The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1) in Fallen Into Tijan Books

May 28, 2017 Candace rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-audio-version, read-listened-with-my-kids, historical, paranormal

Hmm... I'm at a loss with this one. I can't say that I loved it, but I didn't dislike it either. I feel like I'm missing something. This is a story that I should probably go back and re-read at a time when I can give it my full attention...but I didn't feel a strong enough connection the first time around to make me want to do that.

When I listen to an audiobook, I'm usually doing something else that requires part of my attention (i.e. driving). For this reason, I try to keep my audiobook select Hmm... I'm at a loss with this one. I can't say that I loved it, but I didn't dislike it either. I feel like I'm missing something. This is a story that I should probably go back and re-read at a time when I can give it my full attention...but I didn't feel a strong enough connection the first time around to make me want to do that.

When I listen to an audiobook, I'm usually doing something else that requires part of my attention (i.e. driving). For this reason, I try to keep my audiobook selections pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, this book proved to be too detailed for me to follow in that format. I ended up having to "rewind" several times to reorient myself because I'd find myself completely lost.

'The Bear and the Nightingale' ended up being a bit too complicated of a story for me to take in via audiobook. There were details and connections that I'm sure I missed. The fact that I didn't understand some of the Russian words and wasn't able to look them up at the time, certainly contributed to my bewilderment.

In a nutshell, the story dealt with religious persecution as the "old gods" and religions were being pushed out by Christianity. The story is set in medieval Russia and the imagery crafted by the author was beautiful. Even when I was admittedly lost, I greatly enjoyed the detailed descriptions provided.

The heroine, Vasya, had special abilities and represented "good" in this book. Her mother was determined to have her, even knowing that she would sacrifice her own life. As a result, Vasya grows up to be resented by her father in a way.

When her father decides to remarry, largely in an attempt to tame the spirited Vasya, a political marriage is arranged to Anna. Anna had planned to become a nun and religion is a very large part of her identity. To say the least, she ended up being a nightmare for Vasya.

When the self-righteous Anna teams up with the fear-mongering priest, Konstantin, nobody is safe. Let the witch hunts begin!

Meanwhile, Vasya is given a protective talisman. She is tied to "Frost", the winter demon king. Through their abilities and old "magic" the two are interconnected. -- I won't lie. I am hazy on the details here.

In many ways, this story was intriguing. At some point, I might give it another try because I'm certain that I missed a great deal. I had a hard time staying focused on this story, not because it was bad, but because I was preoccupied. Nonetheless, it ended up being a "good but not great" read for me this time around. It just didn't keep my attention.

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Jun 17, 2021 Bror (Abrar) rated it liked it · review of another edition

My first mistake was reading this in summer.

Sad thing is I enjoyed the prologue more than the actual story, I really wanted to love this book as much as the people around me were hyping it up for me.

I felt like there were too much and not enough at the same time, it's like a lot of different stories were put together, every time I felt like something might happen nothing did, I was a bit underwhelmed but it was interesting and I liked the way it was portrayed.

For a coming of age story it was wha ...more

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Nov 27, 2017 Teresa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: loved-it, fantasy-paranormal

Rating: 5/5 stars

Holy shit. This was so good. Each character had their own thing going on. It was a fairytale, no doubt. There is a good-natured character, a cruel stepmother, and the supernatural being. But then the book shows another version where it throws in details about a character that makes you think, "damn, I feel bad for them".

Overall, the book made me stay up all night when I was supposed to be doing notes for a midterm in two days. And now, I should be sleeping, but I can't knowing t ...more

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