This book was exactly what I needed right now. It's kind of been a series I've been saying since I pretty much knew I'd love it, and it's honestly perfect timing to read it right now.

There is this one very specific style of writing that gets me every time, and this series has it. It's the same styles that made me love The Starless Sea, Spinning Silver, and Strange the Dreamer . It's the perfect type of lyrical writing that often accompanies fairy tales and myths, or the retelling of them, and it's lyrical while still presenting a story filled with magic. Arden's writing is definitely up there for me now, and I honestly can't wait to continue the series.

Not only did this book have the writing style I loved, it also had the magic. This story is rife with legends and myths and magic, all tying together create an extremely fascinating world. I loved how many spirits lived in this book, from everyday spirits to larger, more god-like figures, and especially the way the story took them into its plot. The story itself is about the old being pushed aside for the new, especially in terms of religion, so this story follows the struggle of Vasya to stick to the old ways and keep the spirits alive (as they protect her family and village). I just loved diving into this world.

Vasya is also actually the best. She's somehow strong and brave without coming off as arrogant or as a "chosen one", in the negative sense of the trope. She's still weak and vulnerable for certain people, she still desires and is headstrong, but she doesn't let herself get pushed around. She's honestly just awe-inspiring, and I'd read thousands of books about her.

The way the story is constructed is also one of my favorite things (though, almost everything about this book is a favorite thing...). You don't get dropped in right when the interesting stuff is about to happen, you get to see the build up to it. You get to see the threads before they're woven into the cloth of the story, and that makes the end product, the final tapestry of the story, that much more satisfying to see. You really get to see what made things happen the way they did, and it also built a much stronger attachment to all the characters. Even the characters you come to despise, you feel for on some level, because you understand how they got to be in the position they are, and to make the choices they did. It made this book all the more memorable.

I know I'm probably one of the last people to get to this series, but if you haven't picked this up yet, definitely do!