The title and cover are what drew my interest for wanting to read this book mostly. I was not entirely disappointed reading this book but was hoping to like it and didn't like it as much I thought I would. Sonya and Sebastien were not favorite characters to say the least. I think don't I really liked any character in this that much really except Galina. Sonya seemed to stay the same throughout the whole book and Sebastien I thought had the beginnings of some potential growth but just didn't happen to take those steps. The gods or whatever they are rather cruel and hateful beings I think. They are using the people for their own amusement and Sonya for example just follows blindly along with whatever Marzanna wants. She does think she is doing what she thinks is right and is willing to pay the cost but still doesn't quite have all the facts to what is happening in her world. I also don't quite like they way he models his world and some of their vocabulary to match our own world I guess. This seems to go against setting up a world of fantasy in some ways. It also could let people feel more at ease reading words that they could hear every day in their own lives and maybe they will enjoy that more. Still it wasn't a terrible book by any means and I can certainly see people liking to read this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for this book as well.

This book had a lot of pros and cons. The title character was interesting. Her devotion to Lady Marzanna was compelling and easily made her the most fun to read about, especially once we understand the price she must pay any time she fails in her plans. The rest of the characters were unfortunately not as intriguing, with some being downright flat.

The worldbuilding started out great but never developed beyond its initial premise. We get a little info about variations in architecture and some suggestions about politics, but no one aspect is ever given the full attention it needs to feel fleshed out. I hope to read more about the world in later volumes.

Skovron's writing is decent, although he has a habit of giving us info dumps *after* a dramatic event has occurred- for example, we don't learn a character's full importance until after they've died. Overall the pacing of the book could be better, with a slightly more gradual opening before everything goes badly for our main characters.

Overall this was an interesting book with an exciting main character. I hope that the world and story will also be developed more in the next book.

DNF

I got like 15% through this book . . .

I would have continued or tried harder to give it a chance, but I am reading so many ARC's right now and I just don't have the time. :P

PROS ~

- The world building was amazing. 😍
- The MC's were enjoyable.
- PEPPERCORN 💖💖💖
- The foreshadowing and tension within the beginning. *sings* BEAUTIFUL.
- The culture!!!!!
- UMMM HELLO. THAT COVER. 😍

CONS ~

- Content (which I'll get to in a minute)
- Lack of explanation behind the MC's father's death?? Like ... basically his pride got him killed? Okay. I didn't quite get that.
- There's no clear distinction between who's evil and who's not....which makes it extremely difficult to connect with the characters.
- Most of the people were "meh" ...

CONTENT ~

- Profanity. Bad Language.
- Violence. Gory description.
- Sorcery. Black Magic.
- Weird (cultic?) religion where they worshiped the Lady Marzanna.
- ALSO, WHY DID SO MANY PPL DIE WITHIN THE FIRST SECTION OF THE BOOK. *headdesks* OMW.

OVERALL ~

- I enjoyed it for the most part?
- Certain scenes really annoyed me and I don't read books to feel annoyed. :P
- PEPPERCORN 😍 💖💖💖 😍

**FTC DISCLOSURE** I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. If anything I stated was offensive please don't take it personally, considering this is only my opinion. Thanks! :)

I absolutely love the cover of this book, and since I’m a sucker for YA fantasy, requesting it for review didn’t take a lot of consideration. The world building is great, and I especially loved the Celtic edge added to the Uaine. The story had a flavor of historical romance at times, which didn’t take away from the fantasy itself. The history of the Rangers was especially interesting, as was the dark power behind them, which made it hard to determine whether to root for them or not. A lot is left unexplained in this first book of the series, but not in a way that made anything difficult to comprehend. Having siblings on opposing sides, each of them believing they’re more hero than villain, was a great twist, and as much as I liked Sonya, her childish responses were often more annoying than funny. But I loved her reckless bravery and willingness to sacrifice for her cause. I had a difficult time liking Sebastian at all and expected more of a character arc, so I was disappointed in that regard. Despite his young age, I expected him to mature throughout the story, but he remained selfish, naïve and shortsighted. I really wanted to find a character I could root for in the war between empire and the oppressed people, and as much as I liked Sonya and Blaine, I didn’t love them. With such great world building, I hope that the next installment shows more character growth and builds a character I can’t let go of.

This story was interesting but just didn't have enough of a spark to really keep me interested in it once I got going with the story. The story itself didn't stand on its own two feet and I just felt bored with what was going on. The pacing was very slow and the world building was sub par and the magical system wasn't anything new.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how the two main characters were siblings on different sides of political lines, as well as magical lines. Sonya, the Ranger, seems to be 'fighting the good fight', worried about the citizens of her home-country, as well as helping the poorer citizens throughout the book. On the other hand, Sebastian, her younger brother, is a sorcerer whose powers grow throughout the book and seems to be easily influenced by higher ranking individuals. You'd think that would automatically make me love Sonya and hate Sebastian, but that wasn't the case. I think that is one thing that Skovron did wonderfully. He was successful in having sympathetic characters on both sides and the only character I found myself truly disliking was the General that Sebastian was served under.

The magic in this book was also pretty interesting. Sonya serves the goddess of death and seems to escape death a couple times for a unique price. I'd never quite seen something like this before and it was refreshing to see a different take on gods/goddesses. I only wish we would have been able to explore the strange religions of this world a bit more, but it was mostly focused on the political aspect. I do like political fantasies, but with so little magic explained, I found myself wanting more. Overall, I really enjoyed myself as I read this and will definitely be continuing with the series when the future books come out.

The Ranger of Marzanna is the first in a new epic fantasy series from author Jon Skovron. Skovron previously wrote the Empire of Storms trilogy, an incredibly fun series of pirates, biological magicians, and more, that was filled with fantastic characters and tremendous wit, even as the story sometimes moved into some incredibly dark areas. I loved that series so much and would recommend it to almost anyone, so when I saw Skovron had a new book listed on Netgalley, I requested it immediately and hoped I'd get chosen for a review.

And well, The Ranger of Marzanna is a very different kind of book, significantly less into fun adventure and more into classical epic fantasy, with a powerful goddess, mages, empires, rangers, etc. The book still features some strong characters, and more than a little element of wit, but whereas the Empire of Storms leaned towards comedy even in its darkness, this book definitely leans towards tragedy as events move on. And while I can't put my finger on anything in particular I disliked, the book never quite grabbed me as much as I would have hoped. So I may not be continuing with this series, even with all I did like.


----------------------------------------------Plot Summary---------------------------------------------------

It has been years since the country of Izmoroz was conquered by the Aureumian Empire, and the Empire resorted to crushing Izmoroz's culture. Sonya and Sebastian's parents come from a mixed marriage: their mother, an Izmoroz noble, their father an Aureumian soldier, who now wanted nothing to do with the military he once served. But the two siblings couldn't be any less alike in other ways: Sonya, the elder, is well aware of what Izmoroz has lost under the Empire, while her brother Sebastian remains unconcerned and naive to it all, wishing only that his parents would let him more openly practice his strong powers of elemental magic.

But when Imperial soldiers come and kill their father while Sonya was away, they take Sebastian and his mother away to become drafted into Imperial service. Guided by an ambitious Imperial officer, Sebastian finds himself using his power more and more for the sake of the Empire's agenda, using its destructive power more and more even as he wonders if what he's doing is right - with all the dead he leaves in his path.

Meanwhile, with her family gone, Sonya embarks on a different path entirely - for Sonya is the newest, and maybe the last, of the Rangers of Marzanna, the warriors devoted to the Izmoroz goddess of death, who provides those Rangers with power in exchange for sacrifices. Using her power, and the help of a young foreign alchemist she journeys to find allies in a foreign enemy of the Empire, and will begin the course of events that will change not only the Empire, but the entire world....forever. And at the heart of this conflict the siblings will reunite on opposite sides, as war returns to possibly take everything they each care about.

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The Ranger of Marzanna is the first in an epic fantasy series, and as such, the plot summary above, and nearly any plot summary that isn't pages long, omits a lot of significant parts of this book. The story is told in third person, with each segment of the story told from the perspective of one of many different characters - not just Sebastian and Sonya, but we get parts from their mother Irina's perspective, parts from Sebastian's betrothed Galina (a major standout, see below), parts from young alchemist Jorge, and more. This method of storytelling isn't just for show, as many of the less major characters have their own agendas going on behind the scenes, and the glimpses we get into their heads really makes it clear how much more is going on than just the coming conflict between Sonya and Sebastian.

And that's important because it really kept me from being too depressed to keep reading in this book (mainly) because the conflict between Sonya and Sebastian is seemingly inevitable from an early stage, and it's painful because both are strong characters that are easy to empathize with to some extent. Sebastian is an incredibly sheltered boy who is utterly naive to the truth of the world and the conflict between the Empire and Izmoroz, who really just wants to get to use his magic, which makes him all the more easily manipulable by military minds who see his power as a devastating weapon to be used. Skovron does a strong job of showing Sebastian change as a result from a boy burdened by his conscience to one more willing to rationalize things away, especially as those around him who should be teaching him otherwise are afraid to break him with the truth. It's sometimes painful to read, as the reader wants him to shift his course in ways that he just can't picture.

Meanwhile Sonya isn't naive about the state of the world and the oppression that goes on, even if she's never truly been one of the common people who experience the brunt of it all. Sonya is adventurous and risk taking, a wild spirit who may be a little jealous of the attention her parents showed her brother, but is devoted to her cause and her goddess, even as the goddess' service teaks away more and more of her humanity. Yet while she's more aware of the world than her brother, she's arguably just as naive - to the dangers of forces outside the Empire and to her Goddess itself, as she takes more and more actions in the name of achieving freedom. She's a fun character to read, and yet like her brother a little tragic as the reader can see disasters coming from her actions that she's blind to.

Still the highlight of this story is neither of its two most significant characters, but one of the side characters, the young noble Izmoroz woman Galina, who Sebastian falls in love with. The book presents at first as a bookish shy girl who Sebastian's (another lover of books) and her mother see as kindred spirits, and you think she might be a simple love interest. But she's so much more - a young woman raised by her father to know the atrocities committed by the Empire and is trying to work through her contacts to undermine the Empire subtly so that Izmoroz can regain its independence. And she marries Sebastian not just because she has feelings for him, but because she can see him being manipulated by his commanders and believes she can guide him herself to a more righteous path of rebellion. Like some of the above characters, she's definitely naive to class issues and to what it may take to achieve or goals, and how it might be necessary to hurt Sebastian to do it, making her storyline both riveting and tragic, and easily the character I wanted to see the most of by the middle of the book. The rest of the side characters - particularly Jorge - are also good, but Galina is just brilliant.

All of these characters, and the setting, work as part of an epic fantasy world with some serious themes - Empire/Imperialism/Colonization and the eradication of culture as a means of oppression, class struggles of the poor vs the nobility, and more. But the plot is a bit more interested in its fantasy elements and major conflicts than in exploring these themes for the most part. It works mind you, and the plot's swerves are done in a way sometimes surprised me and sometimes didn't, but always felt set-up well and not out of thin air. If I have a major complaint, it's that the narrative very much feels like bad things are going to happen to one or all of the characters as they begin to collide, making it so that I had to push myself to keep going at times as it felt like the tragic moments were closing in. The plot contains moments of fun dialogue reminiscent of the Empire of Storms trilogy and is never boring but for whatever reason - its tragic nature or something else - it just didn't draw me in as much as I'd hoped.

So I'm not sure I'll be continuing with the second book when it comes out, we'll see - if I do, I may give it a short leash, because while there's a lot of great characters with great potential here, I'd like to see some more hopefulness in it all.....or something to make me more drawn in.

“‘There are many ways to conquer a people,’ said Yuri. ‘You can force them to submit by the sword, but that will only get you so far. To truly conquer them, you must make them forget who they are. Little by little, they chip away at what it means to be Izmorozian.’”

This immersive epic fantasy will leave you questioning your allegiance. It will have you rooting for two siblings on opposite sides of a war. Sonya and Sebastian are two very different siblings on different paths. Sonya is one of the famed Rangers of Marzanna, a lethal killer, while her brother Sebastian is an elemental magic user, a tool sought after by the imperial army and possibly the most powerful sorcerer the world has seen. When their father is murdered, both set out on opposite journeys, one to serve the empire, the other to bring it down. The old Izmorozian ways are dying and Sonya wants to do everything in her power to restore old customs to their former glory. This starts by ejecting the empire from her homeland, but such a task is easier said than done. Sebastian is serving the very empire Sonya wishes to remove. He is unknowingly used as a pawn by many and will struggle to make choices for himself between what is good and what is easy. Will their paths bring them together? Will they find a way to reconcile their differences? Or will they be destined to work against each other until one falls?

My new favorite fantasy of 2020! This book is beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. There’s so much originality woven into the pages I could cry. Inspired in part by Polish folklore, every turn is fresh. With rich world building details that felt immersive and realistic, I was transported to the frozen land of Izmoroz. I found myself eager for more than the plot and it’s distinct characters, desperate for a deeper understanding about Izmorozian traditions, culture, and especially the Lady of Marzanna.

Jon Skovron created a unique story that still sticks with me after the final page. Every piece of his plot was meaningful. Each chapter held consequence. I never found any unnecessary filler. That kept the story moving at a rapid pace. For a long book, I didn’t find myself bored a single time. Yet, it was easy to put the book down when I needed to walk away. Some books have too many cliff hangers after each chapter, which can leave one a little jaded for longer stories. That wasn’t the case here. Still, I was glued from page one where we discover just how lethal a Ranger of Marzanna can be.

I loved Sonya’s bad-assery. Her strong female character left me confident, yet there were times that she displayed obvious flaws, times she did not always succeed. I like that she was genuine. Sebastian was even more flawed than his sister. In terms of character depth, his character was darker and carried more faults. Yet, I never found myself hating him because I was there for each moment that shaped him. In the end, his decisions made sense, even if they were a little frustrating. I only hope that we see some redemption in him as the series continues.

If you like political intrigue this story is dripping with it. Every character has deeper motives that aren’t apparent from the beginning. It’s hard to know each, yet I learned to appreciate the characters because I came to know their strengths and weaknesses on a more intimate level. Their voices are all different, so there was never a time I felt stagnant. We get to see the story from multiple points of view, and I really enjoyed that. It added so much depth.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for the ARC. I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to review this beauty. And a huge round of applause for Jon Skovron for his amazing work on what is certain to be a fantastic start to an amazing series!

I dnfed this book at the 15% mark because I just couldn't anymore with the characters or writing style.

My favorite thing about this book is the cover. It is a *gorgeous* cover and I hope whoever designed it continues to design covers.

As for the story... The plot is (at least so far) ok. Not great, a bit predictable- but I like the setting.

The characters though... Sonya constantly flips between killing machine and laughing girl and back. It's really disconcerting. And Sebastian is cold and just. Makes such poor choices? He resents his father keeping him from demonstrating his magic or joining the army. Then the army comes and kills his father (because they want Sebastian's magical abilities for their army) and takes Sebastian and his mother prisoner. Then the commander asks Sebastian to join them and he's like, hmmm. OK. Too bad about dad but, whatever.

The writing style is also rather clinical. All these terrible things happen but there's no emotion involved. It's just like reading a list: This happened, then this happened, then this character thought this, then this happened...

Overall I'd give it 5 stars for the cover, but only 1 for the story.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, it just didn't deliver. Dull characters with unknown purposes as well as cheesy dialogue on almost every page made it hard to enjoy the wonderful environment and conflict Skovron presents. Most of the main characters were far too flat and had personalities that fit more into a novel from a history book about boring nobles.

The meat of the story and the rebellion were fun. A lot of the plot holes exist primarily because the characters depend on almost impossible odds to work out and they always manage to do so. It was frustrating to see how harebrained ideas from the characters were the driving point for the plot.

The cultural ideas and conspiracies helped to spice up the story but didn't do so until nearly the end. I still don't know where half the characters' loyalty lies and that is a problem.

Overall, I will probably continue the series just to see what more can be done with the cultural context but the characters aren't anything to write home about.

The atmosphere of the sibling vs. Sibling made for a very intriguing read.
While I did get through the title, it took a while as some of it was a very slow read. But overall, I did enjoy the title and am looking forward to it landing in store. 3.5 stars!

You know what I dislike? When a book that has an amazing cover is a letdown. Sure, there are things that I liked about this one but the bad reasons overshadowed them for me.

This book is split into many point-of-views. There are times that I quite enjoy this because it gives us a glimpse into other plot points or the means to them but for this one I could care less about a couple of the point-of-views we got.

My biggest gripe would have to be the dialogue. For being a fantasy some characters dialogue would feel out of place and more modern especially while others around them felt more towards the time of the novel. It would always break me out of enjoying the book because the details used and the wording of everything else was great! But some of the dialogue was just clunky and hard to get through.

There were awesome elements added like the lady Sonya works for. Sonya would have to give something in return for a favor. I also liked that the horse was more of a companion than just an animal used for travel. They were great aspects but were definitely overshadowed by everything else.

I also had a hard time connecting to the characters. Sebastion did things that I didn't understand and never questioned anything from the beginning. I just felt like it was odd. Sonya, his sister, was a lot cooler and I did at least like her.

Overall, this book felt like it could have been a lot more and one that I would have really loved but there were just certain issues that made it hard to really get into this book.

This book was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The event and experiences the characters go through will have you switching allegiances and preferences. While this story is not perfect - at times it feels slow, at others, too rushed - it does provide a really interesting tale of sibling rivalry on a large scale! The world is really well built and I am intrigued by a lot of the developments that will be coming along. The next book is definitely on my 'to read' list.

This book had such potential, but I just did not like it. I feel like we had too many people's perspectives....that didn't really matter. Ok Sonya's mom is screwing the help.... but it didn't really help the plot. I loved the aspect that Sonya has to give apart of herself as boons to receive"gifts " from her goddess which takes the form of an animal. LOVE THAT, but it just get lost in all the clutter.
And necromancers!! Yaaas that was so cool. I was like this! Yaaaays. That part made me think of the book see these bones. Like ooo connection! I loved me some Blaine. Probably my favorite character. Warrior who doesn't talk the language well and likes to fuck what's not to love.
And while Sonya's brother at the beginning of the story I was for sure he was gonna stay pure it was tainted!!! .....tho when he first....loses control I was like YESS YESS let the darkness flow through you!....but then I was just like okay what are you doing sir.

The Ranger of Marzanna was a fun, fast read that I really enjoyed. The world is based on Russia, which I thought was a lot of fun to read. I liked the mythology and religion, especially whenever Sonya interacted with Lady Marzanna. I definitely want to learn more about her and any of the other deities in the next book!
Sonya was a great character; I absolutely loved her and enjoyed reading from her perspective most. I also really liked Jorge; he was such a sweet person and cared so much about Sonya even after just meeting her.
However, I hated Sebastian. He's a bit of an antagonist, since even his own fiancee turns against him at the end, but I was hoping for some sort of redemption arc for him even in the first book. He was honestly insufferable, and I hated reading from his perspective. His fiancee Galina, on the other hand, was another of my favorite characters, and I really hope that the next book involves a bit more from her perspective.
I really liked reading the Ranger of Marzanna: I wasn't bored for a second while reading, and I can't wait for the sequel!

I liked a lot of this book, there was some cool magic and lots of sick courtly burns but it was A LOT. The pacing was a little weird for me, there was a lot of explaining and showing of stuff that didn't seem to really be furthering the plot, just pretty much filler. It got to be a bit boring at times so that really brought me out of the story sometimes.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a very fun ride. It dragged here and there, but made up for it with the interesting lore and actioned scenes. I felt like the magic system needed some work as Sebastian's powers were not very defined, especially when compared to Marzanna and her Riders. There was something there that felt very concrete and had me disappointed and wishy-washiness of elemental magic. However, the idea that using magic ages you is interesting though it was glossed over and not used to its fullest potential.

There was also a lack of direction for the first half of the story. It spent no time solidifying why Sonya and Sebastian had their stances, as they practically had them from the beginning and spent more time engraving them into their roles. The siblings started separate and were slightly more separate by then, making it feel like there were little to no emotional stakes in the book and that the siblings were just doing whatever for some arbitrary notion they had and never questioned it.

What Sebastian lacked in motivation, his sister Sonya did manage to make up. While it still felt like she was there "just because", she also had the most interesting growth as she becomes more and more ranger. I wished there'd been more focus on the rangers as they were by far the most interesting thing in the book. It was clear that a lot of time was spent on their lore and impact in the world and I wish there had been as much time spent on the characters and their motivations, as while Sonya makes a nice ranger, I'm left questioning why she is one in the first place as at times she seems to be the last person I'd expect to be one as her personality seems so contrary to a lot of the legends. This could be why she makes such a good ranger though it didn't come across clearly in the text. She did serve as a sympathetic lens to view the interesting culture of the rangers and their cold-hearted goddess fo death.

Sebastian is an interesting case of someone wanting to do good and becoming a monster in the process. He does seem to lack some conviction however and I found myself inclined to think that he was a bigger fan of the books Galina was reading than Galina herself at times. Galina, on the other hand, was a major surprise as she went from being a background character to the character with the most conviction. Unlike the siblings I can tell you where and why she stands on the side of the split that she does without saying "just because she's there". Her motivations and role in the story were well thought out and executed.

My final thoughts are that despite the character flaws, this book is amazing. It has an interesting fantasy world with distinct cultures and traditions as well as interesting histories and war tactics. The final battle was a pure joy to read and I have nothing against the writing. The book feels a bit like a set-up for something bigger and I'm all ears for something bigger, especially if there will be more involvement from Marzanna. It was really easy to get lost in the lore and I had vivid pictures in my mind as I read, mostly on the bus and surrounded by blizzards, which may have helped a bit. But all that being said I would recommend this to fantasy nerds who love strong mythologies or those who are looking for something similar, and maybe a bit more sinister, to being a huntress of Artemis.

The Ranger of Marzanna is a really fun story that I seriously enjoyed. The pacing felt good, and the story itself was captivating. The characters were believable, and during each POV chapter, it felt like you wanted to side with the thoughts of the characters. I loved the idea of someone dying, meeting the god they serve and coming back to life, coming at a cost.

I would absolutely recommend this to my friends, and I cannot wait for the next installment.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

A found this book to be a little slow-paced and lots of detail but little of much else. I was really excited about the description of the book but found it a little lacking. I did enjoy the story line some about the two siblings on different paths but really could use some more action within it

I enjoyed the book and its rich world building. People had russian names which made me think the author must have done some research to interwine russian/ukrainian culture/history in this book. The character, Sonya was likeable enough but at times, I winced at her brashness and gung ho personality that made her not fear anything, or the repercussions her actions would have on other people which did make sense given her role in this book. Her brother, Sebastian was likeable at first, and he tried his best to be a good person but it was galling that his mother and girlfriend, who think they have his best interest at heart, never communicated with him what they really thought about him. I think their opinion would have weighed heavier than than Vittorio. There were some scenes that blurred by too quickly, like the crossing back across the tundra, which I think could be fleshed out more, or more about the people, the Uain. Overall, I enjoyed the book but think there could be more fleshing out of some characters. (less)