Addictive reading!

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The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight trilogy #1) by  Katherine Arden
                            

 I could not put this down. I read into the night, transfixed by this medieval fantasy set in the wintery northern Russian cold. I was transfixed by the young girl Vasilisa, daughter of a local Lord, a magic bearer who is persecuted by the new,y come priest for witchly behavior as she tries to marry the old protective hearth and home ways with the teachings of the church.
The honoring of the spirits and demons is a colorful background to this story of love and heart. The  story of a startling young woman, and of Morozko, the frost-demon and winter-king  and of his brother Bear.
Reading Auden's author notes gives a fascinating insight into what she was trying to achieve with Russian names, history, and folklore.
I'm still wondering why it took me so long to read this absolute gem.
I was glued to every page, every word and every nuance.

 A NetGalley ARC

*****

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