I was of two minds about this novel. I've read enough Russian literature to have a very healthy respect for practically all of it. This one evokes that very real feel, too. 
 And I love mythology. All flavors. I love to get into deep explorations of just about anything. 
 However, for some weird reason, I can't put my finger on, I couldn't get into this. The opening fireside story encapsulates the rest of the tale quite nicely, if a little easier than how the novel eventually turns, but even so, I just couldn't get into the characters the way I truly wanted to. 
 I don't know why. Maybe it was just bad timing for me and maybe a year ago or a year from now, I'd have loved this more. 
 But here? I remembered and loved Uprooted more than I loved this. 
 Don't get me wrong. The writing seems to be quite good and the characters are deeply explored and there's plenty of character twists and a slowly growing thread of the supernatural that is developed much later in the telling. I just didn't get into it. *sigh* 
 I may give the author another shot at another time! I really had high hopes and it felt good even if I didn't click with it.