“Nothing changes, Vasya. Things are, or they are not. Magic is forgetting that something ever was other than as you willed it.”
Part fairy tale, part historical fiction, has a certain dreamlike quality for most of its length and was fascinating from beginning to end. The time frame appears to be well before Russia became a single country.
The plot was complex, with several subplots going on all at once. There were romantic elements and pseudo-romantic elements. Much of the story turned on the instability of the change between the old religions and the new.
The main character was Vasya, daughter of Pyotr Vladimirovich. She was a wild child who believed all her nurse’s fairy tales and fed the household spirits, and the barn spirits, and the spirits of the fields and woods and waters.
Meanwhile, the old priest, who turned a blind eye to such behavior, died and a new priest was sent to take his place. The new priest determines to make it his mission to reform the religious habits of all the people in the village. Unfortunately, he falls prey to one demon he fears so much.
His religious zeal comes to oppress Vasya more and more the older she grows, and after several attempts to cage her in various ways marrying her off, sending her to a convent... She finally runs away into the forest where she meets up with the frost spirit she was promised to all along.
Bear and the Nightingale is a gripping retelling of an old Russian story that is neither weighed down by the historical source material nor carried away by the more mythical touch of lore. It is a solid start to a trilogy that will inspire research and birth daydreams.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 9:49 AM
April Lady by Georgette Heyer
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 6:23 AM
“It was growing late, and though one might stand on the brink of a deep chasm of disaster, one was still obliged to dress for dinner.”
A year into their marriage, both Nell and Giles are deeply in love with each other but assume that the other had only entered a marriage of convenience. Misunderstandings between the two are exacerbated by the unwitting actions of Giles’s spoiled, willful sister Letty, who’s determined to marry a poor diplomat, and Nell’s brother Dysart, who’s always in debt and borrowing from Nell.
This story is delightful different as the main characters learn to truly love and trust each other after they are married. Nell’s story is timeless in the manner of most young wives who have been taught an ideal of marriage and are badly advised and ill-prepared for the practical realities of relationships and the stumbling path from naïve ignorance to self-confidence.
Georgette Heyer combines a fast-moving story with a lot of humor. She has a way of conveying meaning and situations about a time period where only those who lived in that century could have understood. The choice of words and meaning is exquisite. This book, April Lady, is full of intrigue, misunderstandings, and deep emotion. She adds just the correct subsequent detail that adds to the expectation of crucial moments that satisfy the reader to the highest degree. I have read most of her books but revisiting them once again gives one as much pleasure as the first.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 10:53 AM
May Book Wrap Up
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 10:21 AM
Audrey by Sean-Paul Thomas (✬✬✬✬✬)
I loved it. Have nothing bad to say about it was definitely my cup of tea. Good start characters were well developed and left me wanting more than the story progressed. I really liked the end of the book and that will be a surprise to all who read a book. The plot is intriguing and takes you along to some unexpected plot twists. A real page-turner I would definitely recommend to everyone when is out.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (✬✬✬✬)
O’Farrell breathes life into the story of Shakespeare and his family. This book is beautifully written. It gives you a real feel for what life was like during the time of Shakespeare. It’s well researched in daily life and the customs of the day and it draws you into the story.
The Tudor Conspiracy by C.W. Gortner (✬✬✬✬)
Gortner’s second historical mystery of The Spymaster Chronicles, The Tudor Conspiracy, was a great read for me. The plot moved along at a quick pace, leaving no time to even momentarily set this one aside. It contains the right amount of suspense, historical intrigue, and creativity of plot.
The Tudor Vendetta by C.W. Gortner (✬✬✬✬)
The Tudor Vendetta is a fantastic end to the Spymaster Trilogy. It is an exquisite mystery filled with secrets and intrigue, full of twists and turns. Plausible, enjoyable, and a finely written story.
One Lavender Ribbon by Heather Burch (✬✬✬)
This was a nice, sweet story. While the letters very intrigued me, they turned out to be a bit of a letdown. And I had the big plot twist figured out from the start. But the characters were real people with real problems and the romance was believable.
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley (✬✬✬)
This was a sweet, light read that had great potential but was a little too predictable for my tastes. Overall, this is well worth a read, particularly on a cozy, rainy day.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 11:15 AM
