Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on the fantasy debut: Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova.
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Foul Days (The Witch’s Compendium of Monsters #1)
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 25 June 2024
Genre: Adult Fantasy
š SYNOPSIS
The Witcher meets Naomi Novik in this fast-paced fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore, from an assured new voice in genre.
As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice taming rusalkas, fighting kikimoras, and brewing lycanthrope repellent. Thereās only one monster Kosara canāt defeat: her ex the Zmey, known as the Tsar of Monsters. Sheās defied him one too many times, and now heās hunting her. Betrayed to him by someone close to her, Kosaraās only hope is to trade her shadowāthe source of her powersāfor illegal passage across the Wall to Belograd, where monsters canāt follow.
Life in Belograd should be sweet, but Kosara soon develops a fast-acting version of the deadly wasting sickness that stalks shadowless witchesāand only reclaiming her magic can cure her. To trace her shadow, sheāll have to team up with the suspiciously honorable detective investigating the death of the smuggler who brought her across the Wall.
Even worse than working with the cops is that all the clues point in a single direction: one of the Zmeyās monsters has found a crack in the Wall, and Kosaraās magic is now in the Zmeyās hands.
The clock is ticking, the hunt is on, and Kosaraās priorities should be clearābut is she the hunter or the hunted? And in a city where everyone is out for themselves, who can Kosara trust to assist her in outwitting the manāthe Monsterāsheās never been able to escape alone?
ā ļø CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Blood, traumatic deaths (recounted), gun violence, gore, murder, abusive relationship (physical and psychological) (recounted), imprisonment, drugging
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TL;DR: I’m not sure what I expected going into this but it wasn’t what I got and I absolutely mean that in the best way! Foul Days is dark and full of monsters but the “horror” aspect is light enough that those who are scared of dark and scary things (it’s me) can read it in bed alone at night. It’s heavy in Slavic lore and it’s action-packed from start to finish. I loved Kosara and her acerbic nature. She’s crabby and witty but vulnerable enough for us to see past that exterior to the damaged young woman she still carries inside. Her banter with Asen was A+ and their “copper vs. charlatan” dynamic was one of my favourite parts of this story. I was so pleasantly surprised by this fantasy debut and I’m already itching to get my hands on the second book (*please bless me, Tor gods*)!
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