The Fifth Doll | Charlie N. Holmberg
Published by: 47North, July 25th 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 322
Format: Ebook
Source: 47North, via Netgalley
The bestselling author of The Paper Magician Series transports readers to a darkly whimsical world where strange magic threatens a quiet village that only a courageous woman can save.
Matrona lives in an isolated village, where her life is centered on pleasing her parents. She’s diligent in her chores and has agreed to marry a man of their choosing. But a visit to Slava, the local tradesman, threatens to upend her entire life.
Entering his empty house, Matrona discovers a strange collection of painted nesting dolls—one for every villager. Fascinated, she can’t resist the urge to open the doll with her father’s face. But when her father begins acting strangely, she realizes Slava’s dolls are much more than they seem.
When he learns what she’s done, Slava seizes the opportunity to give Matrona stewardship over the dolls—whether she wants it or not. Forced to open one of her own dolls every three days, she falls deeper into the grim power of Slava’s creations. But nothing can prepare her for the profound secret hiding inside the fifth doll.
The bestselling author of The Paper Magician Series transports readers to a darkly whimsical world where strange magic threatens a quiet village that only a courageous woman can save.
Matrona lives in an isolated village, where her life is centered on pleasing her parents. She’s diligent in her chores and has agreed to marry a man of their choosing. But a visit to Slava, the local tradesman, threatens to upend her entire life.
Entering his empty house, Matrona discovers a strange collection of painted nesting dolls—one for every villager. Fascinated, she can’t resist the urge to open the doll with her father’s face. But when her father begins acting strangely, she realizes Slava’s dolls are much more than they seem.
When he learns what she’s done, Slava seizes the opportunity to give Matrona stewardship over the dolls—whether she wants it or not. Forced to open one of her own dolls every three days, she falls deeper into the grim power of Slava’s creations. But nothing can prepare her for the profound secret hiding inside the fifth doll.
This book has many secrets inside it. There's always a wistful, fairy-tale feel to Charlie N. Holmberg's books, and that was definitely present in the Fifth Doll. The setting is eerie and feels true to traditional Russian life, and sets it apart from other books, and I enjoyed the story. What I really liked was the characters - Matrona and Jaska were my favourites - and the dolls themselves, which somehow managed to be magical and terrifying. I would not want one of those things painted for me. One of the best things about this is the reason for the dolls existing, and for the village Matrona lives in. Without spoiling anything, there's a reason there are dolls of every single person living there, and it's actually really interesting. Even if the dollmaker is pretty unsettling and scary.
I enjoyed this book. Not my favourite ever, but still special in its own way.
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world ★★★☆☆
Writing ★★★☆☆
No comments:
Post a Comment