The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden was such a fun and beautifully written tale filled to the brim with magic, family, monsters, and darkness.

When I saw this was one of our book club options, I voted for it immediately. I had heard such great things about it! So when it won the overall vote for March, I went out and bought a copy immediately.

This book did not disappoint. In fact, I loved it so much that the minute I finished reading it, I jumped on my computer and ordered the second book and preordered the third! I cannot wait to read them both to see what happens next!

Right away I have to admit that it took me awhile to get really invested in the story. But phew... once I hit page 85, I was hooked! Up until that point, it seemed like there was just too much going on; there were so many characters that had two, three, or four names who were all doing different things as the years passed... So I found it a bit difficult to keep up. But after page 85, I struggled to put the book down!

There was a great focus on Russian mythology, a topic that I don't know very well. But this definitely got me interested! I cannot wait to read more in this area. The tales that were told within this novel were so interesting and dark! And we all know I'm a sucker for the darker tales!

The main focuses were on the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful, which I had only heard of once before, and Father Frost (Morocco), which I hadn't heard about at all. In this novel, we begin with a character named Dunya telling the tale of Father Frost to the family. This story really sets the stage wonderfully! If the book hadn't started with a tale with magical elements, I don't think I would have gotten on board with the plot as quickly. But as it was, when the magical things began to be more prominent, I was so excited to learn more!

I loved the focus on family and loyalty. But of course, with most fantasy stories, it was also bittersweet... but no spoilers here!

I really enjoyed the main character, Vasya. Right from her childhood, I found myself most interested in her storyline so I was thrilled to see that the focus really shifts to her later on. She was wonderfully unique in her world; tomboyish, outspoken, unyielding, brave, and a bit wild. Of course that didn't sit well with the local townsfolk, so there was a bit of unease there as well.

And the book design... I mean, look at that cover!! The script on the spine under the dust jacket was also lovely!

There are so many other things that I would love to discuss here, but I don't want to spoil the magic!


My favorite passages:
When the light struck her black hair it did not gleam bronze as Marina's had, but dark red, like garnets caught in the silky strands.

Fall came in a burst of glory that quickly faded to gray.


My final thoughts:
If you're a fan of tales that take an old tale and give it an awesome spin, I highly recommend this one! Even though I was a bit lost at the beginning, I'm so very excited to re-read it. I'm sure the first 84 pages will make much more sense to me now that I have all the characters down!

Of course because this story is a play on Vasilisa the Beautiful, I couldn't help but think about Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. Both stories are incredibly interesting, and VERY different, so I would highly recommend checking them both out!