At about this time last year I read Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth and absolutely loved it, so was really looking forward to this novella as soon as I saw it on NetGalley…

and I wasn’t disappointed, from the very start we were immersed in a magical culture so different from the usual worlds we see portrayed in fantasy and urban fantasy.

The first chapter started the story off in such a vivid and fascinating manner I was hooked, then late on I was going to bed to finish a chapter and continue it the next day but just couldn’t put it down! So finished it at 1am, I’ve not done this for a long time.

Full of dark stories of blood, revenge, guilt, remorse, ancient hate, and curses all set in modern day Chicago where the various creatures of Slavic mythology have come across running from some of the same things that other waves of immigrants were running from. Finish this with a great tale of found family and an eventual kiss that seals the story.

The world building is amazing for such a short work and throws you full blown into the dark underworld that these creatures inhabit and the magic systems which are based on debt and/or blood.

My only disappointment is that I had to leave the world so beautifully and carefully described.

I’m always a sucker for stories with a depiction of Baba Jaga, and combine this with a quest story was brilliant, the depiction of the leszy at the start of the book was brilliant and this was the introduction to the idea of magical places coming from some form of debt.

As I said I just couldn’t put it down until finished and would love this world to be revisited at some point.

I received this from NetGalley and Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.