Friday Friyay: 'The Light of the Midnight Stars' by Rena Rossner

It feels five-thousand years ago since I did one of these posts! I've been completely sucked into the thesis-whirlwind, but thankfully it's all gonna be winding down this month. I'm so close to it being finished that it almost feels unreal! But I do know what I want to read straight after I've finished: The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner!

An evocative combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore, The Light of the Midnight Stars is fairytale-inspired novel from the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood.

Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they pray, sing and perform small miracles - and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters. Each one is blessed with a unique talent - whether it be coaxing plants to grow, or predicting the future by reading the path of the stars.

When a fateful decision to help an outsider ends in an accusation of witchcraft, fire blazes through their village. Rabbi Isaac and his family are forced to flee, to abandon their magic and settle into a new way of life. But a dark fog is making its way across Europe and will, in the end, reach even those who thought they could run from it. Each of the sisters will have to make a choice - and change the future of their family forever.

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

BB:

'There was a time when everyone knew about Trnava. Once, it was a bustling market town that sat at the crossroads between the kingdom of Poland and the rest of Bohemia. Once, the king of Hungary, Charles the First, visited the town and conducted important negotiations there. But there are stories you don't know. Stories the residents of the town like to keep secret.' p.1

I love being promised secret stories. I love when there is a glimpse at wider history but a focusing in on the personal and the mythical. This beginning is what sucked me straight into the novel and made me buy it.

F56:

'I stare at him, part skeptical, part incredulous. I feel confused and a little bit angry. Maybe he's mocking me?' p.56

This was at the very top of the page and it only gets better from there! I probably shouldn't have kept reading since I haven't even started the novel yet, but how could I not? 

BBH:

This week's question was submitted by Heather from MM Romance Reviewed:

Do you post negative reviews? Do you promote those reviews if you post?

I do technically post negative reviews, because in my eyes it's what makes this blog balanced. I can't love everything I read, not everything can be rated 5 Universes because it would cheapen what it means, in my eyes. (Yes, that's a little dramatic!) But the term 'negative' is also pretty broad for me. I've written plenty 3-Universe reviews in which I say the book was lovely and did what I expected, but did nothing special. This is often the case of thrillers which I really enjoy reading, but many of which follow a set formula and don't do anything new or surprising. So those are technically not super positive, but they're also not majorly negative. This is the majority of my reviews, a mix between good things and bad, sometimes leaning more towards the latter. These reviews still go up here on the blog and on Goodreads/Netgalley, but I wouldn't tweet them at a publisher or author.

I do have some 2-Universe reviews, mostly of books I have bought myself or books that really disappointed me somehow. I do tend to hesitate when posting a review when I feel like my response to the book isn't necessarily due to the book. If I know that something is a trigger for me, for example, or if a certain tone or genre just doesn't work for me, there is no point in me torturing myself through it or criticizing an author for something they can't help. So that's usually when I DNF a book and let the publisher know why I'm not reviewing it. 

That's me for today! I hope y'all have a lovely weekend :)