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The Five Daughters of the Moon • Series: The Waning Moon (#1) • Anna and Elena Balbusso, illustrators • Leena Likitalo, author • 2017 • McMillan Publishers
#art#illustration#illustrator#anna and elena balbusso#balbusso twins#book cover illustration#contemporary illustration#illustration blog#sassafras and moonshine blog#artwork#women in artworks#book illustration#digital illustration
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Book 69 of 2023: The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo
This is a weird and offbeat fantasy with slightly steampunky vibes. It's inspired by the Romanov sisters, which of course caught my eye. It's about five sisters whose mother is the empress of a Russia-like empire that runs on animal souls--mostly the souls of birds, which are captured and turned into pearls that light lamps and whatnot. The high priest, Gagargi Prataslav, has developed a new machine that harnesses a much greater power--but at a price. This is dreamy and strange, very different from other fantasies I've read.
What to read next: The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden, for more fantasy-Russia vibes.
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Reading and walking with Leena Likitalo's THE SISTERS OF THE CRESCENT EMPRESS, the second in a duology of an alternate Russian revolution, with a soul-stealing machine and a royal family with powers from the moon... 🌙🌙🌙
#leena likitalo#the five daughters of the moon#the sisters of the crescent empress#books#reading#all mine
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Read an exclusive excerpt of The Sisters of the Crescent Empress by Leena Likitalo on The Book Smugglers' Blog.
#The Sisters of the Crescent Empress#Leena Likitalo#historical fantasy#books#short fiction#Romanov#excerpt#sneak peek#reading#tbr#to be read#Tor.com#Tor.com Publishing#The Book Smugglers
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Some photos of author Leena Likitalo at her launch party for The Five Daughters of the Moon!
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Everyone loves some good #ARC mail, especially if it involves #magic and the #Romanov sisters.
http://publishing.tor.com/thesistersofthecrescentempress-leenalikitalo/9780765395443/
#galley#mail#arc#cover#book#crown#leena likitalo#romanov#russia#russian#princess#princesses#sisters#booklr
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The Compassion of the Pheasant-Lord by Leena Likitalo, Lackington’s Issue 12, Fall 2016
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I liked this book! It was quiet and different--the drama was all under the surface, and the narrative was told from the points of view of five sisters who don't talk to each other enough. Also, since it's based on the fall of the Czarist Empire, it's both inherently tragic and a setting I haven't seen a lot of books in. Then on top of that, there's a neat magic system that is creepy and cool, politics that are full of pathos without being overwhelming to the story, and it's visually very very gorgeous. It's just overall a neat book.
The official synopsis:
Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fueled by evil magic.The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future. Alina, six, fears Gagargi Prataslav and his Great Thinking Machine. The gagargi claims that the machine can predict the future, but at a cost that no one seems to want to know. Merile, eleven, cares only for her dogs, but she smells that something is afoul with the gagargi. By chance, she learns that the machine devours human souls for fuel, and yet no one believes her claim. Sibilia, fifteen, has fallen in love for the first time in her life. She couldn't care less about the unrests spreading through the countryside. Or the rumors about the gagargi and his machine. Elise, sixteen, follows the captain of her heart to orphanages and workhouses. But soon she realizes that the unhappiness amongst her people runs much deeper that anyone could have ever predicted. And Celestia, twenty-two, who will be the empress one day. Lately, she's been drawn to the gagargi. But which one of them was the first to mention the idea of a coup?
And true fact: the kindle version, linked in the sample below, is being sold without DRM, so that's cool.
There's two books in this series, with the second, The Sisters of the Crescent Empress, coming out in November, and I'm a little scared to read the next one. I know how sad the actual Romonov sisters' story is, and I don't want these five girls to end badly...but also I do want to read it because this book was like a creepy dream--pretty and strange and tragic and a little romantic. Romantic in the literary sense, since any romance in the genre sense is basically as tragic as the rest of the story.
I do wish there could have been more exploration of the world, though; it's a bit constrained by being from the points of view of the sisters, who are all sheltered and vaguely naive to various degrees, and once things get moving there's not a lot of time to look around. Still, there's plenty of beautiful, quiet moments they get to themselves, and it's like reading a movie with gorgeous cinematography, if that makes any sense. It's a very visual story.
You can read my actual review here on NYJB!
- The sample is a super fancy affiliate link, so if you click and buy, I might get a few pennies for using my link! - I read the physical book, as you can see in the picture at the top, but they don't embed the physical copies for whatever reason.
- Today's Change: Where would you set a book, if you were going to make a historical fantasy story about a timeframe not much used for fantasies?
You can get my books on Amazon here!
You can find me around the web here:
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And on Youtube myself and with Joy for (un)Professional Fangirl
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The Deep
Author: Rivers Solomon
First published: 2020
Pages: 176
Rating: ★★★★☆
How long did it take: 3 days
Beautifully written and definitely thought-provoking. Some very original bursts of imagination.
Hotýlek
Author: Alena Mornštajnová
First published: 2015
Pages: 320
Rating: ★★★★☆
How long did it take: 1 day
Další velmi solidní kniha od Mornštajnové. Její schopnost proplétat osudy jednotlivců, zdánlivě na první pohled nesouvisejících, je vynikající.
The Tale of the Body Thief
Author: Anne Rice
First published: 1992
Pages: 688
Rating: ★★★☆☆
How long did it take: 13 days
I still maintain that the first three books in this series are one of the best I have ever read. This one though... is an enjoyable trash literature. (Except for the fact that Lestat is now a rapist). He also manages to be even more of a whiny and overdramatic lil bitch.
I, Claudius
Author: Robert Graves
First published: 1934
Pages: 372
Rating: ★★★☆☆
How long did it take: 11 days
This is a solid novel, once you accept the scholarly style IS what the author had aimed for. The historian in me was cringing a bit at all the inaccurate and (At this point) clichéd legends, but at least I can see where many people get them from :D.
Open Fire
Author: Amber Lough
First published: 2020
Pages: 264
Rating: ★★★★☆
How long did it take: 4 days
On the one hand, I think this book a extremely refreshing when it comes to YA historical fiction. It has focus, which I both liked (because it shows the world through the eyes of a young woman and she is simply going after what she believes and refuses to be distracted all that much) and had doubts about (because personally I thought much more emotional connection could have been made between the reader and the main character had she actually did let herself dwell on other things than just action). In any case, I would heartily recommend this one.
České tradice v proměnách času
Author:Jiřina Langhammerová
First published: 2017
Pages: 383
Rating: ★★★☆☆
How long did it take: 11 days
Milé, byť poněkud encyklopedické dílko, které by snadno mohlo být třemi mnohem obsáhlejšími a tématicky pevnějšími knihami.
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture
Author: Roxane Gay (editor)
First published: 2018
Pages: 350
Rating: ★★★★★
How long did it take: 12 days
A collection of essays by various authors which is terribly difficult to read (or in my case listen to), but one that should be widely read, because it addresses the issue of rape culture and various forms of sexual abuse with great feeling, personal experience, sensitivity and honesty. Even though I have already educated myself on the subject before, I found new and valuable views and thoughts which further impress upon me the truths our society accepts when it shouldn´t. And for the first time, I also felt relieved to realize, that my own experience with one particular kind of sexual assault, is valid and my feelings on it are valid too, even if it was not THE kind of sexual assault. It WAS that bad.
Evelina or, The History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World
Author: Frances Burney
First published: 1778
Pages: 500
Rating: ★★★★☆
How long did it take: 12 days
A young girls meets a buch of obnoxious men who feel entitled to her and she spends the following months fending them off. Naturally more happens in the story and in fact there is an important story line about family legacies and relationships, but the men falling all over themselves and forcing themselves into Evelina´s presence were really what springs to mind now when I think about the book. I suppose people really do stay the same throughout generations :D Despite its age this book surprised me with how easy it was to read. It was a light, fun read and it was really clear where the inspiration for Jane Austen´s work came from. Perhaps without Evelina and Lord Orville we wouldn´t have had Pride and Prejudice - and one shudders at the thought of such a reality!
How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life
Author: Ruth Goodman
First published: 2017
Pages: 368
Rating: ★★★★☆
How long did it take: 10 days
This is a very accessible and interesting account of every-day life in Tudor times, and for once focused on the majority of the population rather than the royalty and court. I appreciated the author´s dedication and personal experiences which she provides, making some truly enlightening "discoveries" for the 21st-century-minded me.
The Five Daughters of the Moon
Author: Leena Likitalo
First published: 2017
Pages: 222
Rating: ★★★☆☆
How long did it take: 7 days
Of all the Romanov-related and Anastasia-inspired books, this one is possibly my favourite. Exactly because it takes the inspiration, but not the exact story, and the parallels are not obviously drawn, neither forced into every page. I loved that the author captured the sense of looming threat and danger that can be felt, even if it is not understood in its true magnitude (or even detailed origin). There is a sense of isolation and loneliness, as well as palpable relationship ties between the characters (even if they have issues with each other). Perhaps only.... it could have been one book instead of a duology?
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The Five Daughters of the Moon
The Five Daughters of the Moon
Title: The Five Daughters of the Moon
Author: Leena Likitalo
Genre: Historical Science Fantasy
Book procurement: Received a copy for Gamecca Magazine from Tor.com.
Synopsis:
Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fueled by evil…
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#amreading#book review#books#Fantasy#Gamecca Magazine#Historical fantasy#Leena Likitalo#review#The Five Daughter of the Moon#The Waning Moon#tor.com#Wednesday Book review
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Five Daughters of the Moon Review: Caught Between the Moon and Old Mother Russia
Five Daughters of the Moon Review: Caught Between the Moon and Old Mother Russia
There was a spate of SFF Westerns a year or so ago, but now YA SFF has turned its attention to Russia. We already had the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, but with Crooked Kingdom, The Crown’s Fate, and The Bear and the Nightingale there’s a definite trend. And now we have The Five...
#Alina#Celestia#Crescent Empire#Elise#Five Daughters of the Moon#Gagargi#Leena Likitalo#Merile#Sibilia
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#Illustration#art news#cover illustration#cover art#book cover#five daughters of the moon#leena likitalo#russian revolution#romanov sisters#historical#atmospheric#painterly
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Came home from the UK to some very, very exciting book mail...
#book haul#nnedi okorafor#seanan mcguire#leena likitalo#the tiger's daughter#arcs#fall releases#all mine
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Read an interview with Leena Likitalo, author of The Five Daughters of the Moon.
#The Five Daughters of the Moon#Leena Likitalo#Romanov#books#short fiction#reading#tbr#to be read#interview#The Qwillery#Tor.com#Tor.com Publishing
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Going to Worldcon 75? Don't forget that @leenalikitalo will be there! Check out her schedule here: http://www.worldcon.fi/guide/#part/17753
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