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3.0 

Mistress of the Solstice

By Anna Kashina
Mistress of the Solstice by Anna Kashina digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Silver Medalist, Independent Publishers Book Award (Fantasy)

"Mixing the best elements of folklore...with modern fantasy" -- Publishers Weekly

Cover by award-winning artist Howard David Johnson

"A superior fantasy novel with a strong flavor of romance and myth." -- ForeWord Reviews

THE DARK ESSENCE OF RUSSIAN MYTH

As the head priestess of the ancient Solstice cult, Marya must sacrifice a virgin every year. She copes with this gruesome duty by assuming a mask of cold detachment, as her father—the evil tzar Kashchey—devours the maidens' souls to maintain his youth and power. It is his power alone that keeps Marya's kingdom safe from all enemies—or so she was raised to believe.

When Ivan arrives on a quest to stop the virgin sacrifices, Marya throws all her magic against him. To maintain her life—and that of her father—she must destroy Ivan before he completes his quest. But can she find it in her heart to do so?

Baba Yaga, Leshy, Vodyanoi, and the ancient animal deities come alive in this beautifully crafted romantic story that will take you into the authentic world of Russian fairy tales—with a dark, sensual twist.

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Mistress of the Solstice Reviews

3.0
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Sasha K.

Created over 10 years ago
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“I requested this book because I was feeling nostalgic for the fairy tales of my childhood - the cat that walks around the gold chain, the mighty knights, the triple-headed dragon, the old hag in the chicken-foot cottage... So I was really excited to see that an English-language book was embracing all those elements and more to maybe bring those bizarre and captivating stories to the mainstream literary awareness. The author is Russian, so I was feeling pretty confident that she would stay true to the spirit of the old tales. Okay, so I put way too much hope into this book. It's a standard hero's journey type of story, where Ivan the Fool goes off on a quest to prove to his cruel family that he's not a complete idiot and can do some good in this world. He chooses to try to rescue the innocent maidens that keep getting murdered at the summer solstice, falls in love with the cold-hearted mistress in charge of the whole thing, and tangles with the king of the undead in the meantime. He has several wise people/creatures to help him along, battles of wits are played, kindness is displayed, and unexpected revelations made. You know, the standard hero's journey type of thing. My biggest problem with it is not the authenticity or the writing. It's the odd cobbled-together format. Yes, there are elements from almost every single fairy tale, but damn are they just stuck together! No additional back stories, no interesting twists to traditional story-telling, nothing new or even well-told. Brief mentions of various creatures and tropes were amalgamated into this too-short, poorly thought-out book. I didn't get anything new or anything particularly satisfying to my nostalgia. I really wish Russian fairy tales could make that cross-over to the US. They can be just as messy and sordid as the Greeks! Okay, nothing can be that bad.. but it's still a ton of fun. So if you're looking for some of that tasty Russian folk tale morsel, maybe look elsewhere. This book isn't bad as an introduction into the world, but I'm afraid it wouldn't hold anyone captive. -I received a free e-book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review-”
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Natalie Seymour

Created almost 12 years ago
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“Review coming soon. This book made me too happy.”

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