Thank you to #NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Desperate for a job, Marisha takes on a role as an assistant to Baba Zima's apprentice Olena. Marisha is skeptical about working for a koldunya, but Olena's goal to find a cure for the sleeping plague is personal for Marisha as both her parents have been in a deep sleep and currently have no hope of waking up.

In all, I enjoyed this quite a bit. While Marisha and Olena made choices that were frustrating at times, they were well-developed characters. The magic system employed was interesting and the Slavic folklore angle felt different from other fantasy/romantasy books based on mythology that I have seen. The middle of the book was a bit slower than it needed to be, but in all it was a very worthwhile read - perfect for a cold night under a warm blanket!

Plot: Marisha needs a job. Her brother is missing and her parents have fallen to a sleeping plague that has stricken the land for decades. Her choices are get a job or stay with her horrible aunt who just might marry her off to a, putting it nicely, less than favorable match with an older man. When she does very poorly at the last job interview she has she folds and interviews for a wandering koldunya. Despite her dislike and disbelief in the koldunic arts. She thinks they're a hack. As she said "Kolduni di nothing to help ease people's troubles, all they did was ease the desperate of their money." Or are they? Marisha gets the job and is taken on the ride of her life while she figures out what she believes, what is real, and who to trust.

General thoughts: I got my undergraduate degree in Russian Area Studies so I really enjoyed falling back into Slavic-y based folklore. I found Marisha charming and really felt for Olena, even if her stubbornness drove me a bit mad. I liked the world building, the tension between characters, and the magic in the world. Also who doesn't love a sentient, ever changing house? I also enjoyed the exploration of what it takes for people to believe and when do our doubts hurt us? When do they protect us and at what cost? However, I really felt the middle needed some cuts. The book overall could have been about 20% shorter in my opinion. Overall this is more of a 3.5 than a straight 4 because of the middling middle. But I always lean towards rating the higher of the full stars and did like the book overall.



What made my weirdo heart happy:
Golgolin. I would like a guinea pig-duck, please.
"Cows will fart piroshkis before I dance."


Will I read more books by this author?: Yes.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?: I think so. For the right friends. Especially friends who I know love Slavic style books would really enjoy this I think.


[I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.]

This was a rather disappointing read to be honest. When I see something that has been compared to that of The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden and is based on Slavic folklore (specifically that of Baba Yaga), I usually expect something fantastic. . . . This wasn’t it sadly. 😞

The story follows Marisha, a young woman on the run from her past who happens to find herself in league with the famous Baba Zima. She’s prideful, rather dense for someone who prides herself on following reasonable and logical philosophy, and is incredibly skeptical of kolundry even to the point where she’s constantly doubting it as well as her abilities to even perform it. In the best way possible, I was just bored by her. There wasn’t really anything that stood out to be me about her in the first place and I found her to be rather self-absorbed at times. 🙄

Speaking of being self-absorbed, Olena was reeking of it. As the other POV in the book (and one that I didn’t expect to have in the first place), she just felt a more aloof version of Marisha. Her bullying of her assistant was just abusive at times and really I questioned her intentions towards Marisha. While I understand that she had a horrific childhood that was abusive itself, I still didn’t understand why she was just so awful half the time. Given she is a product of her time spent with Baba Zima, but still! 😒

The other things that really ground my gears with these girls is that of the romantic relationships that they were given. I have never seen more ill matched pairs in my life than with these two because there was no chemistry between the couples and if there was, it was either quickly ruined because of the plot or because one of them said something so callous to their significant other. Oh, and the fact that the synopsis gave off the inkling of a sapphic love between Marisha and Olena and then never went anywhere when they had more chemistry together than with their supposed love interest? WHAT THE HELL?! 🤯

The only pieces of good that came out of the book was that of Baba Zima, the house itself, and the depiction of Slavic culture. While I do like the more softer portrayals of formidable women in certain cases, I do enjoy a good thorny woman who doesn’t take shit from anyone. This is the kind of Baba Yaga that I expect to find if I ever met her: cutthroat, ruthless in her expectations of people, but deep down, caring of those who have earned her trust. The depiction of the house was just adorable to be honest. It felt like it had its own personality even though it never said anything in the book, and I loved that it would show its favoritism of the people inside it through the little things like warming rooms perfectly or never letting the floorboards squeak when they walk. I also felt like the culture was properly acknowledged in this and that it was very well researched despite how much I really disliked the characters. 🐓

In the end though, I was just so peeved with this book. I don’t like making such negative reviews, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that the premise was so promising and yet the execution of the story was done so differently than expected. 😣

Thank you goes out to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review. I really wish I had a better time with these characters. 💔

A thank you goes out to @lookma.i.read for buddy reading with me. I don’t think I would’ve survived a solo read of this without someone agreeing I’m not going insane. 🥲

Publication date: July 15

Overall: 2.5/5 ⭐️

I’m an absolute sucker for East Salvic folklore. It doesn’t matter the pitch, I see the chicken house & it zooms up my TBR really fast.

I absolutely adored Thistlefoot. And the Winternight triology. TBH, I’m clamoring for more in this arena.

But I feel bad. This was a swing and a miss for the category. Maybe the bar in this arena is higher than I realized.

Side characters were convenient vs critical/purposeful.

The transitions were confusing. Like the concept was there was the deployment lacked important tension.

Honestly, with another couple rounds of edits, this level of folk lore/mythology could shine brighter with the middle grade crowd.

I want to thank @Netgalley @Avonbooks and @HarperVoyagerUS for this ARC. Though it wasn’t a win in my book, I hope you keep your eyes out for more in this category.

Such an amazing read. I love Irish folklore with Baba Yaga and her chicken legged house. This story definitely pulls somewhat from that lore. Our main character Marisha is a skeptic of Koldunry and people who practice it like Baba Zima and her apprentice Olena. Sadly we learn both of Marisha's parents are currently in a deep slumber from the plague and that her brother has run off after spending their fortune. She has little choice but to take on the only job she can find as an apprentice in Baba Zimas home even though she doesnt agree with or believe in Kolundry. She was sick of living with her Aunt who only took her in to look better towards the spirits and she has little care for her niece Marisha and just wants to marry her off to any old man she can find. After being tested by Baba Zima, Marisha finds out she is to join them in the chicken legged house with the other three apprentices Dunya, Ankany and Olena. She is to help Olena and be her assistant as she searches for the cure to the sleeping plague. The sleeping plague hits once every year and the victims who fall to the plague go into a deep slumber and never wake again. They are basically forgotten once they fall to the plague and placed in sanatoriums to continue sleeping away from their families. I don't want to continue going into details and spoiling the story but this was an amazing read and you will become invested in all of the characters. I truly hope that Ms. Wiesebron writes more novels in this world. I'd love a prequel with Baba Zima's mentor or even a story with Dunya or Ankany as the main characters, or even a story on Golgolin. I wish I could have a golgolin of my own too. This book was just as wonderful and magical as Howl's Moving Castle and Harry Potter combined. You get sucked right into the magical story with the chicken legged house. I don't give 5 stars often but this book deserves it. Well done Ms. Wiesebron. I am throughly impressed and can't wait to read more of your works. I highly recommend reading this book. I cant wait to reread this again and share it with all my fellow readers. Don't you dare pass on this one my friend!

This was a beautifully-written, character-driven fairytale that completely captivated me. I was pulled in from the start! I took one star off because I do think it could use a little editing, but other than that this is a really fantastic story. Lauren Wiesebron is a truly talented author and one I’ll watch for in the future!

Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC! Fleeing an unwanted marriage, Marisha takes a job with Baba Zima, a great sorceress, as an assistant to her apprentice Olena. Olena is searching for a cure to the sleeping sickness that is plaguing the country. As they travel throughout the countryside in their chicken legged house, helping those in need, Marisha begins to uncover old rivalries and secrets, all the while dreaming a dangerous and dark bird-man. Joined by Baba Zima's son and two other koldunya in training, can Olena and Marisha uncover the secrets of the plague and save the sleepers before it's too late? With intricately woven storylines, intriguing characters, and dangerous villains, House of Frost and Feathers is perfect for fans of folklore and fairytales.

House of Frost and Feathers is a beautiful fairy tale that would be perfect to curl up with in front of a fire in deep winter. The cast of characters is endearing, the magic system is interesting, and the story overall wraps up really nicely.

That said, if you aren’t a fan of slower, cozier fantasies, the pace is challenging to get through for the first half of the book and although the plague provides pretty high stakes and an actual deadline, there isn’t really a sense of urgency until closer to the end. I also had a harder time engaging with Marisha at the beginning, but loved Olena and was much more invested as she had her own focus chapters.

Would definitely recommend to fans of cozy fantasy, Ghibli movies, and Slavic folktales.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

I had high hopes for this one, but it didn't hit them. For one, I don't think this is packaged well; the "Bowl of Mac and Cheese" title is typically indicative of a romantasy book these days and the synopsis seemed like it might be trending toward a sapphic romance between Olena and Marisha. This book is not in any way a romance (there is some very, very light romance but not between Olena and Marisha). So I do think people are going to be pulled into this one that actually aren't its target audience, because this is a fairly generic Slavic-inspired fantasy book. The cover is great, though.

It is also WAY TOO LONG. 500 pages, and nothing happens for most of it. The comps listed for this book are The Bear and the Nightingale and Juniper & Thorn, both of which I LOVED, but this does not hold a candle to them. Both of those books have a central plot and strong character development, and while there is ostensibly a plot, it's almost entirely dumped on us in the last 100 pages, and the characters EXIST but don't really DEVELOP over all that time, so it was kind of a "what are we doing here?" feeling for most of the book. You get the first 100 pages for setup and the last 100 pages for climax and conclusion...but then you have to actually DO something with the middle 300 pages, and there wasn't much actually done. I've read both strong plot-driven AND strong character-driven books recently and this wasn't either of them.

This could have been a much better book if it had been significantly streamlined; it is a victim of the bloat that seems to affect so many books these days, probably because publishing houses aren't investing enough in having authors work with strong developmental editors. It does have a somewhat open ending; it can certainly be read as a standalone novel, but there is opportunity for more as well. I'm not particularly interested in more of this particular story but others might be. Hopefully Wiesebron can write something with a stronger direction in the future!

slow paced, well done, character driven story. very interesting fantasy elements. would definitely recommend. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I wanted to like this, but I wasn't the biggest fan of both MC and the ending honestly confused me. I was also confused by some of the cultural words used throughout the book and it made it hard for me to want to keep reading. I wish definitions would've been snuck in the story so I could follow along better, because I don't enjoy books I need to constantly use a dictionary while reading just to follow along. Otherwise, I found the plot interesting and how Marisha's role in things played out as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️¾ — *House of Frost and Feathers* by Lauren Wiesebron is a richly atmospheric debut that weaves Slavic folklore into a tale of magic, identity, and found family.

The story follows Marisha, who, after losing her family to the sleeping plague, becomes an apprentice to the enigmatic sorceress Baba Zima. As Marisha delves into the world of koldunry, she uncovers connections between the plague, her family's history, and haunting dreams of a masked ball and a monstrous beaked man.

Wiesebron's prose is lyrical, and her world-building is immersive, drawing readers into a setting reminiscent of *Howl's Moving Castle* and *Spinning Silver*. The novel's strength lies in its character development and the exploration of themes like belonging and resilience.

However, the pacing may feel slow for some, particularly in the middle sections where the narrative focuses on daily life and character interactions. Additionally, while the story is engaging, certain plot elements could have been more tightly woven to maintain momentum.

Overall, *House of Frost and Feathers* is a compelling read for those who appreciate character-driven fantasy with a folkloric touch.

I was excited to dive into Wiesebron’s House of Frost and Feathers due to a love of Slavic folklore and having enjoyed other books that seemed to be conceptually similar, such as Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale and Gregory Maguire’s Egg & Spoon. After reading, however, I would not put it in the same category as these novels due to comparatively shallow world-building and character development and pacing issues.

I first sensed something was a little off when the plot was given a jump start right from the beginning, with very little context provided for the MC or the setting. Very little detail was revealed about the “ordinary world” of Marishka’s home town or who she is as a person before we were thrown into the “magical world” of Baba Zima’s house. I initially dismissed my concerns, hoping that this was intentional. Perhaps a sacrifice made to get the plot moving that would be remedied later? Or maybe this served a more symbolic purpose, to draw stark contrast between the “real” and the “magical?” Unfortunately, the world and characters remained rather flat throughout the entirety of the novel, which was a glaring missed opportunity since each of the various settings and characters have so much potential!

Another issue for me was the pacing. The first chapter or two felt very fast paced, creating a sense of urgency to move the story along. The bulk of the chapters that followed were painfully slow, with a lot of mundane “day in the life” details that could have easily been cut. Almost as if we were made to run a sprint only to arrive at no particular destination. The final few chapters moved at lightning speed, and while very engaging plot-wise, I couldn’t bring myself to care much about the fate of these characters whom, in the end, I hardly felt I knew at all.

Overall, I would rate this 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. The story has a lot of potential, but the pacing of the middle chapters and lack of depth to the setting and characters made this a struggle for me to get through.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received a free copy from Harper Voyager via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Publish date July 15th.

I requested this book since I thought the Russian fantasy setting sounded interesting. In House of Frost and Feathers, Marisha is desperate and destitute, with both her parents cursed with the sleeping plague and her brother missing. When she fails to get a job, she applies as a last resort to be a koldunya's, or witch's, assistant... but will Baba Zima's magical chicken house be more than skeptical Marisha can handle?

The vaguely late nineteenth century Slavic setting was an interesting background to the fairy tale plot of curses and spirits. In a fun touch, a majority of the plot occurs in the walking chicken house, as Marisha learns the magical (and herbaceous) skills necessary to assist a koldunya's apprentice. Curing the cyclical sleeping curse is the single-minded goal of Olena, the apprentice, and the task quickly pulls Marisha in, since she has two parents who caught the plague. However, I did feel that the sleeping plague was a bit shallowly rooted in the worldbuilding. For a curse that has struck perhaps thousands of people every decade for the last five hundred years, it seems to have had remarkably little effect on society. Five hundred years is practically older than Protestants.

Marisha herself is skeptical enough to be practical, but not so much that she spends a big chunk of the book tiresomely denying her own eyes. Olena, on the other hand, tends towards casual cruelty and stubbornly digging her heels in for no good reason. Not a particularly appealing trait in a POV character, but perhaps understandable given that the capricious and manipulative Baba Zima has had twelve years to dig her claws into Olena. Disappointingly, they are not in a sapphic romance. Instead, both girls have their own (straight) romances that felt a bit forced and notably young and inexperienced.

Recommended if you liked Genoveva Dimova's Dark Days books.

I usually always enjoy books that have a bit of magic and come across as folklore. This book checked the boxes, but it did drag and would have benefitted from having it shortened.

I liked the characterization. The three main people in the book seem to all have issues and don't always get along very well. As the book goes on, there is a good bit of growth for each of them, and I appreciated how the author enhanced that aspect of the book. There are also some bad characters in the book that adds some intrigue.

Moreover, I enjoyed the original magical details such as a chicken legged house that could ski to different places, I'd give this book 4 stars.

This book really dragged for me. It took forever to finish. The writing style wasn’t my favorite, but I think the bigger issue was the pacing. It just seemed incredibly slow and uninteresting and took way too long to get going in a way that made it worth reading.

I wanted to like it because I do love a good Baba Yaga character, but it just fell flat.

That said the setting was quite fun. It just needed some work.

This book was not for me it could not keep my attention through the book, I am not sure if it was the writing style or the characters but I could not get into the book for the life of me.

I feel like the plot sort of dragged on and was really slow moving which is hard for me when I’m reading because it makes me lose focus and get distracted when storylines move to slow.

This book was not for me but I still recommend it because I am sure there will be a lot of people that don’t mind the pacing issues I had an issue with.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Harper Voyager

Vibes? Slavic folklore meets Howl's Moving Castle. Vibe check? Absolutely passes.

House of Frost and Feathers is a very character-driven story, with the heart of the story being the growth of the characters and their relationships between one another. That's not to say there isn't a plot - the central mystery of the sleeping plague and Marisha's unsettling dreams makes for a compelling story. But if you're someone that wants an action-packed plot or a fast-paced read, this may not be for you.

I loved how the narrative didn't shy away from the uglier parts of the characters - they are flawed, complex people, with defined personalities that often clash with one another. Pretty much all of them are determined and stubborn, so some clashes are inevitable - but that's the fun of the developing relationships here!

The story was atmospheric, and the setting vivid, with the house an obvious character of its own, all of which lent itself to the fairytale feeling of much of the story.

While I'm not sure this story is going to be the most memorable, it was an overall enchanting read and that's more than enough for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Voyager, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Dying to escape the hold of the ___ of ___ and ___title economy! This should have been a sign for me that I wasn't going to be a fan of this book. I went into this super excited for a story inspired by the Baba Yaga mythos, but felt the story did little to distinguish itself from the works of other contemporary romantasy authors. My biggest issue was the writing style, which felt contemporary and juvenile and ultimately pulled me away from the historical fiction tag. I'm usually someone who LOVES domestic scenes in fantasy but could this book could have had half the amount and double the charm. This book would have really benefited from a harsher editor. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the protagonists and the dark, wintery atmosphere.

3.5 stars
The sleeping plague happens every ten years. People fall asleep and some don't wake up.

Marisha's parents have both been asleep since the last plague ten years ago.
With the plague nearly upon them again, Marisha needs to find a job and get out of her Aunt's house before she marries her off to someone horrible.

The only job she finds is working for Baba Zima.
She is thrown into the world of koldunry. She doesn't really believe in magic, but she needs the job. She will be an apprentice to Olena, Baba Zima's successor.

Olena is seeking a cure for the sleeping plague, so not only will Marisha have a job, maybe she can save her parents too.

I loved the Slavic folklore in this book. It is so fascinating to me. I had a good time with this, but I got a bit bored in the middle. I would still read more from this author though.