Read (or rather listened to) The Bear and the Nightingale at the recommendation of a friend. It’s an amalgamation of folktales set in 14th-century northern Russia. It was a bit slow to get going, mostly to set the stage and give us a feel for the frozen tundra where it’s set, but it’s well written and the story does pick up.

I’m not sure I would have picked this one up on my own, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and plan to continue with the trilogy.