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A review by dinipandareads
Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova
4.0
I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to Tor Books for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4.25 stars!
CW/TW:
TL;DR: I'm not sure what I expected going into this but it wasn't what I got and I absolutely mean that in the best way! Foul Days is dark and full of monsters but the "horror" aspect is light enough that those who are scared of dark and scary things (it's me) can read it in bed alone at night. It's heavy in Slavic lore and it's action-packed from start to finish. I loved Kosara and her acerbic nature. She's crabby and witty but vulnerable enough for us to see past that exterior to the damaged young woman she still carries inside. Her banter with Asen was A+ and their "copper vs. charlatan" dynamic was one of my favourite parts of this story. I was so pleasantly surprised by this fantasy debut and I'm already itching to get my hands on the second book (*please bless me, Tor gods*)!
I think this is one of those books that you shouldn't take too seriously in that yes, there are some aspects in the world-building, character development and plot logic that could've been strengthened, but if you can just enjoy the vibes and interesting characters, you'll be able to have more fun. It was a wild and adventurous romp through a monster-ravaged world where everyone's simply doing their best to survive the Foul Days that each new year brings. When we were thrown seemingly into the middle of the story right from the start, I was admittedly confused and had a bit of trouble finding my bearings in this world. Since I knew we'd be getting a story based on Slavic folklore, I think I immediately assumed that this would have a more historical setting and that's my bad. Instead, what we get is a mix of modern urban fantasy and I don't know why the modern elements threw me off each time they came up but it also wasn't a deal breaker. I still found the world-building interesting and I appreciated how the author contrasted Chernograd and Belograd, the two cities separated by the wall. Chernograd is the monster-ravaged part of this world and the citizens have grown used to living with death as their neighbour. In contrast to Belograd, a bustling city full of colour, merriment and cheer, Chernogradeans exist in a somewhat bleak reality drained of colour and happiness. Having to live in tough conditions exacerbated by both monsters and the wall, they're hardy folk who (mostly) go about minding their own business to survive. The Slavic folklore elements were strong in this one and I loved learning about the different monsters and what they were capable of. Dimove wrote these creatures in such a way that was fascinating and simply natural and made me want to keep reading about them! They were scary but not overwhelmingly so but their existence fueled the dark energy of the city.
The plot was intense and full of action and there's a lot that goes on from Kosara fleeing the Zmey and getting sucked into a murder mystery to a more complex magical mission to save both cities from an even more threatening monster whose presence is more myth than reality, until now. I will say that the ending felt a little rushed only because of how easily certain things came to our characters—I thought there'd be a bit more of a struggle or challenge but this could also be the author misleading us into thinking that things have ended better than when they started and we're in for a heck of a surprise.
CW/TW:
Spoiler
Blood, traumatic deaths (recounted), gun violence, gore, murder, abusive relationship (physical and psychological) (recounted), imprisonment, druggingTL;DR: I'm not sure what I expected going into this but it wasn't what I got and I absolutely mean that in the best way! Foul Days is dark and full of monsters but the "horror" aspect is light enough that those who are scared of dark and scary things (it's me) can read it in bed alone at night. It's heavy in Slavic lore and it's action-packed from start to finish. I loved Kosara and her acerbic nature. She's crabby and witty but vulnerable enough for us to see past that exterior to the damaged young woman she still carries inside. Her banter with Asen was A+ and their "copper vs. charlatan" dynamic was one of my favourite parts of this story. I was so pleasantly surprised by this fantasy debut and I'm already itching to get my hands on the second book (*please bless me, Tor gods*)!
I think this is one of those books that you shouldn't take too seriously in that yes, there are some aspects in the world-building, character development and plot logic that could've been strengthened, but if you can just enjoy the vibes and interesting characters, you'll be able to have more fun. It was a wild and adventurous romp through a monster-ravaged world where everyone's simply doing their best to survive the Foul Days that each new year brings. When we were thrown seemingly into the middle of the story right from the start, I was admittedly confused and had a bit of trouble finding my bearings in this world. Since I knew we'd be getting a story based on Slavic folklore, I think I immediately assumed that this would have a more historical setting and that's my bad. Instead, what we get is a mix of modern urban fantasy and I don't know why the modern elements threw me off each time they came up but it also wasn't a deal breaker. I still found the world-building interesting and I appreciated how the author contrasted Chernograd and Belograd, the two cities separated by the wall. Chernograd is the monster-ravaged part of this world and the citizens have grown used to living with death as their neighbour. In contrast to Belograd, a bustling city full of colour, merriment and cheer, Chernogradeans exist in a somewhat bleak reality drained of colour and happiness. Having to live in tough conditions exacerbated by both monsters and the wall, they're hardy folk who (mostly) go about minding their own business to survive. The Slavic folklore elements were strong in this one and I loved learning about the different monsters and what they were capable of. Dimove wrote these creatures in such a way that was fascinating and simply natural and made me want to keep reading about them! They were scary but not overwhelmingly so but their existence fueled the dark energy of the city.
The plot was intense and full of action and there's a lot that goes on from Kosara fleeing the Zmey and getting sucked into a murder mystery to a more complex magical mission to save both cities from an even more threatening monster whose presence is more myth than reality, until now. I will say that the ending felt a little rushed only because of how easily certain things came to our characters—I thought there'd be a bit more of a struggle or challenge but this could also be the author misleading us into thinking that things have ended better than when they started and we're in for a heck of a surprise.