A touch of The Bear and the Nightingale, a bit of Juniper & Thorn, and a sense of wonder and adventure makes up this lyrical debut fantasy of a young woman in search of a home, and a home in search of people to make it feel lived in.

Marisha's time is running out. She's already lost her family to the sleeping plague, and she fears she'll be next. Penniless and desperate for protection, Marisha is forced to accept a job as apprentice to the notorious koldunya, the sorceress Baba Zima.

But Baba Zima is renowned for being both clever and cruel. And most difficult of all is her current apprentice, Olena, who wants nothing to do with Marisha. Despite her fears and Olena's cold demeanor, Marisha finds herself drawn into the magical world of koldunry and delves further into Olena's research -- a cure for the sleeping plague.

Accompanying Olena on an increasingly dangerous, seemingly impossible search for a cure, she finds hidden connections between the sleeping plague, her own family's history, and her bizarre, recurring dreams: dreams of a masked ball where the deep sleepers are trapped endlessly dancing -- and a monstrous beaked man who haunts her every step...

• We started tracking this book on December 15, 2024.
• This book was $12.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 2 times in the past 322 days.
• The current price of this book is $1.99 last checked one day ago.
• The lowest price to date was $1.99 last reached on November 1, 2025.
• This book has been $1.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $12.99 last reached on December 15, 2024.
• This book has been $12.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 508 Pages
• File Size: 57 KB