The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

Synopsis
Yaga lives deep in the Russian forest, tending to any that call upon her for her healing potions and vast wisdom.

She has been alone for centuries, with only her beloved animals for company. But, when Tsaritsa Anastasia, wife of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, shows up at Yaga’s cottage on the brink of death, Yaga is compelled to travel with her to Moscow to keep her safe.

However, the Russia Yaga sees as she makes her journey to the heart of the country is one on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan – soon to become Ivan the Terrible – grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.

My Review
The Witch and the Tsar is the debut historical fantasy from Olesya Salnikova Gilmore. As a child I loved the old fairytales and one of those was the story of the witch Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga was a wizened, hunchbacked witch who lived in a house on chicken legs and stole and ate children. Olesya Salnikova Gilmore has taken this story, turned it around and tells a different story, one of a healer who wants to help save her mother Russia. Set in sixteenth century Russia, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible this is a wonderful mix of history and fantasy.

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore’s easy writing style makes The Witch and the Tsar such a wonderful reading experience. She manages to seamlessly blend historical fact and Russian mythology in plot and characters. The Baba Yaga in this story is immortal, attractive and a healer and friend of the Tsarina Anastasia, wife of Tsar Ivan, before he descended to the brutality that earned him the moniker of The Terrible. Baba Yaga is the daughter of a goddess and a mortal man placing her at the middle of the mythological world and the real world, and at the centre of this story. The imagining of the mythological world is amazing; the tree where souls slip down to be consumed by the goddess Selica, the goddess of death and rebirth, the swamps and mountains of glass.

The same attention of detail is in the characters. Baba Yaga is the complete opposite of her depiction in fairytales, she is a caring and warm character, and I enjoyed seeing how her character changed over the course of the book, as she took charge and pushed herself to the point where she was willing to give her life to protect others. The characterisations of the gods and goddesses were my favourite, Koshey an old lover and adversary of Baba Yaga who is on the opposite side of the war to her, Morozko the god of winter with his scyth that turns the land to winter and Selica the adversary of Baba Yaga, who every year has to die in terrible pain to be reborn and kill her husband.

The Witch and the Tsar is a book I fell in love. I loved the characters, especially Baba Yaga and her adversary Selica, and the perfect mix of fantasy and historical fiction. This book has adventure, history, mythology, political intrigue and a touch of romance. I was reminded of one of my favourite series, The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden reading this as it also focuses on Russian folklore. Immersive and compellng, this is a stunning read.

I would like to thank Anne Cater and Harper Voyager for my copy of this book as part of the blog tour.