Amy Kuivalainen (Magicians of Venice series) proves her world building abilities are as strong as ever with her new series, Firebird Faerie Tales. In this first book we meet Anya, a young woman who has been having a rough time. She's trying to make a go of her grandfather's farm in Russia after his death but her biggest success is in emptying vodka bottles. Then one day Tuoni, the Finnish God of the Dead appears to explain the facts of her life to her: her family has long been gatekeepers between the mortal world and a magical world and if she doesn't wake up and learn how to use her magic and control the family's gate within the next six months it will fall apart and allow all kinds of otherworldly creature free reign in the human world. Although on the bright side, magic users will probably brutally kill her for her magic way before then. Good luck. He also gives Anya a stone that he says has been in her family for centuries and is now hers to care for. Anya would love to pretend this is all a vodka fueled dream except that night the stone breaks and a firebird hatches out of it. Who then turns into a man. And that is the most normal thing Anya experiences for awhile.

Cry of the Firebird throws Anya and the reader into the deep end of a world that mixes "normal" and magic in intriguing blends. Fortunately, you don't need to know anything about Russian or Finnish fairy tales to understand, let alone enjoy, the story. Along the way Anya gathers unlikely friends and allies as she tries to learn enough about her magic to not get herself or anyone else killed and prepare to close her family's gate- especially as it becomes clear that the gate is unravelling faster than Tuoni had first predicted. Like in the Magicians of Venice series, Kuivalainen gathers an ensemble cast with radically different abilities, characters, and reasons for being together that works really well when a description of them suggest they wouldn't. Here the cast is larger and more varied and we get to know more of them right away, romantic (or at least sexual) interests flare faster, and fight scenes are epic. Light and Dark are not quite what you think they are and there is always a price to be paid.

Kuivalainen takes traditional myths and turns them into something uniquely her own in this new and engrossing novel. I already can't wait for book two in the series and am hoping someone will discover how brilliant all her books would be on Netflix.



I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I did not enjoy this book. I got about 15% of the way into it before finally deciding to DNF it.

I had a lot of problems with the beginning of this book. Part of my issue is due to misinterpreting the blurb. This book takes place in the present day and the current world. It follows the story of 27 year-old Anya who is running her family farm on her own after her grandfather passed away. The blurb makes it sound like this is going to be an old-timey fairy tale. I didn't understand when it said it was updated to be modern that that was what it actually meant. I was thinking perhaps a little more feminist with a diverse cast of characters. So that started me off with a bad taste in my mouth because I hate when books are falsely advertised. In this case, it wasn't exactly falsely advertised, I just misunderstood based on the rest of the blurb.

Anyway, I would have been able to overlook that were it not for the writing style. The story is so clunky and blunt. Basically the whole first 15% is just straight info dump. It feels like the type of story where we are told that the MC is smart and clever and pretty but that never actually translates to the reader seeing that on the page. Just the way that she was introduced to her magical heritage was really frustrating bc this random death god just sits her down in a coffee shop, blurts everything out, then leaves. I don't know it just felt really weird. Then we have the firebird, and all those interactions just felt very forced and left me feeling frustrated.

I knew if I continued this would turn into a hate read, which I didn't want because the blurb sounded so magical, and I am sure there are paranormal romance readers out there who will enjoy this. I would like to thank BHC Press and NetGalley for my e-ARC. This book releases on 10/14/2021.

Kuivalainen weaves her own brand of dark fairytale, a path of magic and fate, that leads to Anya's becoming. There are many characters along the way, familiar and not-so, who lend themselves to this unforgettable journey. But it's the confluence of Russian and Finnish folklore and mythologies which will have readers delving deep into their own research, inspired by Kuivalainen's ingenious worldbuiding. This expertly drawn start to her series will prove difficult to resist

Love love this author! As with her Immortal City series, this book draws you in from the start. There’s magic, mythology, and tons of adventure. Her world building amazes me. It’s one of those books you want to climb into and never leave.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating = 2.5 stars

I won't dive too deep into a plot overview, as the summary is pretty accurate. Let's jump right into our breakdown.

The worldbuilding = The atmosphere and tie-in to various mythologies was my favorite part of this book by far. You can tell the author had a great time building this universe full of magic and creatures, and her enjoyment comes through on the page.

The writing = This certainly wasn't the best written fantasy I've read, nor was it the worst. I'd put it solidly in the "not bad, not rad" category, with my biggest issue being info dumps.

The characters = There are FAR too many. Like, we were still meeting people with 10% left in the book. The overwhelming cast made it hard to care about anyone, because they disappeared as soon as you got to know them. This is the first novel in a series, so I'm confident some of these introductions could've waited until the next book. Our MC, Anya, is alright, I enjoyed her Russian fondness for vodka.

The horniness = Everyone in this novel wanted to bone every one else, and some did. I don't have a problem with this, beyond finding it somewhat unbelievable, but if you don't care about romance in fantasy you may not love this.

I'm sure some readers will love this, but it didn't really connect with me and I probably won't be continuing with the series.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of the book.

I've mixed feelings about this one. The book is based on Russian and Finnish folklore and has supernatural and from Russian, Finnish and Greek cultures and I'm not sure I liked this mix.

My biggest problem with it is that there are too many characters introduced too fast. Their interactions left me unsatisfied. I didn't get any major feels for any of them, even for Anya.

The plotline is actually good, but execution could have been better.

I was very intrigued to read this title due to the Russian and Finnish mythology, but unfortunately it didn't really capture my attention. There is plenty there for other readers to enjoy, however.

This was such a cool story. Loved the Russian and Finnish Gods--haven't seen too many other books with them mentioned in them. Loved the chosen one aspect of the story. Our main character has to quickly discover her powers and assume her new role or all hell will break loose. This has the feel of something from Neil Gaiman (who I love his works) so this just made my reading experience even better. I did really like this one and can't wait for others to give this a try as well.

Exciting start to a new series - action, mystery, family secrets, heroes, villains, demons, witches, and magic - mixed with a good dose of Russian folklore. One of the better fantasy reads out there - looking forward to the next one to see the story continue!

****WARNING:THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW******
When I saw the description of this book on netgalley, I was immediately hooked. I have never encountered a finnish-russian mythology book and I had no idea it even existed tbh so I thought it was a great chance to get to know it. Unfortunately, while the first chapters seemed promising, the rest of the book turned out to be a huge disappointment.

But let's start with the things I liked:

*I appreciated that the story doesn't take place in the US. Instead, the characters travel around East and West Europe and they aren't native English speakers which I love seeing in books given that the majority of the characters nowadays are related to the US/UK and English speaking countries in general.

*Just by looking at the writing,you can easily tell how much the author enjoyed writing and exploring this world. Despite not being immersed into the story, I could understand the love of the author for this book.

Now, on to the things I disliked:

*So.many.characters. were being introduced chapter after chapter(some of them completely unnecessary to begin with)that we,as readers, didn't have the time to process who they were,their contribution to the story. Simply,we did not care about any of them. [Here's an example.Katya invited two of her friends in their "lair".Next,we're told that Katya's mentor,Isabelle,is in town seeking her help for a mission which is fair.After ending their mission,Katya invites her to their "lair" to help them.Few chapters later,Trajan's friend,Hamish,appears and is invited as well in their "lair".Conveniently,he and Isabelle had a past together that was literally mentioned a chapter or two before they met again which was...ugh.NEXT,when they're on the train,they meet Aramis who also joins their gang. (hide spoiler)] Did I care about any of them?Absolutely not.Why?Because we did not get enough time to get to know them. I think they should have been introduced in the later books so as to help the readers connect with them. I want to believe that no more characters will be introduced because the amount of them we got in the first book was too much to handle.

*Everyone in this book is horny and attractive. Everyone. Literally in their first interactions with each other they just had to mention how good looking and hot the other person is.Do people actually do that?Have I stayed so long inside my house that I've forgotten how people interact with each other?Like,do people's actual first words to a person they've just met are "You're hot."?????

*The love stories were...questionable.I'm gonna start with the one we're following the most. I'm going to put a spoiler warning but honestly...don't even bother with it. [Anya and Trajan.Oh boy. The man is immortal and knew Anya ever since she was a kid.He basically saw her grow up until a certain age,then he vanished and now boom they fell in love and told each other that they loved them. *sighs*. Why. (hide spoiler)]. Moving on to the next two. [Izrayl and Katya.I just don't get it.I just don't.They saw how hot the other person was,they had sex and fell in love????And Isabelle and Hamish???I know they had a past together but was it really necessary to bring them back together?? (hide spoiler)]

*I did not like the mix of Finnish-Russian folklore with Greek and Norse mythology,jewish fables etc. That's just a personal opinion but I don't care about this "globalisation" let's call it in the story.When I'm reading a book about Greek mythology,I don't want to see elements from Norse mythology etc.i want it specifically focused in the Greek mythology. And yes,this book is indeed focused in the Finnish-Russian folklore.However, we also focus on Greek/Norse mythology beings etc which I did not like.

*Now,as for the plot.It did not give me much. I lost my interest and at this point, I jsut wanted to get this over with.

*Lastly, the narrative switches between past and present and there are,let's say, two POVs. One of the characters we follow(past tense) and other of a God narrator(in the present tense).The latter chapters(that are at the end of the "normal" chapters) start the narration like this "Look through the fog to a small campground deep in the North American mountains."(Chapter 23) or like this "See the man in the forest and the bowl of blood he holds."(Chapter 2). It was quite confusing.

Anyway,overall I did not like this book which was a bummer.

I just love novels based on fables and folklore! That is what drove me to request this book. I know virtually nothing about the Finnish and Russian tales this book draws it's inspiration from. But now I am fascinated. Kuivalainen wrote a totally beguiling book that had me mesmerized from the first page. The characters were well developed, as was the world building. There were parts where the writing was a bit clunky but thankfully they were few and far between. Overall I thought this was a great start to a series and am anxious to see what happens next.

First, the good news: Cry of the Firebird is an inventive and wonderful story, lovingly crafted out of a number of different folklore and myths from a variety of different culture groups. Anya's story zips right along introducing you to an endless cast of characters and side plots that build a torn, unstable world. I genuinely the way that Kuivalainen positions her characters with the Neutral powers and forces them to thread their way between centuries old conflict.

However.... The storytelling itself is very weak. This weakness shows in a number of ways: an abundance of showing rather than telling, somewhat flat or two dimensional characters, awkward and stilted dialogue, and uneven pacing. It is easy to tell that this book started its life as a self-publish and never really achieved the polish you would expect from traditional publishing. That said, the story can still be enjoyable in spite of this.

Where my real problem with this story (and where I wonder if it shouldn't be a 2 star read) is a complete lack of agency for the women. I don't have a problem with Anya being rude or drunk, but the fact that Anya, Katya, and Isabelle all dissolve into tears at a moments notice and constantly need to be comforted by half-naked men is insulting. And it is for that that I will not be continuing on with the series.

Cry of the Firebird is a modern urban fantasy set in the Karelian area (formerly Finnish and now Russian controlled). The protagonist is a very unpleasant, incredibly rude, and bone dead stupid drunk who spends most of her time hampering a magical prince desperately trying to survive. The Finnish and Russian folklore elements are intriguing but completely destroyed by pedantic writing, use of every cliché in the YA romance book, and poor pacing.

Story: Anya spends her days at her remote farm mourning the loss of her father and then uncle. When she is having dinner at a local cafe in town, the Finnish god of death visits her and tells her that she is the new guardian of the gates between the mortal and magical world. She will need to use her hidden magic to keep the realms in check. He gives her a mysterious rock and leaves without answering any of her questions. As Anya begins to explore her Uncle's belongings for help in learning more about the role she inherited from him at his death, she accidentally causes the rock to 'hatch' and a firebird appears. Turns out a prince's soul and the firebird were merged at one time and he is being hunted by his brother, who is bent on a mysterious vengeance. The prince calls on Anya to help him.

First and foremost, the YA clichés were ridiculous in number here. The girl who is a unique snowflake, she inherits magical abilities suddenly she needs to learn to use, no one bothered to tell her she was a unique snowflake despite it clearly being a life-threatening situation, a prince with a heart of gold who inexplicably falls madly in love with her despite her being incredibly rude and unlikable, the quest road trip that will cause the two to fall in love, etc. etc. I could go on but it was just ridiculous how the originality of blending Finnish and Russian folklore was lost in the hoary cliched writing.

As annoying as the above was, the problem of the heroine being bone dead stupid was incredibly disenfranchising. At points, I was rolling my eyes and groaning so much with the stupid things she said and did that I put the book down and didn't come back to it for a week. If ever there was a prototype for the "too stupid to live" heroine, we have her here. And that wasn't even when she was drunk. Compound this with the problem of a prince who a) thinks the idiot can help him run from his brother, b) the idiot was the one who put him in danger in the first place, and c) he inexplicably trusts, loves, and doesn't mind that she is stupid and insults him all the time. E.g., they enter the magical world for the first time together and he suggests she be careful/not use her magic and she demands rudely along the lines of, "Why? Your brother is in the human world and can't get us here." To which the prince has to patiently explain that she will attract malevolent magical creatures (because, yes, she is in a new world whose rules she knows nothing about but it's ok to ignore warnings by someone who does know the danger). It is at that point I wish the magic world had killed her so the prince could actually get away safely from the idiot.

The pacing is slow and I never got a feel for the Karelian area of Finland. There is a lot of 'magic' in that beautiful area that Finland lost after WW2 and it seemed such a waste to see so little of it. As well, I would have wished the story was set in the past and not the present. The present wasn't really needed and the telephones, cars, cafes, etc. were jarring.

In all, I want to read about heroines who use their intelligence and strength of character to solve conflicts. The YA cliche of heroines being handed magical skills and a milquetoast hero to save them from themselves is just lazy writing. Even the magical creatures felt juvenile. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I'm a big fan of Amy Kuivalainen's Magicians of Venice series, which is peak smart-girl-heroine vibes (think of Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series, Deborah Harkness's Discovery of Witches, A.J. Hackwith's Hell's Library series, or Stephanie Mirro's Immortal Relics series) and I'm a big fan of modern urban fantasy retellings of classic folklore, so I am absolutely here for this series.
Kuivalainen originally released this series a few years ago, but after the success of her Magicians of Venice series, it is getting a total re-do. It was aquired by BHC Press and is undergoing a rewrite. I own the original edition, but hadn't read it yet. When I heard she was rewriting them, I practiced superhuman powers of patience and decided to hold off on reading them.
So, to my delight, I received an advanced reader copy of book one, Cry of the Firebird, and read it in a single day.
It was everything I'd hoped it to be.
Our heroine, Anya, is a drunk. Living alone on her late grandfather's farm in Karelia, she doesn't expect much more from her life than rough farmwork during the day and falling asleep in a vodka stupor. But one day, Death himself shows up in a nice suit and informs her that he's not the only odd creature who would be visiting her in the next few days, and that she has a magical heritage that comes with some serious obligations.
What ensues is an engrossing tale of good versus evil played out across Europe and with a quick-growing cast of companions. While the characters are well-fleshed out and relatable, it is sometimes frustrating to become invested in one character's arc and then swiftly switch to the next. However, the story never drags, and is never a bore, and when this book ended I was hungry for the next.
Strongly recommended for fans of fantasy sagas or urban fantasy.

Anya has grown up on a farm near a small village, living with her grandfather. He has the magic to close the gates between the human world and to Skazki, a world filled with magic. After he dies, she is suddenly thrown into a world of magical beings, and now she realizes she has a lot to learn.

My favorite was Yvan. the prince who has melded with the firebird. Along the way she picks up more people/beings to help her, both as guardians and as teachers. There is true evil in these worlds, and a struggle between the light and the dark, with the neutrals trying to stay out of them. I loved the pace of the storytelling and the variety of people/creatures living in these worlds, especially those within Anya's circle.

I was lucky to get an advanced reader copy of Cry of the Firebird and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you Amy Kuivalainen, Netgalley and BHS Press for the ARC.

I couldn't finish this one because the heroine is just so negative about everything, and illogical.

I was so intrigued by the Russian and Finnish folklore in this book that I was happy to have the opportunity to read it! It's honestly really intriguing and wonderfully dark. It has elements of being a bit of a noir paranormal fantasy. The setting, plot and the characters are really interesting.

Thank you to BHC Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cry of the Firebird by Amy Kuivalainen is an exciting fantasy adventure based on Russian and Finnish folklore. The story is told from the 3rd person point of view and revolves around a large cast of characters, but focuses on Anya, a young woman whose grandfather's death triggers a series of events that cause her to realize her hidden identity as the "keeper of the gates" between Mir (earth) and Skazki (a world of monsters and folklore). Soon, she meets Yvan, a Russian man who has been reborn with the legendary firebird sharing his body. When Yvan's brother Vasili attacks them in hopes of gaining the firebird, Anya and Yvan escape and embark on a cross-country journey while encountering allies and magical creatures along the way.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1, when Anya meets a new character from Finnish folklore:

""And you are?" Alarm bells went off in Anya's brain, not only because he knew her name, but because he smiled at her - a dazzling smile that turned his already handsome features into something gorgeous and dangerous.
He held out a hand to her. "You can call me Tuoni." His deep voice rattled her bones. "That's what Eikki knew me as."
"Like the God of the Dead?" Anya took his hand to shake it. Tuoni, in Karelian mythology, ruled the Land of the Dead with his children.
"Oh, good. You've heard of me. That will save us some time."

One highlight of this book is the sense of wonder that I got while reading this book. It reminded me of why I first started reading fantasy books, and it's a feeling that I rarely get anymore. The author's imagination and world-building is amazing, and I would recommend this book for that alone. I was astonished to read that the author is Finnish-Australian. I had thought she had Russian heritage, because the Russian words and references to Russian folktales that she included were spot-on. The characters are also pretty diverse. In addition to the countries and cultures already mentioned, here were Native American characters, Roma characters, Nordic characters; the crew also travel across Europe, from France to the Czech Republic.

If I had to nitpick about one thing, I would say that I wish that the author had pared down some of the cast. Although it was great to have so many characters and to have some extensive travels in the world of the book, I did feel like there may have been too many characters. That's not the book's fault. I typically enjoy books with smaller casts of characters, so that's just a personal thing. Overall, Cry of the Firebird is an amazing fantasy adventure. When I got to the end, I was surprised with the "cliffhanger," because I thought this was a standalone book. It seems like the ending is setting up a sequel, and I am definitely interested in reading it. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy books in general, I highly recommend you check out this book when it comes out in October!

Following Anya who grew up on a farm in Russia, the reader is met with a cast of characters and a wonderfully built world inspired by Russian and Finnish folklore. The found family trope is something that slightly appears in this book: an array of characters meet up to protect Anya from the Darkness, a group of magicians and other mythological creatures that want to take Anya to their side because she is a very powerful shamanista.
I really enjoyed all the references to the Russian folktales and folklore because I knew what and who the story talked about! I really enjoyed that the author not only added russian and finnish folklore but also creatures from Greek mythology such as the "thanatos" and the "keres" which were interesting takes on these myth creatures. The book really kept me on the edge of my seat and the characters are very well built out. The different romances, with their different histories and all their friendships were an equally nice addition. I found myself really rooting for all the romances which does not happen very often, especially with more than one couple. Overall a really wonderful and fun book.
**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of the book**