Book Title: Vassa in the Night (Standalone)
Author:     Sarah Porter
Number of pages:  304

Synopsis:

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

(re: Goodreads @ Metaltown by Kristen Simmons)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr review:

– Retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful
– This Brooklyn is all kinds of dark and fantastical; longer nights, anthropomorphic creatures, and whimsically vivid imagery
– The prose is a hit/miss depending on the reader’s tolerance to sugary, purple prose
– There is romance but it is not the focus of the story (therefore does not necessarily hi-jack the plot)
– Though Erg, the talking wooden doll, is a secondary MC, there are moments the Deus Ex Machina trope is exhibited from her