Fantasy

The Bright & the Pale

The Bright & the Pale

  • Downloads：1195
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-08 09:52:19
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jessica Rubinkowski
  • ISBN：0062871536
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Debut author Jessica Rubinkowski delivers the thrilling first book in an epic Russian folklore-inspired fantasy duology filled with page-turning romance， tragedy， magic， and monsters。 Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sara Raasch！

Seventeen-year-old Valeria is one of the only survivors of the freeze， a dark magical hold Knnot Mountain unleashed on her village。 Everyone， including her family， is trapped in an unbreakable sheet of ice。 Ever since， she's been on the run from the czar， who has set out to imprison anyone who managed to escape。 Valeria finds refuge with the Thieves Guild， doing odd jobs with her best friend， Alik， the only piece of home she has left。 That is， until he is brutally murdered。

A year later， she discovers Alik is alive and being held captive。 To buy his freedom， she must lead a group of cutthroats and thieves on a perilous expedition to the very mountain that claimed her family。 Only something sinister slumbers in the heart of Knnot。 And it has waited years for release。

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Reviews

Yunha Park ，

Astonishingly unclear in terms of worldbuilding。 Like。。。 the names all sound pseudo Russian。 Is this just Russia with magic gods？ Also bright and pale。。。 that's dumb as hell。 Overall mediocre。 Mostly subpar。 Astonishingly unclear in terms of worldbuilding。 Like。。。 the names all sound pseudo Russian。 Is this just Russia with magic gods？ Also bright and pale。。。 that's dumb as hell。 Overall mediocre。 Mostly subpar。 。。。more

liz ，

well， this thing happened。 the lack of an introduction wasn’t bad， then came all the “””coincidences””” and lack of subplots。 the story itself wasn’t bad—it simply wasn’t *enough*。 examples: way too much telling， no showing at all; side characters not getting many lines and ending up flat， not because they were badly written， but because they had nearly no screen time etc。 overall， i had high hopes， but they fell flat， though i am looking forward to the ending， since the first book’s one is real well， this thing happened。 the lack of an introduction wasn’t bad， then came all the “””coincidences””” and lack of subplots。 the story itself wasn’t bad—it simply wasn’t *enough*。 examples: way too much telling， no showing at all; side characters not getting many lines and ending up flat， not because they were badly written， but because they had nearly no screen time etc。 overall， i had high hopes， but they fell flat， though i am looking forward to the ending， since the first book’s one is really open。 。。。more

Ana ，

“Fear the mountain， my dear。 Fear the dark depths and the cold halls。 Fear the call。 For when the mountain sinks its teeth into you， it will never let you go。” ― Jessica Rubinkowski， The Bright & the Pale。TW & CW: Death of a family member， Death of a friend， Discrimination， Childhood trauma， Work camps， War， MurderThe Bright & The Pale is the first book in a Russian folklore-inspired duology filled with tragic curses， sinister gods and rulers， and a dash of magic set against a frozen village and “Fear the mountain， my dear。 Fear the dark depths and the cold halls。 Fear the call。 For when the mountain sinks its teeth into you， it will never let you go。” ― Jessica Rubinkowski， The Bright & the Pale。TW & CW: Death of a family member， Death of a friend， Discrimination， Childhood trauma， Work camps， War， MurderThe Bright & The Pale is the first book in a Russian folklore-inspired duology filled with tragic curses， sinister gods and rulers， and a dash of magic set against a frozen village and a creepy mountain。 Valeria， a thief， is hired to guide a group back to her village where a mountain made of a precious stone stands。 This book started off really slow and stayed passive throughout， but I enjoyed getting to know Valeria and the folklore。 The worldbuilding and fantasy aspect of it sucked you in with the vivid descriptions of the magic and ice， history and folklore。 The book moved really fast through the journey to get to Knnot， so I appreciated that。 The part after went back to being draggy and lengthy。 Of course， that’s where we really get to know the magical background of Val’s village and the land， but it could have been faster， in my opinion。 The suspense and stakes were high， and the betrayals made the storyline engrossing。 Trying to uncover the details kept me turning the page despite feeling bogged down by the pacing。The group itself grew on me as the story went on， but the romance did not， sadly。 Valeria and Alik’s fights felt repetitive， and they had no spark。 Alik himself fell really flat for me。 But were they cute？ Sure。 Chinua is at the top of the list - along with Valeria， of course - when it comes to favourite characters。 The other two members of their unlikely gang didn't grow on me by the end of the book。 The Czar and Luiza were your typical villains， and I was okay with that。 I was more invested in Valeria and her ties to Knnot。Overall， The Bright & The Pale had some interesting dark elements， and I thoroughly enjoyed it， but I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because of the pacing and flat romance。Thank you for taking the time to read my review。 Enjoy reading the book， fellow bookworms！ 。。。more

John Clark ，

Fifty pages in， I ordered the sequel， knowing I was reading a winner and didn't want to wait long to find out what would come next。 This has a solid plot， well built world， good magical structure， friendship that may be more， Gods of the trickster variety and plenty of deceit/deception。 What more could one ask for？ Fifty pages in， I ordered the sequel， knowing I was reading a winner and didn't want to wait long to find out what would come next。 This has a solid plot， well built world， good magical structure， friendship that may be more， Gods of the trickster variety and plenty of deceit/deception。 What more could one ask for？ 。。。more

Darlene Charmaine ，

This book had me hooked from beginning to end。 The writing characters and plot were well done and I do hope that it does not get lost in book 2。 A brilliant magical heist。 Looking forward to the second book

Charity Solomon ，

This book felt like a fan fiction for Sam and Celaena Sardothien。。。。but like if he didn't die。 I thought the town being frozen was cool and when they went back to under the mountain。。。。。 but some of the relationships felt not needed， because there's not really much said then BAM feelings then back to nothing really。 This book felt like a fan fiction for Sam and Celaena Sardothien。。。。but like if he didn't die。 I thought the town being frozen was cool and when they went back to under the mountain。。。。。 but some of the relationships felt not needed， because there's not really much said then BAM feelings then back to nothing really。 。。。more

lesmotsdemo ，

C’était une lecture sympathique， mais qui n’a pas réussi à me passionner pleinement。 L’univers est pourtant intéressant， et c’est sûrement l’aspect du roman que j’ai le plus apprécié。 L’auteure est parvenue à apporter beaucoup d’informations et de détails sans pour autant rendre la lecture laborieuse。 L’intrigue est aussi bien menée， et bien rythmée。 Il y a de nombreux rebondissements， et je ne me souviens pas d’un seul moment d’ennui pendant ma lecture。Valeria est un personnage que je n’ai pas C’était une lecture sympathique， mais qui n’a pas réussi à me passionner pleinement。 L’univers est pourtant intéressant， et c’est sûrement l’aspect du roman que j’ai le plus apprécié。 L’auteure est parvenue à apporter beaucoup d’informations et de détails sans pour autant rendre la lecture laborieuse。 L’intrigue est aussi bien menée， et bien rythmée。 Il y a de nombreux rebondissements， et je ne me souviens pas d’un seul moment d’ennui pendant ma lecture。Valeria est un personnage que je n’ai pas beaucoup apprécié， parce qu’elle changeait constamment d’humeur et d’avis。。。 Je préfère les personnages un peu plus déterminés。 Elle a du caractère， mais elle est aussi à fleur de peau et là encore， le contraste ne m’a pas vraiment plu。 Il y a un personnage que j’ai détesté du début à la fin， Alik。 Je me méfiais constamment de lui pendant ma lecture — et je ne comprends toujours pas comment Valeria peut lui accorder sa confiance aveuglément， malgré ce qu’il lui fait。 Comme d’habitude， la romance n’était pas plaisante à suivre pour moi。 Ce roman aurait été meilleur sans。La fin est sympathique， mais elle ne me donne pas forcément envie de lire le second （et dernier） tome。 Donc， peut-être que je le lirais， mais ce n’est pas une priorité。 。。。more

Keirasbookshelf ，

Edit: moved rating down to 3 ★ bc i looked back and if i only enjoyed it for a little bit then i didn’t really like it？ yknow？ I always rate too high lol ***I was truly struggling on how to rate this， but I decided to be generous and give it a 4。Again， I should’ve known this book wouldn’t be that enjoyable when critics said Leigh Bardugo fans would like it。 Whereas， I’ve never read Leigh， and never intend to… you can see where I’m going with this， right？I would describe this book using two w’s— Edit: moved rating down to 3 ★ bc i looked back and if i only enjoyed it for a little bit then i didn’t really like it？ yknow？ I always rate too high lol ***I was truly struggling on how to rate this， but I decided to be generous and give it a 4。Again， I should’ve known this book wouldn’t be that enjoyable when critics said Leigh Bardugo fans would like it。 Whereas， I’ve never read Leigh， and never intend to… you can see where I’m going with this， right？I would describe this book using two w’s— wintery and wannabe-angsty。 The setting was Russian-inspired， hence the wintery， and the main character， Valeria， was so annoying at parts I wanted to scream。And then， on top of that， the side characters were some of the blandest characters I’ve seen in my extensive reading history—and I’m mainly talking about the love interest， Alik。 He had no traits， no words to describe his physical appearance， and his only personality trait was being “broken” and loving Valeria。 Which， I get they’ve been friends for years， but their relationship appeared wayy too hastily imo。 Plus， they had zero tension whatsoever！ I was lowk angry when Alik， yknow， came back from that， because he brings nothing to the story。The singular thing that saved this is book from the dreaded 3 star rating was that it started to get interesting when they were in Knnot， and I found myself rapidly flipping through pages， wanting to see what would happen next。 But then the author had to ruin it at the very end by introducing one of my least favorite tropes: 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙢𝙘 & 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡/𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡。Or， essentially， the no-humanity vamps in tvd except they’re not vampires。 But overall， I am not looking forward to reading the next book。 Besides those things， though， the book was pretty decent。 。。。more

Gabriela ，

This was inspired by the russian folklore and myth。 I liked the world， the history and the mystery。However， I disliked the characters and the fact that the romance was one of the things the book focused on 😬

oliver ♬ ，

Im giving this a 3 star review mainly because this book had a really slow start but at the end of the day the cover was pretty so yeah。

Sarah ，

3。5 stars。 Good enough I want to read the second one

jess ，

it's a slight no from me dawg just didn't keep me interest it's a slight no from me dawg just didn't keep me interest 。。。more

Parisa ，

2。5 ⭐️

Bri Burton ，

YA has become kind of hit-or-miss with me lately， and I could see how some people might not like this， but I loved it！

Hillary ，

DNF at page 150。 I love the writing in this book， it flows really well but unfortunately， I dont care for the story and the characters。 I cant connect to them and I wasnt interested to see where the story will go。 Initially， at the beginning， I was really invested， the story pulled me in but half way， I was just bored and the story just fall flat for me。 There was unnecessary arguments between val and alik and what about luiza storyline？ that just fell away。 I think this book will be good for re DNF at page 150。 I love the writing in this book， it flows really well but unfortunately， I dont care for the story and the characters。 I cant connect to them and I wasnt interested to see where the story will go。 Initially， at the beginning， I was really invested， the story pulled me in but half way， I was just bored and the story just fall flat for me。 There was unnecessary arguments between val and alik and what about luiza storyline？ that just fell away。 I think this book will be good for readers who are starting out on the fantasy genre and its also very YA， which there is nothing wrong with that。 I believe I would enjoy this book more like few years ago when I was just starting out reading fantasy and YA。 。。。more

Romane | Bookylicious ，

I'm so shocked！ It was super good！ I kept it on my tbr because I saw mixed and negatives review but I totally loved itThe atmosphere， the coldness， the mind games， the found family。 It was a very good surprise and I can't wait for the sequel I'm so shocked！ It was super good！ I kept it on my tbr because I saw mixed and negatives review but I totally loved itThe atmosphere， the coldness， the mind games， the found family。 It was a very good surprise and I can't wait for the sequel 。。。more

Rebecca Dee Reads ，

This book has been sitting on my shelves for a while， and was trying to decide my next read so opened to the first page and was immediately intrigued。 I felt the majority of the story was a build up to the end， so was slow but not in a bad way。 I loved the journey and development of the story and our characters， especially Valeria and Alik as they find their way and learn a lot about what they thought they knew。 The slow build up ensured that ending payed off！ Not a cliffhanger but just a taste This book has been sitting on my shelves for a while， and was trying to decide my next read so opened to the first page and was immediately intrigued。 I felt the majority of the story was a build up to the end， so was slow but not in a bad way。 I loved the journey and development of the story and our characters， especially Valeria and Alik as they find their way and learn a lot about what they thought they knew。 The slow build up ensured that ending payed off！ Not a cliffhanger but just a taste of what （hopefully） is to come in book two， and I can't wait for it。 。。。more

Megan Oneail ，

At first I was a little meh about this one， but as the story progressed I found myself more and more invested。 I really like Val and how bold she is。 Not brashly so， but just very much a leader and assertive。 I love a morally gray character， and she definitely falls into that space （view spoiler）[ especially since she's the Pale God's Chosen One （hide spoiler）]。 I will def pick up the next book soon。 At first I was a little meh about this one， but as the story progressed I found myself more and more invested。 I really like Val and how bold she is。 Not brashly so， but just very much a leader and assertive。 I love a morally gray character， and she definitely falls into that space （view spoiler）[ especially since she's the Pale God's Chosen One （hide spoiler）]。 I will def pick up the next book soon。 。。。more

Rae | HerSerialLife ，

3。5/5 It took a little bit for me to get into The Bright & the Pale。 But once I passed the halfway point， I got really into it。 And now， I look forward to reading the sequel which I think is releasing soon。 I highly recommend if you're looking for a winter-themed YA fantasy sprinkled with adventure and a bit of romance。 Detailed review coming soon on HerSerialLife。com 3。5/5 It took a little bit for me to get into The Bright & the Pale。 But once I passed the halfway point， I got really into it。 And now， I look forward to reading the sequel which I think is releasing soon。 I highly recommend if you're looking for a winter-themed YA fantasy sprinkled with adventure and a bit of romance。 Detailed review coming soon on HerSerialLife。com 。。。more

Emily ，

Did not go like I expected。 Nice twist and set up for a sequel。

Libby Griffin ，

This had so much potential。 A journey to claim a valuable item from a deadly mountain。 I love journey books， and I saw the potential in this。 What dampened my feelings towards this book was the main character。 Her choices were consistently stupid and badly thought out。 She assumes and only sees things on the surface level， and doesn’t think deeper into it before coming to a conclusion- which results in many misunderstandings。 Spoilers！！！！I was definitely not expecting a “Descent” style monster t This had so much potential。 A journey to claim a valuable item from a deadly mountain。 I love journey books， and I saw the potential in this。 What dampened my feelings towards this book was the main character。 Her choices were consistently stupid and badly thought out。 She assumes and only sees things on the surface level， and doesn’t think deeper into it before coming to a conclusion- which results in many misunderstandings。 Spoilers！！！！I was definitely not expecting a “Descent” style monster to be in this book！ So eerie！ 。。。more

alr3 ，

The Bright & The Pale is a mind-bogglingly good read。 World-building and characters are amazing， as is the story line， which will keep you on a roller coaster。 Anxiously awaiting the second in the duology。

Jzak12 ，

4。5 stars！ I loved it。 Completely transported to the icy Cold world and felt like the characters were right in front of me。 Hope there will be a sequel！！！

Maren ，

Nooooooooo！ There are very few occasions when I think 1st person present tense is the way to tell a story。 A Russian-inspired fairytale-like fantasy is most definitely not one of those occasions。 I really wanted to like this book， but I just could not get past the writing。

Melissa ，

The beginning was alright and I was enjoying the romance quite a lot， but then the story lost steam。 It felt like there were in the same situation six times and I grew frustrated with the slow pace and basically nothing interesting happening。 So sadly I'm not going to pick up the sequel。 The beginning was alright and I was enjoying the romance quite a lot， but then the story lost steam。 It felt like there were in the same situation six times and I grew frustrated with the slow pace and basically nothing interesting happening。 So sadly I'm not going to pick up the sequel。 。。。more

Winter ，

3，5

Jelke ，

CAWPILE rating: 3。93actual rating: 2。5 ⭐️

Angelic Death ，

Valeria will do anything in her power to help the person she cares the most about。 I love the journey the characters have， in order to better their lives。 And it all awaits， with just a necklace。

Flupi ，

Buckle up people！ It's going to get ugly。In the Acknowledgments says the writer and I quote: "This has been a dream of mine since I was in thirteen， writing Harry Potter fanfic at my parent's basement"。 Girl， you should have stick to fanfic because this book was just awful。 Ok？ Nothing really happens。The CharactersValeria， was whining ALL the time but she didn't actually do anything。 Just when she could be the hero protagonist and face whatever she had to face， she bolted the scene and kept whin Buckle up people！ It's going to get ugly。In the Acknowledgments says the writer and I quote: "This has been a dream of mine since I was in thirteen， writing Harry Potter fanfic at my parent's basement"。 Girl， you should have stick to fanfic because this book was just awful。 Ok？ Nothing really happens。The CharactersValeria， was whining ALL the time but she didn't actually do anything。 Just when she could be the hero protagonist and face whatever she had to face， she bolted the scene and kept whining。 I mean come on， is this the protagonist I want to admire？ HELL NO！Alik was。。。no。 The only character I did like was Serafima and she didn't develop enough for me。The RomanceIf you do not know how to write a romantic plot do not write it。 Don't force it。 I mean， from Alik being her companion in the first chapter， （view spoiler）[she knows he's dead in the first chapter， and in the second he's not。 I mean what？ Come on， go through with it。 Suspense us， I'm begging you。 （hide spoiler）] in the next chapters she loves him？ Come on。The PlotYeah you have no parents。 The orphan girl is so in fashion。 We get that。 And yes you are the "chosen" one。 For what？ I do not know for the life of me。 （view spoiler）[And of course the Pale God chose her。 Pfffff （hide spoiler）]Yeah I mean， I don't know if I would characterize it as the worst read of 2022， because it's only February， but I challenge all thee other writers to write something like this。 Terrible。Also， I will petition Goodreads to make us give 0。5 stars。 And I am that generous only because of my Sera girl。 。。。more

Anna Agarwal ，

***3。5⭐️

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Bright & the Pale

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Bright & the Pale&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Bright & the Pale&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0