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Lindsay Smith
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Web of Frost (Saints of Russalka Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Lindsay Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
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A too-young queen. An empire on the brink. And the alluring, dark prophet who could save her... or destroy everything.

Russalka is a proud empire, frozen and vast, protected for centuries by a royal family who works miracles from the saints. But rebellion stirs in the streets, and its war-hungry neighbors threaten to invade. The young princess Katza has been tormented by visions of her bloodied hands destroying Russalka—a clear message from the saints that she must never rule. So when tragedy places her next in line to the throne, Katza fears their warnings are on the verge of coming true.

Then she meets Ravin, a mysterious young prophet with visions of his own: visions of Katza as a regal empress with unimaginable power. All she has to do is seize upon the holy magic of her bloodline. But the more Ravin whispers in her ear, the more Katza begins to wonder whether he has her best interests at heart. With revolution boiling over and war looming at the border, the greatest threat to Russalka may be Katza herself.
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Book 1 of 1
    Saints of Russalka
  3. Print length
    402 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Publication date
    February 13, 2018
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for SEKRET:[A] smart and fresh supernatural take on the spy novel... Debut novelist Smith's background in foreign affairs and Russian culture shines through in the historical context of her story and the political savvy of her characters and plot.
Publisher's Weekly starred review

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078X1K8VP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Eventide Press (February 13, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 13, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6094 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 402 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

About the author

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Lindsay Smith

Lindsay Smith

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Lindsay is the author of multiple novels for young adults, including Sekret and A Darkly Beating Heart, as well as the comic series Black Swan. She is the showrunner and lead writer for Serial Box's The Witch Who Came In From the Cold, a Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2017. Her short stories and comics have appeared in the anthologies A Tyranny of Petticoats, Strange Romance Vol. 3, and Toil & Trouble and on Tor.com. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and dog.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
43 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kate Johnston
5.0 out of 5 stars History+Magic+An Angry Girl
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2018
Verified Purchase
If you like angry magical girls who use their brain, this is the book for you. Smith weaves history and magic together with perfect ease. Definitely recommend.
One person found this helpful
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K. Cash
4.0 out of 5 stars Waiting for Book Two!
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2018
Verified Purchase
I liked this almost more than I’d like to admit. The setting felt solid, and it was easy to picture the details of each place in my imagination because the writing allowed for it — that’s a definite plus. There are books I’ve read where I can hardly conjure up any ideas of what things look like, either because there’s nothing to go off of or because the prose is so flowery and ephemeral it obfuscates the actual concrete details.
Several times I wanted to kick the main character. This is also good. She wasn’t perfect by any means necessary, and while there were a few times when she was able to do Exactly What the Plot Conveniently Requires, her otherwise overall flawed humanness made her feel endearing and relatable.
The “antagonist” of the story was easily the best part. Hands down one of my recent favorites. I’m not only referring to the actual antagonist of the story, but what they represented as the internal antagonist for the main heroine.
There are a lot of really strong scenes — again as a result of very strong writing — that really stuck with me, even a whiiile after finishing the book.
One star off for the occasional railroad feeling of the plotting that left behind a slight feeling of irritation each time I encountered it, but to be honest the rest of the experience more than makes up for it.
Excited to see where the story goes!
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Risa Benedict
3.0 out of 5 stars If you liked the story of Anastasia made by Disney then you may appreciate this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018
Okay, so I received this book as an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review. Now, as I stated in the title of this review; if you liked the story of Anastasia made by Disney, and truth who doesn't enjoy Disney animated movies really? Well to me, this book read a bit like Anastasia's story. You have the young "Russian-ish" princess or rather Tszarina, her father the Tszar, her recently deceased brother, a fiancé to be and of course also the mystic's who tell the royal family when they can and can not use their mystical gifts. Only there is a lot of fighting happening with the people of the Royal family rules over. They want the gifts the royal family has, gifts they claim are fake too. Yet, after all seems to be lost, her father dead and she now the new ruler, an enemy nipping at their borders using new weapons, a fiancé with a hidden agenda, the young ruler finds herself attracted to a mysterious mystic who encourages her to use her gifts with out the permission of first her father and also the head mystics who control the mystical well that provides the energy her family draws their powers from. Over time this dark seeming young man draws her into his web of lies. He wants to be in control of that well and to do that he needs to control the princess. Ultimately with attacks by the citizens upon her home, butting heads with the leader of the citizens who herself has gifts much similar to our princesses & a larger enemy starting their attack, the princess starts to see the "light" & "truths" that she had first denied being there and finally stands her ground to save her people, her home & keep the well's power out of the hands of the corrupted mystic. The story drags out quit a bit in my opinion which for me made me struggle quit a bit. This is not to say I didn't like the book, I liked it, just feel it could have been better if it had not had so much stuffed into it for the first book. I'd recomend it, yes, for those who as I said liked the Disney version of Anastasia because to me, this book has a very Anastasia, Russian family overthrown by their citizens etc., kind of feel.
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Darque Dreamer
5.0 out of 5 stars it feels like a dream
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2018
Web of Frost will immerse you in a world of mysticism and folklore. With its elegant prose, and vivid imagery, it feels like a dream. For those who love enchanting stories full of Russian folklore and stunning twists, you will not be disappointed.

I was absolutely stunned at how much I enjoyed this one. Lindsay Smith enchanted me right from the start. I could see everything in my mind so clearly as if I was watching a movie set in a fantasy world.

Web of Frost introduced me to an incredible world cloaked in folklore and magic. I never felt lost or confused. The world was highly developed and I loved the flow of the story and the way the saints were incorporated in to the every day life of the characters.

I loved the fact that Katza was not the typical strong willed ya character. She was actually quite gullible, and weak at times. But, she fit the story and emanated grief at having suffered loss while her kingdom was on the bring of falling from a rebellion. She also had powerful moments of fierceness when using her gifts.

Ravin was dark and mysterious. It was no surprise as to the role he played in tempting Katza's heart. He was a tempestuous influence on Katza and he added intrigue to the story.

This story felt like a Russian folk tale. It had a mildly slow pace, but was fascinating as far as its development and depth. With the amount of world building Lindsay did, I was quite surprised to learn that the saints were, in fact, fiction. The mythology and folklore entwined in the tale felt genuine and captivated my mind and my heart. This one had me so entranced that I have already decided to pre-order book two the minute it is announced!
2 people found this helpful
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Amanda R.
4.0 out of 5 stars Neat
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
I like the kind of flowery language in this writing. It rly works well with the vibe of the world and the setting. It was sometimes a little bland but I kept reading because I wanted to see what was gonna happen; the politics are very relevant in These Sinful Days but also its its super interesting to see basically the other side of the revolutions where the ruler isn’t a mustache twirling villain

The magic was also super good. I really like the world building around the blessings and saints and there being deeper magic etc etc so! I’ll def be on the lookout for book two
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Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Weak
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
She is a weak ruler. Her power may be great but she has a super weak mind. Most of the book was her being manipulated, the worst part is it wasn't even sky, she is just dim. It felt like I was reading about a twelve year old girl with no backbone.
One person found this helpful
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