Week 5 Review: The Bright & The Pale

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Valeria is one of the only survivors of the freeze, a dark magical hold Knnot Mountain unleashed over her village. Everyone, including her family, is trapped in an unbreakable sheet of ice. Ever since, she's been on the run from the Czar, who is determined to imprison any who managed to escape. Valeria finds refuge with the Thieves Guild, doing odd jobs with her best friend Alik, the only piece of home she has left.

That is, until he is brutally murdered.

A year later, she discovers Alik is alive and being held against his will. To buy his freedom, she must lead a group of cutthroats and thieves on a perilous expedition to the very mountain that claimed her family. Only something sinister slumbers in the heart of Knnot.

And it has waited years for release. 

My Review:
This was such a wonderful read! I loved this world and the history-though I hope we get to learn more about it in the sequel, given how things ended in this book-and I just had a great time reading this book! 

I do have a bit of a complaint. Right at the beginning, something goes down, and then Valeria learns something else, and goes running off, doesn't actually investigate or deal with what went down, just assumes and carries on, and doesn't mention it. It could've been a quick thought, oh, hey, this was awful, but this other thing is more important, but nope, nothing until at least a week has passed. And it's like, I thought you cared about this first thing, but you did nothing about it, not even mentioning it. So that was something I didn't care for.

This world was so interesting to read about! I loved the set up of the gods and their avatars, and how well that tied into the plot of the book. I enjoyed getting to know Valeria and the struggles in life that she's gone through, though at times her character did irk me a little. It all worked cohesively together, and I really enjoyed that! 

Yeah, that ending was just amazing! I mean, it was pretty hopeless, and not likely to turn out well. And sure, choices are made and things happen that may have consequences, but those are in the future, for now, it was a great ending to the first half of this series, and I can't wait to see how it continues in the sequel! 

I had a really good time reading this book, and I can't wait to see how this duology is going to end! 

Author: Jessica Rubinkowski
Series: The Bright & The Pale Duology #1
Read: February 5th, 2021
Source: Edelweiss 
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a DAC Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Expected Publication: March 2nd 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

4.5/5 Stars