The Bear and the Nightingale

The cover is what first drew me to this book, months ago when I added it to my GR wishlist. Soon after I heard it was inspired by Russian folklore, which only intrigued me further. Some reviews came in from GR and YT, which made me more and more interested. Finally, I was gifted a gorgeous edition for Christmas and decided to pick The Bear and the Nightingale up after at least a year.

This is a fantastical historical fiction novel set in 14th century Russia. I found the fairy tale-esque writing style to be captivating and really set the tone of the story well. The book follows Vasya, a young girl who can see spirits in the world around her. This greatly complicates her life as she grows older and becomes one of the only people in her village to believe. Branded a witch, Vasya has to step up and protect her family from dangers only she knows exist.

I was surprised by the length of this tale, as I was reading it as an ebook borrowed from the library and could not see the thickness of the novel in my hands. So much happens in this book, it's almost impossible to recount it all.

I found this book enchanting, and it gave me the same feelings as reading North Child by Edith Pattou. It would be fair to say that the worldbuilding and atmosphere are really what set this book apart from others. While Vasya as a character was admirable and inspires a lot of love from the reader, the cold and creepy atmosphere that creeps in throughout the book kept me absorbed in the pages as I read.