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The Light of the Midnight Stars

Rena Rossner (Goodreads Author)

3.88 · Rating details · 67 ratings · 51 reviews

An evocative combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore, The Light of the Midnight Stars is fairytale-inspired novel from the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood.

Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they pray, sing and perform small miracles - and none are more gifted t ...more

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Hardcover, 432 pages

Expected publication: April 13th 2021 by Redhook

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Feb 25, 2021 Krista rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021, arc, netgalley

I want to bar myself,
from the light
of the midnight stars.
I have no one else to turn to.
Perhaps if I step out
onto the balcony
and fall,
a star will catch me.

I don’t know if I gave The Light of the Midnight Stars a completely fair shake: I started it just before my life got busy again, and when I realised that it was kind of a YA Fantasy Romance, I wasn’t eager to keep picking it up again; I spent way too long with this and it wasn’t entirely the book’s fault. I didn’t love specific aspects of the formatting (and especially the repetition of plotpoints, and of motifs from folklore), and being told from the rotating POVs of three very different sisters, I unevenly connected with them and their stories. But when I sat down to finally finish the last two hours of this book, things started coming together, and in the end, I found myself touched by this family and their fates. I can see how this novel would provide amazing representation for the right reader (especially at the intersection of Jewish, queer, and female), and I may well have enjoyed it more if I had had the time to read it more quickly, but for me it’s a three and a half star read, rounded down. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)

I have begun to write my own story in these pages. The story I will tell my children.
About a girl who fell in love with a star.
About a girl whose heart was made of fire.
About a girl who found a way to plant herself in the earth and grow.

Set in the Kingdom of Hungary in the fourteenth century, we first meet the three adolescent sisters — Hannah, Sarah, and Levana — as they negotiate fairly ordinary lives as the daughters of a respected Rabbi in their multiethnic town of Trnava. Each of the daughters enjoys a special, magical gift (based on the kabbalah and Jewish folklore), and while Hannah is a healer, Sarah can control fire, and Levana can read the stars, they are careful to hide these powers from their gentile neighbours and avoid accusations of witchcraft. When a killing Black Mist descends on first the surrounding forest and then the town itself, Trnava’s Jewish population finds itself scapegoated and persecuted, and the sisters flee with their parents to nearby Wallachia; a region famous for its freedom of religion, but where the Rabbi decides to keep his family safe by posing as Christians. Hidden gifts, hidden desires, hidden identities: the second half of this book is about three scared and broken young women (and to a lesser extent, their peripheral parents) and their efforts to learn to live and love again.

Some evil is so unspeakable that the only way we can fight it is by telling a story. Over and over again, until history stops repeating itself.

As for the formatting: Author Rena Rossner explains in an afterword that while researching her own grandmother’s ancestry, she came across numerous legends, fairy tales, and authentic historical records from the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and she pretty much used all of it in this novel, as stories she’s telling us and as stories that characters tell each other. Events will occur in one of the sister’s lives, and then at some later point, that sister will recount the events to someone else with a “Once upon a time” telling, and the details repeat over and over. And as for the repeating motifs: There are so many twins and dragons and foxes eating grapes, sentient stars falling from the sky and pregnant women walled up in monasteries, and I truly didn’t understand why everything repeats in this way (unless it’s commentary on the repetition of violent antisemitism throughout history? The creeping Black Mist from Part One can be read as a magical dragon attack from local folklore, the Black Death, or antisemitism; in any case, the Jews are certain to be blamed and purged; be forewarned about some shocking violence in this tale.)

There is no good and evil, no light and dark, no man or woman. Every one of us contains multitudes. Every one of us contains a spark of God.

But this isn’t a totally bleak novel, and as I said, I ultimately found the story touching. I feel like maybe Rossner tried to put too much of her research into her final effort — it felt, for sure, like far too much was going on in Sarah’s story (some from folklore, some from the historical record; a weird, unconvincing mashup) — but again, maybe I just didn’t give this book the chance to carry me away. Definitely, I can see how this will appeal to the right readers. ...more

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Feb 27, 2021 Jordan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021

This was so beautiful and timeless. Full review coming closer to publication!

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Apr 05, 2021 Amber Kozawick rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 Stars
Thank you so much Goodreads & Rena Rossner for the ARC of this book.

“But life has a way of surprising us all, I suppose. And even though some destinies are written in the stars, or rooted in the ground—it doesn’t mean we don’t get a chance on this earth to try and change them.”

Wow. This book is a lot. Sometimes in wonderful ways, sometimes just in that it was completely overwhelming.

I can tell you with confidence that the stories told in The Light of the Midnight Stars will stick with 3.5 Stars
Thank you so much Goodreads & Rena Rossner for the ARC of this book.

“But life has a way of surprising us all, I suppose. And even though some destinies are written in the stars, or rooted in the ground—it doesn’t mean we don’t get a chance on this earth to try and change them.”

Wow. This book is a lot. Sometimes in wonderful ways, sometimes just in that it was completely overwhelming.

I can tell you with confidence that the stories told in The Light of the Midnight Stars will stick with me. They were heartbreaking and hopeful stories of survival, tradition, and the struggle to hold a sense of self in a world that is screaming at you “NO!”

There is so much magic here, and it had moments of absolute beauty. The moments where I was most in the story’s thrall all happened while I was connecting with the characters, and while there were a good handful of moments like this in the middle and end, there were many missed opportunities early on that could help hook readers in.

It is completely unique in its genre- fantasy pulled from Jewish & regional folklore, with some historical fiction mixed in. This aspect was a draw for me, because these are all genres that I am so thrilled to spend time in. I personally wish I had a better understanding of Jewish religion, culture, and folklore heading into this because I know it could have drastically raised the ease with which I could have enjoyed this story.

I think my biggest hurdles with getting lost in the magic of this book were:
-The choice of presentation. The changes in POV and delivery (ie one MC’s chapters are delivered via journal entries, while the other two are simply written in first person perspective) and the layout of the storytelling- sometimes felt like it was meandering
-The language and cultural aspects could also become a hurdle for a non-Jewish reader if they were to get hung up on words/names/references that were unknown to them. Some of my favorite stories of all time have been based in cultures that I’ve had no previous understanding of, so I choose to take them in stride and learn as I go, but I can see how it could be alienating to someone less willing to let the storytelling carry them without complete understanding of references.
I also feel that it is important to note several trigger warnings for this book, including rape and hate crimes. I don’t feel that they detract from the value of the book, but important to note for those who would prefer to avoid those topics.

Overall, I felt like this book was a beautiful, if not specific, feat of storytelling that will settle into the hearts of some readers but will not be for everybody. ...more

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Jan 31, 2021 Larissa Z rated it it was amazing

Thank you so much to Orbit books and Netgalley. I am so incredibly grateful for being given the opportunity to review this book. As someone raised in a Jewish family, this novel spoke directly to my heart. Every page was filled with beauty, magic, heartache and hope; both fairy tale and history interwoven into an unforgettable tale.

The Light of the Midnight Stars tells the story of three sisters: Hannah, the eldest, with her affinity for the natural world; Sarah, the middle daughter with her fie ...more

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Jan 24, 2021 The Starry Library marked it as to-read

Shelves: want-to-read-magical-fantasy, 2021

'The Light of the Midnight Stars' weaves a mystical tale about the space between light and dark where self-discovery is illuminated. Part folklore, part legend, part history- this fairytale is an intricate melding of Jewish heritage and Eastern European mythology. The love, heartbreak, faith, and courage experienced by all of the characters constellate a tale about the stories we keep, the stories we create, and the stories that we believe.

It follows the tale of three sisters each with a story ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Miriasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: queer, wlw, sff, jewish-queer, queer-sff, jewish, arc, fairytale-retelling, queer-fairytales, fairytales

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ARC!

Queer Rep: bisexual woman POV character, lesbian love interest
Major Trigger Warnings: sexual violence, sexism/misogyny, violent antisemitism, sexual content involving minors/with adults, grief, death generally, and more specific very visceral acts of violence/execution that are spoilers

I really wanted to love this book, and there are parts I did love! The grounded, complex and messy portrayal of Jewish identity and belief and history and mytho Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ARC!

Queer Rep: bisexual woman POV character, lesbian love interest
Major Trigger Warnings: sexual violence, sexism/misogyny, violent antisemitism, sexual content involving minors/with adults, grief, death generally, and more specific very visceral acts of violence/execution that are spoilers

I really wanted to love this book, and there are parts I did love! The grounded, complex and messy portrayal of Jewish identity and belief and history and mythology in this book was excellent. I love that the author brought these lesser known (at least outside of specific communities) Jewish folktales to life. Each sister felt like a unique character with very different approaches to the world around them, and they all, especially Sarah, changed in interesting ways over the course of the book. I am so glad to see a f/f relationship in a Jewish fairytale book. I was engrossed the whole time – I stayed up until 5am reading this book at one point. I wanted to like it, and spent my whole experience reading it feeling very conflicted. I didn’t hate this book, but I don’t think I can say I liked it either. The word that feels most fitting is “conflicted.”

I struggled with how young the sisters were at many points (specifically around marriage and sex). I know this is likely what was happening at the time, but I would have had a much more positive experience with this book if they were all aged up even two years. The characters’ lives also seemed to revolve almost entirely around marriage and sex – desperately wanting to have sex, therefore desperately wanting to get married immediately, despite being, for example, thirteen years old. This seemed to be what their whole selves revolved around. Not a single character had a completely platonic friendship outside of their family. The characters didn’t seem to have wider lives outside of their tragic fairytale romances, which makes sense when trying to fit so many fairytales into the lives of a single family.

The romances themselves all started so quick and so strong and desperate that they felt almost unreal, especially as that kept happening over and over and over again. I felt the heavy hand of the author while reading this – that in order to weave all of these different tales together, she had to maneuver the characters into encounters that just felt absolutely unreal, even in a fairytale, to imagine happening to the same person. It’s as if Cinderella also experienced the story of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. At some point, the woods feel too full of princes and you have to wonder how the princess could still fall ever again, why she wouldn’t just sit down right there and refuse to budge. And if, like with this book, we’re using the gritty, original, haunting version of the fairytales, the amount of trauma and pain the character has to go through to live through all of these stories is too much.

I think it’s the author’s choice to weave all these stories into the life of one family of sisters that made this book not work for me. I think I could have loved this book as a short story collection happening to different people, or if the second half of the book happened to the Solomonars’ cousins, for example. Actually, the moment I most thought I would turn out to love the book was when I mistakenly thought that a transformation that happens midway through the book was a permanent and complete one, down to memories, and identities, and origin stories. I think going in that direction could have been so fascinating, and made a big difference for me. I saw the way that the first part of the book was almost a prequel to the rest of it, and I just wish that the sequel had differed more from its predecessor. I kept hoping for an ending to pull enough of the strings of the stories to feel satisfying, to bring meaning to it all, for something to click, and I just kept waiting. I feel like I'm still waiting.

This book seemed to be made for me, as an Ashkenazi queer Jewish person who has a niche interest in queer fairytales. Ultimately, although I was engrossed, I spent just as much time and energy being concerned about the book as a book as I did about the characters and story while reading. I would give this a 3.5 if I could give half stars – I’m rounding up because I absolutely want to see more from this author and want to see more Jewish fairytales especially with queer representation. ...more

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Feb 12, 2021 Phoebe E rated it it was amazing

The Light of the Midnight Stars is a beautiful book that weaves stories and folklore with history, fantasy and Jewish tradition to create compelling story of three sisters facing down an ever changing world. I was immediately drawn into this world and the community at the heart of the story, following the joys and tragedies of Hannah, Sarah and Levana's lives. I absolutely loved the way fantasy was woven into this story, particularly because so little fantasy exists that also pulls from Jewish f ...more

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Feb 26, 2021 Kayla Brown rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an early copy to read! The Light of the Midnight stars is a wonderful story, steeped in history, folklore, and Jewish tradition and folklore. Telling the story of three sisters and the love and heartbreak they each experience. Combining Jewish folklore with real historical roots, Rossner has created a beautiful story, filled with both happiness and stunning heartbreak and a hint of magic. Written in beautiful and often lyrical prose, The Light of ...more

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Feb 10, 2021 Raya Smith rated it it was amazing

Shelves: stop-making-me-cry, lets-go-lesbians, i-m-screaming, arc, owned-books, favorites

4.75
read a more in-depth review on my blog
I received this e-ARC through netgalley
I was ecstatic when I was granted access to this ARC because hearing that there would be a sapphic and jewish fantasy novel hitting shelves in April was some of the best news I have ever received.

As a jewish person I can get so easily frustrated when I'm looking for a book with good jewish representation. I was ecstatic about this book because I KNEW it would represent my people in a way that displays how much be ...more

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Feb 15, 2021 Caroline Hedges rated it really liked it

This was a tough book to get into and I nearly decided to give up. But I am so glad I didn't as it turned out to be a beautiful, fairy talesque story of three talented daughters who had to hide their greatness for fear of persecution. Woven into the tales of a people who could control the weather and elements and change shape was Jewish culture and faith. The beauty of the traditions was wonderful to read about.
So stick with it and enjoy the dose of magic realism, fairy tale and historical ficti ...more

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Feb 05, 2021 Ashley Bunker rated it really liked it

"The Light of the Midnight Stars", by Rena Rossner, was incredibly interesting. The foundation of this novel is packed full of Romanian history and folklore and Jewish tenets. We follow a family as they are always wandering because home is ever changing. Abba is the father of 3 daughters: Hannah, Levana, and Sarah. Each of them so different, but close to each other. They each end up on their own path, and hopefully find their own purpose.

Rossner has the gift for storytelling. I loved how she in ...more

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Feb 01, 2021 Cara Gores rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

This book is beautiful and dreamlike in the best possible way. It is a jewish inspired fairy tale based in Eastern Europe. Filled with both Eastern European and Jewish folklore, it tells the story of three sisters who face tremendous hardships, but rise up to become powerful, glorious, symbols of hope and freedom. The oldest sister holds the magic of making things grow. She is wise and beautiful, but faces a tragedy that forces her whole community to have to flee their town. The middle sister is ...more

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Jan 30, 2021 Melissa rated it it was amazing

The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner was a captivating read that I could not put down!
There are three main characters that are sisters who are from a Jewish descent. It has a fairytale, historical vib to it that leaves you educated and mesmerized. There is magic, love, loss, and heartbreak. The author has a Jewish background and comes from a storytelling family. I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 5 stars, I will definitely think about it for some time. Highly recommend.

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Mar 12, 2021 Becky'sBookBlog rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2021-releases

I have begun to write my own story in these pages. The story I will tell my children.
About a girl who fell in love with a star.
About a girl whose heart was made of fire.
About a girl who found a way to plant herself in the earth and grow.

I had very little idea of what this book was going to be like. I’ve had the authors previous book on my shelf for far too long, but I just couldn’t resist requesting this on Netgalley. What I got was a tale of loss, of love, of the power of stories and how people I have begun to write my own story in these pages. The story I will tell my children.
About a girl who fell in love with a star.
About a girl whose heart was made of fire.
About a girl who found a way to plant herself in the earth and grow.

I had very little idea of what this book was going to be like. I’ve had the authors previous book on my shelf for far too long, but I just couldn’t resist requesting this on Netgalley. What I got was a tale of loss, of love, of the power of stories and how people can be blinded by religious differences. Hannah, Sarah and Levana are the three daughters of Rabbi Isaac. Blessed with powers, they each have their own path to take. That is until one fateful night that changes everything, their home, their religion and their names. But some things are not so easy to escape from and before long the sisters must decide whether to stay as they are and ignore their destiny, or to return to the old ways, something that will affect their family forever.

The strength of this book undoubtedly comes from it’s three female leads. Hannah is the eldest sister, religious, hard working and capable of making anything grow anywhere. She is also far more resilient than she is aware of, and longs for a life like her mothers, filled with love and children. Sarah feels unknown, her power is volatile and for that reason her father refuses to teach her until she learns to control it. She has never dreamed of love and marriage like Hannah, instead resenting the fact that as a woman she cannot join the Solomonars with her father and take up as his successor. Levana is a dreamer, she can follow the path of the stars and is determined to marry one, no matter how silly that may seem. All three sisters have incredible resilience, even in the direst of times and I found myself relating to every single one in different ways. There is no one character you find yourself reaching for, each of the sisters stories is so heartbreaking and real I found myself flying through the chapters, desperately wanting them to get a happy ending.

This is definitely a character driven story and I can see the authors writing style and the fact that the plot doesn’t really have a specific flow may put a lot of people off reading it. The author admits that looking into her Grandfathers past took her down a rabbit hole of Eastern European Jewish history, how they were treated, their legends and folklore, and she relies heavily on this for her story, having the characters act out these tales, and adding little bits of true history with a fantasy flare for those who know it. For that reason the story can seem a little jumpy, interweaving different tales into the story. And yet, despite all this the story does flow, the authors writing style is incredibly lyrical filled with beautiful prose and I found myself highlighting so many passage’s because of how beautifully they were written.

The book is told from the three sisters POV’s as well as passages from ‘The Book of Solomonars’, an almost narrator style interlude and stories, stories told from the parents, other characters and the sisters themselves. The stories were used to almost recount the sisters previous lives, and I can see where some people might be put off by the amount of re-telling of events in the book, but telling stories in that way, almost as if they were a fable was very evocative of the time. There was a safety in telling stories instead of outright admitting things, it gives the characters the chance to come out and say things they are too scared to for fear of persecution, but also is a kind of relief, a way of saying the things you needed to admit without fully admitting them, it was a story, nothing more.

The Light of the Midnight Stars is set in 14th century Hungary at a time when the Black Death was rife and Jew’s were blamed by many people for causing it. In fact the author shows this by having a black mist follow our characters, which was both evocative of the black death, but also antisemitism. A lot of people would assume that Jew’s were first persecuted in WW2, when in fact it had been happening for centuries before that. Some of the things that happened to these characters come from real stories, which made the book that much more harrowing. I didn’t know until the end what was fact and what was fiction, but learning about the deaths, the persecutions and knowing that they came from true stories gave the book a whole new depth. You mourn with and for these characters, and I can’t tell you how many times my heart broke when reading it.

Filled with tragedy, romance, magic and showing the resilience of those being persecuted simply for believing in a different God, The Light of the Midnight Stars took me though a rigmarole of emotions and I had to give myself time once I’d finished to properly process what I had read. I can’t see this becoming an instant favourite for people as I know some will be put off by the way the story is told, but I found it near impossible to put down. The stories told in this book will stay with me for a long time, and I will certainly be picking up anything else the author writes. ...more

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Mar 29, 2021 Kelsey rated it really liked it

I'm rounding up on this one because I stayed up all night reading it, but overall I was disappointed with this book.

This is a very Jewish book, which I loved, and the Hebrew and references to the Talmud and Torah and the creation of a fictional liturgy called the Book of the Solomonar were all very well done. There's a glossary in the back, but I think non-Jewish readers might be lost on some of the elements, and that's okay! It's clear this was written by a Jewish author for a Jewish reader.

How I'm rounding up on this one because I stayed up all night reading it, but overall I was disappointed with this book.

This is a very Jewish book, which I loved, and the Hebrew and references to the Talmud and Torah and the creation of a fictional liturgy called the Book of the Solomonar were all very well done. There's a glossary in the back, but I think non-Jewish readers might be lost on some of the elements, and that's okay! It's clear this was written by a Jewish author for a Jewish reader.

However, the story itself, the fantasy elements, and the repeated trauma made this a tough one for me. There is a lot of antisemitic violence in this novel, and I know a lot of this story is rooted in fact, including the author's grandmother, but I guess I would hope that an author can use fantasy to show some triumph and right the wrongs of our world. I believe there was an attempt to show that Jewishness persists (the author's note about the twins solidifies that), but even in a fantasy novel it is hidden away and women have to sacrifice their lives (figurative and literal) for it to persist. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I like joy and triumph where possible from my Jewish fantasy.

I didn't quite understand some of the fantasy elements (mainly the storyline involving a star), and the fact that sister's POV turned into verse made it hard to follow. I did enjoy the connection of Jewish folklore with other central European folklore, and think that alliance is a really powerful illustration of minorities struggling to survive.

I also just want to mention the queerness, because I actually saw this book classified online under "lesbian literature." As a queer person, the queer storyline in this book was pretty troubling, or at least the ending was. Again, I know this was a queer plotline that the author weaved together based on some historical elements, but again, in a fantasy novel, some artistic creativity would've been nice.

Again, while I struggled with this book, I did stay up very late to finish it all in one sitting, and that is the mark of a good book. For me, this was a good book that just didn't hit in all the right places.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Apr 03, 2021 Allison rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2021-reads, fantasy, netgalley, myth, fairytale, lgbt-protagonist

In an amalgamation of folklore, fairy tale, and myth, this historical fantasy follows a Jewish family with three daughters in 14th century Eastern Europe. In their early teens, the girls experiences tragedy after tragedy rooted in religious persecution.

First of all, I think several content warnings are necessary here, and there may be more: anti-Semitism, violent deaths, rape, death of a spouse, forced migration, stigma/discrimination against LGBT characters, sexism.

This is a story full of traum In an amalgamation of folklore, fairy tale, and myth, this historical fantasy follows a Jewish family with three daughters in 14th century Eastern Europe. In their early teens, the girls experiences tragedy after tragedy rooted in religious persecution.

First of all, I think several content warnings are necessary here, and there may be more: anti-Semitism, violent deaths, rape, death of a spouse, forced migration, stigma/discrimination against LGBT characters, sexism.

This is a story full of trauma, but not as a descriptive emotional delve with our characters. Something that bothered me about this story was that its strength also became a weakness. In matching the lilting, twisting tone of the parent material with impressive finesse, the story lost opportunities for personal connection and strong characterization. The sisters definitely read like flat folk tale denizens, imparting lessons through their struggles without being encumbered by multiple dimensions. This isn't my personal preference as a reader, and I took issue with it most when trauma became an overwhelming deluge with no respite or reflection. The new griefs just pile on. I think relationships in the story fall into the same traps. They are static, predictably depressing, and fulfill plot functions rather than adding the spark of humanity that touches me most in an excellent book.

In addition, the three daughters are young teenagers but experience a slew of adult situations. While I think this is historically accurate, I can't shake my own alarm at reading about young girls with partially developed brains getting married, making major decisions about their own and others' emotional well-being, or trapped in unalterable life circumstances. As someone who teaches students of that age, reading the not infrequent reminders of their youth set me on edge.

Ultimately, I think this book did a good job of taking on a complex and storied genre in terms of writing style. I also think stories of religious persecution are important and powerful. On a personal level, I must confront the fact that I found this reading experience frustrating and unfulfilling. A reader with different tastes and perspectives may find a more positive result. ...more

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Apr 04, 2021 Annette Jordan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, netgalley-review, 2021, fiction

The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner is an intriguing and unusual blend of historical fiction and folk tale. Heavily influenced by the author's Jewish heritage and her family history, this book is an ambitious and richly layered offering . Three sisters , each with unusual abilities are living deep in the Hungarian woods. As descendants of King Solomon they and their father are held in high regard by the rest of their community, Hannah the oldest sister has an affinity for nature, abl The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner is an intriguing and unusual blend of historical fiction and folk tale. Heavily influenced by the author's Jewish heritage and her family history, this book is an ambitious and richly layered offering . Three sisters , each with unusual abilities are living deep in the Hungarian woods. As descendants of King Solomon they and their father are held in high regard by the rest of their community, Hannah the oldest sister has an affinity for nature, able to coax plants to grow even in unfavourable conditions. Middle sister Sarah has an affinity for fire and flame, but struggles with control while youngest sister Levana can see the secrets of the stars. When a strange black mist starts to creep across the land, a shadow falls over not just this family but every Jewish family and when the authorities turn on them they are forced to flee and create a new identity for themselves to hide their faith. Even when they find a home where they feel safe, their troubles are not at an end, and each of the sisters will face their own difficult choices and challenges.
I loved the rich prose the author used to weave the book together , it was beautifully descriptive and had a soothing cadence that really fit with the fairy tale vibe of the book. Like all the best folk and fairy tales there is a healthy helping of darkness and violence, with brutal descriptions of anti Semitic attacks, rape and assault , but there are also some moments filled with beauty, light and hope to act as a counterbalance. As the book is the story of three sisters we are given three different perspectives, and at times it felt a little muddled, particularly the stories of Hannah and Sarah who had similar voices within the book, I really liked the decision to tell Levana's story in a type of free verse, it made her perspective really stand out and fit the character very well. Although the book did feel a little repetitive at times ,especially when the sisters were telling their stories to other characters, I didn't really mind as I liked the way these stories within the story were written.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own. ...more

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Apr 07, 2021 Nurafini Zahid rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley-arcs

3.75 stars

The story is about 3 sisters, Hannah, Levana and Sarah who were from a devoted Jewish family in 14th century. They were also gifted with special power that influence their fate in life. Fills with folkfore, legends and history together blended with Jewish heritage and Eastern Europe mythology. This is the first time I encounter and read Jewish representation book which also contained LGBTQ rep (bisexual & lesbian love interest). Also included so many triggered warning like sexual viole ...more

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Mar 01, 2021 Danile rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Thank you to Netgallery for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the second book I've read by this author. I'm not Jewish myself, but I have read a fair amount of Jewish mysticism in a similar style of this story. This book is set in Hungary in 14th century and tells the story of three sisters, each with a different and magical ability. The story follows each of the sisters in alternating chapters who make choices that direct their fate. One day, a terrible tragedy occu ...more

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Mar 19, 2021 Kelly rated it liked it · review of another edition

*Note: I won an ARC of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway.

I really wanted to like this book - I love fairy tale retellings. However, I just couldn't bring myself to love this one. This might have been in part because it was the wrong fairytale (in part, "The Boys with the G0lden Stars", a more obscure tale). Yet, I don't think it was that alone.

In this book, we follow the tale of three different daughters of a Jewish rabbi in the mythical village of Trnava. Each daughter has mystical gifts whi ...more

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Mar 28, 2021 Steph rated it really liked it

A beautifully written tale that is haunting and evocative. Rossner's prose enraptured me. I was swept away by her words. They clung to my eyes, and wrapped themselves around my soul. I could not put this book down even as I feared the ominous cloud that hung over the world that she told. This tale is haunting, romantic, historical, heartbreaking and magical. It is a novel that can be loved by readers of literary fiction and fantasy alike. It inhabits both realms.

I would like to mention why this ...more

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Mar 21, 2021 Aleshia rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, fantasy, romance, netgalley, fairy-tales

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Rossner's first book, The Sisters of the Winter Wood and was excited to try her sophomore novel. Admittedly the synopsis didn't quite grab my attention as much, but I really enjoyed her writing and anything involving fairy tales or retellings is still very much my vibe. I didn't quite mash with this one as much. I think this is mainly due to three POV characters crammed into one story that is also about 30% full of short stories. We have three adolescent sisters who are ...more

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Mar 21, 2021 Alena rated it it was amazing

Shelves: whimsical, 2021, historical-fantasy, retelling

Once upon a time, there are three sisters, each with a unique and special power.

This was the perfect balance between historical fiction and fantasy. Its very whimsical but also its a tragic story.
Hannah, Sarah and Levana are sisters; their father is a scholar and they are descended from King Solomon, they live in small and quiet town, but soon things will change, when they will discover love, tragic will follow.

Hannah is the oldest; she can heal and grow things. Sarah is more wild and she can tr ...more

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Mar 09, 2021 Debbie rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 22, 2021 Karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had a really hard time getting started with this book. Then I finally became engrossed in it. About a third of the way in, there are new names, but the author doesn’t tell us who they are. We have to figure it out for ourselves. At this point, it becomes about a family in a different town with new people around them. The parents fade into the background; the daughters find new friendships/relationships. Parts of this novel are very fantastical which kept me reading.

While it’s certainly well-wr ...more

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Mar 28, 2021 Beth rated it really liked it

Part magical realism, part historical fiction, part midrash, part kabbalah, part folk tale retelling, this is a powerful book that's deep in Jewish tradition.

Told from the perspectives of three sisters, this is the story of ethnic violent prejudice, love, faith, family, and--sadly--reality, even with the more mystical elements. There is also an LBGTQ+ element, though that's not the focus. There's a strong theme of not being able to escape one's fate, of being tied to one's ancestral history and ...more

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Apr 06, 2021 Natalia rated it really liked it

Shelves: anticipated-2021, review-copies-read, april-2021-tbr

Almost 5 stars but not quite.

If you like fairytales or books that read like fairytales, this book is for you.

This novel was a very comforting read to me. The atmosphere was amazing. The Eastern European/Jewish mythology made me feel at home. It weirdly reminded me of my childhood and how much I love fairy tales. I loved the stylistic choice the author made to tell each sisters' story. I felt so much for our main 3 characters and I thought Rossner did a decent job fleshing them out. However, I ...more

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Mar 14, 2021 Samantha Hehr rated it it was amazing

Absolutely beautiful. For fans of Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, Uprooted, and the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden.

If you loved Rena Rossner's book The Sisters of the Winter Woods, you will love The Light of the Midnight Stars.

This book is the tragic tale of three Jewish sisters who encounter love, loss, and purpose and perhaps love once more. This is the tragedy of Jews who live in hiding, abandoning their beliefs in the wake of persecution.

The woods of Europe carry legends and monste ...more

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Mar 20, 2021 Rafael Andrade rated it it was amazing

"The story I will tell my children.
About a girl who fell in love with a star
About a girl whose heart was made of fire
About a girl who found a way to plant herself in the earth and grow"

The light of the midnight star turns out to be one of the most interesting books I've read so far.
The book does not tell the story of a specific mission to complete nor a damsel in distress to save. It is a story about a magical Jewish family going about their lives and at some point facing some difficult challeng ...more

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Mar 10, 2021 Reece rated it liked it

ARC from NetGalley

Can something be dark and whimsical at the same time?

This book is very folk-tale in style. Parts of it are written like poetry.

It's not really a deep story. It's not something you really dig your teeth into with character growth and a deep plot.

That said, it isn't a bad read. Like I said, it's whimsical. There is magic and curious happenings, but it's honestly really depressing. There is no happy ending. It's a book you read for the moment not for the journey or the ending, ...more

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About Rena Rossner

Rena Rossner

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Rena Rossner hails from Miami Beach, Florida. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University's Writing Seminars program, Trinity College, Dublin and she holds a MA in history from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her debut novel, The Sisters of the Winter Wood, was listed as "One of the 100 Best Books" of the year by Publisher's Weekly. She currently lives in Israel, where she works as a ...more