What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
13 days and 20:32:19
5 copies available
U.S. only
The Tuonela Duet #1
North Is the Night
Win a free print copy of this book!
13 days and 20:32:19
5 copies available
U.S. only
Two bold young women defy the gods and mortals, living and dead, in this darkly mythical, Finnish folklore-inspired fantasy duology for readers of T. Kingfisher's Nettle & Bone, Danielle L. Jensen, Thea Guanzon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.
In the Finnish wilderness, more than wolves roam the dark forests. For Siiri and Aina, summer’s fading light is a harbinger of unwelcome change. Land-hungry Swedes venture north, threatening the peace; a zealous Christian priest denounces the old ways; and young women have begun to disappear.
Siiri vows to protect Aina from danger. But even Siiri cannot stop a death goddess from dragging her friend to Tuonela, the mythical underworld. Determined to save Aina, Siiri braves a dangerous journey north to seek the greatest shaman of legend, the only person to venture to the realm of death and return alive.
In Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina’s every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her capture: the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must bargain her heart—as Siiri plots a daring rescue of the woman she loves the most.
In Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina's every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must make a costly bargain—even as Siiri plots a daring rescue.
In this sweeping fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Katherine Arden, Naomi Novik, and H.M. Long, hope and love can conquer even death itself.
In the Finnish wilderness, more than wolves roam the dark forests. For Siiri and Aina, summer’s fading light is a harbinger of unwelcome change. Land-hungry Swedes venture north, threatening the peace; a zealous Christian priest denounces the old ways; and young women have begun to disappear.
Siiri vows to protect Aina from danger. But even Siiri cannot stop a death goddess from dragging her friend to Tuonela, the mythical underworld. Determined to save Aina, Siiri braves a dangerous journey north to seek the greatest shaman of legend, the only person to venture to the realm of death and return alive.
In Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina’s every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her capture: the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must bargain her heart—as Siiri plots a daring rescue of the woman she loves the most.
In Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina's every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must make a costly bargain—even as Siiri plots a daring rescue.
In this sweeping fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Katherine Arden, Naomi Novik, and H.M. Long, hope and love can conquer even death itself.
592 pages, Hardcover
First published December 17, 2024
About the author
Emily Rath
21 books7,413 followersEmily Rath is a USA Today and international bestselling author whose chart-topping, sex-positive, queer-inclusive fantasy and romance novels include the Second Sons Regency romances, the Tuonela Duet fantasy novels, and the ‘why choose’ Jacksonville Rays Hockey Romances. A former university professor, she holds PhDs in Political Science and Peace Studies. Emily lives with her husband, son, and cat in Florida. They regularly comb the local beaches looking for shark teeth. She can be found online at EmilyRathBooks.com, on Instagram @emilyrathauthor and on TikTok @emilyrathbooks.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews
November 21, 2024
Everything that made me interested in this book turned out to be a lie. It was not sapphic, nor was it feminist in any meaningful sense. Sure the girlies spouted tacky lines about girl power & doing things on their own, but every single key plot development required full reliance on a man. Aina’s power came from an arranged marriage with a male death god, which required kissing to seal the marriage & everything the death god said to sway her to his side felt horrid and manipulative. Siiri’s “girl power” came from murdering at least two men after they almost sexually assaulted her, allying with a bear shaman, and forcing the immortal male shaman to teach her everything he knew for her to save Aina.
Every single antagonist in this is a woman, and they’re not even interesting! Rather they are caricatures of evil. And where the first 10-15% of the book focused all its ire towards the Swedes and their oppressive Christianity on the Finns’ good pagan beliefs, are they the ultimate enemy what with all the effort put into constructing them as such? No! Instead the key enemies are the Sámi, indigenous people that have had their voices, histories, autonomies, lands, and cultures progressively erased by the Finns and Swedes. The abrupt anti-indigenous slant was genuinely horrid to read, with their antagonisms to the main characters poorly developed and cartoonish. It didn’t serve the plot at all — rather it further marginalized the Sámi, rendering them enemies to the “feminist” colonizers.
I wrote the above when I was about 60% through the book, and nothing in the remaining 40% made me change my mind. Stick to writing ur tiktok famous poly & kink-friendly hockey romances pls emily.
EDIT NOV. 2024: *YES* I am aware that this was marketed inaccurately by the agent/publisher. All marketing since has removed any mention of it being sapphic or feminist. That, however, doesn't detract from the core problems I had with the book. Emily's website still emphasizes the queer elements of this book - from FF coming before MF in the tags, to the tags including "so much sapphic longing". I would beg to differ, lol. One chaste kiss at the end, following a whole narrative arc about that arranged marriage and wretched dynamics between Tuoni/Aina - including a graphic description of pregnancy and childbirth (which is not addressed at all in content warnings btw) - does not sapphic make. It still remains absurd that all antagonists with any genuine plot relevance are women, and *especially* are women that have no connection to the laborious setup at the beginning where, as Emily describes in her tags, "Christians are the bad guys". Like good on her for mentioning "cultural genocide" in the content warnings, I guess? Even though the narrative makes clear that the cultural genocide deemed important is that of the Finnish pagan beliefs, rather than the cultural genocide experienced by the Sámi peoples for generations.
tl;dr Updates to the marketing aren't enough to resolve my *actual* criticisms with this novel, which most importantly relate to the depiction of the Sámi - where they're given air time only because they harbor the primary antagonist. And even if this book doesn't market itself as "feminist" anymore, that should *not* shield it from critique for its portrayal of sexist gender dynamics. kthxbai
Every single antagonist in this is a woman, and they’re not even interesting! Rather they are caricatures of evil. And where the first 10-15% of the book focused all its ire towards the Swedes and their oppressive Christianity on the Finns’ good pagan beliefs, are they the ultimate enemy what with all the effort put into constructing them as such? No! Instead the key enemies are the Sámi, indigenous people that have had their voices, histories, autonomies, lands, and cultures progressively erased by the Finns and Swedes. The abrupt anti-indigenous slant was genuinely horrid to read, with their antagonisms to the main characters poorly developed and cartoonish. It didn’t serve the plot at all — rather it further marginalized the Sámi, rendering them enemies to the “feminist” colonizers.
I wrote the above when I was about 60% through the book, and nothing in the remaining 40% made me change my mind. Stick to writing ur tiktok famous poly & kink-friendly hockey romances pls emily.
EDIT NOV. 2024: *YES* I am aware that this was marketed inaccurately by the agent/publisher. All marketing since has removed any mention of it being sapphic or feminist. That, however, doesn't detract from the core problems I had with the book. Emily's website still emphasizes the queer elements of this book - from FF coming before MF in the tags, to the tags including "so much sapphic longing". I would beg to differ, lol. One chaste kiss at the end, following a whole narrative arc about that arranged marriage and wretched dynamics between Tuoni/Aina - including a graphic description of pregnancy and childbirth (which is not addressed at all in content warnings btw) - does not sapphic make. It still remains absurd that all antagonists with any genuine plot relevance are women, and *especially* are women that have no connection to the laborious setup at the beginning where, as Emily describes in her tags, "Christians are the bad guys". Like good on her for mentioning "cultural genocide" in the content warnings, I guess? Even though the narrative makes clear that the cultural genocide deemed important is that of the Finnish pagan beliefs, rather than the cultural genocide experienced by the Sámi peoples for generations.
tl;dr Updates to the marketing aren't enough to resolve my *actual* criticisms with this novel, which most importantly relate to the depiction of the Sámi - where they're given air time only because they harbor the primary antagonist. And even if this book doesn't market itself as "feminist" anymore, that should *not* shield it from critique for its portrayal of sexist gender dynamics. kthxbai
December 23, 2024
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and alc — i will share a note that the formatting of the arc was not great and took away from my reading experience.
this was not the best but also not the worst book i’ve read in 2024. i did read that it was mistakenly marketed as sapphic when it truly was not, and that did disappoint me as reading siiri’s pov you can tell that aina is more than a friend to her.
i did enjoy the different insight to finnish folklore and mythology, and the dual narration, though!
this was not the best but also not the worst book i’ve read in 2024. i did read that it was mistakenly marketed as sapphic when it truly was not, and that did disappoint me as reading siiri’s pov you can tell that aina is more than a friend to her.
i did enjoy the different insight to finnish folklore and mythology, and the dual narration, though!
May 11, 2024
Two friends go on epic adventures after one is snatched by the gods to Tuonela, the Finnish underworld.
This book feels like it starts quickly, but the exposition takes you to the halfway point before things get interesting. This whole book ends up feeling like a prelude to book 2. There’s a lot of world-building here. In fact, I’m hoping that the meat and potatoes story of this duology is in South is the Sea.
I don’t know that I would classify this as “sapphic romantasy.” I would say this is a fantasy with sapphic content. But you should be warned that there is MF content in these pages. In fact, I think that should be a trigger warning for all the sapphic women for whom a man in the mix is a dealbreaker.
In fact, I’m hoping we get a lot more (about 100x more) sapphic content in South is the Sea. My hopes and dreams are pretty much pinned on this story going the way Emily’s set me up to ask her for. Be prepared for the scarcest love crumbles between our characters in the meantime.
For me, the reason I loved this story was the fantasy element. Emily treated us to a rich portrayal of Finnish paganism and it was a beautiful journey. I especially loved the storyline with the Christian invaders trying to wrest the Finns away from their native religion.
I also loved our ladies, but I must confess I loved Siiri more than Aina. Siiri gives big masc top vibes, and her protective instincts drive this book. I can’t decide if I want to be her or be with her. The sapphic woman’s big question in her daily life, I suppose.
Also, we are treated to evidence of the bear vs man debate. Siiri meets a bear and a man in the woods. Guess which one is the threat?
Anyway, I tore through this book and you will too. Read it when it comes out and then we can both wait eagerly for the shenanigans to continue in South is the Sea.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
POV: Dual 1st Present
This book feels like it starts quickly, but the exposition takes you to the halfway point before things get interesting. This whole book ends up feeling like a prelude to book 2. There’s a lot of world-building here. In fact, I’m hoping that the meat and potatoes story of this duology is in South is the Sea.
I don’t know that I would classify this as “sapphic romantasy.” I would say this is a fantasy with sapphic content. But you should be warned that there is MF content in these pages. In fact, I think that should be a trigger warning for all the sapphic women for whom a man in the mix is a dealbreaker.
In fact, I’m hoping we get a lot more (about 100x more) sapphic content in South is the Sea. My hopes and dreams are pretty much pinned on this story going the way Emily’s set me up to ask her for. Be prepared for the scarcest love crumbles between our characters in the meantime.
For me, the reason I loved this story was the fantasy element. Emily treated us to a rich portrayal of Finnish paganism and it was a beautiful journey. I especially loved the storyline with the Christian invaders trying to wrest the Finns away from their native religion.
I also loved our ladies, but I must confess I loved Siiri more than Aina. Siiri gives big masc top vibes, and her protective instincts drive this book. I can’t decide if I want to be her or be with her. The sapphic woman’s big question in her daily life, I suppose.
Also, we are treated to evidence of the bear vs man debate. Siiri meets a bear and a man in the woods. Guess which one is the threat?
Anyway, I tore through this book and you will too. Read it when it comes out and then we can both wait eagerly for the shenanigans to continue in South is the Sea.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
POV: Dual 1st Present
March 8, 2024
ARC granted to me by Edelweiss! 3.5 stars, rounded up!
An intricate, vivid, exciting dive into the world of Finnish mythology! Between “folklore” and “sapphic romantasy” (something the genre is sorely lacking), I knew “North is the Night” would captivate me… and captivate it did! I devoured this book!
However, it is definitely not a romantic fantasy… at least, not between Aina and Siiri. Aina’s romance and marriage to Tuoni, god of death, was complex and compelling and sexy, classic romantasy. Siiri’s love and devotion to Aina was beautiful and heart-wrenching and tragic. The way Aina treated Siiri, however, hurt my heart. Utterly lukewarm. My poor, badass lesbian shaman deserved so much better!
I found Aina very fickle in general, and wouldn’t have made it through the book after the marriage except for Siiri’s chapters. If a book is billed as a sapphic romantasy, I want to read sapphic romance. I still liked the book, however I was frustrated by the lack of wlw outside of Siiri’s seemingly-unrequited pining, one unconvincing kiss (after many spicy kisses between Aina and Tuoni), and some platitudes.
There is also a surprise pregnancy 75% of the way through the book (or surprise to the reader at least?) It’s probably right out of folklore, so I won’t take a point away, but I hated it with every fiber of my being :)
An intricate, vivid, exciting dive into the world of Finnish mythology! Between “folklore” and “sapphic romantasy” (something the genre is sorely lacking), I knew “North is the Night” would captivate me… and captivate it did! I devoured this book!
However, it is definitely not a romantic fantasy… at least, not between Aina and Siiri. Aina’s romance and marriage to Tuoni, god of death, was complex and compelling and sexy, classic romantasy. Siiri’s love and devotion to Aina was beautiful and heart-wrenching and tragic. The way Aina treated Siiri, however, hurt my heart. Utterly lukewarm. My poor, badass lesbian shaman deserved so much better!
I found Aina very fickle in general, and wouldn’t have made it through the book after the marriage except for Siiri’s chapters. If a book is billed as a sapphic romantasy, I want to read sapphic romance. I still liked the book, however I was frustrated by the lack of wlw outside of Siiri’s seemingly-unrequited pining, one unconvincing kiss (after many spicy kisses between Aina and Tuoni), and some platitudes.
There is also a surprise pregnancy 75% of the way through the book (or surprise to the reader at least?) It’s probably right out of folklore, so I won’t take a point away, but I hated it with every fiber of my being :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2024
3.25 or 3.5 stars?
There are a lot of things going on in this book, and unfortunately the combination ended up not working for me. I think if it had stuck to 1 or 2 it could have been great. I'm going to be a little vague at the beginning of my review, and then get into spoilers after adding a break because I don't think I can fully explain my issues without spoilers.
So, all the things going on:
-A storyline where one girl (Siiri) tries to save another (Aina) who was stolen by a death goddess and must travel to the Finnish version of the Underworld (Tuonela)
-An overarching threat to Finns in general from encroaching Swedes and their new Christian god
-A whole story in the Underworld about why it's crumbling into chaos and affecting the world above and how that needs to be solved/saved
-The quest involving gods and shamans and training
-AND if you're picking this up because someone told you it was sapphic....you may be disappointed.
Ok adding breaks here for spoilery discussion....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
So, one, this is barely sapphic. Siiri loves Aina, but Aina loves Siiri much more platonically (we get a little more at the end, but I'm still not convinced Aina loves Siiri in that way. )
I was initially very engaged with Siiri's quest as she traveled north to save Aina. The bear and the shaman storyline was very interesting. However, the chapters alternate between Aina and Siiri the whole time. So we know what's going on with Aina at the same time. And come to find out, Aina can basically save herself. When it got to that point in her storyline, I became MUCH less interested in Siiri's and honestly kind of wanted Siiri to give up or fail because I was not at all sold on them.
Aina is helped to save herself and the god of death (Tuoni) by freeing him and marrying him. And I was rooting her on! She finds confidence and strength and power and learns to wield it. She becomes freaking Queen of Tuonela! And I LIKED her relationship with Tuoni. I feel so bad for him when Siiri finally comes and they leave together.
I know the end is supposed to feel triumphant and girl power and sapphic, but damn I did not care anymore by the time we got there. And I'm not invested enough to continue to see Siiri and Aina lead some resurgence of the Finns to defeat the Swedes. And again, I was so much more convinced of Tuoni and Aina's relationship than anything about Siiri and Aina.
END SPOILERS
Anyway, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.
There are a lot of things going on in this book, and unfortunately the combination ended up not working for me. I think if it had stuck to 1 or 2 it could have been great. I'm going to be a little vague at the beginning of my review, and then get into spoilers after adding a break because I don't think I can fully explain my issues without spoilers.
So, all the things going on:
-A storyline where one girl (Siiri) tries to save another (Aina) who was stolen by a death goddess and must travel to the Finnish version of the Underworld (Tuonela)
-An overarching threat to Finns in general from encroaching Swedes and their new Christian god
-A whole story in the Underworld about why it's crumbling into chaos and affecting the world above and how that needs to be solved/saved
-The quest involving gods and shamans and training
-AND if you're picking this up because someone told you it was sapphic....you may be disappointed.
Ok adding breaks here for spoilery discussion....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
So, one, this is barely sapphic. Siiri loves Aina, but Aina loves Siiri much more platonically (we get a little more at the end, but I'm still not convinced Aina loves Siiri in that way. )
I was initially very engaged with Siiri's quest as she traveled north to save Aina. The bear and the shaman storyline was very interesting. However, the chapters alternate between Aina and Siiri the whole time. So we know what's going on with Aina at the same time. And come to find out, Aina can basically save herself. When it got to that point in her storyline, I became MUCH less interested in Siiri's and honestly kind of wanted Siiri to give up or fail because I was not at all sold on them.
Aina is helped to save herself and the god of death (Tuoni) by freeing him and marrying him. And I was rooting her on! She finds confidence and strength and power and learns to wield it. She becomes freaking Queen of Tuonela! And I LIKED her relationship with Tuoni. I feel so bad for him when Siiri finally comes and they leave together.
I know the end is supposed to feel triumphant and girl power and sapphic, but damn I did not care anymore by the time we got there. And I'm not invested enough to continue to see Siiri and Aina lead some resurgence of the Finns to defeat the Swedes. And again, I was so much more convinced of Tuoni and Aina's relationship than anything about Siiri and Aina.
END SPOILERS
Anyway, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.
Want to read
December 23, 2024
*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audiobook in exchange for an honest review!*
Two bold young women defy the gods and mortals, living and dead, in this darkly mythical, Finnish folklore-inspired fantasy duology for readers of T. Kingfisher's Nettle & Bone, Danielle L. Jensen, Thea Guanzon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.
I'm so curious about thisbook audiobook!
Two bold young women defy the gods and mortals, living and dead, in this darkly mythical, Finnish folklore-inspired fantasy duology for readers of T. Kingfisher's Nettle & Bone, Danielle L. Jensen, Thea Guanzon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.
I'm so curious about this
December 4, 2024
3.5
What a silly goofy holly jolly time.
What a silly goofy holly jolly time.
November 12, 2024
*Thank you Goodreads for the ARC of North is the Night*
I have never read a book before based on Finnish tales and it was a very interesting read. Lots of different scenes to follow as the story unfolds. I had some trouble following along because I couldn't pronounce some of the Finnish terms so that made it a less pleasant read for me. The characters are strong and brings some excellent drama! The world building is deep and rich!
I have never read a book before based on Finnish tales and it was a very interesting read. Lots of different scenes to follow as the story unfolds. I had some trouble following along because I couldn't pronounce some of the Finnish terms so that made it a less pleasant read for me. The characters are strong and brings some excellent drama! The world building is deep and rich!
Want to read
May 21, 2024Very important new release by an author whose writing is character driven fun and still not shallow at all.
This cover looks positively repulsive. Is this some kind of contemporary hobby sleuth book with zero romance? because that is totally what it looks like.
But I trust the author, she's great
I loved Beautiful Things!!
So now I need this
This cover looks positively repulsive. Is this some kind of contemporary hobby sleuth book with zero romance? because that is totally what it looks like.
But I trust the author, she's great
I loved Beautiful Things!!
So now I need this
December 17, 2024
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🔥
Let me tell you, I am not a fantasy girlie on the regular, but if Emily writes it, I’m going to read it, and this was no exception.
What I love about Emily’s writing in general is that she can take a complex world and make it do easy to get invested in. Her writing is always researched and well thought out, and so you can follow along with the world building and get engrossed in the story and the characters.
And creating characters that live in your soul is what she is best at. I really enjoyed both Aina and Siiri and how you could feel their connection (and Siiri’s longing to save the woman she loves) throughout. There is so much going on and Finish folklore is wild, but this book built nicely to the conclusion we will get in South is the Sea, and I for one can’t wait.
This is a romantasy with sapphic elements and I cannot wait to see that fully explored in the second book.
SPICE: 🔥
Let me tell you, I am not a fantasy girlie on the regular, but if Emily writes it, I’m going to read it, and this was no exception.
What I love about Emily’s writing in general is that she can take a complex world and make it do easy to get invested in. Her writing is always researched and well thought out, and so you can follow along with the world building and get engrossed in the story and the characters.
And creating characters that live in your soul is what she is best at. I really enjoyed both Aina and Siiri and how you could feel their connection (and Siiri’s longing to save the woman she loves) throughout. There is so much going on and Finish folklore is wild, but this book built nicely to the conclusion we will get in South is the Sea, and I for one can’t wait.
This is a romantasy with sapphic elements and I cannot wait to see that fully explored in the second book.
March 28, 2024
I was given the ARC of this book by Edelweiss.
Emily Rath continues to prove that she is a multi-faceted writer. She exhibits time after time the ability to write stories of depth and intrigue, as well as create characters that are heart-wrenchingly complex and relatable.
North is the Night is absolutely not at all what I expected when I heard Emily was writing a sapphic Finnish folklore romantasy.
This is a story of true friendship and love, heroic courage, deep self-reflection, and complete transformation. The story was full of adventure, suspense, sacrifice, and unlikely friendships- all written so beautifully and completely, in the way I have come to appreciate and expect from Emily Rath. She has an incredible and rare ability to make the reader fall head-over-heels in love with her characters. Every story of Emily’s I read, I find myself feeling sad over the fact that I’m not -actually- part of her character’s life or worlds.
I am incredibly impressed by this story, and how well-rounded and complete the world, characters, and plot were developed. I look forward to the second book!
Emily Rath continues to prove that she is a multi-faceted writer. She exhibits time after time the ability to write stories of depth and intrigue, as well as create characters that are heart-wrenchingly complex and relatable.
North is the Night is absolutely not at all what I expected when I heard Emily was writing a sapphic Finnish folklore romantasy.
This is a story of true friendship and love, heroic courage, deep self-reflection, and complete transformation. The story was full of adventure, suspense, sacrifice, and unlikely friendships- all written so beautifully and completely, in the way I have come to appreciate and expect from Emily Rath. She has an incredible and rare ability to make the reader fall head-over-heels in love with her characters. Every story of Emily’s I read, I find myself feeling sad over the fact that I’m not -actually- part of her character’s life or worlds.
I am incredibly impressed by this story, and how well-rounded and complete the world, characters, and plot were developed. I look forward to the second book!
October 21, 2024
Firstly i want to thank Netgalley and Quercus for providing me with an E arc of this book. This is my honest opinion.
A slower read to begin with for me but overall i enjoyed the world building and the stories.
This book is dual POV, and inspired by Finnish folklore (which is new for me) and i enjoyed it very much. We follow 2 girls as they each brave the unknown after girls start disappearing. One sets off to try and find a shaman and a way to Tuonela, the Finnish underworld while the other is kidnapped and taken to Tuonela.
Personall i like Siiri more but i really like how Aina grew throughout the book.
I feel perhaps that a good part of this book is setup for book 2 but i still very much enjoyed it and i look forward to seeing what happens in book 2.
A slower read to begin with for me but overall i enjoyed the world building and the stories.
This book is dual POV, and inspired by Finnish folklore (which is new for me) and i enjoyed it very much. We follow 2 girls as they each brave the unknown after girls start disappearing. One sets off to try and find a shaman and a way to Tuonela, the Finnish underworld while the other is kidnapped and taken to Tuonela.
Personall i like Siiri more but i really like how Aina grew throughout the book.
I feel perhaps that a good part of this book is setup for book 2 but i still very much enjoyed it and i look forward to seeing what happens in book 2.
September 21, 2024
North is the Night is the first book in the
Tuonela Duet.
I’m normally not the biggest fan of fantasy, but wanted to give it a go as Emily Rath is one of my favourite authors.
The book is well written. I really enjoy Emily Rath’s writing style. She writes beautifully, making it easy to imagine the places described in the book.
There’s a lot of twist and turns, keeping the story alive through the (a bit) long book.
I liked the book, but I think fans of the fantasy genre will love it even more.
Tuonela Duet.
I’m normally not the biggest fan of fantasy, but wanted to give it a go as Emily Rath is one of my favourite authors.
The book is well written. I really enjoy Emily Rath’s writing style. She writes beautifully, making it easy to imagine the places described in the book.
There’s a lot of twist and turns, keeping the story alive through the (a bit) long book.
I liked the book, but I think fans of the fantasy genre will love it even more.
October 16, 2024
Honest review of ARC provided through Goodreads Giveaway.
Haunting ride through Finnish folklore following the paths of two best friends Siiri and Aina. They grapple with their identities as they battle with religion, societal responsibilities and relationships.
I enjoyed the women’s growth throughout the book but thought the relationships (MF and FF) were not fully formed in either scenario so hoping to see how those play out in book 2.
Haunting ride through Finnish folklore following the paths of two best friends Siiri and Aina. They grapple with their identities as they battle with religion, societal responsibilities and relationships.
I enjoyed the women’s growth throughout the book but thought the relationships (MF and FF) were not fully formed in either scenario so hoping to see how those play out in book 2.
December 24, 2024
This book was not at all what I was expecting, and to be honest, I think I enjoyed it more for the fact that it completely surprised me. I love that it invokes feelings of European folklore, which is something I particularly enjoy reading about. I also found the story to be richly written and beautifully atmospheric. I loved the setting and world building that Rath created. I thought the characters were really well developed. I liked that they each had their own journey leading to distinct character growth. Truthfully, I think this was a story that I just vibed with really well. Since I read this via audiobook, I really appreciated that different narrators were chosen to voice the different POVs. Without this decision, I think I would have struggled to keep track of who was who. However, since each POV was distinctly different, I could easily keep the characters straight in my mind and tell when a POV switch happened. Overall, I really enjoyed this and plan to continue the series.
✨
✨
ALC courtesy of Recorded Books
✨
✨
ALC courtesy of Recorded Books
December 22, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. Rath has such an amazing writing style. The characters are richly fleshed out. The folklore of the story is engrossing. I look forward to Book Two. I will try some of this author's other works.
December 20, 2024
I think fantasy fans will find flaw here, there are definitely some great elements I appreciated the folklore but everything else was very mid.
November 1, 2024
3.5/5 ⭐️, rounded up. first off, i want to thank emily rath and erewhon books for the ARC edition of north is the night.
i’m a big fan of emily rath’s jacksonville rays series and i really enjoy her writing style. when i learned she was journeying into fantasy (a fave genre of mine) i was so excited. i think emily’s ability to create interesting characters is her strong suit and i definitely felt that with this book. however, my favorite characters in this were the secondary and even tertiary characters. the two FMC did nothing for me. i personally didn’t find anything in siiri that could get me interested in her story. the only reason i was able to get through her chapters was because väinämöinen was such a fun and lovable character. i enjoyed aina’s chapters a whole lot more, mostly due to loviatar and tuoni.
speaking of tuoni, his relationship with aina was so much more interesting to me than aina and siiri’s relationship. it was obvious from the beginning of the book that siiri had feelings for her best friend but it felt like aina always viewed siiri as her best friend/sister. and then suddenly they escape from tuonela and aina is kissing her? it felt rushed and messy while tuoni and aina’s relationship was way more complex and engrossing. i appreciate the author’s attempt at a WLW story but it just wasn’t executed well in my opinion.
overall, this book kept me interested and i enjoyed it. i’m sure i’ll pick up book two when it’s released. i just won’t be in any rush to read it.
i’m a big fan of emily rath’s jacksonville rays series and i really enjoy her writing style. when i learned she was journeying into fantasy (a fave genre of mine) i was so excited. i think emily’s ability to create interesting characters is her strong suit and i definitely felt that with this book. however, my favorite characters in this were the secondary and even tertiary characters. the two FMC did nothing for me. i personally didn’t find anything in siiri that could get me interested in her story. the only reason i was able to get through her chapters was because väinämöinen was such a fun and lovable character. i enjoyed aina’s chapters a whole lot more, mostly due to loviatar and tuoni.
speaking of tuoni, his relationship with aina was so much more interesting to me than aina and siiri’s relationship. it was obvious from the beginning of the book that siiri had feelings for her best friend but it felt like aina always viewed siiri as her best friend/sister. and then suddenly they escape from tuonela and aina is kissing her? it felt rushed and messy while tuoni and aina’s relationship was way more complex and engrossing. i appreciate the author’s attempt at a WLW story but it just wasn’t executed well in my opinion.
overall, this book kept me interested and i enjoyed it. i’m sure i’ll pick up book two when it’s released. i just won’t be in any rush to read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2024
North is the Night is packed full to the brim with Finnish folklore and mythology. The writing is atmospheric and, at times, eerie. The world building is complex and includes vivid descriptions of Finland and Tuonela. It was easy to immerse myself in this world and imagine all the fascinating characters and animals of the Kalevala but that does mean that it takes a little while for the story to really get going. Although I would have preferred a faster pace, I can absolutely understand why a book like this needs a slower pace to help you get to grips with the intricate web of gods, goddesses, witches and shamans.
I would say, as a fan of Emily Rath’s, this book is very different to the other books in the Emilyverse and Emily herself has been clear that this is a fantasy story, not a romantasy. So if you picked this up expecting the same level of spice included in the Jax Rays series, you’ll likely be disappointed. There is very little spice to speak of in this book and whilst it is sapphic, you don’t see much of that element in this book, so please bear that in mind.
However, if you picked this up because you’re a fan of Emily’s writing style or the way she is able to write the most amazing characters, then I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Aina and Siiri, are very different but as the story progresses both show a strength of character and a determination to protect the people they love. I have to admit I liked Siiri more than Aina. She was bold and headstrong, whereas Aina was calmer and more amenable. Having said that they both experience a great deal as they fight to be reunited but it’s arguably Aina that grows the most.
Overall, I was invested in seeing how this story played out and as always the characters and storytelling engaged me from the first page. Another fantastic read by Emily Rath!
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers, Quercus Books and Arcadia Books, for my early copy.
I would say, as a fan of Emily Rath’s, this book is very different to the other books in the Emilyverse and Emily herself has been clear that this is a fantasy story, not a romantasy. So if you picked this up expecting the same level of spice included in the Jax Rays series, you’ll likely be disappointed. There is very little spice to speak of in this book and whilst it is sapphic, you don’t see much of that element in this book, so please bear that in mind.
However, if you picked this up because you’re a fan of Emily’s writing style or the way she is able to write the most amazing characters, then I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Aina and Siiri, are very different but as the story progresses both show a strength of character and a determination to protect the people they love. I have to admit I liked Siiri more than Aina. She was bold and headstrong, whereas Aina was calmer and more amenable. Having said that they both experience a great deal as they fight to be reunited but it’s arguably Aina that grows the most.
Overall, I was invested in seeing how this story played out and as always the characters and storytelling engaged me from the first page. Another fantastic read by Emily Rath!
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers, Quercus Books and Arcadia Books, for my early copy.
November 14, 2024
I have to say, I am glad that I got this as an arc so that I did not have to spend my own money on it. I didn’t realise this was written by the Emily Rath of ‘Pucking Around’ until it was too late, and realising it was written by a fantasy author did explain a fair few things.
We follow Siiri and Aina in two separate but linked stories based on Finnish folklore. An evil demon arrives to take Siiri to the land of the dead, but Aina ends up sacrificing herself instead to protect her best friend. Siiri immediately embarks on a quest to find the lost shaman, Väinämöinen, and convince him to help her travel to and from Tuonela herself and rescue Aina. Meanwhile, Aina finds herself the hostage of Tuonetar, forced to watch her newly found friends get tortured and killed by the evil Witch Queen and her cronies, while desperately trying to find a way to restore balance to Tuonela.
Initially, I was hoping that a folklore-inspired story set in Finland in winter would have some gorgeous prose. Who doesn’t like reading about a snowy forest and the aurora borealis and the old gods? Wrong. From page 1 this was not going to happen. Despite reading the entire book I don’t have a concrete idea of what a single character looks like, nor Finland itself, nor Tuonela. Any mention of any physical descriptors is fleeting and I don’t even get a sense of it being cold - which is insane given it is set in Finnish winter. Tuonela is supposed to have no light so I am left wondering how on earth anyone is supposed to be able to see. Is everyone squiting all the time? Is there some low level glow emanating from the air itself that allows everyone to see? There are 2 thrones - what do they look like? I know we have gold and silver but I need more. Tall? Cushions? What are the arms like? Are they together on a dais? Give me MORE.
Rath also falls victim to the trap of taking a dual POV story and feeling the need to end every single chapter on a cliffhanger. Every semi-important or revealing conversation is interrupted and the air of forced mystery very quickly makes for a dull read. The two voices of Siiri and Aina are also very much the same and so it did always take a second to realise it’d switched despite them being in wildly different places.
The characters also have an odd propensity to speak to animals and truly believe that these animals can understand and communicate back. This may be some Finnish reverence for bears or mythological animals that I don’t understand and hasn’t been communicated well but it just feels a little odd to watch happen time and time again.
Siiri and Aina also seem to fall victim to the gal-palification that plagues many sapphic relationships, but more overt. The way these two women talk about each other, and the things that they are prepared to do for each other and the way other people view them as a pair (a love interest becomes extremely jealous of their attachment to each other as if there is a romantic aspect), screams gay. Yet the narrative seems to shy away from admitting that. They /literally/ went to hell and back for each other. They both admit their souls are tied together, they agree to be joint mothers to this child. Hell they even kiss, and share a bed every night, but no no no they’re just besties. They just love each other platonically bro. I am all for female friendship and I will scream from the rooftops that love does not have to be romantic, but this is written like a sapphic relationship that some christian priest went through and edited to be straight - even throw in a husband and hetero sex scene to be sure - without realising which parts of it were actually the moments of these girls truly loving each other.
And, finally, saving the biggest complaint for last - Rath’s treatment of indigenous people and women. These are two incredibly marginalised groups that at the time when Christian missionaries were coming to Scandinavia were routinely killed.
This is set around the time when Christian missionaries were coming to Scandinavia to preach, and if we have learned nothing from the witch trials of the 1600s, women and indigenous people were not treated kindly by these people. They were denounced as witches and then tortured and killed in their hundreds. And yet, Rath has, for some unknown reason, chosen to take this time period, and make every adult woman that we meet evil, make the single member of the Sámi present, coincidentally a woman, also evil, and every god that we really meet is a goddess (bar one), and is also, you guessed it, evil. The evil women are not just your regular antagonists, they are caricatures of villains. The way they speak and the way they taunt is giving a poorly written disney villain written by a man who’s wife has just left him for being an overgrown child, who keeps saying ‘the divorce came out of nowhere!!’. Every woman we meet is evil, and every woman we meet is a witch to the point that evil and witch and woman become all but synonymous, which feels like a poor-taste choice to make, especially for such a time period.
I was toying with giving it 3 stars, as 2 felt rather mean for someone’s first foray into fantasy, but I could not find a good thing to say about the book itself. I like the idea. That is where my compliments start and end.
We follow Siiri and Aina in two separate but linked stories based on Finnish folklore. An evil demon arrives to take Siiri to the land of the dead, but Aina ends up sacrificing herself instead to protect her best friend. Siiri immediately embarks on a quest to find the lost shaman, Väinämöinen, and convince him to help her travel to and from Tuonela herself and rescue Aina. Meanwhile, Aina finds herself the hostage of Tuonetar, forced to watch her newly found friends get tortured and killed by the evil Witch Queen and her cronies, while desperately trying to find a way to restore balance to Tuonela.
Initially, I was hoping that a folklore-inspired story set in Finland in winter would have some gorgeous prose. Who doesn’t like reading about a snowy forest and the aurora borealis and the old gods? Wrong. From page 1 this was not going to happen. Despite reading the entire book I don’t have a concrete idea of what a single character looks like, nor Finland itself, nor Tuonela. Any mention of any physical descriptors is fleeting and I don’t even get a sense of it being cold - which is insane given it is set in Finnish winter. Tuonela is supposed to have no light so I am left wondering how on earth anyone is supposed to be able to see. Is everyone squiting all the time? Is there some low level glow emanating from the air itself that allows everyone to see? There are 2 thrones - what do they look like? I know we have gold and silver but I need more. Tall? Cushions? What are the arms like? Are they together on a dais? Give me MORE.
Rath also falls victim to the trap of taking a dual POV story and feeling the need to end every single chapter on a cliffhanger. Every semi-important or revealing conversation is interrupted and the air of forced mystery very quickly makes for a dull read. The two voices of Siiri and Aina are also very much the same and so it did always take a second to realise it’d switched despite them being in wildly different places.
The characters also have an odd propensity to speak to animals and truly believe that these animals can understand and communicate back. This may be some Finnish reverence for bears or mythological animals that I don’t understand and hasn’t been communicated well but it just feels a little odd to watch happen time and time again.
Siiri and Aina also seem to fall victim to the gal-palification that plagues many sapphic relationships, but more overt. The way these two women talk about each other, and the things that they are prepared to do for each other and the way other people view them as a pair (a love interest becomes extremely jealous of their attachment to each other as if there is a romantic aspect), screams gay. Yet the narrative seems to shy away from admitting that. They /literally/ went to hell and back for each other. They both admit their souls are tied together, they agree to be joint mothers to this child. Hell they even kiss, and share a bed every night, but no no no they’re just besties. They just love each other platonically bro. I am all for female friendship and I will scream from the rooftops that love does not have to be romantic, but this is written like a sapphic relationship that some christian priest went through and edited to be straight - even throw in a husband and hetero sex scene to be sure - without realising which parts of it were actually the moments of these girls truly loving each other.
And, finally, saving the biggest complaint for last - Rath’s treatment of indigenous people and women. These are two incredibly marginalised groups that at the time when Christian missionaries were coming to Scandinavia were routinely killed.
This is set around the time when Christian missionaries were coming to Scandinavia to preach, and if we have learned nothing from the witch trials of the 1600s, women and indigenous people were not treated kindly by these people. They were denounced as witches and then tortured and killed in their hundreds. And yet, Rath has, for some unknown reason, chosen to take this time period, and make every adult woman that we meet evil, make the single member of the Sámi present, coincidentally a woman, also evil, and every god that we really meet is a goddess (bar one), and is also, you guessed it, evil. The evil women are not just your regular antagonists, they are caricatures of villains. The way they speak and the way they taunt is giving a poorly written disney villain written by a man who’s wife has just left him for being an overgrown child, who keeps saying ‘the divorce came out of nowhere!!’. Every woman we meet is evil, and every woman we meet is a witch to the point that evil and witch and woman become all but synonymous, which feels like a poor-taste choice to make, especially for such a time period.
I was toying with giving it 3 stars, as 2 felt rather mean for someone’s first foray into fantasy, but I could not find a good thing to say about the book itself. I like the idea. That is where my compliments start and end.
December 19, 2024
Who the fuck is rating this book five stars, I don't trust their judgement. I have to admit, I’m relieved this was free on KU; I wouldn’t want to part with my hard-earned money for this. I had medium hopes it wouldn't be terrible because it was marketed as folklore-inspired fantasy with romance and sapphic subplots, story set in Finland, which like, when ever do we see stuff set in Finland?
We are dropped into the middle of a conversation between Siiri and Ainaa and by the end of chapter two, these are very short chapters, btw, Ainaa has been kidnapped. It quickly became apparent how little world-building there was. I couldn't conjure a single image of what Finland in winter or Tuonela, or even what Siiri or Ainaa for that matter—looked like. I expected vibrant landscapes and snowy magical realms, but got vague descriptions left me wondering how tf this was marketed as a fantasy. How is it possible to set a story in a wintersape and never even mention snow once? Also in land of the dead and I don't even know what that means because the descriptions lacked so much. The dual POV is also a misfire, every chapter ending on a cliffhanger to get the reader to keep turning pages is in fact, NOT how to be a good writer, I should be turning pages because I'm so engaged, I was actually turning pages to end the torture.
Also what the fuck was with all the talking to themselves and to creatures in the forest, people CAN in fact have internal monologues, but it felt like Rath didn't know how to write a personality so she had to make the FMCs talk to things to get the reader to understand, again this comes back to Rath telling us rather than showing us through the story development and writing.
Now, let’s discuss the treatment of women and indigenous people. The narrative took a turn for the worse by reducing every adult woman to a villainous stereotype. Is it too much to ask for complexity? This book seems to think so. The Sámi representation was not only poor, but it also leaned into damaging tropes that further marginalized an already oppressed group.
Speaking of not being able to show us, the prose was dry and uninspired. I wanted to feel for Siiri and Aina’s relationship, I wanted to feel their relationship, but instead, I was told they loved each other without any emotional investment. It’s hard to recognize feminist undertones when the females are caricatures of evil and the only way to gain power seems to hinge on their relationships with men.
Honestly, between the transphobia and the misogyny that was enough to DNF this but I have to be real, for an author who has made millions profiting off the fetishization of MM sex in her previous romances, a lived identity she DOES not have, I was expecting there to be more sapphic romance and spice. Just another problematic book with harmful representation in Raths backlist.
We are dropped into the middle of a conversation between Siiri and Ainaa and by the end of chapter two, these are very short chapters, btw, Ainaa has been kidnapped. It quickly became apparent how little world-building there was. I couldn't conjure a single image of what Finland in winter or Tuonela, or even what Siiri or Ainaa for that matter—looked like. I expected vibrant landscapes and snowy magical realms, but got vague descriptions left me wondering how tf this was marketed as a fantasy. How is it possible to set a story in a wintersape and never even mention snow once? Also in land of the dead and I don't even know what that means because the descriptions lacked so much. The dual POV is also a misfire, every chapter ending on a cliffhanger to get the reader to keep turning pages is in fact, NOT how to be a good writer, I should be turning pages because I'm so engaged, I was actually turning pages to end the torture.
Also what the fuck was with all the talking to themselves and to creatures in the forest, people CAN in fact have internal monologues, but it felt like Rath didn't know how to write a personality so she had to make the FMCs talk to things to get the reader to understand, again this comes back to Rath telling us rather than showing us through the story development and writing.
Now, let’s discuss the treatment of women and indigenous people. The narrative took a turn for the worse by reducing every adult woman to a villainous stereotype. Is it too much to ask for complexity? This book seems to think so. The Sámi representation was not only poor, but it also leaned into damaging tropes that further marginalized an already oppressed group.
Speaking of not being able to show us, the prose was dry and uninspired. I wanted to feel for Siiri and Aina’s relationship, I wanted to feel their relationship, but instead, I was told they loved each other without any emotional investment. It’s hard to recognize feminist undertones when the females are caricatures of evil and the only way to gain power seems to hinge on their relationships with men.
Honestly, between the transphobia and the misogyny that was enough to DNF this but I have to be real, for an author who has made millions profiting off the fetishization of MM sex in her previous romances, a lived identity she DOES not have, I was expecting there to be more sapphic romance and spice. Just another problematic book with harmful representation in Raths backlist.
December 13, 2024
North is the Night is a fantasy novel about two young women separated by an evil death goddess.
Sirri and Aina are simple Finnish girls from a small village when they are attacked by the goddess of death, and Aina is dragged to the underworld. Despondent without her best friend and with no one believing what happened to her—since Finland has begun turning away from the old gods and toward Christianity, the new religion brought by Swedish invaders—Sirri becomes convinced she can save Aina. Determined, she heads north to seek the help of the long-missing shaman Väinämöinen, hoping he can teach her how to cross into Tuonela, the land of the dead. Meanwhile, Aina must fight to save herself and the other mortal girls who have been kidnapped and forced to live in the underworld, as Sirri learns how to cross the veil between life and death.
I enjoyed the first part of this book, where the two women fight to stay alive and find their way back to each other. However, at almost 60 chapters and 600 pages, I found myself losing interest somewhere around the halfway point and hoping the two storylines would wrap up. There are too many gods and goddesses to keep track of, the politics of the underworld is complicated, and there are a lot of double-crosses and hidden agendas to follow, which I didn’t find very intriguing. The romantic storyline also takes some twists and turns. While I appreciate the author making unexpected choices, I didn’t find any of the romance swoony or compelling to read.
Overall, this one started strong, and I enjoyed learning about Finland and its struggle to preserve its culture and religion during a time of invasion by Sweden and the rise of Christianity. However, the pacing felt off for me, and the underworld politics dragged the plot out much longer than necessary.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Disclosure: An advanced copy of North is the Night was provided by the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sirri and Aina are simple Finnish girls from a small village when they are attacked by the goddess of death, and Aina is dragged to the underworld. Despondent without her best friend and with no one believing what happened to her—since Finland has begun turning away from the old gods and toward Christianity, the new religion brought by Swedish invaders—Sirri becomes convinced she can save Aina. Determined, she heads north to seek the help of the long-missing shaman Väinämöinen, hoping he can teach her how to cross into Tuonela, the land of the dead. Meanwhile, Aina must fight to save herself and the other mortal girls who have been kidnapped and forced to live in the underworld, as Sirri learns how to cross the veil between life and death.
I enjoyed the first part of this book, where the two women fight to stay alive and find their way back to each other. However, at almost 60 chapters and 600 pages, I found myself losing interest somewhere around the halfway point and hoping the two storylines would wrap up. There are too many gods and goddesses to keep track of, the politics of the underworld is complicated, and there are a lot of double-crosses and hidden agendas to follow, which I didn’t find very intriguing. The romantic storyline also takes some twists and turns. While I appreciate the author making unexpected choices, I didn’t find any of the romance swoony or compelling to read.
Overall, this one started strong, and I enjoyed learning about Finland and its struggle to preserve its culture and religion during a time of invasion by Sweden and the rise of Christianity. However, the pacing felt off for me, and the underworld politics dragged the plot out much longer than necessary.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Disclosure: An advanced copy of North is the Night was provided by the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
December 23, 2024
The concept of this book was so good and it just went downhill from there.
This book is based on Finnish folklore, something I had no idea existed. I was THRILLED! Early on you have a list of Finnish gods and goddesses, something that got me so excited to learn more about this world of folklore that was completely new to me. It... is not necessary. The few goddesses we meet (because it's almost exclusively goddesses) are always referenced by whatever they're the goddess of, because why would the readers be able to learn about the characters in a book? I still have little to no understanding of any aspect of Finnish folklore, which was pretty disappointing.
Apparently this book was initially marketed as sapphic. I learned this when I was halfway through the book and I was... confused. One of the two main characters is very clearly romantically in love with the other, but it is not reciprocated. While I understand that one woman's relationship with a man doesn't mean she can't also have feelings for another woman, this was pretty clearly not the case. If I had come into this book looking for sapphic romance, I would have been more than disappointed, I would have been angry.
This book is about 300 pages longer than necessary, and I don't even know where it got the extra 300 pages. The writing is not descriptive or flowery, but just very little happens. I was initially really invested, but once I hit 20% I just kept slowly, SLOWLY chugging along waiting for something to happen. About 50% in I thought it should be wrapping up and was confused about what else there was to even do in this story.
I was really disappointed in this book, and I don't really see this book being *for* anyone else. The author is a well known romance author, and I think she should probably stick to that genre or take more time in honing the craft of fantasy writing before her next fantasy novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is based on Finnish folklore, something I had no idea existed. I was THRILLED! Early on you have a list of Finnish gods and goddesses, something that got me so excited to learn more about this world of folklore that was completely new to me. It... is not necessary. The few goddesses we meet (because it's almost exclusively goddesses) are always referenced by whatever they're the goddess of, because why would the readers be able to learn about the characters in a book? I still have little to no understanding of any aspect of Finnish folklore, which was pretty disappointing.
Apparently this book was initially marketed as sapphic. I learned this when I was halfway through the book and I was... confused. One of the two main characters is very clearly romantically in love with the other, but it is not reciprocated. While I understand that one woman's relationship with a man doesn't mean she can't also have feelings for another woman, this was pretty clearly not the case. If I had come into this book looking for sapphic romance, I would have been more than disappointed, I would have been angry.
This book is about 300 pages longer than necessary, and I don't even know where it got the extra 300 pages. The writing is not descriptive or flowery, but just very little happens. I was initially really invested, but once I hit 20% I just kept slowly, SLOWLY chugging along waiting for something to happen. About 50% in I thought it should be wrapping up and was confused about what else there was to even do in this story.
I was really disappointed in this book, and I don't really see this book being *for* anyone else. The author is a well known romance author, and I think she should probably stick to that genre or take more time in honing the craft of fantasy writing before her next fantasy novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 20, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc of this book.
I enjoyed the story as it kept me engaged and left me wanting to know more with each turn of the page. You don't hear a lot of Finnish lore in fantasy, and I was absolutely intrigued by the different gods and the underworld portion of the book. The main female characters Aina and Siiri are both characters who care deeply for each other and you can see the growth in them throughout their separate "adventures" especially Siiri in her search to bring Aina back and Aina taking on responsibilities she never expected, some good and some...questionable.
The one major thing that took the book off from being a 5 star for me was the world building. The author really did not portray a cold, snowy Finnish terrain throughout the story, and Tuonela (the Finnish underworld) could have been described in more detail to pull me into the scene. Tuoni and Aina's relationship also just wasn't that interesting to me, but it did help in the development to what was hinted at earlier in the story.
This book was a great time, and I will definitely pick up the second in the series!
This is a review of the audiobook.
I enjoyed the story as it kept me engaged and left me wanting to know more with each turn of the page. You don't hear a lot of Finnish lore in fantasy, and I was absolutely intrigued by the different gods and the underworld portion of the book. The main female characters Aina and Siiri are both characters who care deeply for each other and you can see the growth in them throughout their separate "adventures" especially Siiri in her search to bring Aina back and Aina taking on responsibilities she never expected, some good and some...questionable.
The one major thing that took the book off from being a 5 star for me was the world building. The author really did not portray a cold, snowy Finnish terrain throughout the story, and Tuonela (the Finnish underworld) could have been described in more detail to pull me into the scene. Tuoni and Aina's relationship also just wasn't that interesting to me, but it did help in the development to what was hinted at earlier in the story.
This book was a great time, and I will definitely pick up the second in the series!
This is a review of the audiobook.
December 23, 2024
Aina and Siiri are two young women facing the norms of growing up and approaching adulthood. What life path will they take? Aina is ready to find a husband and to be a wife and mother, while Siiri wants to be a hunter. As the Swedes begin to invade Finland, these two women are forced to either submit to the new Christian faith that the Swedes bring or stay true to the gods of their people. While attempting to escape the Swedes, the girls are split up and thrust into the worlds of their gods, but vow to never stop trying to find and save the other.
I very much enjoyed what I am hoping are traditional folklore from Finland. The characters were interesting and their development was pretty well done. The story twisted and turned, and while it wove the bigger picture I was able to sit back and enjoy.
The two narrators did a great job and it was so helpful
To have two different voices to separate the two FMC’s stories. Their tone and pacing was spot on.
Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for this ARC!
I very much enjoyed what I am hoping are traditional folklore from Finland. The characters were interesting and their development was pretty well done. The story twisted and turned, and while it wove the bigger picture I was able to sit back and enjoy.
The two narrators did a great job and it was so helpful
To have two different voices to separate the two FMC’s stories. Their tone and pacing was spot on.
Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for this ARC!
Want to read
February 26, 2024fantasy based on finnish mythology? SIGN ME UP
(no but this is such a big interest of mine!)
(no but this is such a big interest of mine!)
December 16, 2024
authors if you’re going to post art of girls kissing to promote a book i then need the book to actually be queer as in women wanting each other the same way they want the cis men they fuck in the same book not this #softgirllove bffs who kiss gently one time bullshit. I WANT SCISSORING! PASSION! A REAL F/F/M LOVE TRIANGLE! GET QUEER!!!! GET GAY!!!!! GET FREAKY!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2024
This book deserves all the stars. I was absolutely captivated as the author takes us into a Finnish world of folklore and mythology. Entwined with a sapphic romance feel, this was everything I needed and more.
To the point that I've jumped straight on Amazon and preordered the hardback copy.
I've seen some mixed reviews about the sapphic romance bit and okay it's not shoved in your face and in every chapter, but in my opinion reading between the lines and feeling the characters the connection Siiri and Aina had for each other was obvious from the beginning and I was here for it.
Having never read a book by this author before I was impressed at how she gave me the ability to absolutely adore her characters, I loved Siiri her strength and bravery was amazing and I really rooted for both her and Aina from the get go. Aina was described in the book as a little mouse and initially I agreed however her transformation was next level and it was great seeing her sheer determination and the need to protect those she loves had for those around her.
Is it really over already. I'm gutted. I can't wait for Book 2! To read more about Siiri and Ainas' journey. An absolute masterpiece.
A massive thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy. Also, a huge thank you to Emily Rath for creating this wonderful story.
To the point that I've jumped straight on Amazon and preordered the hardback copy.
I've seen some mixed reviews about the sapphic romance bit and okay it's not shoved in your face and in every chapter, but in my opinion reading between the lines and feeling the characters the connection Siiri and Aina had for each other was obvious from the beginning and I was here for it.
Having never read a book by this author before I was impressed at how she gave me the ability to absolutely adore her characters, I loved Siiri her strength and bravery was amazing and I really rooted for both her and Aina from the get go. Aina was described in the book as a little mouse and initially I agreed however her transformation was next level and it was great seeing her sheer determination and the need to protect those she loves had for those around her.
Is it really over already. I'm gutted. I can't wait for Book 2! To read more about Siiri and Ainas' journey. An absolute masterpiece.
A massive thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy. Also, a huge thank you to Emily Rath for creating this wonderful story.
September 24, 2024
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.
This is an absolutely beautiful novel rooted in Finnish folklore which I found absolutely fascinating. This was such an enjoyable read!
We have a tale weaving in Finnish mythology that largely focuses on the land of the dead. We have two girls, best friends for life who would do anything for each other. They are torn apart when they are attacked by a death goddess and one is dragged down to the land of the dead. The other goes on a journey to bring her back by seeking the help of a shaman who has been lost for a long time. The two girls end up on separate but equally epic quests and journeys of self discovery.
This is more fantasy than horror but it does have some horror elements, particularly in the land of the dead which is sort of expected. However we also see them among the living, and the horrific treatment one of our heroines suffers by people she encounters on her mission.
We explore so many things in this novel but what stands out for me was the folklore, the power of friendship and the way there are different kinds of love and meaningful relationships.
Really loved this one!
This is an absolutely beautiful novel rooted in Finnish folklore which I found absolutely fascinating. This was such an enjoyable read!
We have a tale weaving in Finnish mythology that largely focuses on the land of the dead. We have two girls, best friends for life who would do anything for each other. They are torn apart when they are attacked by a death goddess and one is dragged down to the land of the dead. The other goes on a journey to bring her back by seeking the help of a shaman who has been lost for a long time. The two girls end up on separate but equally epic quests and journeys of self discovery.
This is more fantasy than horror but it does have some horror elements, particularly in the land of the dead which is sort of expected. However we also see them among the living, and the horrific treatment one of our heroines suffers by people she encounters on her mission.
We explore so many things in this novel but what stands out for me was the folklore, the power of friendship and the way there are different kinds of love and meaningful relationships.
Really loved this one!
October 8, 2024
I was definitely interested in this book. It had elements that were good and I did like it. But there were a few things missing for me. I’m hoping book two is the sapphic book we need from the duet.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews