Having known little bits about Baba Yaga, I didn’t really know what to expect when going into this story and how it would take shape, but, I was pleasantly surprised!

I really enjoyed the whimsical world that Lauren has created. And I personally really liked the focus on character building, questioning loyalties, doing what is right or wrong and the reasonings behind it. I particularly enjoyed Olena as a character, and how she built relationships with those around her beyond the judgement of her appearance which she has had forced on her from childhood.

You can perfectly picture the house with chicken legs skiing, in all of its sentient glory. I would recommend this book to any lovers of folklore, studio ghibli and whimsical fantasies.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for an eARC copy of The House of Frost and Feathers in exchange for an honest review.

The House of Frost and Feathers is a whimsical fantasy that shares similarities to Howls Moving Castle.

Marisha's life changes the day she lands a job as a apprentice in a magical house that travels on chicken legs. Her parents have long fallen under the curse of a sleeping plague and her new life sees her working as an apprentice to a koldonya who is determined to find a cure.

The book is full of magic, secrets, a sprinkle of romance and an endearing animal companion named Golgolin who is a guinea pig with duck wings..

This book makes for an enchanting read and I really hope we get to journey with Marisha again.

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect atmospheric read for an icy winter's day.

Desperate to escape an unwanted marriage, Marisha takes an unusual job, working as a koldunya's assistant. Her new boss, Baba Zima, sends her to help apprentice koldunya, Olena, who is researching a cure for the dreaded sleepung plague. Together, Marisha and Olena must learn to combine all the resources at their disposal, and trust one another against a murky, magical world.

Marisha and Olena were both thoroughly likeable characters, and I particularly enjoyed how well the mystery of their backgrounds was threaded into the fabric of the narrative. The setting itself was also highly entertaining, and I can definitely understand why Baba Zima's house has been compared to Howl's Moving Castle!

If anything, the main characters and the magical world that surrounds them sometimes seemed a little too developed. Often I found myself more focused on the properties of koldunry than the emotions of a particular scene, and some of the minor characters perhaps needed more fleshing out.

However, if you're looking for something wintery and exciting, but with a sinister edge, this is a really good find.

Books with similar vibes - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, The Snow Song by Sally Gardner, and Nettle & Bone by T Kingfisher.

2,5 stars rounded up to 3
As a fan of Slavic folklore, I was hoping for an engaging story that would bring back memories of home. That didn`t happen.
Most of the book resembles folklore only in its settings. It consists of a huge amount of dialogue and lots of arguments, but not much is actually going on. The characters aren't convincing either—grown women behave like teenagers. The first chapter was quite interesting, but then it all became boring. I was begging the universe to somehow speed it all up.

Lets start with the positives 👀 The writing is good and engaging, and the story idea as a whole sounds brilliant and had my initial attention. I loved Wiesebron's inclusion of the old Slavic tale of Baba Yaga's, or Baba Zima's in this case, house on a chicken leg and her use of Russian words and phrases to give the story a warming, Slavic folklore atmosphere.

By all means, I should have loved this book. Based on Slavic folklore and fairy tales I remember from my childhood, it should have been a hit for me. The synopsis sounded amazing and I was over the moon when I first started it. Sadly, in the end, for me this debut just didn't deliver.

At about 40% in, I was ready to quit. This book could have been half the length. For the most part, nothing happens and the story seems to drag needlessly. The search for the cure... it could have been done in a more exciting and entertaining way. As it was, it fell a bit flat and uninspiring. There is a little excitement towards the end of the book when a baddie enters the scene, but this whole part of the story felt a bit cartoonish, like a caricature. I haven't bonded with any of the characters which is the biggest issue for me when reading a book and ultimately, did not care what was happening to them.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The House of Frost and Feathers comes out on 16th January.

This sounded just like my sort of book being a lover of Studio Ghibli anime. It did deliver and very much had the same sort of vibes. A wonderful wintertime book, it filled many happy hours.

A gorgeous story that anyone who loves Howls moving castle will enjoy.

I did find it a little too slow paced at the start compared to what I usually like and some hints at what's to come weren't picked up again until much later.

Was a perfect winter vibe story and I loved the baby yaga vibes

I really enjoyed this book! The House of Frost and Feathers gave me Russian folklore mixed with Howl’s Moving Castle. I enjoyed the whimsical nature of the setting. The characters themselves were interesting to read about, each with their own unique quirks and experiences. Three of the important characters have disabilities of some kind, physical and mental. I liked Lauren Wiesebron’s writing style and I wonder if this book will have a follow up. If so, I’d be interested to read it and delve more into this world of koldunyas and koldunis.

The House of Frost and Feathers is a weird novel but it was an interesting and exciting story about hope. This novel has an icy atmosphere which makes for the perfect wintery fantasy read.

I really enjoyed the plot of this novel, it had a strong fantastical storyline which is very heavily focused on the character development element rather than worldbuilding, so if you enjoy character focused stories this one is definitely worth your time.

The only issue I had with this story was the pacing, a lot of the action seemed to have taken place in the last 30% of the novel, so it's very slow in the beginning and seemed rushed at the end.

Nevertheless it was still an enjoyable read.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This is a beautiful book that feels like a wonderful mix of Howl’s Moving Castle and tales of Baba Yaga. The imagery and atmosphere this books evokes are just fantastic.

We have one of my favourite tropes in this book, found family. Our main character becomes an apprentice at the strange chicken leg house of Baba Zina, moving between different towns at pace and solving problems for townsfolk. She also assists in trying to find a cure for a sleeping plague that’s affecting the land, but the person she’s assisting is prickly and not happy to have her there.

The pace of the book is quite slow at first, with world building and history taking centre stage. However we do always have the undercurrent of the sleeping plague providing a sinister backdrop and a problem that must be solved. A mystery does gradually start to unfurl and towards the end the action ramps up and the last third of the book becomes a real page turned you can’t put down.

A beautifully written book that was very enjoyable to read.

An enchanting story of a young woman trying to escape the sleeping plague that left her parents and so many other victims in a sanatorium, who finds employment as an assistant to the witches who Iive and travel around in a house with chicken legs. This had a few pacing issues near the start but had me gripped to the end with lots of mystery, twists and betrayal, and even a slow burn romance (or two!). A wonderful fantasy story to curl up with on these long, dark winter nights.

Howl's Moving Castle meets Baba Yaga.

Marisha doesn't believe in the magic of the koldunya (women who use magic to help and heal), but she's desperate enough that she secures a position in the house of the koldunya Baba Zima to escape her current life. Not only is she fleeing the threat of an arranged marriage, she is also fearful of the approaching plague. Every ten years the sleeping plague arrives, sending people into a year-long sleep if they're lucky, if they aren't, like Marisha's parents, they remain deep sleepers.

Marisha becomes the assistant to Olena, Baba Zima's apprentice, who is determined to discover a cure for the plague. She's a prickly character, pushed and tested constantly by Zima. As they continue their research, Marisha becomes haunted by strange dreams of masked dancers and sinister bird-faced men.

The story immediately drew me in, it's not fast-paced action, instead there's a lot of daily life in the house: Marisha learning her role, growing in confidence and understanding, discovering the hidden wonders of the house (I love a sentient building - it even skis!), Olena desperately trying to prove herself. I liked the mix of these elements with the darker mystery that is threaded throughout.

My only issue was that the ending felt a lot faster-paced and dramatic than the rest of the book, although I did like the setting for it.
I don't know if there are going to be more books with these characters, but I'll certainly look forward to reading more from the author.

Marisha is a young woman struggling to find her way in the world following her parents falling to the sleeping plague and her brother, Dima, leaving her to find a way to make money for the family. Marisha finds a job as the assistant to Baba Zima and Olena, a travelling koldunya and her apprentice.

The novel weaves between Marisha and Olena's perspectives as they find a way to work together in the search for a cure for the sleeping plague. The tale was rich in folklore, and felt perfect for getting lost into on a cold, dark wintry night. The development of the characters was well placed, and I found myself rooting for each of them.

My main critique of the novel would be the pacing, which was overall good, but the ending seemed very sudden and with a lot of threads unresolved. I think these will be resolved in a sequel, however I'd have liked a bit more of the resolution within this tale.

Overall, an enjoyable read I'd give 3.75 stars and would recommend to anyone looking to curl up into an atmospheric, folklore inspired tale of a cold, wintry evening. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this novel.

I absolutely loved "The House of Frost and Feathers" by Lauren Wiesebron. It is the right side of fantasy for me - the more fairy tale side of Slavic Folk Tradition as opposed to the Terry Pratchett kind. It had echoes of "The Bear and The Nightingale" by Katharine Arden. A brilliant way to while away a few hours and get lost in another world.

The House of Frost and Feathers is a brilliant, captivating read. While it has echoes of Howl’s Moving Castle, it enchanted me in much the same way as Eiko Kadono’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. Much like Kiki, young Marisha sets out from the only family she knows, embarking on an adventure that leads her into the heart of a mysterious and magical world. The story introduces intriguing twists along the way, with the curse-like plague serving as only the beginning of Marisha’s journey into a world steeped in Slavic folklore—and just one of many surprises the book has in store. For those new to this folklore, it’s a rich introduction, opening a window into a fascinating culture.

Young Marisha’s transformation from vulnerable to strong is heartening, and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way. My only critique would be the need for a glossary, as some untranslated terms left me guessing.
That aside, it’s a haunting book you won’t want to put down!

A pleasant way to pass a few hours.
Some charming ideas that caught my attention.
The mention of the sleeping plague is what drew me in.
Enjoyable

This is the perfect read now that it's getting colder and wintery––howl's moving castle meets uprooted. I loved the house and all its residence.

How do they know the plague is coming? What is even the plague like how is that work? Is there even a reason to the plague? It feels like the author needed a tragedy but didn't bother to give any clarification.
I was expecting this to be inspired by Howl's Moving Castle but I wouldn't think that it would be a rip-off of it. All of the elements that were in the HMC was in this book. I understand being inspired etc but the book included all of the elements, even the fire, which was the last straw for me to call this book a rip-off.
There is too mamy details about the unimportant things rather than focus on the plague. I mean why philosophy is even discussed here? The first 100 pages were so unnecessary many things from these pages could have been cut and wouldn't have changed the plot at all.
The MC is so juvenile. She is 21 so I can't really justify her being this way because of her age. I mean having a disagreement with someone and going the the lady of the house. C'mon is she 5?