I loved this book.
I cannot wait for more of Cherezinska's work to be translated and she is firmly now one of my 'if you write it, I'll read it' authors.

The characters are real and raw, incredibly complex and flawed. You disagree with them, tell them 'no don't do that' but like a good friend, you stick witj them anyway. This was a heartbreaking, heart warming end to this duology and I seriously didn't want it to end.

And, as an author who writes in a similar time period and part of the world, I appreciate the painstaking research that has gone into these novels. These areas have precious little in the way of primary sources yet the author is able to create a world that feels real, probable, and all consuming. Bravo, for an excellently written, emotionally gripping set of books that takes you by the hand and shows you that life is really what you make of it.