#russian inspired

[thepaintedchateau]

..."not one word, not one gesture of yours shall I, could I, ever forget"...

~Leo Tolstoy

[andreai04]

I was colder inside than out.

“That's not nothing, to be able to hold your head up."

I wanted to ease the moment past. The temptation was familiar: to go along, to make myself small enough to slip past a looming danger.

But it was all the same choice, every time. The choice between the one death and all the little ones.

I couldn’t buy my life in the last moment, with hands around my throat. I could only buy it by giving in sooner, giving in all the time, like Scheherazade, humbling asking my murderous husband to go on sparing me night after night.

“My father could avenge my murder, but he couldn’t keep me from my husband.”

[j-morgan-fly]

Shaena Targaryen, first born daughter to Aerys and Rhaella Targaryen, wife of Eddard Stark.

[maellerichard-blog]

A quick doodle I made. I wanted to play with some shapes and was looking at old russian animated movies, so I ended up doing some kind of russian-inspired monster. Probably will finish it next week ! _________________________________________________________

You can follow me on:

Deviantart here

My portfolio Instagram here

My fanart Instagram here

My fanart Tumblr here

[bookphile]

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

★★★★★

Brief Summary: At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—for she calls this place her home and it’s filled with old magic that only she can sense and see around her. When Vasilisa’s father remarries, her new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits and misfortune comes to the village threatening them all without the protection of the spirits. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent. As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales. 

Re-Read Review

I have such a drastically different opinion and view of this book the second time around, even though it hasn't been that long since I first read it. Re-reading my first review, I didn't even really notice the things I disliked this time around. It's strange. But I'm glad.

The Bear and the Nightingale is that book that perfectly represent me. Honestly, thinking about it, it's shocking that a first-time writer like Arden was able to capture the Russian fairy-tale mood so well that I remembered all the stories of my childhood as she conjured them all up again. Morozko in particular was a favorite of mine and I very clearly remember my picture book and the Soviet-era movie that we watched during winter holidays. What I'm trying to say is that Arden did justice to her portrayal of Russia and it's fairytales.

Read More on WordPress

Find me: Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, Wordpress

[thepaintedchateau]

...”the world before us is a postcard, and I imagine the story we are writing on it”...

~Mary E. Pearson

[thepaintedchateau]

...to be priceless, be yourself...

[thepaintedchateau]

...if a woman’s strength intimidates you that’s your weakness...