Welcome to Litsy!

The Fifth Doll is a dark fantasy novel that tells the story of Matrona, a young woman who lives in a secluded village where a man named Slava, makes Russian-nesting dolls that contains everyone‘s secrets, emotions, and memories. When Matrona opens her doll, she unleashes a series of events that reveal the truth about her village and its mysterious keeper.

A neighbourly gesture lands 26-year-old Matrona with an unexpected inheritance, one that she could never have imagined. Now the fate of her entire village rests in her hands.
I don‘t normally read YA, don‘t know what compelled me to try this one but it didn‘t work for me at all.

Holmberg is a very talented author. I‘ve always loved and been fascinated by Russian nesting dolls. She created a very unique story using these as the center piece. I can‘t even compare this story to others I have read. Now to decide which Holmberg story to read next!

I ventured out into the world today, and now I'm recovering from too many people, too much noise, and too many smells with a cup of tea, a snack, and a book.

#audiowalk with my daughter. We walked through the forest and visited the local castle.

I did not warm to the characters. It must be the genre, fairytale retelling style and Russian characters. I should know by now.

Another fun fantasy with romance elements from the author of The Paper Magician series, but this time in a totally different world with a totally different type of magic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am very partial to tales set in/based upon Slavic/Eastern European or Russian locales of days gone by & this one did not disappoint! The characters full & vibrant, the writing style easy to follow, & the story itself well crafted. The ending was what you would expect and I would have preferred something a little more unexpected. Still, it gets 4 stars because I just really enjoyed it!

After The Miniaturist one would think I would steer clear of another book about dolls but this is what I have picked for my next read! 😝

Read this in an afternoon and overall enjoyed the quick read. The Russian setting was something different for me.

Started this at work today. Shhhhhh