If you’re looking for a well balance YA fantasy story with romantic elements, this is for you! I loved the ways Where the Dark Stands Still balances this magical setting full of danger, with characters who are getting to know each other and might just be catching feelings. Keep reading this book review of Where the Dark Stands Still for my full thoughts.
Summary
Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters. After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish.
Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.
Those who enter the wood do not always return…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
In Where the Dark Stands Still is a multi-faceted story about re-claiming our own power and being vulnerable and opening our heart up again. It balances charm, dangerous magic, and tension all at once. Scared to become a ‘monster’ Liska is determined to make a bargain to remove her magic. Her entire village and her family has viewed her magic as dangerous and something to not practice, to keep a secret, and now something she wants to ride herself of. But when Liska enters the woods, and a bargain, she finds that her magic has a few more secrets its sleeve.
I found the setting to be fascinating whether it be the Woods – which almost creates another character of its own – or the fact that it takes place just after this junction of religion between the old gods and this new religion taking root. It’s this ripe space for conversations about secrets, the change of cultures, and the flexibility still to make a little room. About this transitional period where we aren’t sure if the stories we grew up with are true anymore, but we still know to be afraid.
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At the core of Where the Dark Stands Still is a story about power. The power of magic to create ‘monsters’ out of us. To see all the ways the world views us and turns us into monsters. For this alone, I loved Where the Dark Stands Still. It’s probably one of my favorite themes. But additionally, I enjoyed the ways Poranek is able to balance character development, action, and emotional tension. The swoons and un-peeling of layers and defenses of someone we never thought we’d care to know.
Find Where the Dark Stands Still on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.