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This is one of those times where I kind of don't like having to rate books on a 1-5 scale. I definitely liked this book more than I like most of the books I rate with 4 stars, but I didn't think it quite met my very strict 5 star standards. 4.5 I suppose, to be fair.

In most ways, I really like Cherryh's writing (and I tend to love her characters), but I have to admit that sometimes it gets a little tricky figuring out what's happening. She has a tendency to shift viewpoint abruptly and at times I kind of think she shouldn't be switching. So, that is probably the main reason why I couldn't give this five stars like I really almost did.

Pretty much everything else about this book was good. I don't know much about Slavic mythology, but I know a bit, so it was nice to kind of get more of that. I tend to hate teenage protagonists, but I really didn't in this case. Most of the time I forgot that Sasha was supposed to be a kid, which is really for the best, my loathing for teenage protagonists being what it is. Cherryh's books tend to get me in a feels trap, and this was of course, exactly that. As a writer, I am plain jealous of her ability to make me feel for characters, especially characters I didn't think I could care about. But I digress. I have to admit, I was less than in love with her female character this time around. She sort of rang hollow to me, which is just bizarre in a Cherryh work, and I pretty much didn't care about her at all.

I read this book in one sitting, so it was decently paced and the plot was interesting enough that I didn't want to go do something else instead. I get kind of ADD at the best of times with books, so that I was 3/4 of the way through before my mind began to wander for a few minutes is pretty impressive.