Deathless

This is one of the most fascinating books I've read. Deathless is a story of love, lust, and death, with tsars and tsaritsas and Yelenas weaving soldiers. The author forces the reader to utilize all senses. The world of Marya Morevna is full of sights, sounds, feelings and tastes the reader shares.

I read this book slowly for a few reasons. Firstly, the language Valente uses is challenging for a non-native reader. Secondly, her writing is like poetry: full of emotion and thick on meaning. And thirdly, I'm not familiar with Russian mythology and felt compelled to spend some time gathering information on characters I found interesting.

(Roll-Your Own Reading Challenge 2014: Women of Genre Fiction)