⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

Foul Days is a dark, entrancing, and wonderfully beautiful fantasy with monsters and magic that hooked me from the beginning.

I loved this one. It felt a bit like a dark Howl’s Moving Castle with some Lockwood & Co. thrown in. The writing was beautiful and witty, with fantastic and fascinating characters. I loved the different settings and adventures in the story, and the incorporation of monsters, mystery, and romance was terrific. I adored the incorporation of Bulgarian folklore and the haunting story and scenes. The pacing was also lovely.

The audiobook narrator for Foul Days fits the story, world, and characters like a glove. I loved the fantastic accents and soothing but captivating voice. The narrator took me on a wildly immersive ride, and I cannot wait to listen to the sequel!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

An Eastern European folklore-inspired murder mystery adventure, this takes place in a tough city kept within a monstrous wall during a time when monsters roam at night. We follow a witch and a police detective, both likeable characters - particularly the flawed female protagonist - as they try to solve the mystery and restore peace to the city. And yes, there is a touch of romance hidden in there. There’s also a trigger warning for intimate partner violence (the author lists more warnings on the book's goodreads page).

The author has created inventive twists to familiar magic and descriptive world building that is both fast paced in terms of action and plot, and cozy in terms of relationships and humour. Taking inspiration from Bulgarian/Slavic folklore, the monsters might be familiar, and if not the author provides enough details to the reader to fully involve them in the action (and includes a guide at the end).

I was looking forward to this one, and am so glad I liked it! While not epic or deep, the characters and storyline work together within the atmospheric setting to provide a fun folkloric read. The climax is a bit muted, and leftover threads set up future plot points. Overall, I thought it was an interesting and well balanced story, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Genoveva Dimova's Foul Days we follow Kosara, a witch in the walled city of Chernograd. Kosara is well practiced in taming rusalkas and fighting kikimoras, but there is one monster she fears, her ex, Zmey, the tsar of monsters. He preys on young women. The story is based on Bulgarian folklore. The source of a witch's power is her shadow. Witches, therefore, do not give up their shadows easily. Kosara is tricked into giving up her shadow for safe passage from her city to the neighboring city of Belograd. The two cities could not be more different. Chernograd is dark, grey and gothic. Belograd is light and brightly colored. Once in Belograd, Kosara attempts to track down the man who tricked her out of her shadow and time is of the essence. Witches who lose their shadow eventually suffer from shadow sickness and die. Kosara's shadow sickness has already begun. Kosara is forced to team up with a Belograd cop to help solve a murder and to try to find her shadow. The trail eventually leads back to Chernograd and the monster, Zmey.

Kosara is not a bad ass witch. She is selfish and insecure and afraid and strong and courageous when she needs to be. She has known loss and betrayal. We root for Kosara to succeed. Her barely there love interest, if you can even call it that, the Belograd cop is a one-note character. He is a rule follower. He is in desperate need of character development in book 2. The world building is great, I love the folklore elements. Overall good story, good plot and pacing, but needs more character development for the secondary characters. I really enjoyed this read. 4.25 stars. Thank you to Net Galley #netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy.

Genoveva Dimova’s Foul Days is a much-needed exploration of a culture that deserves far more representation than it currently receives.

As a huge fan of Slavic folklore, I am always eager to learn more about the rich mythology and tales connected to this fascinating culture. So, you can imagine my excitement when I was lucky enough to get an early copy of Genoveva Dimova’s debut. Being a massive fan of the Witcher series, a comparison was inevitable, and Foul Days definitely rose to the challenge.

The world-building in Foul Days was incredible. I was captivated from the first page, impressed not only by how immersive the world was but also by how accessible Dimova made it for newcomers. If you are considering reading Foul Days because it is inspired by Slavic folklore and you expect it to be filled with monsters, I assure you that you will not be disappointed. The book is teeming with monsters and then some. However, it is also a story filled with magic and heart, written with great intelligence.

Kosara was a fantastic protagonist and carried the story with ease. She was witty, smart, and you bet she would look you straight in the eyes before demonstrating why she doesn’t need your help.

Foul Days is an incredible debut by Genoveva Dimova, and I cannot wait for the next installment in what I am sure will be a fantastic trilogy.

I really enjoyed this! I'm loving more books based on Slavic folklore this year, this is my third one and they've all been well done!

I loved the concept of being able to capture a witch's shadow, and therefore their power, in a bead and use it yourself. I also appreciated how the story provided social commentary with the wall and two cities, and a depiction of the MC's past trauma and how it manifests for her. The monsters are quite interesting, and (some of) the house spirits were so charming!

I got through this one pretty quickly, it kept my interest and the twists and turns truly kept me guessing. I'll definitely pick up the next book in the series!

Thank you Tor for the ARC!

I received an early copy of the book and the audiobook too.

Audio review: the narrator was excellent! I loved listening to their narration and would recommend.

I enjoy folklore and myth inspired fantasy tales from diverse cultural backgrounds, possibly because you can tell the author is putting their heart into the story and sharing a piece of their cultural pride making the story richer and more entertaining. Foul Days clearly exemplifies this idea and you can tell throughout the book that the author took great care in crafting a story around tales that she must have been told or read and savored as a child. And beyond, the mythic monsters, the magic, world-building, character development, and romantic subplot all come together into a captivating tale. From the start, the young witch, Kosara is likeable, spirited, but with an unsteadiness that makes her doubt herself. She bears the markings of someone who was in an (emotionally) abusive relationship. And, as the story unfolds, she grows stronger and develops more courage and self-confidence to face the challenges that come her way. The way that the romantic subplot is handled, slowly, is true to both characters and the baggage that they carry. The setting is very Eastern European and the obvious light-dark naming of the two towns Belograd and Chernograd (white town/black town) is none too subtle and the wall between reminded me of something between a medieval fortification and the Berlin wall. Unlike some duologies that resolve nothing in the first book, this was a complete-ish story since the quest that Kosara sets out on in the beginning appears to be resolved, but there are still some loose threads in the end and a curve thrown in the epilogue that ignite my appetite for the sequel. But I, and anyone else who gets hooked by this story, won't have a long wait because the second book is scheduled to be published in less than four months after the first. This is a great read for anyone who enjoys fantasy tales with witches and monsters, or "low fantasy" tales inspired by folklore.
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I consumed this book as an audiobook and commend the performance of the narrator. The narration is clear and crisp, and emotions and emphasis enhance the text. Additionally, the accent for the characters' voices in dialogue is well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio/Tor Books for the audio ARC of Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This was absolutely amazing. An immediate and instant 5 stars, and I cannot wait until the next book comes out. Dimova is a fantastic storyteller.

I often recommend Leigh Bardugo or Katherine Arden or Naomi Novik to those interested in Slavic or Eastern European folklore or basis in stories. But Bardugo, while awesome, tends to drop you into the middle of a world with no explanation, so you feel like you're running to catch up to the story, and Arden and Novik are fabulous, but the plots are a bit slower moving and the focus on culture can sometimes be hard to grasp. Dimova has created such a fast, action packed, character centric, multilevel story here that flows impeccably well. We follow "mediocre witch" Kosara as she tries to solve a murder or two while hunting down the man who has her shadow, the source of her witch powers, and navigating the 12 most dangerous days of the year where monsters descend unto her home city, and their leader hunts her as he has for the past 7 years. SO much happens, but it all seems absolutely essential to the story, and it builds up the entire world so well.

Interestingly, I wouldn't even describe this as fantasy, as it seems that voice recorders and cars and trains all exist in the neighboring city, which modernizes this story and makes it a very interesting urban fantasy with murder mystery to solve and a city to save. The setting and the plotting just work really well together - I'm a bit fascinated by all of it still as I'm reflecting on it.

I also saw this compared to the Witcher in the description -- and on the monster hunting side, yes, a little bit. But as someone who has read all of the Sapkowski Witcher novels I can strenuously state that Dimova surpasses him. I would much rather read about Roxana and other monster hunters in Dimova's world than to ever have to reread The Witcher series which, in my opinion, continuously goes off the deep end in terms of plotting, character development and structure.

I ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS.

Genuinely smiling ear to ear. This book is so refreshing, with Balkan folklore and mythical monsters mixed in with surprisingly dry humor. I loved Kosara, she was grumpy but sweet and loyal and so so human despite being a witch! I adored Assem (idk how to spell since i only ever heard his name) he was such a sweet and golden retriever esque guy, the perfect opposite of her toxic.

I feel like this book is for those who AREN’T for the young girl x thousand year old charming villain guy. It is the very antithesis of that in my opinion, and i thought that was so refreshing..

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova is a fast paced, plot driven story inspired by Bulgarian mythology and folklore. I couldn't get enough of this book! The world building, magic system, and characters were well developed and made me connect and feel more invested in their success. I'm a sucker for any book that is mythology based and Foul days did NOT disappoint. The only thing that bugged me a tad bit was there was a lot of telling of the story instead of showing the story but even with this personal preference Foul Days was a fast easy read that I foresee being a hit.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing the audio eARC!