Marina had her fifth child during a terrible winter, and did not survive after the birth. But she was clear to her husband that this daughter was her choice – a daughter to be like her grandmother, a mysterious woman who appeared from nowhere and married a prince.
From the beginning, Vasya is a bit of a wild child, able to see the spirits that inhabit the house and woods of her father’s lands in Russia – if you’ve ever dipped into Russian fairy stories, there are familiar names here. It’s as Vasya is approaching adulthood that things change – her father takes a new wife, who can also see the spirits, but fears them, and ancient powers are stirring in the forest.
This is a great first book in a series – there’s just enough revealed so that you know that much more is coming later, but there are still definitely secrets to be discovered. I’m very excited to see what happens next.
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