It's hard to find a fantasy novel with a unique and fresh premise, so you can imagine how happy I was when I found Cobweb Bride. I found the plot gripping and interesting because it hadn't been done before (to the best of my knowledge, anyway). The characters were well written, and while the plot slowed down somewhat at times, it definitely kept my interest throughout. I loved the ending, as well, which set book 2 up nicely, and I can't wait to read that one to find out where the story goes.

5/5 stars.

Third time is the charm.
I've started to read this book two times before, unable to finish it. But upon my trip to the US, I thought: hey why not give it a third chance? I'm older now maybe this book will be great! People, give books another chance because this... was great!

Death has come to a halt - nobody dies until Death has found his Cobweb bride. This is where we start this amazing journey following three POVs: Percy's plot, Princess Claere, and the Black Knight Beltain.

By far, my personal favorite has to be Princess Claere's plotline. I know, maybe controversial? First, the descriptions related to her are just *chef's kiss, you can visualize everything and feel her cold body. It has been a while since I could visualize everything in a book, but Vera Nazarian just picks the right words to convey what we need to see. Second, she is introduced as a sickly character without much strength, but from the beginning, we see that that treatment is unfair #JusticeForMyGirl. She is the embodiment of regal, smooth, and not as weak as people portray her.

Percy's storyline was good, especially towards the end. This is perhaps the only "critique" that I have is that maybe the beginning is a little slow, but then the end is just being devoured because we need to know who is the cobweb bride! And personally, now I don't mind slow beginnings. As long as soon as the plot hits, the pacing also increases and it becomes a steady speed, I'm fine with slow beginnings. Perhaps that was what caused me to give up almost a decade ago, but look at me now... much older!

This is one of those novels I could see being translated into Portuguese because it is very different from what we have now being published and it even has something similar to our Nobel prize - Death with Interruptions but in a fantasy setting with gorgeous descriptions and a solid plot.

Source: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 
Genre: Fantasy
Intended Audience: Adults (Young Adults would also enjoy this)
Series: Cobweb Bride #1
Star Rating: 3.75

Why I picked it up: I absolutely adore retellings, and the Persephone myth has always been one of my favorites. I prefer the versions where Persephone loves Hades and is not a prisoner for half the year. 

What’s It All About? Death has stopped...working. Old grandmothers are breathing their last breath for days on end with no release. Soldiers who should have died in battle are rising to their feet to keep fighting. Even the animals won't die (great if you are PETA, not so great if you are a butcher or like to eat meat). But Death has not just quit without reason, he has left a message, or more like a ransom. He will not resume his usual activity until his Cobweb Bride is brought to him. The Emperor commands that every family with daughters of marriageable age send at least one into the Northern Forest to seek Death's Keep, to see if she is the Cobweb Bride. A group of girls forms together, along with a cart and horse who thinks she's a cow, to take the journey together. They face severe winter weather, low supplies and morale, and even knights who have been instructed to find and stop all the potential Cobweb Brides.

My thoughts: I wanted to love this book, but if I'm being honest, I only liked it. I was expecting a little more of Death's story, and a bit more of a romance between Persephone (Percy) and Death. I also expected a closer retelling of the original myth. This book was completely enjoyable, and I know there are readers out there that are going to absolutely love it. I enjoyed the main characters and can't wait to read more about them, though some of the girls on the fringes of the group were a bit flat. It was interesting to see the different reactions to family members who would not die and the reactions of those who should have been dead. Most of the world agrees that Death needs to resume, but there are those who view this world without Death a bit differently.  The parts about the animals were fascinating, but definitely should come with a trigger warning. The setting (a fictionalized part of Europe around the time of the Renaissance) was fun to explore, and I look forward to seeing more of it in the rest of the series. Yes, I will absolutely be reading the rest of the series. The ending was not what I expected, but it was a fun twist and I can't wait to see what happens next, 

Themes: Death, endings, community, retelling, duty

Recommended For: Romance readers, retelling readers, both adult and young adult. I feel that this book could be something to read when mourning a death, although that is a very personal recommendation and not for everyone.

Slow paced and “wordy” at times, but it ended up being a story that I liked.
Many thanks to Norilana Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was requested when I was young and requested more books than I could possibly read. Sadly, I no longer have access to this book and my tastes have changed. Thus I will not be able to give feedback on this title.

Thoroughly engaging read and while I struggled with the opening section I enjoyed the middle and ending very much. A super premise well executed and populated by compelling characters.

I don't think I was in the right mood to read this one, and never actually was able to read it all the way through. I may try again one day because the elements of the story are what I am really drawn to. But the writing just didn't pull me into the story or maybe I will check out the audio for this one (if its available).

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

I have mixed results with high fantasy, but Cobweb Bride struck just the right balance between historical and the mythopoeic. In an alt Renaissance Europe, Death decides that no one will die until his bride is delivered to him. Grievous injury, old age, illness: nothing kills, so people linger in pain and discomfort, suffering. For some, this ends up being strangely liberating; others, torture. Cobweb Bride follows several groups of people, the main one being (arguably) a group of women who have decided to offer themselves to Death in hopes of ending the curse.

The Cobweb Bride reminded me strongly of Kushiel's Dart, from the setting to the ornamented prose though the concerns of the novels are very different. Well, maybe not so different: sex and death intertwine in both. Nazarian has a tendency to wordiness which sometimes bogs down the pacing, and everything could use just a touch more humor. (Though these criticisms could be leveled at pretty much all high fantasy, which tends to be self-serious.) A very good novel, though I'm not sure I'm going to continue with the trilogy.

I struggled a bit with this book it took me a while to connect with the characters. The world building was ok and the pacing was good

Let me tell you, Death personified is my absolute favorite and therefore, I loved this novel. I loved the language and the mythology, the characters and the intrigue. There were parts that seemed disjointed, and I think had I not loved the premise of the romance then I might not have loved it as much as I did. Overall, I can't wait to continue with this series and see what is to come!