THE BLURB:
Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.
THE SCOOP: I loved the sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale even more than the first. Vasya goes to Moscovy in this book, and I have never, no never, read a book that more perfectly captures that old Rus, the pre-Peter the Great Russia. Wowzers! I felt as if I were creeping around dark, warren-like passages painted with gold and icons. And it's so fresh to see Russian mythology incorporated into a story.
I also love me a heroine who refuses to live her life according to the rules . . . which is funny, because I'm quite the cultural rule-follower, myself!
THE VERDICT: Every single page of this novel is out-of-this world amazing. Read them both!
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