Holy moly, this book was FANTASTIC! I chose it hoping for Russian folktale, wintry, awesome female protagonist vibes, and I was not disappointed. In fact, I was so pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoyed this book!

I don't even know where to begin. I LOVED the writing style, the descriptions, the character development, the intrigue, the trekking, the heartbreak, the passions, the anger ... I don't think there was a single bad thing about this book. The build of the story was steady throughout, with no lagging sections for me, and nothing felt stretched or strained or unbelievable for the book. This book just FELT so perfect! The biting cold winds, the warmth of furs and fires, the desolation of barren steppes, the darkness of deep caves, the claustrophobia of uncharted cave exploration trying to escape, the lure of magical dreams, the burning mysterious pulse of a long healed scar, the horror of family frozen in time by mysterious frost, a guild of thieves, tyrannical czars, treachery and heartbreak. UGH, THIS BOOK HAS ALL OF THIS!!! The team's wandering through the mines and mountain of Knnot even gave me feelings of Khazad-dum from "Lord of the Rings."

If you adore some cold, Russian, hints-of-magic, folktale inspired vibes, this book will sit perfectly on your shelf with your "Winternight Trilogy" by Katherine Arden, "Vita Nostra" by Marina Dyachenko, "Deathless" by Catherynne M. Valente, "Moscow But Dreaming" by Ekaterina Sedia, and "Spinning Silver" by Naomi Novik.

I actually just yesterday finished Naomi Novik's "Spinning Silver," and "The Bright and the Pale" is what I hoped "Spinning Silver" would be. I loved this book so much and I cannot WAIT for the next in the Duology and literally anything else by Jessica Rubinkowski.

What an action packed thriller this story ended up being! And WHAT AN ENDING! This story was incredibly fast paced , but not in a way that made it hard to keep up with, which I greatly appreciated. It had some pretty epic action sequences, and there were several times I was pretty much in the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. I honestly was not expecting the thriller/horror aspects of this story, but holy cow did it tap into my deep-seated fears and anxieties (think extreme claustrophobia, fear of total darkness, and being buried alive type fears). The romance was beautifully paced, with just enough background given, and I was living for the moments that Alik and Valeria got to be alone together. Where the book lost some points from me would be in a lot of “telling and not showing” at various points, as well as some character motivations/actions that I just didn’t really feel made sense or came out of the blue. Additionally, the story got a bit predictable at certain points, and I managed to figure out several of the major plot points in the first couple of chapters. Nevertheless, this was an excellent book to finish off the year with, and I will be eagerly awaiting the second to find out what happens.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was definitely a mixed bag. There were some interesting moments but there was also too much that I didn’t like or just left me with questions.

From the beginning of the book I just felt like something was missing. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was but it just felt off and it could have been because the beginning almost seems like we are already in the middle of things and the plot has already begun in a sense. There isn’t a lot of time to form bonds with the characters before plot twists happen which then make me feeling nothing. This happened a lot for me.

It could also be because a lot of the characters were flat and even the main character, Valeria, had development issues as well. She is the strongest of the characters but I also never formed a connection to her. Her moods also changed rather quickly and sometimes it just felt like too much because she would quickly jump to conclusions.

When it came to the romance, there really isn’t anything to say about it. It was lackluster. Valeria would think about kissing him one minute and the next she couldn’t possibly understand where he is coming from when it comes to his thinking. She could never process that maybe she could be wrong about the argument they would always get into even though as the reader it was easy to tell. The love interest was flat and it made it hard to feel anything for him. Since this is a duology, I know there will be more between them in the next book but because I didn’t feel anything, even though the ending had a cliffhanger, I have no interest in continuing.

The world building was interesting and I think was the best part of the book. I did like reading about where Valeria came from and the curse. I do wish there would have been more about the Brother gods from the beginning but I’m sure they will have a much bigger part in the next book.

Overall, it was okay but just not enough to sway me to like it. I think some readers may like it if they like lighter fantasy.

The first book in a thrilling new duology, The Bright and the Pale follows Valeria, the sole survivor of a curse that froze her entire village and all of its occupants. Raised by the leader of a guild of thieves alongside her best friend Alik, Valeria is now a thief for the guild. However, when a heist goes wrong, Valeria is devastated to learn that Alik perished.

A year later, Valeria finds out that Alik is alive and needs rescuing. Valeria is overjoyed and knows that she will do whatever it takes to find him. However, to save him, Valeria is told that she must lead a group of people on a dangerous mission back to her home – a home she swore never to return to. Can Valeria survive this deadly journey and rescue her friend?

Valeria is a great protagonist. A victim of prejudice and loss, Valeria is a bit insecure and unsure at the start of the story. She loves her family and Alik, grieves them deeply, and will do anything for them. I admire her determination and grit, as well as her loyalty and fighting spirit. I also love how much she grows throughout the story from unsure to confident, even if she can be a bit stubborn and dramatic at times.

I also really liked the setting, which is particularly vivid and descriptive. Cold, haunting, and atmospheric, the imagery and detail immersed me in the story. Valeria’s journey is not easy, and the time in the cursed mountain is particularly scary. Valeria and her fellow travelers encounter things that they are not prepared for, which was scary and harrowing.

I did find the pacing a bit unevenly paced, and it took me a few chapters to become invested in the story. A lot of information at the start of the story is a little too much tell and not enough show and feels like an info dump. However, as the story progresses, the pacing evens out, and I could see why so much information was revealed so early on.

This is an action-packed story that jumps between thriller and horror. Filled with great twists and turns, dynamic characters, and an immersive setting, the book will appeal to readers of YA fantasy. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The Bright & the Pale is the first part of a fantasy duology by debut author Jessica Rubinkowski. It was slated for release this year, but with everything going on in The Year Of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty, the publication date was moved back to March 2nd, 2021. When I requested a review copy of The Bright and the Pale from NetGalley, I was not aware that it was part of a duology. In fact, I didn’t find that out until I was over halfway through the book. This saddens me, because THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING AND I NEED MORE NOW!!!

Valeria was orphaned at a young age, when some kind of magic encased every living person in the remote, mountain village of Ludminka in a cocoon of ice—everyone, that is, except her. Now, at seventeen, she is a member of the Thieves Guild, and she finds herself roped into a mission that will take her back to the very place she hoped never to return—to Ludminka. More specifically, to the mines deep inside the mountain that towered above the village, where stores of a precious metal called Lovite have been inaccessible for a decade, due to the freeze and a plague that followed it.

Her journey home is fraught with turmoil, especially because Valeria isn’t sure of her fellow thieves’ motivations in joining this particularly dangerous, if not deadly, quest. When they finally reach the mountain, they find more within than any of them, even Valeria, bargained for.

So, uh, yeah. I’m sorry that the above summary is so vague, but I really wanted to avoid spoilers, and some spoiler-tag-worthy things happen quite early in the story.

Onto the writing itself: At first I thought the book started off rather slowly, and even info-dumpy. However, as I read on, it turned out that all the ‘backstory’ that I thought could have been cut from the first couple of chapters truly was necessary for world-building, plot, and character development reasons. I do have to say, though, there is a Tolkien-esque amount of traveling which felt tedious at times. Luckily it wasn’t just straight-up traveling, and Rubinkowski included some exciting stuff mixed in. So basically, the writing was fine. Good. Great, even. The fact that I can only nit-pick little things that I thought were a tad annoying means that I found it very well-written, and I’m just being petty. >_<

Valeria is a very likable character, but there are also points in the book where I want to take her by the shoulders, shake her, and shout at her “(REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS)!!!” She is stubborn and refuses to make herself vulnerable with anyone, due to fear of loss, (as well as the fact that she is from Zladonia, which technically makes her a political fugitive but I don’t have time to get into that here). But GIRL. You need to learn to trust. That’s all I’m going to say on that subject, because again...spoilers.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a fantastic debut novel, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the second book in the duology.

I think that if you don't read a lot of fantasy or prefer lighter fantasy, then you are more likely to enjoy this book. The pacing and character development felt a little off at times and I wish that the world building had felt a little more integrated. It felt like there were pretty large passages of info-dumping happening early in the story to get the lore established before moving on with the plot. Definitely not a bad book by any means, but as someone who reads a lot of fantasy I found myself getting bored at times.

This reads like debut-the pacing is off, as is the characterization. It lacks nuance in the characters. A lot of things happen and there are a lot of supposed reasons why those things are happening, but instead of making the reader intuitively understand something, the author has to spell it out for you. The main character doesn't make a ton of sense. One minute she is annoyed with Alik, the next desperately in love, the next angry at a supposed betrayal it was hard to keep up with. I didn't really understand a lot of the reasons that characters were doing things even those reasons were explicitly stated by Valeria as narration.

The set up for the book was pretty strong. I was intrigued by the world and by the supposed curse that Valeria and her "kind" had brought upon the world. The meat of the book consists of a journey to get to a cursed mountain and then some time spent in said cursed mountain. The beasties in the mountain and the whole expedition reminded me weirdly of the British horror movie "The Descent" which is strange because the monsters aren't related to that at all. The shame of it was, I wished I was watching that movie instead of reading this book. There is an ending, but it is a duology. I have no need to read the second book.

I think teens might enjoy this. It isn't particularly deep or well down, but there is enough of a story that some might enjoy it-- especially fantasy enthusiasts who just enjoy a book with world-building. There is a good bit of lore about Gods and whatnot. I didn't care for it, but I can see that some would.

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Two warring brother gods rule over the world of Strana in Jessica Rubinkowski’s dynamic debut novel The Bright & the Pale. The Bright God is thought to bring light and warmth to the world where his brother, The Pale God, feeds on suffering. The gods have once again awakened and their champions, imbued with the powers of their patron god, will fight to secure their master’s presence in the world.

Trigger warnings—genocide, work camps, death of a family member, discrimination, childhood trauma, some gore

The Bright and the Pale earns a spot on my top books for the year. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for fantasy with a dash of romance and a heaping spoonful of vengeance.

Valeria belongs to a guild of thieves run by a woman (Luiza) who raised her alongside Alik. The two of them belong to a group of people, the Zladonians, who the czar has imprisoned in work camps. Should anyone see Val’s white hair, which she must dye to keep hidden, she’d be sent to a camp where she’d labor until death with the rest of her people. This, understandably, has left her with a deep-seeded hatred of the czar. When Luiza offers a chance to overthrow the brutal ruler, Val is all on board. Despite the dangers to herself, she agrees to steal a valuable ore (lovite) with magical properties that might aid the Bright Champion in his fight against the Pale God.

The scheme goes wrong and Val finds herself fleeing for her life. She doesn’t get too far before being approached by a mysterious stranger named Ivan, who tells her Alik, who she previously thought dead, is very much alive. Clinging to this fragile hope that this could be true and that the two of them could reunite, Val agrees to aid Ivan in his mission to mine more lovite.

The book keeps a consistent pace, and I enjoyed Val’s journey from being a self-described coward to a self-confident woman ready to fight for herself, her family, and her people. Her hurt and uncertainty come through as she’s forced to return to her childhood home, a place of great trauma that haunts her dreams.

The secondary cast of characters were not as interesting to me, but I enjoyed the plot and story enough that this really didn’t matter a whole lot. I thought Ivan, aside from Val, was the most compelling character in terms of his story. Like Val, he struggles with visions from his past and claims to seek to redress his wrongs. He serves as a minor villain in many regards. Though he claims to regret his role in harming others, he often acts for selfish reasons and surrenders to the same cowardice that led him down a dark path. Despite this, I often felt sorry for him.

There was a bit of queer representation. Chinua, one of the main characters in the group, confesses an attraction to women. I did like the way this was handled, and I’m really hopeful that this character will receive more love in the following books. Currently, she’s a sympathetic person—kind and helpful—but I didn’t learn much about her other than she doesn’t want to be a concubine because she doesn’t like men. I was kind of like… surely there’s another reason.

I also enjoyed the unique world the author created. There was a lot of interesting lore and mythology peppered throughout. By the end of the story, I found myself questioning the respective roles of both the Pale and the Bright God. But in a good way. I’m eager to discover more about their true goals and motivations in the next book.

Great for fans of Russian folklore. Highly entertaining adventure with unique and interesting characters.

This is a strong debut from Rubinkowski and the sequel will be even stronger.

Valeria is a sympathetic character whose last years as an orphan have turned her into a vigilante thief. Mourning the loss of her best friend, Alik, she clings to what family she has left- the Guild and Luiza.

While I enjoyed the story, the pacing seemed a bit slow at all times and the elements of the plot that lead our character to her greatest discovery tend to get murky. I would liken this to a more tame Bear and Nightingale vibe. The first few chapters drag providing the needed background, but once the quest for lovanite begins, I grew invested. I think that once you diver deeper into the Knnot you will enjoy it as well.

3.5/5 stars - To Be Released in March 2021.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The Bright and the Pale spins a tale of a frozen village, a vicious czar, dueling gods, and a girl caught in the webs of all three. There is a ton of deception and you will never know who to fully trust until the end. This book had some moments - the biggest being the ending. Do I wish there were more creepy crawly-ness like there was in the second half? Absolutely. Do I think equating this to a Leigh Bardugo novel is pushing it? Yup. Don't go into this thinking it's going to be full of people like the Grisha. However, it is full of characters stepping up to overcome their past and it is full of subtle magic and mystery.

This book was really good and super interesting! I loved the plotline and I really connected with the main characters. I am so sad the book is over because I really enjoyed reading it.

Beautifully written, highly atmospheric debut novel.

I really enjoyed this genre bending novel. The Bright and the Pale is part fantasy, part horror, and part thriller. It ticked all the boxes for me. The winter ambiance of the book was pronounced, and it was perfect for curling up with a warm cup of tea and a pine scented candle.

The author leads us through many twists and turns throughout the book. Everything is fast paced and interesting. I had a really hard time putting it down and finished it in less than two days, which is really fast for me. Most books take me 4-5 days to finish.

The characters were dynamic and human. I connected to them, and though I cared about what happened to them, the author was great about making sure we were not happy with all of their decisions.

With everything going on in the world right now, I have had some trouble concentrating on reading and being able to relax. This book was able to suck me in and give me a much needed distraction and rest. Though it does not say it on goodreads, I believe that this is the first book in a series. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next, and reading other books from this new author.

Thank you netgalley for gifting me a copy of this magical book in exchange for an honest review.

<I>”Something is coming for us...”</I>

Wowowwow.

I’m not going to lie, I had my doubts! Don’t get me wrong, it starts off strong here but I’ve been in a major book funk so I almost quit. *gasps* how could I?!

There was a point where I sat down to read and I turned the page and it just got so so good. Jessica is a VERY talented writer. Beautifully poetic. I could literally feel the cold of the mountains and the ice.

So fast forward to the middle where we get to the GOOD good stuff, and OMG. I was legit scared, you guys. I hid under the covers for a minute... I even cried a little bit at the end. I had a major flip flop of emotions all throughout. Which is my favorite kind of read!

A group of characters goes deep into the mines of a cursed mountain. That’s all you need to know! So spooky and vivid, I felt like I was IN the mountain too. Now, go forth and read this beauty.. and grab a blanket, you’re gonna need it!

I'm a little torn about this review because I found "The Bright and the Pale" to be great in a lot of ways. The writing is fine, the plot is unique and intriguing, and the characters are fine - if not particularly well-crafted. I'd normally give it 3 stars, but I do think the writing and uniqueness of the overall setting and context are worth an extra star.

On the plus side, Rubinkowski crafted a truly engaging and unnerving setting. The mountain of Knnot was especially unsettling, and the cold vibes are genuinely atmospheric. There's also enough action and gore to make the stakes feel real. And, as I've said, it's well-written.

The cons are in the characterization. Everyone is just very broody and self-centered, especially the main character, and while it makes sense in the context of the story it is also a little tiresome. The plot twists are not all that twisty and it follows the same narrative arc as many "special girl saves the day with her super cool power that only she can possess" YA books.

Overall, I would recommend this book to my students but more as a read-alike than as a wholly new discovery.

Jessica Rubinkowski has written an incredibly fun, fast paced YA fantasy perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo. I know many people will read the summary and sigh because it sounds a lot like Shadow and Bone (with a twinge of Six of Crows' heist stuff). BUT they should NOT pass over this one. I LOVED how descriptive and vivid the world was, how strong a character Valeria was and I loved her fight for life and friendship, family, and romance. I appreciated that while there was romance, there was nothing beyond kissing (a lot of YA fantasy these days has more graphic sexual scenes than I prefer to give to a tween!). And oh my gosh....that ending!!! I desperately need book two! (Dear Quill Tree and Jessica, why isn't it already in my hands!)

THE BRIGHT AND THE PALE is one of those books you should read on a blistery, cold night with a blanket and a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate. Even though that sounds cozy, it's only because this book is frigid. Literally there is so much ice!

I look forward to recommending this to library patrons who enjoyed Leigh Bardugo (Shadow & Bone), Katherine Arden (The Bear & the Nightingale), Joanna Ruth Meyer (Echo North), and Sara Raasch (Snow Like Ashes).

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for the advanced copy! A captivating debut with so many intricate details that formed together to complete this riveting novel. It was a fast-paced story that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK TWO. I admired the blend of different genres (mystery, romance mythology) that weaved perfectly together. A solid read for a cold winter night with the beautiful atmospheric imagery. I recommend for all teen and tween fantasy readers!