This is full Russian fairy tale vibes, with a contemporary approach and interesting family setting of having immigrated to the USA. It has some light romance and lovely intergenerational family connection story lines, as well as Russian folk tales I really enjoyed hearing about.

The narrator really made the story. She was a great fit, had a good pace, and really made me feel immersed. She was a great Vasilisa.

I don't know a lot or really anything about Russian folk tales, but what I do know is that I enjoyed this story and I can't wait to read the second book, Elena the Brave when it is released..

Vasilisa and Ivan go on an epic adventure to save Babka and we learn about many different creatures from Russian tales. I loved the ending and the epilogue, it was perfect for these characters.

Kimberly Gillford Olbrich did a great job narrating this story. I loved the voices used for the monsters.

Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. A Story that also young YA readers can enjoy.

Vasilisa Believes in her heart that her father is not dead. And one day the rich neighbor wants to merry her mother. But she knows there is something wrong. From the tails she is told as a young child she is able to go though the quests she is forced to do to find her father so her mother does not marry the awful man. She meets Ivan and they seek out the truth. And the both set out to find Baba Yaga, and her sisters.

Old fables turned in to a strange adventure. It was captivating at parts and slow and tedious at others.

I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this work in audiobook format from Netgalley free of charge in return for an honest review.

The narration is wonderful and accents are brilliantly done. The narrator worked really hard to give each and every character their own voice and accent where appropriate.

This is a tale of quests and proving that you will do anything to save those you love even if it means going into the Witches forest. Darkly beautiful and throughly captivating .

I didnt know about the Russian mythology but through this story i learned a whole lot more.

An all together brilliant read. Loved it.

Vasilisa has been told the Old Rus folk tales since before she could walk, after all, they are part of her heritage. But being almost 13 years old, and living in the US, far away from the Russian soil, it is hard to take the tales for anything but just that, tales. That is until strange things begin to happen, and she meets the orphan Ivan, who also knows a lot about the Old Rus tales. Could there be any truth to the old stories?

The story was in my opinion well-paced, there was never a dull moment and it was easy to follow along with the story. As someone with limited knowledge of the Old Rus tales, I felt that the characters in the tales were well explained and easy to picture, which was really pleasant. The characters were interesting and charming, in their own ways, even the less sympathetic ones.

The audio book version was really pleasant. The narrator had a cosy and comfortable voice, and the way she did the different characters’ voices made each character instantly recognisable so it was always clear who was speaking. She narrated at an even volume, which i really value since that meant I could listen to the story with head phones without being worried that the narration would suddenly be too quiet, and I’d miss some words, or too loud, and hurt my ears.

I think this book would be enjoyed by anyone familiar with, or wanting to learn more about, old Russian/Slavic folklore, or who wants to watch a character learn and grow as they step outside of their comfort zone.

I received a free digital ARC copy of this audiobook for reviewing from BooksGoSocial Audio via Netgalley, which I am very thankful for. However, my review is based on my honest opinions.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocialAudio for chance to review the audiobook of Vasilisa.

I want to start by saying that I adore fairytales, and have many books of Russian tales from my father's travels when I was a child. Baba Yaga, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Ivan Tsarevitch and the Little Humpbacked Horse. All with beautiful illustrations I might add. So, I was really excited to dive into a retelling of the world. And Julie Mathison does a lovely job building the world, beautifully detailed, painting the scenes with lovely language.

However, the audiobook is SLOW. Plodding, even. The audiobook narrator has a lovely voice, and captures the spirit of the young girl who is the narrator, but she speaks so slowly, and there are such breaks between words, sentences, chapters, that if I were listening to it otherwise I'd be tempted to speed up the playback in order to keep up with my attention. I listened to an episode of Fated Mates the other day featuring Julie Whelan, who said that she, too, has had to speed up her own narration to match the interests of the times. It seems to me that, beautiful as the narrator's voice is, she lacked the speed, and thus the urgency in some of the more urgent and stressful scenes.

Still, the story itself was cute, reminiscent of the tales, and well written, if, like the narrator's voice, a bit slow. I think it would be better as physical book, or read aloud to children. I'd give the audiobook itself a 2, as I almost didn't finish it, but the story and world building a very solid 3.

This was an enjoyable read. I find that most folklore retellings I hold to a higher standard than post books. This was a decent read. Towards the middle I got bored but then the closer to the end it got better. I love Baby Yaga stories. The narrator did an amazing job!

I'm a sucker for any and all Vasilisa stories and this doesn't disappoint. Love the narrator! Very excited for the continuation, hope there are many more to come

This was my first Russian fairytale retelling and it was so interesting! The story kept my attention the whole time and never felt like it was dragging. The narrator did a wonderful job with the accents and switching between characters. She really brought the story to life with her performance.

Always have had an interest in Russian fairytales and this hits the mark. The audio was done so well I didnt feel like it was just dragging.

A great tale of Vasalisa, Baba Yaga, and Ivan. I listened to the audio version narrated by Kimberly Gifford Olbrich. The narration was perfect for this tale. The story was well written and drew me into Old Russ like I was there, too.

beautifully written story that blends Russian folklore with historical fiction in a way that feels fresh and immersive. The setting is vivid and atmospheric, moving from post-WWI America to a magical Old Rus full of mythical creatures and danger. Vasilisa is a strong, brave heroine, and her journey is both emotional and exciting. Perfect for readers who enjoy fairy tales with depth and a touch of darkness.

Baba Yaga fascinated me when I was a child. There was just something about the old witch in her chicken-legged house with her flying mortar and pestle that captured my imagination and made me want to read as much as I could about her--which ended up not being that much because there was only so much my local library had and I was easily distracted by fairy tales of all sorts. Imagine my excitement, therefore, when I saw a fairy tale retelling with Baba Yaga's distinctive chicken-legged house on the cover on NetGalley's website! Immediate ARC request.

I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint. The story was a well-told mix of WWI historical fiction and fairy tale retellings that captured the heart of the Baba Yaga stories I remember reading growing up (while also referencing a bunch of other Russian fairy tales that I now need to go research because I am sorely lacking Russian mythology knowledge). The reader for the audiobook edition also did a phenomenal job making the characters and world come to life through her narration. I could easily imagine middle school me devouring this story and loving every minute, and I'm a little sad it was published long after my middle school years. I'd highly recommend this story for young fairy-tale lovers who want to explore the world of Russian stories and older fairy-tale lovers who want something light and hopeful.

𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠
🌟🌟🌟
Vasilisa: Old Rus Tales is book 1 in the series. With an interesting premise, but unfortunately I don't know a lot about Russian folklore, so I was kind of confused. I unfortunately had to DNF, but will pick this book up at a later date.

Vasilisa is the first book in The Old Russ Tales series by Julie Matheson and the audiobook was narrated by Kimberly Gifford Olbrich, who did a wonderful job. it’s right after World War I in small town Pennsylvania Vasilisa’s father is missing but unlike her mother and grandmother she refuses to believe he’s dead. Vasilisa loves the stories her grandmother tells her from the old country Russia and until she learned her mom is to marry the creepiest and richest man in town she really thought they were made up. This is supposed to be a remake of Russian folk stories and I thought it was Bobby Yaga but unless I only thought I knew that story this wasn’t anything like that. Now having said that I still want to say I loved the story it wasn’t that long but I love fairytales and the next one is Elaina in 1942 and I hope it is narrated by the same performer because she really did a great job. I really love how the book started with a creepy dark fairytale tone to it but still had a happy ending a romance and the crazy adventure. This isn’t exactly like the original Vasilisa but it is still so worth the read. A definite five star performance for a five star book. #NetGalley, #BooksGoSocialAudio, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,#KimberlyGiffordOlbrich, #JulieMatheson, #Vasilisa,

This book was unexpectedly charming. when I was young, I had a beautiful copy of the original Grimm's fairy tales that I adored. I have no idea what ended up happening to it, but Vasilisa brought back the same nostalgic tones of my childhood. I listened to the audio book, and the narrator did a wonderful job with portraying each character and each accent. The setting and time period of the book was both unique, capturing my interest in a way that similar books in this genre failed to do. That being said, this is a children's/youth targeted book. It focuses on ogres, witches, and folk tales come to life. If I were looking to listen to an audio book with children on a long car ride, this would be top of the list. I was happily impressed.

A retelling of the Russian tale, Vasilisa: Old Rus Tales crams a lot of Russian folklore into this first novel.

I've read a few different renditions of Vasilisa in the past, but this one is notably geared towards the YA crowd as the main protagonist, Vasilisa, is 13 to 14 years old. Folklore is often gruesome or have twisted narratives, told to scare children in the times they were created. This one is no exception, drawing from various mythological creatures that are present in historical Russian tales.

The prose is poetic, but often I felt we, the reader, were told a lot of things more than shown.

The narrator was the perfect choice, as she effortlessly switched between characters and accents. Russian dialects were spot on, as were the American ones.

I give this audiobook a 3.5 / 5 stars.

Retellings aren't a genre I'm very familiar to, so it was a nice experience. I did enjoy the lore and each chapter was quite good
I enjoyed the experience

An epic and charming adventure, weaving family and folklore together in a heartfelt journey. Vasilisa captures the transformative power of following your heart, and will delight fans of the myth & folklore fantasy genres. It also evoked the warmth and creativity of many classic Studio Ghibli films, such as Kiki's Delivery Service or Spirited Away.

Vasilisa, our main character, is a force unto herself and immediately loveable as she perseveres through her trials. I felt the story progressed smoothly, and the ending had my eyes misting - a rare thing for me, but evidence of a truly well-crafted work.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this wonderful story. I listened to the audiobook, and I would like to highlight the incredible VO work by Kimberly Gifford Olbrich.

5/5 Stars, highly recommend!