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A girl walks into the forest, but something much different walks out in Roux’s latest offering, a genre-blending folk horror that follows Valla, who loses her physical beauty and finds her true self in exchange. Chosen to wed wealthy Count Leonid based only on her portrait, intrepid Valla sets off toward her fate in the unforgiving and dangerous Gottyar Wood. It doesn’t take long for the forest to lash out, though, and an altercation leaves her previously beautiful face—the one she was depending on for survival—marred and hideous. Without her beauty, the count is uninterested, and Valla realizes that no one is coming to save her but herself. This dark and foreboding mash-up is rife with shadowy secrets and scary European fairy-tale touches; Valla’s fate is inextricably linked with the legendary and fierce Baba Yaga. Readers will find themselves pulled down into the darkness of the Gottyar with Valla as she finds the bravery and determination it takes any young girl to f ind her true self in a world set up to reward only what can be seen on the surface. Excellent character development, unsettling and atmospheric world building, and numerous but well-woven folklore references combine for a deeply suspenseful, darkly vengeful tale of self-discovery.

Publishers Weekly
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Having been chosen to marry powerful and wealthy Count Leonid in exchange for resources for her small village, teenage Valla sets off with her brother and his wife to make the difficult journey to her betrothed’s castle home. Along the way, the trio must venture through the dangerous Gottyar, an enchanted forest from which the count makes his fortune selling lumber. But when Valla’s face is clawed by one of the wood’s creatures, her anticipated arrival turns sour. Disgusted and no longer perceiving her as beautiful, Count Leonid starves her and cages her to her bed at night. The days grow long and unbearable for Valla, who’s forced to endure the count’s torment even as she begins hearing voices urging her to kill him and return to the forest. As the physical and mental abuse worsens, Valla searches for a way to escape the castle alive, even if that means submitting to the darkness of the Gottyar. Though a slow third act puts a pause on the novel’s earlier riveting action and break- neck pacing, Roux (Much Ado About Margaret) conjures a raw horror narrative using deliciously grisly moments that subvert traditional fairy tale fare and exemplify Valla’s rage. Characters cue as white. Ages 13–up. (June)

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A girl’s arranged marriage turns into a nightmare from which she must escape. Because of her extraordinary beauty, Valla has been promised in marriage to the mysterious Count Leonid in exchange for supplies for her village. To reach his castle, she must journey through the dreaded Gottyar Wood, rumored to be haunted by magical beings, the yiliksii, or “cursed children of the forest.” She’s accompanied by her brother and his wife, but when a beast attacks them in the forest, clawing Valla’s face and destroying the beauty the Count expects, she falls gravely ill, hovering near death. When she wakes from her fever, she meets with unexpected kindness from Ermo, her betrothed’s brother, that stands in stark contrast to the heartlessness of the Count himself. Both the man and his castle are nothing like she imagined: They’re dark, desolate, and steeped in cruelty. Joined in the castle only by the Count’s sister, Yulnia; sinister physician Kiril, who’s Yulnia’s confidant; a handful of servants; and an unimaginable, foreboding presence, Valla begins to unravel the castle’s mysteries. As she does, something stirs within her, calling her to violence and awakening with every secret she uncovers. Well-crafted and deeply unsettling, this folktale-influenced horror novel will captivate fans of the genre, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Valla’s character is richly developed, her transformation from a helpless sacrifice to something far more formidable unfolding with haunting intensity. Main characters are cued white. A grim triumph.(Fantasy. 14-adult) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.