This was originally posted on my blog Rachel Reading. For more like this, check out my blog!

Guys this book completely blew me away. Totally and completely. When I started this book I didn’t honestly expect much. I have always wanted to read more books based around Russia, but because I haven’t dove much into that interest, I find getting into these books difficult. I know that won’t happen the more books I read about it, but I was slightly hesitant as I started this.

This book exceeded all of my wildest dreams.

It took me a little bit to get into, but once I was in, I was in. I feel like I learned a lot from this book, about Russian culture and mythology, which is something I never knew existed. What I really loved about this book is that similarly to Harry Potter, I felt like the magic existed in conjunction with the real world. I could see this magic being real, and that it didn’t completely invalidate the world they lived in. It was obvious that this book was meant to take place in the past, but it still felt very real, like this could be incorporated into today’s world. With a magic so subtle and strong that you can’t help but want to know what happens next.

I’ve heard that there may be a sequel to this book and I’m intrigued because I’m not sure where it would go. This doesn’t mean I won’t read it, because on the contrary I absolutely will. I found the characterization in this book done extremely well, and I found myself invested in all the characters, including the ones that were supposed to be “bad”. What I liked so much about Arden’s writing is that even the bad character was one I found myself sympathizing with slightly. I didn’t find myself despising any character, and that’s really credited towards Arden’s beautiful writing. I’m so grateful to the publishing company for the chance to review this book.