Where the Dark Stands Still Review

Hello, all!

I know we've barely scratched the surface of summer, but let's be real-- when am I not craving fall vibes? If you're the same, then you need to add Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek to your TBRs.

Pub Date: 2-27-24
YA - Fantasy

Liska has heard her entire life how magic makes monsters of its users, so she's tried everything to suppress her powers, but doing so has led to disastrous consequences. Determined to be rid of her magic, Liska flees into the woods surrounding her small village on the hunt for a mythical fern flower. If Liska can pluck the flower, she can use its one wish to banish her magic forever. But when Liska is caught by the demon warden of the woods--the Leszy--she's offered a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for the flower.

When Liska arrives at Leszy's crumbling manor in the heart of the forest, she realizes not all is as it seems. Instead of the cold-hearted demon that she's heard horror tales of, Leszy is just a young man who bargained his life away in a desperate attempt at stopping a malevolent force. Liska also discovers she wasn't the first to be offered his bargain, and all the previous servants have disappeared. If Liska hopes to survive, she'll have to unravel Leszy's secrets, but something dark is waking in the forest, and it will test both their mettle.

I kept hearing this compared to a Studio Ghibli movie, and I can see that. Leszy is very Howl-coded, and I loved it. Watching him and Liska bicker back and forth was so much fun. Their chemistry didn't work for me, but I did end up enjoying their relationship and thought it was bittersweet. I found all the Polish folklore super interesting as it's not something I'm familiar with. One of my favorite things in fantasy is a sentient house or woods, so I was eating that aspect up. I also loved all the secondary characters. While Poranek's writing was lush, the pacing of it was just a little too slow at times, but other than that, I thought this was a solid debut.

Rating: 3/5