Friday Book Share was created by Shelley Wilson.   Anyone can have a go – all you need to do is answer the following questions based on a book you are currently reading/finished reading this week and use the hashtag #FridayBookShare.  The rules are as follow:

First line of the book.

Recruit fans by adding the book blurb.

Introduce the main character using only three words.

Delightful design (add the cover image of the book).

Audience appeal (who would enjoy reading this book?)

Your favorite line/scene.

I’m reading The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.

First line:  It was late winter in northern Rus’, the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow.

Recruit fans by adding book blurb:  A young woman’s family is threatened by forces both real and fantastical in this debut novel inspired by Russian fairy tales.

In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift – a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay.

Introduce the main character:  At this point in the book Vasya is only 6 or 7-years old, but she’s stubborn, adventurous, and determined.

Delightful design:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audience appeal:  Fans of Russian culture and fairy tales, history, a hint of the supernatural, and lyrical writing.

Your favorite line/scene:  Tears of confusion spilled down Vasya’s cheeks.  The one-eyed man’s avid face had frightened her, and this man’s fierce urgency frightened her, too.  But something in his glance silenced her weeping.  She lifted her eyes to his face.  “I am Vasilisa Petrovna,” she said.  “My father is lord of Lesnaya Zemlya.”

They looked at each other for a moment.  And then Vasya’s brief courage was gone; she spun and bolted.  The stranger made no attempt to follow.  But he did turn to his horse when the mare came up beside him.  The two exchanged a long look.

“He is getting stronger,” said the man.

The mare flicked an ear.

Her rider did not speak again, but glanced once more in the direction the child had taken.