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novellie's Reviews (522)
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**After some thought I’m knocking this down to a 3.5/3.75 rating but since we can’t do in between ratings I guess I’ll keep it as a 4**
This is by far one of the most bizarre books I’ve ever read, but for the most part the absurdity of it all is what made me love it more. To be fair, I also completely expected it to be bizarre given that it’s a modernized retelling of a Russian folk tale. Have you ever seen anything made by the Russians? Even they’re rendition of Winnie the Pooh is terrifying.
Vassa in the Night follows our main character Vassa as she is forced to work for Babs Yagg (Baba Yaga) in her convenience shop for 3 incredibly long nights after being framed for attempting to steal from the store by Babs Yagg’s trusty severed hand sidekicks Dexter and Sinister. Between attempting to complete impossible tasks such as trying to keep track of money that has a mind of its own and cleaning individual snowflakes of blood, we meet two lawyers that are definitely not human, a cute boy, and Night. Like, actual Night. Except not really because it’s just part of Night that is trapped in the body of motorcyclist that actually turns out to be. Oh, and did I mention that Vassa has a talking wooden doll named Erg that loves stealing other people’s stuff and eating pancakes?
When I said this story was bizarre I wasn’t kidding people.
Now let’s talk about the good before the bad. The first thing that drew me in was how stunning Sarah Porter’s writing was. All this absurdity was written with such beauty that it made it easier to stomach. At multiple points throughout this book I found myself frustrated that I was reading a library copy because there were so many quotes and passages I wanted to highlight and save for a later date!
And the characters. Oh, the characters! Vassa is so realistically flawed and stubborn that I immediately drawn to her and loved her narration of the story. Erg is hilarious and while she provides amazing comic relief she also has some of the most heart wrenching plot points and dialogue. I even loved the distinct personalities of the severed hands Dexter and Sinister and even the flock of swans, who managed to make me attached without saying a single word.
The ending is what really cemented this as a four star book for me though. It was unbelievably emotional and I even teared up (though that doesn’t say a whole lot as I cry really easily when reading). It was such a beautiful conclusion in terms of Vassa and Erg and just WOW.
That being said there were a couple small things that prevented me from giving this books five stars. The resolution with Babs Yagg felt rushed and unsatisfying. Considering she was the villain throughout the entire book I was shocked when her storyline ended rather abruptly and was left wanting more.
Some of the absurdity was just too much for me. We and I have MANY QUESTIONS. Also there was a while where Vassa thought she was crushing on the blind motorcyclist who hadn’t ever spoken to her and that was very odd and felt very unnecessary as well.
Overall, this was a fun and quick read and while at times it was borderline *too* odd, I really enjoyed it. I’m unsure whether I’d ever read it again, and I probably will never recommend this to anyone unless I am absolutely sure it is something they would enjoy, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.
This is by far one of the most bizarre books I’ve ever read, but for the most part the absurdity of it all is what made me love it more. To be fair, I also completely expected it to be bizarre given that it’s a modernized retelling of a Russian folk tale. Have you ever seen anything made by the Russians? Even they’re rendition of Winnie the Pooh is terrifying.
Vassa in the Night follows our main character Vassa as she is forced to work for Babs Yagg (Baba Yaga) in her convenience shop for 3 incredibly long nights after being framed for attempting to steal from the store by Babs Yagg’s trusty severed hand sidekicks Dexter and Sinister. Between attempting to complete impossible tasks such as trying to keep track of money that has a mind of its own and cleaning individual snowflakes of blood, we meet two lawyers that are definitely not human, a cute boy, and Night. Like, actual Night. Except not really because it’s just part of Night that is trapped in the body of motorcyclist that actually turns out to be
Spoiler
a lampWhen I said this story was bizarre I wasn’t kidding people.
Now let’s talk about the good before the bad. The first thing that drew me in was how stunning Sarah Porter’s writing was. All this absurdity was written with such beauty that it made it easier to stomach. At multiple points throughout this book I found myself frustrated that I was reading a library copy because there were so many quotes and passages I wanted to highlight and save for a later date!
And the characters. Oh, the characters! Vassa is so realistically flawed and stubborn that I immediately drawn to her and loved her narration of the story. Erg is hilarious and while she provides amazing comic relief she also has some of the most heart wrenching plot points and dialogue. I even loved the distinct personalities of the severed hands Dexter and Sinister and even the flock of swans, who managed to make me attached without saying a single word.
The ending is what really cemented this as a four star book for me though. It was unbelievably emotional and I even teared up (though that doesn’t say a whole lot as I cry really easily when reading). It was such a beautiful conclusion in terms of Vassa and Erg and just WOW.
That being said there were a couple small things that prevented me from giving this books five stars. The resolution with Babs Yagg felt rushed and unsatisfying. Considering she was the villain throughout the entire book I was shocked when her storyline ended rather abruptly and was left wanting more.
Some of the absurdity was just too much for me. We
Spoiler
brought butchered corpses back to life with sodas? Her dad decided to leave his kids behind to become a german shepherd? Vassa literally got one foot turned into a swan’s foot but that was never mentioned again and she was fine? 2 of the 3 things I just listed had no relevance to the plotOverall, this was a fun and quick read and while at times it was borderline *too* odd, I really enjoyed it. I’m unsure whether I’d ever read it again, and I probably will never recommend this to anyone unless I am absolutely sure it is something they would enjoy, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.
3.75/5
To be frank, a majority of this book dragged. The romance with Cal was underplayed and the hints of a love triangle with Kilorn we’re overdone. Mare is still a grating main character who can’t seem to ever look past her ego.
That being said, the last 100-150 pages were incredible. Action packed & doubly satisfying for me as we get to see Mare knocked off her pedestal by everyone. Farley, Cal, and even Maven. The deaths of Shade and Elara were both well done and helped to give Mare a bit more depth of character as she deals with the repercussions of her actions. And the ending. Woooooo boy the ending. I will definitely be continuing the series!
To be frank, a majority of this book dragged. The romance with Cal was underplayed and the hints of a love triangle with Kilorn we’re overdone. Mare is still a grating main character who can’t seem to ever look past her ego.
That being said, the last 100-150 pages were incredible. Action packed & doubly satisfying for me as we get to see Mare knocked off her pedestal by everyone. Farley, Cal, and even Maven. The deaths of Shade and Elara were both well done and helped to give Mare a bit more depth of character as she deals with the repercussions of her actions. And the ending. Woooooo boy the ending. I will definitely be continuing the series!
