andra_mihaela_s's reviews
462 reviews

 3.5 stars!

Today I'm bringing you my thoughts on book 2 in the #clecanianseries by Victoria Aveline : Freeing Luka 😙

This is a science fiction romance with the love interest being an alien 🤷‍♀️...sooo, if you know you like this genre or are curious enough to try it: read on!😌

format in which i read it : #audiobook

CW: death, imprisonment , mentions of human / alien experimentation, drugging

#romancetrope : forced proximity is the most prevalent

Thoughts 💙
I really enjoyed this book, despite receiving half a star less than the first one.(Mainly due to not enough details on Clecania as I would have liked / as it was with the 1st book 😅🤷‍♀️...but I really enjoy that in books and your opinion may vary, especially if you read the first book and you felt that it was enough)

I strongly recommend you begin this series in order, as we jump straight to a kidnapping of women because of a very important issue with clecanias as a species...reproduction 🤭

The atmosphere was good( not as good as the 1st one) and the action were well thought of. We get to see Alice as a prisoner ( and experience with her the panic, the anxiety, and the desperate reach for a possible way out) and also as an alien trying to get a sense of what is around her. I especially loved that part, getting used to life in a new place, to technology and a different culture, not to mention the animal life on another planet...precious!🥰

The author knows how to intrigue you with the world building ( done very well in my opinion!☺️) and make you stay for the relationship.

As per the 1st book, this love story is based on getting to know each other, mutual respect, consent and communication! 😍 the society is matriarchal for important reasons and although there are flaws our characters point out, I wouldn't mind living there😁🤭

Characters: our FMC is a little bit weaker than the one before, but that's just me not really liking her personality that much ( which my not be the same for you), so, my favorite is Luka- our researcher with a heart of gold!
As I said, the author is really good with relationships : siblings interaction, friendships born out of necessity or naturally ( Jade and Alice, Alice and Vanessa, Alice and Auzed, etc).

Overall, we have great setting, mature characters that discuss their goals and desires AND an overarching plot designed to have you hooked 👀

What more can you want?🤷‍♀️

If any of this sounds good to you, I highly recommend you start with Choosing Theo 😉 

 From me, The Girl in the Tower gets 5 stars! 🎉🥰

After the events of the 1st #book, Vasya made a life-changing decision on how she wants to live her life. In this installment, we get to see soo much more of medieval Russia, and I can only say that was what I needed all along!☺️

CW : death, slavery, horror (supernatural), extreme discrepancy between genders, traumatic birth, loss of children, violent and humiliating outing of a person

This time I'll try to be more concise with my thoughts as this is a sequel.

In terms of setting and atmosphere, Katherine Arden does a fantastic job in transporting you in that era. You can feel the winter's harshest snow storm, see the forests alongside Vasya and the others, the frozen rivers used for travel and, definitely, you are walking Moscow 's dirt streets between horses, carts and merchants while women and children stay out of harm's way.

Now...themes and action : the story follows the footsteps left by the author in the first book...we get to see a heavier accent on customs, gender and society, how important was religion in those times and what role it took when people are faced with hard times, and lastly, the complex political playground that was Russia then.

I'm very happy to say that the political aspect drives A LOT of this book while always being weaved with Vasya's struggle to find herself and what she wants.

Perfect transition engaged😙👉 my favorite characters continue to be Vasya, and members of her family! A close second to our MC is Morozko!🥰 I absolutely loved their scenes full of meaning both towards their relationship and us! I feel like I come to learn peace with them🧐
Kasyan...now...this was an interesting character...his story balanced political, mythical and day to day aspects☺️...I was very happy to especially see the role he played in Vasya journey to accept her role in her family.
Sasha and Maryam were great, I both understood and got frustrated with Olya..not to mention...grieved with her, and, finally, I was left unsatisfied with Konstantin's involvement...don't get me wrong...what happened felt just right...only I wanted more.

That's it! 👉 go read the book! 

 From me, The Bear and the Nightingale gets 4.5 stars!🥳🥰

This was an interesting reading experience 🧐..due to the holiday rush ( cleaning, baking, hanging out with friends), I read this book in 2 sittings that were days apart!🤣😅🤷‍♀️...thankfully, it didn't affect my opinion on it!😌

We follow Vasya and her family as they live at the edge of the Russian wilderness, where winters last most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses.

After our MC's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, the stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits, but Vasya, sensing that more is hinged upon these rituals, refuses to give them up!

CW: gore, death, murder, horror ( supernatural) and other triggers specific to fairy tales 🙃

This book is first and foremost a tribute to Russian folklore with lots of atmosphere and beautiful descriptions.

The action takes place before the fall of Constantinople and is very focused on the human experience : custom, role of men and women in society, food, beliefs, dress and conduct, the struggle between responsibility / duty and dreams....and finally...the role of religion 😙

I truly enjoyed the characters in this novel! Both Vasya and Anna were very dear to me, as they mirror each other and give you both perspectives on something essentially ingrained in the way of life : myths / folklore.
As always, discussion on religion/ beliefs are a weakness of mine and Konstantin pov was appreciated.

The author manages to bring you sufficiently close to each character ( according to their importance to the plot) while maintaining a distance specific to fairy tales.

I also enjoyed reading from the perspective of Pyotr, Alyosha, Konstantin and Morozko, and I strongly believe that getting only Vasya 's pov would have been a mistake ☺️

All this personalities coupled with different circumstances, getting into the same 'pot' to cook while the sauce is wintery....perfection 🥰👌

Soooo..if you love retellings energy with magical realism and character based plot...I highly recommend you try this one! 

general apathy

poor character development