We’re back~! The book team at THP absolutely loves all the new books we’ve gotten to review this year. And we hope you all do, too!
The book we’re reviewing today is truly unlike any book we’ve read before. Featuring elements of Polish folklore, A.B. Poranek’s debut fantasy, Where The Dark Stands Still, took our breath away.
As many of you already know, we don’t play around with our YA romantasy novels. Here are our three favorite things about Where The Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek!
Book Overview
Content Warnings: death, murder, violence, gore
Summary: Liska knows that magic is monstrous, and its practitioners are monsters. She has done everything possible to suppress her own magic, to disastrous consequences. Desperate to be free of it, Liska flees her small village and delves into the dangerous, demon-inhabited spirit-wood to steal a mythical fern flower. If she plucks it, she can use its one wish to banish her powers. Everyone who has sought the fern flower has fallen prey to unknown horrors, so when Liska is caught by the demon warden of the wood—called The Leszy—a bargain seems better than death: one year of servitude in exchange for the fern flower and its wish.
Whisked away to The Leszy’s crumbling manor, Liska soon makes an unsettling discovery: she is not the first person to strike this bargain, and all her predecessors have mysteriously vanished. If Liska wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her taciturn host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts—figurative and literal—of his past. Because something wakes in the woods, something deadly and without mercy. It frightens even The Leszy…and cannot be defeated unless Liska embraces the monster she’s always feared becoming.
The Immersive Language
We can’t remember the last time we read something that brought us into the story as much as Where The Dark Stands Still does. This book is brimming with mesmerizing details of Driada, the spirit-wood. The House Under The Rowan Tree is a perfect example of a Gothic house, alive with all its secrets and ghosts. From the demons and spirits rooted in Polish folklore to the magical forest, we felt like we were in the Driada and the in-between realm ourselves.
Liska’s Character Development
Our protagonist, Liska, has incredible character development from when she first enters the Driada to the end of Where The Dark Stands Still. Though she wishes to be rid of her magic at the beginning, she starts to acknowledge her trauma. And for better or worse, The Leszy helps her unlock memories of how she used magic in the past. Only when Liska finally embraces the magic in her soul does she become the best and most powerful version of herself. And what a glow up it is!
The Slow-Burn Romance
Y’all better buckle in for the slow burn between Liska and The Leszy in Where The Dark Stands Still. The Leszy tries to act cold toward Liska when they first meet, but it doesn’t take long before Liska starts invading his thoughts. Their romance is full of surprises, and the angst hurts so good 🥲 We don’t usually like to be sad when we read, but the ending broke our hearts in the best way possible. But to be fair, we figured it would happen; we were just in denial.
From A.B. Poranek’s immersive language to the creatures rooted in Polish folklore, Where The Dark Stands Still is unlike any book we’ve ever read!
Where The Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek is out on February 24th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
What do you think of A.B. Poranek’s Where The Dark Stands Still? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT A.B. PORANEK:
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