goodbye to those characters that I’ve grown to love over hundreds of pages. The Winternight Trilogy is now one of my most beloved series, one that I no doubt will reread in the future. It certainly makes me want to delve deeper into and learn as much as possible about Russian Folklore and the Russian pantheon. It has also made me add Katherine Arden to my insta-buy author list.

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