Fully atmospheric and absolutely the perfect read as an arctic blast creeps into my city. The world building was lush and engaging, from the first chapter I was immediately transfixed and knew I would love it. The audio narration was also excellent (though I've got to admit that I often got lost about who was who because recognizing spoken Russian names is not exactly my strong suit). It was the perfect balance of historical fiction and magical realism and folklore, the interplay between "old" Russia and its pagan spirits vs the new wave of Christianity was especially interesting. I didn't know this was a trilogy so now I'm excited to have more of this world to read!