bennysbooks's Reviews (668)

My 6 year old enjoyed this quite a bit. Not as much as the Nguyen kids series (I think because those have the magical element that he loves), but enough that we finished it in two sittings. I think the author does a great job of making Salma's fears feel real to a reader who has never experienced anything like what she faces, and balancing that with an ending which reassures young readers that love can make a home almost anywhere, even where there is immense grief. I could tell my kid was impacted by this story - he hides his face behind a pillow when things get emotional - but he felt good by the end, and was already asking about the next one! 

FMA is my favourite anime series. My partner and I have rewatched it, beginning on Valentine's Day, almost every year for 10 years now (original, because it's our favourite, although we agree that Brotherhood is probably better in terms of overarching/cohesive storytelling). We've started to collect these editions so that I can finally read it, and I'm loving it. Feeling all of the old feelings, but appreciating the story in a new way. Happy guy.

I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as the first book. It read less like a fairytale and more like a historical fantasy, which isn't inherently an issue, but was very much not what I was expecting. I wanted more of the chyerti, especially the domovoi, and more of the dark/cozy/isolated setting of medieval Russia. Instead we got more battling, politics, scheming. It was interesting to get more insight into medieval Moscow, but the end result was a more straightforward, predictable plot. I guessed what was going on with Kasyan almost immediately, knew who the ghost was, and while it may not have been Arden's intention to keep me on my toes, it meant that I felt almost no tension throughout. Disconnected. 

I think the most successful element of this second book was the continued exploration of familial (especially sibling) relationships, and the way that duty, propriety, and especially religious differences complicate the love they have for one another. That's the biggest draw for me to continue with the series - I want to explore that tension between Sasha/Olga and Vasya more, between Christianity and paganism. The plot is completely secondary to that, at this point.