3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eBook in exchange for an honest review!

Estranged siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga could not be more different. Bellatine is a surly, introverted woodworker, desperately trying to distance herself from the magic that resides in her hands. Issaac is an eccentric charlatan, constantly on the run from his past, slipping into other's identities rather than living as himself. But one day they are brought together when a package arrives for them from Russia - a house. More specifically, a house on chicken legs, dubbed "Thistlefoot." As the siblings strike a deal to set off on Thistlefoot, touring the country with a puppet show so enchanting it seems like magic, they grapple with their pasts leaking into the present. But they aren't the only ones with baggage - someone, or rather, something, has stalked Thistlefoot from Russia, and in his wake, violence follows,

Themes of storytelling power, generational trauma, family, defiance, and retribution are at play in a bizarrely magical book narrated in part by a cheeky Yiddish house. This re-imagining of Baba Yaga feels like Jewish and Russian folklore brought to life in modern day, written in descriptive prose that you'll either love or hate.

My favourite character by far was the house itself. Thistlefoot interrupts the story of Isaac and Bellatine with tales of the past, weaving different stories of the myth of Baba Yaga while cajoling and mocking the readers and warning of the woes ahead. The truth of Baba Yaga is not revealed easily by the house, but you soon learn the truth is not the point; listening and adapting the story as your own and "bearing witness" to the tale is wear the true power resides.
I loved how UNIQUE this book was - I don't think I have ever read anything like it! The book's strengths are its themes, lyrical prose, narration, message, and villain. The haunting of the Shadow man is more than just an antagonistic villain interrupting our heroes' good time. He's a representation of a history of antisemitism and xenophobia and the way Nethercott embodies these themes in a character is handled so brilliantly.

Where the novel struggles are in its character relationships and worldbuilding. I was very confused as to why no one freaked out about a house with chicken legs! We are told, rather offhandedly, that this is a world where eyes and mouths pop up on buildings all the time.... but no other details are given. Some people have magic...sort of. Nothing is properly explained, and I could not fully suspend my disbelief; this novel crossed the line of magical realism over into fantasy, but not enough worldbuilding was given to make it a convincing fantasy.
I was disappointed in the sibling dynamic between Isaac and Bellatine. More development was given to the connection between Isaac and Benji, and they had much less page time! The core of this novel is the Yaga family, yet I did not believe they had any sense of familial connection. Both are deeply flawed characters, but these flaws are not given enough resolution, especially with Isaac's mistreatment of his sister. Their backstory with their parents is also quite lacking - why aren't their parents a presence in this family drama playing out?

You should pick up this book if you like:
- Lyrical prose
- Folklore retellings
- An emotional story
- Fantasy that borders on magical realism
- Diverse characters
- Unapologetic flawed characters
= Adventure
- Weird books (in the best way)

“People in our family, we’re born with thistles in our feet. It’s why we’re always traveling. Because if we stood still, the thistles would prick us.”


THISTLEFOOT is an enchanting and oftentimes whimsical tale steeped in Eastern European and Jewish history, myth, and folklore. The story follows the Yaga siblings, Isaac and Bellatine, as they’re called to New York to collect an inheritance left to them by their great, great (I don’t know how many greats?) grandmother, Baba Yaga. Unbeknownst to them, their inheritance is a sentient house with chicken legs that they ultimately call Thistlefoot. Both siblings live completely different lives, yet neither one has any sort of real or permanent tether to the lives they’ve chosen for themselves, so it only makes sense that they choose to live within Thistlefoot and travel the country, resurrecting their family’s traveling puppet show. All is not well though, because in their shadow follows a dangerous and unknown entity that has some sort of tie to both their family history and Thistlefoot itself.


“I’m saying,” Bellatine said, buzzing, “why does a ghost have to be a single person? What if there could be a ghost of an experience? A point in time so broken that it becomes something else? Something solid?”


Infused with subtle magic, this book was a true delight. Much of the story centers around history and the importance of storytelling, and I loved how the story bounced between past and present recounting the Yaga family history through several POV’s. A good portion of their history was shaped by historical attempts to eliminate Jews, including pograms carried out in both the Bolshevik Revolution and WW11, and the horrors they’ve experienced as Jewish people are passed down through the generations along with the whimsy and the enchanting bits. Though not all is in the past, as their current foe has ties to one of the historical events and is determined to see history repeat itself.

One of my favorite aspects of THISTLEFOOT was the relationship between the siblings. They start off in different places, with different ideas and goals (or in Isaac’s case, no goals), but each with their very own set of demons that really won’t allow either one to flourish or prosper. Through the course of the story, they really start to understand one another and I loved how their shared experiences really brought them back together and they became a family once again. Their relationship and their personal struggles added such a realistic quality to the story that so many of us can identify with. People grow apart, siblings included.


Us. Something in the word landed on Bellatine like a dragonfly, glossy and strange. For once, her brother wasn’t planning for an I. He was planning for a we.


All told, whimsical, enchanting, and rife with history of the atrocities carried out by human hands, THISTLEFOOT is a powerful and magical fairytale that fans of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik will enjoy. This beauty is definitely one of my favorites for the whole year, and certainly one I can’t wait to revisit. 5 stars.


*eARc received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.

Two siblings inherit Thistlefoot, a house that walks on chicken legs, and decide to take it on the road as they resurrect their old puppet show. A mystery man from Thistlefoot’s past trails them, leaving bodies in his wake. That is just a very cursory description of this very dense book. It combines urban fantasy, Jewish history and folklore, magic, sibling conflict and mild romance. Each of the siblings has a particular gift that is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse.

I am afraid that there was too much going on in this book for me and the writing was too florid. I couldn’t get past the fact that a house could just prance around contemporary America without anyone even reacting to it. And the house narrated it’s memoir throughout the book, which I suppose was sort of fitting since the book was all about the preservation of memories.

I think that it might help to have some familiarity with Russian Jewish history and folklore. Unfortunately, I had never heard of the Baba Yaga stories, so I found this book pretty confusing. It constantly flipped around from the backstories of the siblings, to their magic, to their current problems with their pursuer, to Baba Yaga stories and to actual historical events. Really, some of this needed to be trimmed down. I did manage to get through this book, but I doubt that I would read another of the author’s books. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I have a Baba Yaga tattoo that takes up my entire calf, so when I say I love the folklore of Baba Yaga, I truly mean it. I was very excited to read a different take. Unfortunately, this ended up being a DNF for me. I was only interested in Thistlefoot and Bellatine when the story was told from their point of view. The other character perspectives seemed to really slow down the pacing for me and I didn't care for Isaac at all. The momentum just wasn't moving fast enough and without characters I enjoyed, DNF it was. Obviously, other readers loved it, so I just wasn't the target reader.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This odd little bit of magical realism was ultimately a fun read. It's a cleaver retelling of the story of Baba Yaga, that ties her legend to the anti-sematic pogroms of the Russian Empire. Isaac and Bellatine Yaga two estranged siblings with some "unusual" skills. They are in their 20s and are basically just trying a way to survive, Isaac by using his powers for his own gain and Bellatine by denying hers all together. The two are reunited after years when they inherit a mysterious, living house on chicken legs. Unfortunately, a dark evil has been in pursuit of the house for decades, and will stop at nothing to wipe out anyone who has ever laid eyes on it.

The book is well written with well-drawn characters. Even Thistlefoot herself is a POV character. I can't say that I was as a big fan of Isaac because he's such a slippery character, but he's definitely a complex one. Bellatine is a great character, despite her insecurities. You want her find her strength. The antagonist of the story is terrifying. I just felt a sense of dread whenever he was present.

Ultimately, theme of the book is the power of memory and the importance of baring witness to history. Forcibly trying to erase or hid the past is the biggest evil.

Is it the best thing I've read in the past year? Probably not, but it is a good one. So if you are in the mood for something a bit out of the ordinary, then why not give this weird, and sometimes scary, book a try.

"What is a house but a container of Life? What is a life but a container for a story. When a container is broken, it does not destroy the contents. It sets them free. "
Say their names. Remember them. The folklore of Baba Yaga. The erasing of Jews in Russia. This is an amazing story and I loved it. It shall sit with me always and I will remember.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thistlefoot follows the youngest descendants of the infamous Baba Yaga, Bellatine and Isaac. They have been estranged for years, until they received a mysterious inheritance. When they get to the meeting point, they find that they have been given a house, but not just any house. This house is on chicken legs. What they don't know is that the house also came with a sinister figure that is following it and leaving destruction in it's wake.

I was so excited to read this book. I liked the idea that it wasn't a direct Baba Yaga retelling, but a retelling that follows her descendants. I was also intrigued by the idea of Jewish folklore. I haven't seen a lot of books that include that.
I really enjoyed when the story was being told from Bellatine's point of view and Thistlefoot's. I didn't really enjoy the other perspectives. I felt like they were very unnecessary. They didn't add anything of substance to the story, and I felt like they slowed down the pacing. The magic system was interesting, I just wish it would have been explained a little bit better.

I have to admit, this was almost a DNF. It was starting to feel like a chore to read, and I only felt invested in Bellatine and Thistlefoot. However, I did finish, and the ending was much better, and felt more focused than the rest of the book. It moved my rating from a 2 to a 3.5 stars.

THISTLEFOOT by GennaRose Nethercott
Published: 9/13/2022 by ANCHOR Publishing


This is GennaRose’s Debut novel … she has already established herself as a writer of folklore, poems and ballads. She has performed nationally displaying her penchant for folklore and at times has utilized puppets while accompanying her team … the Traveling Poetry Emporium. In her debut novel she spins an epic tale rich in folklore and Jewish mythology.
In a world of alternate present day America, magic exists and is accepted as the norm… therefore no-one batted an eye when a house on chicken legs is seen meandering down a country road. And yet, persistent are the divisive attitudes between the rich and the poor … and the citizen and immigrant. An irresistible re-interpretation of the Eastern European myth of Baba Yaga is painted in a delightful saga starring the enchanting Yaga siblings. Bellatine (“Bella”) is an anxious woodworker who has been estranged from her older brother, Isaac, since childhood … both ideologically and geographically.
Isaac is somewhat of a street performer and pickpocket and possesses the amazing ability to physically and mentally mimic others…. which he utilizes to survive . At times he is a thief, not above lifting a wallet with ease. Bella possesses magic that she calls “embering”. She considers it a “disease’ and out of shame has hid it since childhood. She later discovers her latent talent will allow her to re-animate objects ( both inanimate and “the dead”)
The siblings unite when a mysterious grandmother dies and wills to them both a strange inheritance … it is not money or land … but rather, a sentient house that can ambulate due to a set of attached “chicken legs”. The house is called, Thistlefoot, and will soon arrive in America from it’s ancestral home in Russia. Following closely in pursuit is the sinister entity known as the Longshadow Man, determined to destroy both the house, and anything in it’s path … including Isaac and Bella. It’s motive is clouded in mystery.
An amazing and delightful adventure is spun by GennaRose, utilizing lyrical prose and poetic riffs that blooms into a narrative that is rich in wisdom and love. Magic abounds in the picaresque tale as this enchanting novel of survival delves into the importance of family bonds and love. Hopefully we will be treated to further enchanting and multilayered tales by this fascinating new author.
Thanks to NetGalley and Anchor publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy Baba Yaga stories, but this one did not hit the spot. Baba Yaga did not need to be the person of the story, rather it could have been any one woman that the Church decided was dangerous and spread lies about.

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

448 Pages
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Anchor
Release Date: September 13, 2022

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Multicultural Interest, Folklore

Isaac and Bellatine Yaga are siblings living separate and distinct lives. They are each notified of an inheritance from a distance great aunt. They are told where and when to pick up the package. Yet when they get there, they are surprised to find a house on chicken legs. With no way of moving the house, they start talking to it. The house seems to be listening but not understanding. They realize since the house is from Kyiv, it must speak Ukrainian. Just like that, the house begins walking. The two siblings make a deal to do one last cross country tour of their family puppet show. Whatever proceeds they make will go to Isaac as his share of the house.

If you are familiar with stories of Baba Yaga, you will recognize her house. The story has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. If you like folklore or multicultural stories, you will enjoy this book.

The prose drew me in and kept me reading, especially after things took a weirder turn than I expected. The slightly fantastical world kept me intrigued as it wove in real, historical events with fantastical responses from the houses like houses that developed gills after Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately though, I do not think that it's a book that I will seek out to own because some of the weirdness, while excellently written, is not something that I have a preference for aka the book just is not for me. Additionally, I think that the book lasted just a little bit too long which made the pacing feel slow after things started to get revealed.

I put myself first in line to read this book as soon as I saw the cover and the synopsis. I am an absolute sucker for anything fairytale related, but I've always been especially inclined toward stories about Baba Yaga. This story in particular did not disappoint--GennaRose Nethercott wove a beautiful and captivating tale about family and perseverance through time and history.

I especially appreciated how Nethercott intertwined the feelings of a classic fairytale while placing a poignant modern spin on it. It's both nostalgic and new at once, and I attribute that to the writing and atmosphere that Nethercott created in this story. In the beginning, it feels pretty classic when two magical and estranged siblings discover that their ancestor has passed down to them something quite interesting: a house on chicken legs. And then you see how they interact with the world around them in the United States with their new relic--one of the siblings, Isaac, has decided to let his sister Bellatine buy the house from him if she in turn tours the country with him, putting on puppet shows along the way, something that they haven't done together since their youth with their parents. From there, you see the siblings' bond grow even as they are chased along the way by a shadowy, creepy being they call the Longshadow Man. What transpires is wrenching yet healing and hopeful as the story delves into the past, both as Baba Yaga herself and the house on chicken legs when they are given voices to explain their complex and violent pasts.

The only complaint that I have is that the story did seem to drag in the middle, kind of meandering a bit, but when the plot got moving again, I couldn't put it down until the end, which left me feeling inspired.

All around, this was a captivating, imaginative tale of Jewish myth and the power of family and of found family, and it deeply affected me. I definitely recommend it. 4 stars.

I debated my rating of this book for a little while: was it going to be 4 stars or five stars? I really wasn’t sure at first. Half of me said 4 stars because I’m not a patient person and it took me two days to read this book because I had to put it down about halfway through on the first day because I was kind of bored and needed a change of pace. The other half said, yeah, but then you picked it back up and the second half had the same lovely prose and compelling story as the first, but then it started to weave its way into your brain and heart and now it’s tugging on you from all directions, so how could you do anything but rate it five stars?

As you can see, I ended up rating it five stars.

Strangely, one of the reasons I connected with the back half of this book so much is because it brought up the subject of how trauma and other environmental factors can affect DNA. Geneticists have already proven that intergenerational poverty ends up having a lasting effect on those genetic markers, so why not trauma? If an event is huge enough to change something in our genetics, could that genetic change take hold enough to last through generations? It’s one of the most fascinating and terrifying thought experiments I can think of.

In her acknowledgements, Nethercott mentions Libba Bray’s Diviners series and Leigh Bardugo’s “Six of Crows” as influences on crafting her story, especially in her pacing. Well, I’ve never read the Diviners, but I’m a huge fan of “Six of Crows”, and I can definitely see the influence of Leigh Bardugo in the book, though not in the pacing. This book didn’t hook me and drag me along for the ride like “Six of Crows”, though I can see how matching pacing with the introduction of new characters or the changing of settings could be traced back to Bardugo and her Crows. Nethercott also credits Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and, honestly? I really think just about every writer in the urban fantasy genre should be thanking Buffy in their books. Heck! Every fantasy writer who has a strong female protagonist should probably thank Buffy. I don’t know where pop culture or media as a whole would be today if it were not for that show.

So, listen: if you’re looking for a quick read, this book won’t do you any favors. It’s not meant to be a quick read. I really think Nethercott means for you to sit down with this book and pay attention to it. Don’t take it lightly. It’s not some throwaway trend. This is a history lesson, a philosophical essay, and Russian folklore wrapped in dark, urban fantasy and magical realism. It’s not a story about family, but a story about survival. It’s not a story about those who lived, but about those who died. I think, most of all, this story is a warning: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Worse than that: history erased is history unheard is history primed to happen again without warning.

Thanks to NetGalley and Anchor for granting me access to this title.

Please note this review is being written as part of a series of backdated ARC reviews that were due earlier in the year but, for one reason or another, I wasn’t able to get to them by the publication date.

File Under: 5 Star Books/Dark Fantasy/Ghost Story/Magical Realism/Standalone Fantasy/Folklore/Mythology/Russian History/Historical Fiction/Urban Fantasy

I read about half of the book but just couldn't get interested in the characters. This should have been a great book for me with the connection to Russian folklore but it didn't have enough Russian folklore. I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.

Here is the rare event of the cover drawing me to a book. Over the years I have met Baba Yaga in various mutations. Probably first through Kate Daniels or another UF series and lastly through the Witcher. The chicken-legged hut sealed the deal. A roadtrip in a walking hut? Sounds bonkers. I had fun looking at various images of chicken-legged huts online…

It started more sweet than horrible, until the bad guy showed up for the first time. Creepy.

“In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silver comes a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore–a debut novel about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us, and the uncanny power of story.“

Anybody interested in Eastern European folklore has probably come across Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut before. So colour me intrigued, when I read about the Yaga siblings, their inheritance of a house with chicken legs and a road trip. I had to go along.

The siblings come across as amicable characters, when they are introduced—a wood-working sister and her trickster-like brother. The Longshadow Man though is frightening right off the bat.

Sometimes the plot moved along nicely, sometimes dragged a bit, getting caught up in descriptive prose and inner musings. A bit more plot progression would have been my preference, although the lyrical bits had something, too.

I expected something tenser, with a stronger horror element. After the Longshadow Man showed up for the first time, I thought there would be a growing sense of dread and urgency and of being chased. But the pace remained mostly pretty sedate, with the odd more active interlude. The mystery unravelled slowly, with frequent glimpses into the past of the main characters.

Unusual, different. Not as much horror as I thought. This is not a re-telling of a haunted fairytale. It‘s more a re-telling of horrible, past events. Or a remembering. Some events need to be retold, to battle all those people out there prone to repeat history. Let‘s call it magical realism with a strong dose of folklore and a dash of history.

The defining moment of Baba Yaga is one that has been told many times over for horrific events in history, where the many take it upon themselves to murder and exterminate the few. But I guess these stories need to be told again and again, when I look at the news and experience how stupid people still are, despite everything.

Bottomline, I liked this story. I struggled a bit with the pacing. The active parts were great and well written. The lyrical parts were just that, but they dragged and sometimes they dragged so much that I put the book down and didn‘t touch it for a day. I liked Bellatine and Isaac. What a twat he was. Thistlefoot came alive beautifully. I laughed at it‘s different origin stories. Baba Yaga‘s story was mostly dreadful and the ending is a bittersweet one. Please don‘t think that this novel is only about the past, Bellatine and Isaac live in the now and so do their friends. It‘s a very magical now though.

I would pick up something else by the author, if I liked the blurb.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

I received Thistlefoot as an ARC through Netgalley. A modern day Russian fairytale spanning generations and two continents. What if houses can come to life, you could have the power to actually turn into someone else, your hands could bring items to life? There is power in a story, power in the remembering, power in not forgetting. Follow Bellatine and Issac as they attempt to unravel their family's mysterious past and find each other in the end.

Bellatine and Isaac Yaga grew up traveling with their family and entertaining the masses with their family’s marionette show. Sadly, the siblings have been estranged for some time, but a very special house is about to change all that. The house, known as Thistlefoot, is not only their inheritance, but it is also a very special house because it can walk on its very own pair of legs! Bellatine and Issac, using Thistlefoot as a stage, have decided to begin traveling and performing their show again. The Longshadow Man has different plans for Thistlefoot however, and he is determined to finish what he started years ago–during a time filled with blood, death and flames–long before the Yaga siblings were even born. As the past and the present collide, Issac and Bellatine must defy the odds and use their unique skills to defeat the evil that is the Longshadow Man.

WOW! Thistlefoot is easily the best novel that I have read all year. The story and characters are gripping and entertaining. I especially enjoyed hearing from Thistlefoot within the narrative. The descriptions are nothing short of amazing and they create a detailed and complete picture of the settings, the characters, the action, etc. There are also sections full of thought-provoking words and ideas that are so insightful. I liked the characters and the supernatural elements, as well as the historical pieces included in the story. This novel was hard to put down and I loved it from beginning to end. 

I cannot recommend Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott enough; this is a novel everyone can enjoy. Thank you to Anchor Books and NetGalley for gifting to me an electronic copy of Thistlefoot, given in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

I loved this! I loved the descriptions they were so immersive. It had the atmosphere of a fairytale which felt very nostalgic for me.
Great characters they had so much depth to them. Love the representation. There was a slight sapphic romance and a non-binary character.
Highly recommend!
I don't know if I would recommend this to those who wants a baba yaga retelling just because I don't have experience with the story of baba yaga.
But I enjoyed the experience of this book.
I definitely will plan a reread of this book just because I feel like I could've taken longer to read this book after I picked it up. (yes my review is so late but when I picked this up I read it in two days)

AMAZING story. I loved every moment inside this book. Unique baba yaga retelling with interesting characters. Filled with adventure, prose, and magic.

Okay - confession time? I wanted this because of the gorgeous cover - it's so unique and ominous, unlike any other I've seen on other retellings. Thistlefoot is a beautiful blend of classic folktales and more modern fairytales creating a unique story that is unlike any others. This story is dynamic and features an amazing cast, including the house, that just so happens to be magical. The writing and tone are so unique and provide an almost lyrical storytelling experience. Truthfully, if you are fans of the Winternight trilogy I think you will love this!