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“Oh, I will be cruel to you, Marya Morevna. It will stop your breath, how cruel I can be. But you understand, don’t you? You are clever enough. I am a demanding creature. I am selfish and cruel and extremely unreasonable. But I am your servant. When you starve I will feed you; when you are sick I will tend you. I crawl at your feet; for before your love, your kisses, I am debased. For you alone I will be weak.��

…is that…is that Alarkling!?



Unfortunately, it is not. Fortunately, it’s another book with ferocious romance!

I found out about this book when I reblogged a beautiful graphic on Tumblr, so naturally I had to search up the synopsis! I was immediately drawn to the words “Russian folklore�� and “heroine�� and I quickly made the parallels between this story and my all-time favorite, the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo.

Deathless excels in retelling stories―both mythical and historical. The writing style appears as though derived from poetry, a real lyrical masterpiece. This book wasn’t just a retelling of Koschei the Deathless, it embodied the essence of the original folklore with all the prose and metaphors. Because it is a stand-alone novel, I didn’t have to worry about searching for a sequel. Sometimes this is a blessing, other times it’s a curse. But in Valente’s case, this was an astronomical blessing. It gave me time to really consume the writing, to take it all in slowly and digest each sentence. Readers should tread through this book very carefully so they don’t miss a single detail!

Marya Morevena gives a clear example of what it means to be a well-developed character. She starts her journey as a meek, young girl, the youngest of four sisters, who spends her days staring outside her bedroom window, watching birds fall from trees who then turn into suitors for her siblings. Her cherished red scarf, a sigil of her loyalty to her home, is taken from her after she dares to share her discoveries with the rest of her schoolmates. She grows to hope for little, and dream of more. Sharing her home with refuges of war is only half of her worries, for Marya desires to see the naked world when it is stripped bare. It isn’t until Koschei falls from her tree that her wish is granted.

I’m still shell-shocked over the ending of this book, and I’m going to need to re-read it a few more times to fully grasp its beauty. But as for now, I highly recommend it to any fan of the Grisha Trilogy! Or any fan of folklore, for that matter! You won’t be disappointed.