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Stars: 2 out of 5.

I loved American Gods, and as a Russian myself, I LOVE Slavic folklore, so picking up this book was a no-brainer for me. And I was on board and invested for the first 50% of it, but  then it just.. dragged… and dragged… and slowly plodded its way to the end. And I realized that I didn’t like any of the characters anymore. Also, the book literally ends without any denouement. Nothing is resolved, nothing is learned, it’s just one big road trip that just… stops. I guess the story is to be continued in the next book?

Also, comparing it to American Gods does it a big disservice. This book is not even remotely as well plotted and written as American Gods. It’s boring and it drags. 

I guess this has a lot to do with this author’s writing style – Lilith Saintcrow decides to describe absolutely EVERYTHING that our protagonists see, feel, smell, taste, etc. It is too much description that bogs down the action to a glacial pace. Dima and Nat are riding in a muscle car, for God’s sake, why is it going so slow through the story?

And there isn’t much story there to speak of. Girl goes to see big bad Baba Yaga, who promises to make her mother better again if she brings back something her mother stole. Girl agrees and goes on a road trip with a deity of thieves and assassins. Girl meets some other divinities along the way and reaches a well. The end. Oh, she learns a secret that wasn’t a secret to anyone but her as well.

There is no tension, there are no stakes, there is no sense of urgency even to that particular road trip. Dima keeps telling her that hungry and not very nice powers are hunting Nat and want to either take what she finds or kill her, or both at the same time, yet we never encounter any of those powers. They aren’t ambushed during this trip even once (and no, the encounter with Friendly doesn’t count). Nat doesn’t have to fight for her life. Dima doesn’t have to defend her or show his divine powers. It’s all tell, but not show. I’m told the stakes are high and the road is dangerous, but I don’t see it.

My other issue is with Nat herself. I was sympathetic to her in the beginning and rooting for her to finally come into her own power and stop wilting in the shadow of her horrible mother. But it never happened. I mean, how stupid can you be not to put two and two together and realize what is happening to your mother and what only two outcomes could be to this issue? Especially when people hint at that over and over again. But she just refuses to listen… or ask any questions that could help her navigate this weird world she finds herself part of? Also, you have to be very good at self-delusion to refuse to come to any conclusions from the clues you gather. It literally takes hearing it from a horse’s mouth to make it clear to her what her mother has planned for her.

Also, the worldbuilding is wobbly at best. We have divinities, but some of them are old concepts like Winter and Spring, and some are gods of murder and thieves, or cowboys, or corrupt cops. And then they are literary divinities? How does that work exactly? Is there a hierarchy of power? That’s never explained.

And since when is Baba Yaga the lady of winter? She is the crone. She is the witch. Wise and mysterious. Helpful sometimes, other times cruel, but I don’t remember her having power over winter. The Slaves had Ded Moroz for that. And he wasn’t the jolly old fellow bringing gifts to kids on New Year’s Eve. No, he was the old man in a coat made of frost that could freeze you with a glance if he deemed you disrespectful… For some reason, that de Winter business really grated at my Russian soul. Baba Yaga is powerful enough on her own. She doesn’t need to steal other deities’ powers. 

All in all, I am really disappointed with this book. I will read the next one because I had requested it from NetGalley before I read this one, so I might as well see where the story goes. However, I doubt that I will check out other books by this author anytime soon.

PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.