When you are in the hands of a master story teller you can feel it! You are able to relax into the story and trust that the author will guide you through even the most fantastical of  tales. Arden is such an author. Based on a Russian folktale, The Bear and the Nightingale is a story of a brave young woman with a gift who must use it to save her family and traditions from those who threaten their very existence.

Vasilisa lived with her family in a small village in the northern part of Rus. The winters were cold and treacherous and when the cold wind blew the family would stay warm by gathering around the massive oven in the kitchen. The huge oven was built of fired clay and was large and took up a huge part of the room. It even had a sleeping platform where they slept. During the winter this was the gathering place since various chores could be done in the light cast by the fire in the oven. There Dunya, their nurse, would often tell stories about the spirits who inhabited the woods and lakes and rivers, or the household spirits that protected them. Sometimes she would scare them with tales about the the demons, like Frost, the Winter King who wanted winter to last forever.

it was a comfortable if not quite idyllic childhood. But then their mother died of and when their father remarried, his new wife, who was extremely devout, wanted nothing to do with the the traditions and folktales of old. Claiming that these superstitions were in direct contradiction to the doctrines of the Church, she tried to suppress the stories and stop people from making the small offerings traditionally made to the house spirits. She also did not like the free and easy way Vasilisa had been brought up and vowed that she must get her married and out of the house or into a convent as soon as possible.

Vasilisa senses something strange and quite sinister beginning to happen soon after her stepmother arrival and even more so after the new priest arrives from St. Petersburg. The spirits whisper of danger and as much as Vasilisa tries she cannot stop the decline of the spirits who guard their home and land. Her father and brothers seem oblivious to what is happening until it is almost too late, and so Vasilisa must find her own inner strength to protect her family and the home she loves.

Arden has recreated that magical time, when the sprit world and the real world were intertwined. In Vasilisa, Arden has created a strong female character who has the gift of being able to stand between both worlds. Arden has made medieval Rus come alive and adds enormous detail about the way people lived which adds interest and a sense of reality to the story. This is the first book in the trilogy and I have already ordered the second book and look forward to continuing Vasilisa’s amazing journey!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Lauren and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? yes

Read in ebook format.