3.5* rounded up.
I enjoyed this fairly dark fantasy about two sisters. One will be able to transform into a bear, like her father and one into a swan, like her mother. They are a Jewish family but because Mami, converted, they are never quite accepted by the Jews of their village, and live outside the community in the forest.
The girls Parents have to leave the girls behind in the forest, while they go back to Tati's home to visit his dying father. Liba, the older sister (bear) is asked to guard her sister Laya from the swans, who may come back for her. Meanwhile, several strangers are turning up and the pogroms are starting nearby.
There are several different threads to this story, but this doesn't make it too complicated to follow, which can sometimes happen.
In atmosphere, this reminded me of a cross between 'The Bear and the Nightingale' and 'The Gloen and the Djinn' I think readers who enjoyed those books will like this one.

**Many thanks to Netgalleyfor an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review**

A well crafted, atmospheric and enthralling book. I loved the mix of folklore, Jewish culture and historical events.
Everything in this book is special, starting with the wonderful cover.
It's difficult to described as there're so many nuances and so many things involved that keep you reading, when you think you're understanding there's a turn and you keep on turning pages because you want more.
I was sad when it was over because it was a wonderful trip in a very fascinating world.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for this ARC

I have decided to just give up on this. I am very much not the right kind of reader for this which is odd because I thought I would love this: I adore fairy-talesque stories influenced by Northern European folklore. I like books described as whimsy. I love stories focussing sibling relationships. But what I don't enjoy is YA-Romance; which this seems to mostly be. I could not get on board with the language nor the tone of the story. I don't think I would have picked this up if I had known that every second chapter was written in verse. (And to be perfectly honest, the rhythm of the poems did not work for me whatsoever -if they had a lovely cadence I think I could have adored this.)

An enchanting, magical tale with family at its heart. I enjoyed the beautiful story but for me it was a little heavy on religion, and I wasn't a huge fan of the way Laya's parts of the book were written in verse. A great book for those who are particularly interested in the Jewish faith and its folklore.

The Sister Of The Winter Wood was a unusual and yet a fascinating and extremely atmospheric read indeed.

For a debut novel, Rena Rossner really impressed me with her light touch, creative folklore and nicely fleshed out characters. The mythology behind the folklore is wonderful and gives the story a real, solid basis from which the real magic springs.

This glorious and outlandish tale is told from the dual perspectives of two Jewish sisters, in a time where Jews were horribly persecuted which gives the story a really firm base in reality, that compliments the more fantastical side of the sisters tale. One sister, Liba, tells her side of the using regular format storytelling while the other, Laya, use a more whimsical free-flowing poetic style of story telling which is interesting but Laya's parts didn't exactly work for me. I do think that this was more to do with the basic formatting of the ARC and I really believe will come across much better in the finished book when it's presented properly. Each of the sisters isn't quite what they first appear to be but it's too spoilerish to say more on that and it's these facts that lead off into the fantasy and folklore side of the story. Each want to live their own lives but have simple family expectations put upon them by their parents, both are fighting their own fight for a certain kind of freedom for themselves.

At the end of the day though, this is a dramatic and effective folklore tale in a similar vein toe Naomi Novak's Uprooted (probably her Spinning Silver too, although I haven't read it yet so don't know for sure). It's written in a beautiful style and the atmosphere just flows off of the pages in superb style... it's a simply remarkable tale and worth recommending, I will be re-reading a finished copy of the book at some point to see if it can recover the deducted star take away by Laya's storytelling, to see if I'm right about it being down to the formatting or not.

This book was a huge disappointment for me. I really love this genre and this won my heart by the mention of Uprooted and Bear and the Nightingale. These two books were also mentioning/telling other cultures, using cultural references as background; Uprooted Polish and Bear and Nightingale Russian. So a Jewish tale sounded so promising, as I thought it'll be interesting to read. But Sisters of the Winterwood isn't using Jewish culture. It's overwhelmed by the religion and the endless terms. Religious terms, (if they are really, as I have no idea what all that words mean, apart from Bat Mitzvah never heard any of them) are so many that I lost my concentration.

I don't think it's possible for anyone not knowing Judaism to keep up with this book. There are too many Hebrew(?) words, and I had no idea what they meant. The proof didn't have any footnotes or explanations. I kept reading up to the point I felt like I am completely detached from the book. Sadly, this isn't for me.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood is Rena Rossner's fantasy debut novel and it is inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market, jewish folklore and history. It talks about the love and bond between two sisters with fantasy elements.
After finishing it, I had mixed feelings. I liked the setting and the jewish folklore, the characters were okay, even if not very remarkable, while what I didn't enjoy was the romance. It was a little bit too rushed and without a solid basis. Plus, some scenes and chapters were too long for my liking.
All in all, it wasn't a bad book but nothing extraordinary either.

— DISCLAIMER: I received a eARC of this novel via NetGalley – thank you to both Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the opportunity! All opinions expressed in this review are my own. —

I really enjoyed this book. Although the story dragged at times, it was very well written (and I love me some beautiful prose), and much deeper than I had expected. The tale revolves around the two sisters coming to terms with who they are and how their world works. While this is a fantasy novel, it does address many of the social issues prevailing throughout Europe for centuries. Not only does it feed off the idea of intrusive foreigners, but it looks at the strained relationships between Jews and Christians, and how these might have evolved or been influenced, as well as the interactions between different societies. This is one of the stories of which I believe that they are important to be told. While this year has been great at producing diverse reads (for example, the fabulous short story collection All Out or the badass black heroine of Dread Nation), this seems to hit close to home. Perhaps this is because I grew up learning history from German textbooks, where the Holocaust is central, it seems that this is a topic I've thought about for most of my life. But at the same time, relationships between different social or religious groups are also a very current topic. I do hope that this book will be able to inspire more tolerance in young minds.

Full review available under: https://libridraconis.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/the-sisters-of-the-winter-wood-rena-rossner/

This novel is a retelling of The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti and has many other Russia myths woven in.

The novel follows the story of two sisters who live with their parents at the edge of a town along the Moldova and Ukraine border. Who are isolated from their town due to the fact that their mother is a Jewish covert, despite this they have lived in relative peace until one day a relative of their father turns up at their door asking their father to go back to his home town as his father is dying. Their mother and father decide to leave the sisters at home due to the dangers that those of the Jewish faith face when traveling. However, before they leave their mother tells them a family secret that will change their lives forever and makes them promise to protect each other from the dangers lurking in the woods.

The story follows two POVs one for each of the sisters. The first is Liba who is 17, very devoted to her religion and reserved. The second is Laya who is 15, she is much more carefree than her sister and more open. Both of these POVs are written in different formats, Liba’s is in standard format while Laya’s is in alternative verse. I really loved how each of these formats fit with each sister’s personality. Liba’s is more in depth and detailed, whereas Laya’s is more flowy and dreamlike. I also feel like I connected with each sister in different ways. Like Liba I’m more reserved and feel like I’m always on the outside looking in and like Laya I’ve always wanted to fly away.

This book also follows the each of the girls sexual awakening as now that the girls parents are away they are both able to explore love and lust in their own way. Liba with a fellow Jew from her town who she doesn’t believe that her father would approve of and Laya with one of the new boys who have turned up in town selling fruit. I love how this theme of the book really helps each girl to learn the true meaning of unconditional love.

This is such an atmospheric book and the writing in this is so beautiful and lyrical and really makes you feel like you are there when reading it.

Trigger Warnings for antisemitism, unhealthy thoughts around eating and body image, abuse, death and past slavery and rape.

Overall, this book had me hooked from the first line and while this is definitely a hit or miss kind of book, I’m so glad to say that it was a complete hit with me. I gave this 5 out of 5 stars.

On another note, if you pick up the book make sure you read the authors note as it heart-breaking and really helps you to understand the authors reasons and inspirations for writing the novel.

Classic fantasy writing from a very capable author. The story centres around Aranthur who travels from his farm to study at the academy in the big city. He is a likeable character who is not very worldly wise and is basically thrown in out of his depth. He knows little of the world and is confounded by people from all stratas of life. From the drug addled, nobility and even the Emperor. Somehow he even gets involved in politics which brings to his attention a conspiracy and a mysterious character known as the Master..
The characters are varied and well written. The world building and action scenarios are also very well done. Interested to read more.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an E-book ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I first saw this book at YALC and thought it sounded pretty intriguing, so when I had the opportunity to request an ARC of it, I was very happy to be approved. First of all, I really have to take a moment to gawp at the cover, because it is just so stunning. The design is very intricate, and reminds me a little of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert and the upcoming King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. The more you stare at it, the more is revealed.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood is a lushly descriptive fantasy novel with a gorgeous and rich fairy-tale undercurrent. There were clearly a lot of influences that went into the crafting of this book, and I loved trying to figure them out as I went. One of my favourite influences in this book is Christina Rossetti’s poem The Goblin Market. Rossner expertly weaves in lines from the poem, as well as nodding towards it in many other tiny allusions. It’s really quite masterful. There’s also lots of Russian folk tale influences worked into it, which I couldn’t always pick out, but definitely appreciated. I really liked how Laya’s chapters were written in a kind of poetry form. It read nicely and I thought it added a lot to her character and what we knew about her. It was a little risk technique-wise that paid off.

Initially, the book was a little hard to get into. The story centres around two Jewish sisters who are ostracised from their village because their mother converted rather than being born Jewish. There were a lot of terms and phrases I was unfamiliar with, which made it difficult to read at the start, but there is a glossary at the end which should make it a lot easier for people buying physical copies of the book. As much as my unfamiliarity with these words made it hard for me to read this book at my usual pace, I did appreciate how much culture was packed into this novel. I loved seeing all the religious terms and names for all the different foods that appeared in The Sisters of the Winter Woods. It really brought the story to life. I’d also advise readers to continue at the end of the novel to the author’s notes, as there’s some fascinating bits of history about Rossner and her own life that will likely impact on how people interpret the book. Most importantly, I think the book did a really great job of highlighting issues of antisemitism and the dangers of violence and prejudice in society. For me, the true horrific moments in this book were not down to the supernatural elements of the plot, but what the humans were capable of doing and believing.

The main drawback of this novel for me was the way the transformations were dealt with. The latter sections of the book were a bit confusing, and I had some difficulty in keeping up with where people were and what was happening. While I loved all the different influences in this book, the moment when all the strands come together is a tad suffocating. It seemed like the ending relied quite heavily on a lot of coincidences and it felt a little bit rushed to the conclusion, rather than it being natural. Additionally, I struggled a bit to connect to the sisters. I liked both their characters, but they just didn’t seem as bright and alive as they could have been. There wasn’t a whole lot of character development outside of their relationship to each other and the love interests in the book, and the secrets their mother imparts on them at the start of the book. I think it might have been a bit of a stronger novel if we got a sense of Liba and Laya’s likes and dislikes, and their plans for the future. Personally, I don’t think I got much of a sense of that.

However, overall I’m giving The Sisters of the Winter Wood a 7/10 stars. I loved the fairy-tale feeling of the novel; there was something very creepy and gothic in the descriptions and atmosphere that the book built up. I thought the merging of all the influences was also very well done, although it fell a little short at the end of the novel and I struggled a bit to connect to the main characters. I’d definitely be interested in reading another book by Rena Rossner, and I might be tempted to buy a physical copy of this book when it is released on 27th September in the UK.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown and Co for a review copy of the book.

This is a retelling of Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market but also much more, it weaves in folklore, history, myth and magic. This is the story of two sisters Liba, nearly eighteen, and fifteen-year-old Laya who’ve been living with their Tati and Mami in the woods on the outskirts of Dubossary, on the border between Moldova and Ukraine. Their family has never been accepted really in town for their mother is a convert, and their father has had to leave home and his town (Kupel) because he married an ‘outsider’. When word comes that Tati’s father is ill and on his deathbed, Tati and Mami must go to see him but the girls must stay in their house, for they don’t have travel documents and the times are not safe. Before their parents leave, Liba and Laya discover the truth about their parents and themselves, that Tati (and Liba) can ‘shift’ into bears and Laya like Mami can change into a swan. The sisters have only each other to rely on when the mysterious Hovlin brothers come into the village, with their fruit stall temping buyers including Laya, but also spewing venom again Jews. Other things are happening as well which put their lives and those of all the Jews in that part of the world at risk. The girls must also deal with the truths about themselves and how this will affect their dreams, ambitions, love, and even their relationship with each other.

I really enjoyed this book a lot and there were many many aspects I loved about it, though a few things perhaps prevented it from being a five-star read for me. I enjoyed that the story in alternate chapters is told from each sister’s perspective—Liba’s in prose and Laya’s in verse—and thought the author really succeeded in Liba’s chapters coming through as more grounded, sensible, ‘sane’ even reflecting her personality, while Laya’s are lighter, dreamier, some feel almost entirely as though one were in a dream, and the parts describing her falling into the Goblins’ trap are so well done, one can literally see her getting trapped without even realising what’s happening (In some ways Liba and Laya to me were comparable to Elinor and Marianne from Sense and Sensibility—and so Laya did end up annoying me too!). I also enjoyed the strong cultural and folklore elements in the story very much. Liba is strongly attached to her religion, culture, and customs and those elements are woven through the story very well. I loved the use of phrases in Hebrew, Ukrainian, and Yiddish though I only realised there was a glossary when I got to the end (since I wasn’t reading a physical copy). Their cultural background and folklore elements of the sisters’ bear and swan heritage also impacts on their characters, their personalities, things that may attract or repel them.


There was a point in the story where I wasn’t too sure what was happening, where everything was headed—but then I stopped for a bit and looked up Goblin Market online—a poem I wasn’t familiar with—and once I had an idea of that story, the book began to make much more sense. I could then see the different plotlines more clearly, and see better how they were flowing along and interacting with each other.

Then there were also the historical elements of the plot, the pogroms of the early 1900s which led many of the Jewish community in the region to lose their lives, their homes, and all they had. This was a period of history that I didn’t know much about, and I only realised after reading the author’s note at the end that she had used actual events as the base for that part of the plot, and experiences her own family had gone through. And the book’s message in terms of culture, community, and the need to understand and accept difference comes most strongly from this aspect of the plot.

This was also a pretty fast paced book, which kept me reading thoughout, as I wanted to see how everything would resolve (or not) and how things would pan out for the different characters.

I thought the author did a great job of weaving together the different plotlines such that nothing felt like it wasn’t really needed, even the love stories of the sisters (though it felt like at one point in the story, this was the only element focused on) had a purpose. However, reading the book, it still felt as though too much was going on—the real, the fantastic—there is the goblin market plot; the sisters struggling with their identities, their relationships with each other, with their parents, their ‘boyfriends’; the folklore–fairy tale elements; the historical parts of the plot—just an awful lot for two young girls to deal with. It wasn’t that I couldn’t keep track of what was going on—I could; I also liked that all of these plotlines had a resolution, only that it felt like too much.

This was overall a really good read for me and I enjoyed it very much! And I cannot end this review without saying what an absolutely gorgeous cover this one has as well—that was what grabbed my attention in the first place!

Utterly captivating world-building. With a fairy-tale, gothic feeling, this reminded me a lot of The Bear and the Nightingale in its mystical, magical, atmospheric mode of storytelling.

One of the great things about fantasy, at least in my opinion, is that you often end up learning a lot about something in reality through the lens of fantasy fiction. I, shamefully, knew very little about the pogroms and this book not only taught me a little but also inspired me to go and do some more research on the subject. I think that is why books from many different intersectional viewpoints are so important, you can learn a lot and you can discover where the gaps in your understanding may be. 

Conceptually, I enjoyed this story, the Goblin market is one of my favourite stories to bounce off, I love themes of sisterhood (I never had a sister myself so I like to live vicariously through other characters), and also animal transformation which I like to think feeds twelve-year-old Judith's obsession with werewolves. All these things and more have been tied into this book, which reads a lot like a first-person fairytale, with that sense of wonder and awe tinged with fear. The only way I can think to describe it is this: you know those creepy gnarled tree roots that are nonetheless quite cool and beautiful? That's the tone of this story. I know, I know, not particularly specific but that's the feeling it gave me. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't get fully on board with this story because I got so frustrated at the characters. It's the bad horror movie problem when stupid people do stupid things, bad things happen to them and you, the watcher or the reader, aren't really inclined to feel bad for them. If it was obvious to one sister that eating the fruit from the suspiciously attractive strangers was a bad thing, why didn't she mention it to the other sister, more importantly, why didn't the other sister also know that? That may be a personal preference thing, me projecting my own knowledge of fairytale tropes onto these characters, but it did make me feel less sympathetic to both of them, and that's quite important in a story such as this. 

I also found myself laughing at a lot of the prose, which is entirely a personal preference thing, so don't take this as criticism, more an observation of the things that amuse me. There are moments in the text where the characters are saying huge dramatic statements and coming to life-changing realisations but, because of the plot, they are always prefaced with something along the lines of "I am a bear" which makes everything feel just a little silly. 

All that being said, I think there are people who are going to fall head over heels in love with this story. It wasn't totally to my taste but it has a lot of ideas that I liked and a lot of people are going to get a huge amount out of it. 

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The sisters of the Winter wood is an beautiful retelling of the classic poem Globin Market by Christina Rossetti. It’s about sisterly love, it’s about growing up and discovering who you are.
Laya and Liba live in the woods of the town of Dubossary, Moldova. Protected by their parents from people who discriminate against Jews and they have also been cast out by their peers. One day their father receives a message that his father, the girls grandfather is dying so he goes with his wife to see him. Leaving the two girls behind. The two girls, who are completely different from each other, go on a quest of discovery of each other and who they are.
I quite enjoyed this magical story of the sisters and when the girls discovered what they were. Only thing when Laya falls in love with Fedir and the chapters referencing this, it got a bit too much for me. This book though entertained me throughout. I will be looking out more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown books books for a copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with a copy for review.

This fantasy retelling of The Goblin Market (with the addition of folklore and Jewish Ukrainian tradition) follows two sisters, Liba and Laya, who discover a deep family secret and are forced to navigate this new and confusing world alone when their parents have to leave to visit their dying grandfather and attempt to make amends of a long family feud that is threatening their home. Each sister is charged with protecting the other and guarding their family's secret - the secret that their father and Liba can transform into bears and that their mother and Laya can transform into swans. Danger follows them wherever they go and their lives, both as people who can transform and as Jews, are under constant threat.

This book looked very promising and I really enjoyed delving into the folklore of their village and their ancestors as we learn more about the story. I have never read The Goblin Market so my knowledge of it is limited, but it was really interesting to read a retelling of it that could expand on it in this way and that built up a strong realm in which it could take place. The world was really intricately designed and I loved the inclusion of colloquialisms and phrases that added to the atmosphere of the book and taught you something as you read, especially if you refer to the glossary that explains these phrasings.

I was expecting this book to be heavily fantasy based and, though there are large fantasy and magical realism elements, I was surprised to discover the level of romance that it contains too and the fact that romance seems to be one the most prominent genres for the novel. The more I read of the book, the more I found these scenes to be long and repetitive, but it was great to understand the characters in such depth and it is definitely a good read if you are interested in romance. The characters themselves were good, though I did often get a little confused between Liba and Laya and the dilemmas that each of them were facing.

Overall, I liked this book and I was definitely recommend it if you enjoy character-led novels. The perspective of the novel constantly switches between Liba and Laya making it easy to read and I really liked how Laya's sections were written in poetry, something that I feel is an ode to the original's poetry form and that, as an added bonus, definitely speeds up your reading.

Thank you to Netgalley, Rena Rossner and Little Brown Book Group UK for my ARC of Sisters of the Winter Wood.
Ok, mixed feelings about this one at first. But end feeling is definitely a good one.
This has been highly anticipated for me and many of my friends in the bookstagram community, and of course the cover is stunning.

Liba (17) and her sister Laya (15) live on the outskirts of the woods in a small village with their mother and father. Their family despite being devout in the Jewish faith are not really accepted in town because their mother is a convert. One night Liba witnesses something which will change their lives forever. And right in the middle of it their parents are called away, leaving the two girls to fend for themselves.
This is a story of fairytales come real, animal transformations, goblins and changelings. But it is also a story of faith, religion and persecution.

This was a lot to put into one story. At the end the (very interesting) author's note states that she was inspired by many fairytales, folklore and true events and there is a definite intertwining of these different things in the story. But it does work. For a fairytale influenced Eastern European story, it wasn't quite as dark as I'd have liked but at the same time I think, as these sorts of stories have become increasingly popular in recent times, Rena Rossner brings a new take on it. All I would say is there were two things that made my feelings mixed; the story was told in chapters from the POV of both sisters, Laya's chapter was always in rhyme which made no sense to me and I found it quite distracting from the story itself. Secondly this is marketed as adult but I'd definitely say it falls more into the category of YA as it is a coming of age story and the two main characters are teenage girls left to fend for themselves by their parents.

However, this was still a great story despite my two little niggles. I love Eastern European folklore stories and I love stories inspired by the goblin market and goblin king. I also loved that this was a completely new take on it, at one point I feared it was going down the route of Wintersong and would be too similar but it totally didn't and I really liked the idea that was put forward instead. I also think the author did incredibly well to tie the Goblin Market story to that of persecution of the Jewish people.

Overall this was an interesting and fresh take on a popular story with new and interesting twists and depths. There were some cliches (but when is there ever not) and once I'd got a couple of chapters in I really enjoyed the rest of the book.

It’s been FOUR DAYS, and I’m not even halfway through this thing. Usually I’m done and dusted in TWO.

Mostly, my issue lies with the fact that this book is…

Yeah, you guessed it – choppy AF. But let’s start at the beginning.

PLOT

Sisters Liba and Laya have spent their lives in a snowy, foresty little German village. While their family is Jewish, their Mami is a convert, and so faces a lot of subtle abuse from the villagers. One night, Tati’s brother shows up: their grandfather, who disowned his son a long time ago for marrying the girls’ mother, is dying. Filial duty kicks in and the girls are left to fend for themselves while the parents race to the invalid’s bedside. But before they go, the family secret is revealed.

Liba, like Tati, is a clunky bear. Laya, fathered by Mami’s lover, is a delicate swan instead. The two girls proceed to attempt living by themselves and do a terrible job of it. A group of boys have set up camp in the village, selling delicious fruits and causing mysterious disappearances; flighty Laya immediately falls prey to this goblin market, and it’s Liba’s job to rescue her.

She does a terrible job of it.

CHARACTERS

I wanted to like Liba, because her jealousy over not being a pretty swan was pretty heartwrenching, but her character was so inconsistent. At nearly 18, she’s the elder one, the responsible one, the one who’s physically stronger and mentally more grounded. She knows Laya is liable to wander off and even knows that she’s fallen in with those strange goblin boys.

So what does Liba do? LEAVES HER TO IT.

I actually couldn’t believe this, and it happened MULTIPLE TIMES. Example: they’ve gone to the village to do some shopping. Laya, as usual, drools over the boys selling fruit. Cue the following conversation:

Laya: Pwease, pwease let me buy some fruit!

Liba: NO. They’re weird boys. I don’t trust them.

Laya: Please, they’re soooooo hot… if you let me, I’m going to run straight there and climb that boy like a tree!

Liba: Okay, Laya, you’re allowed to go off for a little while now. But whatever you do,, do not run and climb that boy like a tree!

* Laya: Runs off and climbs boy like tree *

This happened ad nauseam, literally every few pages. It got a bit difficult to believe Liba’s dedication to keeping Laya safe from the goblin market when this kept happening. Another time, she knows Laya is off in the woods getting majorly drunk with the weird boy, and what does she do? GO TO DINNER AT HER CRUSH’S HOUSE, LEAVING HER LITTLE SISTER IN THE WOODS AT NIGHT, INTOXICATED, WITH A BOY SHE DOESN’T TRUST AND AROUND WHOM PEOPLE HAVE DISAPPEARED.

I’m struggling to decide which of the sisters I want to strangle more. Despite being well into their teenage years, with Liba nearly 18, their ability to look after themselves without parental input hovers in the negative digits. They also barely spoke to each other, a ridiculous plot device that existed solely and ridiculously to make the story more ‘mysterious.’ Basically, their relationship was paper-thin. Just like the romance.

Infidelity is a hard pass for me, so their Mami’s rep has taken a nosedive from my perspective too.

WRITING

Liba’s POV is written normally, but Laya’s is all poetic and stuff to reflect her swanning, flighty nature. The only reason I lasted for four days is because the fairly pretty writing disguised the randomness of the plot and its plot holes. But, like… WHY? Why wouldn’t their parents tell them anything about how to deal with their animal forms? It was just a tortuous way of keeping the book’s drama and mystery notched up.

The best bit of the book was the discussion of problems Jews face, both internal and external. Fascinating to read. Unfortunately, if there’s anyone here looking for another Spinning Silver, jog on.

I started reading this but I dont think I'm going to continue as it's not for me unfortunately, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to reading this. Books won't always fit the audience which is understandable

I had been looking forward to reading this for a long time - mainly because the cover is so beautiful & I'm very much a reader who chooses books by their covers (although I don't judge them thusly)!
The book has a number of inspirations, from Snow White & Rose Red to Christina Rosetti's Goblin Market, one of my favourite poems. It is narrated by the eponymous 'sisters' who are very different in nature. One, Liba, is very grounded, practical & almost prosaic in nature, The other, Laya, is flighty, impractical & can't bear being 'trapped'. To this extent Liba's chapters are written in prose & Laya's are written in 'poetry' - I put this in inverted commas though, because actually these chapters are just written in prose that is simply laid out on the page to look like poetry, which I felt was really irritating because the lay out actually interrupted the flow of the writing, rather than assisting it. In addition, the lyrical language that is used throughout Liba's sections, as well as Laya's, detracted from her practical nature. I just felt the metaphors of the prose and 'poetry' were very heavy handed and unnecessary - it would have been far better to use language to reflect their differing natures rather than these structural choices.
Despite these, honestly quite small, frustrations, I actually really enjoyed the story, although I did feel on occasions that there was a bit too much going on and the different aspects of the story (trying to avoid spoilers here!) such as their origins as well as the conflict with the 'Hovlins', felt like the author was trying to include a little bit too much in the story. But it did all work, on the whole, although I did feel the ending was a little rushed, compared to the level of detail at the beginning. I also felt there was slightly too much of an 'information dump', when the girls' origins are revealed.
I enjoyed the semi-historical setting, and the use of historical events upon which base the fantasy was created. I also liked the Jewish setting, as this felt refreshing and different, even for a 'historical fantasy'. Despite this, I did feel like there was a little too much Hebrew/Yiddish, which I just felt was a bit unnecessary, and again, a bit heavy handed, especially as the translations quite often followed. It is one of the difficult aspects of writing a book set in a different country, in English. Obviously, all of the speech is effectively translated into English, out of necessity, therefore the use of native language seems out of place & ineffective. Obviously, this is just my opinion, I'm sure many others enjoy the use of language in this manner, but for me, I just feel it doesn't quite work, especially with how much Hebrew/Yiddish is used in this book.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, and as a debut, I felt it was mainly successful, however there were problems with it that could do with being addressed in the author's future forays.
I received a free e-arc in return for an honest review.