Very character driven. I would've liked more Rus, personally. Supes long and slowly paced. I wanted more folklore and I wished publishers didn't go so hard on the "this is like this plus this" because it gives false expectations that are unfair, especially to debut authors

I picked this up because of the comparison to The Bear and the Nightingale and you definitely will get that Slavic witchy folktale vibe.

Marisha is desperate for work as her parents were both hit with a plague that causes permanent sleep. With few choices she opts to be an assistant to the apprentice of Baba Zima.

Now the big drama is that Baba Zima is second in line of a trio of witches (or koldunya) who basically have no ability to communicate or trust. So yeah, that's going to cause issues.

Marisha is tasked with assisting the third witch in this line, Olena.

So there's a lot of sneaking around, concealing truth, and assumptions that make everything harder than it needs to be.

But there's also magic and character growth. So some wins in there.

Spoilery comment below.

I'm kind of disappointed it ends before Marisha reconnects with her parents as it seems her dad was hiding A LOT. Wondering if this is supposed to be part of a series or if we're just supposed to wonder.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

unfortunately, dnf @53% — which is disappointing considering i was excited for a fresh baba yaga retelling (after not liking the many i had previously read). sadly, house of frost and feathers fell into the dislike category as i did not really care for the plot.

i did, however, really enjoy one of our fmcs olena! i appreciated her hard-work, wit, and the fact despite having magic, she did not want to heal her stump arm — this i felt a very refreshing take.

i saw another review that mentioned they wished marisha and olena ended up together — i DID think this was a sapphic retelling and so i’m disappointed to hear it is not.

as for the audio, the narrator did a great job!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Though I did enjoy this book, it was not completely what I was hoping for. Slavic tales with Baba Yaga always interest me if they are done right. However, I feel like the overall setting of the book provided that Skavic fairytale feel but fell short on actually being. It did have some interesting elements that helped , but I wish they could have been expressed more.

The pacing was just too slow for me and I feel like it could benefit feom being just a little bit shorter as again with many books nowadays there's a lot of talk with very little showing/action. I found myself trying to finish it quickly to come to an interesting part, so I did not have to DNF. The characters were a positive as they each had their own personalities, which were drawn out well.

I definitely still recommend it as I believe this will be a hit or miss kind of book, so give it a try if you find the premise interesting. However, it fell just a little short for me.

I don't know if I have anything good to say about this book. I didn't connect to any of the characters. I didn't connect to the story. I didn't find anything to be fun or amusing. I was just very bored.The entire book. I don't even know who I would say this book is four I think it's supposed to be y, a, but it just reads as disjointed and silly.

Marisha has found herself homeless and penniless after her family dies in the sleeping plague. Out of desperation, she sees an advertisement for an apprentice assistance job for a sorceress and seeks her out. Baba Zima agrees to take her on once she demonstrates she is not scared of the house and creatures that live within it. Marisha is now the assistant to Olena, who is learning to be a sorceress, as well, and she is working to find the cure for the sleeping plague that infects towns every year., including Marisha’s family.

I think not being familiar with this folklore made it a little tricky for me to really get into the story, but I liked the quirky characters and the narrator did a great job!

I was really excited to read this especially after seeing the comp to The Bear and the Nightingale. Unfortunately, that comp put me in the wrong mindset for this book. The only comparison I could make was the tie in to Slavic folklore. The writing itself though was well done, and I enjoyed the author’s overall writing style along with the general plot. I thought the characters in general were interesting if a little frustrating. This is also a slower paced character driven read which I wasn’t in the right mood to read. I read this via audiobook, which is the main reason I pushed through to finish this. I thought the audiobook was well narrated and interesting. Daphne Kouma’s narration style fit the vibe of the story well which helped keep me engaged.

This has a dreamy feel that I really liked, and the concept was strong. It could have been better with faster pacing, deeper character development, and less unnecessary dialogue. That said, I enjoyed the fantasy elements and the overall story.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for the chance to listen to this title in exchange for my opinion.

If you like the genre of 'fairytales for adults' you will love House of Frost and Feathers. Much as I am a fan of romantasy, I'll admit I was a bit skeptical of how good the book would be with the cliche "noun of noun and noun" title, but it does not feel derivative at all.

I loved all of the characters who live in the house. Like in any family, there are mini alliances between factions, compromises, and old grudges that motivate each person in their dealings with the others. I really enjoyed seeing those relationships progress.


minor spoilers below!
I love Baba Yaga stories, Wisesebron's story feels like uncovering a long forgotten story from another age. The world feels familiar and fresh at the same time. Lots of little nods to the classic tales - the power of feathers, the flaming skull room, the mortar and pestle, etc etc. I would love to see more stories in the world.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy, all opinions are my own.

🎧 ALC Review 🎧

Summary:

What’s a girl to do when she’s out of money and her family has either abandoned her or fallen victim to the mysterious sleeping plague haunting her world? Why, get a job at the house with chicken legs, of course!

Marisa is hired as the assistant to the sorceress’s apprentice, Olena, who is not thrilled about her arrival. Told in dual POVs alternating between Marisa and Olena, the story follows the two as they slowly learn to tolerate, and ultimately help each other. Together, they’ll study magic, explore the ever shifting house, and work to uncover a cure for the sleeping plague.

But just as things begin to come together, Marisa starts having nightmares of a beaked man. Who is this monster, and what connection does he have to the plague?

My Thoughts:


This book had so much potential, and eventually, it lives up to it. But I’m not gonna lie the beginning was a slog. I really had to push myself to keep reading and then, somewhere past the halfway point . . . magic. The story morphed into this dark, twisty fairytale full of spells, tension, and suspense. I devoured the last half and was left wondering is this even the same book?!?

Will the average reader hang in there for 250 pages of slow burn before the real story kicks in? Ehh, probably not. But if you’re the type who loves character driven stories, complicated friendships, creepy folklore vibes, and houses with powers, this might be your jam. Just know you’ll need a bit of patience to get to the good stuff and through all the endless cups of tea.

What I Loved:

🪶 The Found Family Trope! This element was beautifully done. I really enjoyed the growing friendship between the two narrators, and I found myself genuinely caring about both of them as the story progressed.

🪶 The Dark Fairytale Vibe! I was hooked by the eerie, fairytale like elements of this story. The sinister bird beaked man who haunted her nightmares was chilling and compelling. I wanted so much more of that storyline and way fewer scenes involving cups of tea.

🪶 The House! A house with chicken legs that roams the world at its master's bidding? YES, please. I fell in love with this idea when I first read Howl’s Moving Castle, and this version did not disappoint. The moment it skied instead of walked? I laughed out loud. I just wish we got a bit more page time with it.

🪶 The Narration! The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life. The use of different voices and accents really enhanced the experience and helped pull me through the slow first half of the book.

What I Didn’t Love:

🪶 The Writing Style. (This is only a complaint for the first half of the book) Wow... the first half was rough. There were moments I truly enjoyed, but they were buried under so much unnecessary noise. I typically love descriptive writing but this wasn’t that. Somehow the book managed to feel incredibly long while telling us shockingly little in the first half. I understand slow burn and character driven stories, but this felt like something else entirely. 🫠

🪶 The Names. The constant repetition of the Russian names made things harder to follow than they needed to be. I understand the cultural context, but it added to the overall feeling of confusion and disorientation, especially early on. I did eventually adjust though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to start by saying , I almost gave up on this book. I had to keep pausing my reading to look up words and terms I had never encountered in novels before. . I truly knew nothing about this type of Slavic folklore and I was LOST.

However, I'm glad I continued. Once I looked up the foreign (to me) terms, I definitely began to enjoy the story more. And what a story it is. It's strange. Expect to be a little c0nfused, a little bewildered and leave your expectations of reality at the door. Once I relaxed and just rolled with it, I began to love the story. But again, it's strange. A house on chicken legs? What??

I've edited this review as I've also just listened to the audiobook as well. I enjoyed the physical book so much, I wanted to hear the story with it's correct pronunciation of the names and folklore terms thay were so forgein and interesting to me. I was not disappointed! I think i enjoyed it even more the second time!! Such an enchanting, strange, weird story. I loved it!!

I recommend this book to fantasy lovers who crave something new.

I enjoyed this book, I went in blind and have been enjoying this cozy read.
I liked the fantasy elements that are sprinkled in, especially the chicken legged house!
I found that although the Slavic folklore elements were unique and interesting, i did not like all of the "lingo" - I am not a fan of all the names and many words either being another language or made up entirely. I find it frustrating and it slows my read way down. And this is already a slow read.
I think the story could have been told in about 250 pages. The front 75% was very slow and could have been cut in half. The final 25% has a faster pace with the action, however so many names and titles made it confusing to keep track of who is doing what.
I love the cover design, would pick that up and buy it in a flat minute!
I also enjoyed the prose, her descriptive writing is really enjoyable, but sometimes a little overdone and felt like filler.
I read the first 60% on the epub and the last 40% by audio - so specific to the AUDIO experience ----
The narrator did a good job, although I really do not prefer a British accent in audio books. I find my mind wanders. Coupled with all the made up words and titles for names, etc, made it hard to focus. But it did help speed the book along as it was reading very slowly.

I would call this a 3.5 or 3.75 star read, will land it at a 4 on the rating here and on goodreads.
Thank you for the ARC!

Despite her skepticism of koldunya, Marisha is desperate for a job and so takes one with Baba Zima's apprentice, Olena. Her land has been stricken by a sleeping plague and Marisha's parents are "long sleepers" and have been asleep for a decade. Marisha's task is to help Olena research a cure for the sleeping plague.

This story is a lovely mix of Slavic folklore and Howl's Moving Castle with disability representation and found family. The narration is lovely and adds to the fairy-tale vibe. In all, it's very enjoyable!