FOUL DAYS by Genoveva Dimova
★ ★ ★ ★
"No," Kosara said. "That's not all of them."
"Why, what's left?"
"Who's left." Kosara took a deep breath. How ridiculous that she couldn't even utter his name without bracing herself first. As if by simply saying it, she might summon him. "The Zmey, The Tsar of Monsters." …
"What's so special about him?" the stranger asked. "That Zmey of yours? Is he the biggest and most monstrous of them all?" He giggled nervously.
I'm glad you're finding the humour in the situation, Belogradean.
"No." Kosara gripped the talisman in her pocket even tighter. "He's the most human."
TITLE—Foul Days
SERIES—The Witches’ Compendium of Monsters, book one
AUTHOR—Genoveva Dimova
PUBLISHED—2024
PUBLISHER—Wildfire UK (& TORbooks in the US)
GENRE—fantasy
SETTING—the fictional sister-cities of Chernograd & Belograd
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—monsters & monster hunters, shadow magic, witches, Bulgarian & other Slavic folklore, class warfare, magic bargains, fortune telling, revenge, lycanthropy, humor, crime-/mystery-solving duo, secrets & betrayal, guilt, regret, & grief, excellent worldbuilding / scene-setting, light-hearted dialogue
“Foul Days is a fast-paced murder mystery in a Balkan-inspired fantasy world where your ex can be a literal monster. Charming, clever, and compulsively readable, this debut is wholly original and monstrously fun.”
— Rebecca Schaeffer, author of the Market of Monsters series
My thoughts:
PREMISE—★ ★ ★ ★ ★—a fun Slavic mythology inspired romp with monsters, witches, a sort of thrown-together-heist trope, & fantastical & absorbing worldbuilding
EXECUTION—★ ★ ★ .5—the writing was a little 🥴, the dialogue left something to be desired, & the story wasn’t wholly convincing but otherwise I thought it was fun
WRITING STYLE—★ ★ ★—there were definitely a few “oof” moments with the writing but it is a debut & it didn’t distract me too much from the story…
CHARACTERS—★ ★ ★ ★ .5—very lovable with lots of my favorite “types” featured but maybe I wanted a teeny bit more complexity… loved the humor & dynamics though; & did I headcanon-cast Dan Stevens’s character from EUROVISION as the Zmey in this book? Why yes, yes I did.
It turned out to be a lantern, hanging from the handle of a flying broom. Three old women rode it, their skirts fluttering in the wind and revealing their striped socks. Golden leaves glinted in their messy hair. Their giggles echoed in the distance.
Kosara followed them with her eyes until they disappeared into the palace gate.
"What was that?" Asen finally broke his silence.
"A flying broom," Kosara replied.
"Sorry, what?"
"A broom that flies."
STORY/PLOT—★ ★ ★ ★—it definitely kept me interested, wasn’t too predictable, & the pacing was really good… though it maybe felt a little bit forced at times…
WORLDBUILDING—★ ★ ★ ★ ★—my favorite part of the book! The different kinds of monsters, magic, history, backstory, scene setting, the descriptions of the two cities, the Zmey’s palace, Blackbeard’s ship, Vila’s cottage… *mwah*
The only thing that sort of threw me off was that it took me a long time get oriented in like the equivalent time period in which the story takes place? I felt like we started in like a medieval fantasy world but by the end were really close to modern-day almost? In the end I think we were supposed to be somewhere like the early to mid-20th c? So like maybe it was supposed to be a sort of steampunk situation? A lot of the worldbuilding details felt distractingly anachronistic so idk… it confused me but it also felt like a me-problem so…
BONUS ELEMENT/S—The opening scene in the tavern reminded me so much of the village Jonathan Harker stops in before going on to Dracula’s castle & I *loved* it.
PHILOSOPHY—I actually think it might have been kind of good… there were a few instances where I was a little 🤨 but overall & by the end I think it turned out to be pretty solid…
I would recommend this book to readers who love dark & humorous YA fantasy with a crime-solving duo trope, Slavic-inspired magic, lore & monsters, & a badass monster-hunting witch femme MC. This book is best read while cozy.
Final note: By the end of this book I didn’t want this to be the last I saw of these characters & this world so I’m super excited to read the sequel in October!
“It was obvious. Someone had ratted her out… Kosara swore under her breath and sank her fingernails into her palms. She'd find the rat, whoever they were. And once she did, she'd show them what a witch could do with a rabbit's paw and a cockerel's comb.”
★ ★ ★ ★
CW // ptsd from an abusive relationship
Season: Halloween → depth of winter (the book itself takes place just after New Years)
Music pairing: “The Monster Mash”; Bulgarian folk music
Further Reading—
IT WAITS IN THE FOREST by Sarah Dass
SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS by Zoe Hana Mikuta
THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden
MASTERS OF DEATH by Olivie Blake
HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS by Erin Craig
THE WITCH AND THE TSAR by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore—TBR
WYRD SISTERS by Terry Pratchet—TBR
Van Helsing (2004 film)
Halloweentown (1998 film)
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