My Thoughts

Book 2 smoothly transitioned from end of book 1.

I say smoothly because now familiar and at ease with the characters and where their adventures are taking them.

To be very frank this second part of Nats journey has a different feel to it because some of her innocent naivety was taken away and now she has faced certain trials that have given her the answers to questions she has had her whole life.

Unfortunately, those answers raise more questions and require a deeper understanding of her new circumstances.

An understanding that she reaches for but is not sure it is what she really wants after all when finds it.

As more of Nat’s powers manifest, she has those who try to stop her along with those who help her as well.

A few times that help puts her in more danger than she expected but it doesn’t matter as Nat somehow finds a way to keep herself alive and continuing on with her quests.

The end result of these quests will bring this duology to its close and answer the question of which lives Nat or her mother, or neither one but you have to read to find out.

I thought the wait was worth it for me.

[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

The only thing that consoles me is the fact that this was a duology so this ordeal quickly came to an end. I didn't like the story of Nat and this universe where the gods have adapted and live among humans at all, both the plot and the way the author has of writing. I don't know Russian, but apparently that is a prerequisite, and that also bothered me a lot. Absolutely not recommended, both the first and the second book.

L'unica cosa che mi consola, é il fatto che questo fosse una duologia quindi questo strazio é arrivato velocemente ad una fine. La storia di Nat e di questo universo dove gli dei si sono adeguati e vivono tra gli umani non mi é piaciuta affatto, sia per la trama che per il modo che ha l'autrice di scrivere. Non conosco il russo, ma a quanto pare é un requisito fondamentale e anche questo mi ha dato parecchio fastidio. Assolutamente sconsigliato, sia il primo che il secondo libro.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to read rage and review this book which is available August 8,2023.

I thought it was okay. Nothing stellar about it. It was a fun read but I wouldn’t read it more than once.

Welcome back to the adventures of Nat, and her mother and probably her grandmother. There's still a lot to be done - so let's get to it. Dawaj, dawaj!

In case you're missing some kind of intro here - no. Read the irst novel itself, because this story starts right where the last one ended. It's like someone took a long story, used a cleaver to cut it in two halves and said in a thick Russian accent: Is going to be two books now. Two books better than one. Da.

True to the first part, Natchenka is still way over her head into the whole mystery of it. But she started to wise up at the end of the first novel, and she keeps walking that path here. Although on a crucially painfully slow pace - I've mentioned it before, that pace is a point of critique. I think the story would have benefitted from Nat being a faster learner, because it's not helping me liking her. I like her in general, but I really want to slap her around most of the time, while wanting her to wise up and ask the right questions.

Nat being slow is probably part of the dramatics (plot-wise), but it's not keeping inner consistency with the character. And since we're talking about plot: with both books combined, it really starts to look like the hero's journey was a role model for Nat's journey.

One could argue that Baba is the mentor, but I think Konets fits that role better. Enemies and allies are there, too, like friendly and ranger, and book two starts at the approach to the inmost cave, with Nat having secured the second of the three arcana's of her mother (or her own, there's room to debate here).

I've said it before, and I'll happily repeat it: This feels like it should have been one book, not two. I've had some problems with the worldbuilding while reading part one, but those question marks left in my head became clearer during reading part two. Coincidentally, I would bump up the rating for the first book by half a star in light of the second part. I'm not sure if this was the author's decision or the publisher's, but whoever decided to split the story in two, did it a disservice. The value of the overall story is bigger than the sum of its parts. I swear - trim some dead wood from the first book and fuse the remaining scenes with book two, and it would instantly be better.

The hero's journey as a concept holds true to the end, but it is being compressed and stretched here and there - really long stretched at the start, pretty compressed at the end.

*****

To come to a conclusion: I'm happy I picked up the second title in this duology, even after my struggles with the first part. The second part made everything better. If you like dark urban fantasy and are not afraid of getting through the first part (it's a bit drawn out at some points), then go for it. But take both books and pretend they're one! 4 stars, in retrospect.

Disclaimer: I’ve received a free Advanced Reader’s Copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I am providing an unbiased review.

I was so happy when I was given the chance to read this book! This is the kind of fantasy story I love to read, especially when we are dealing with divinities of all sorts, and just how one could imagine them getting along with one another. This centers more around the Baba Yaga and seasonal aspects more than other 'gods' but still brings a somewhat humorous interaction amongst the characters. I have enjoyed Saintcrow's previous books, and though this one seems to wrap up the story of Nat (one could hope for future tales?) I would look forward to more from this author.