Gothic folklore in a Magical Wood: Where the Dark Stands Still Review

Liska Radost has always been taught that Magic is a monstrous, blasphemous thing. After her own magic is exposed in a tragic accident, she flees her small village, only to stumble upon the demon warden of the wood– The Lesky. In exchange for one wish, she must offer him one year of servitude within his strange, and seemingly alive, manor.

This debut novel combines Polish folklore, gothic romance, and found family. I would describe it as For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten meets Gallant by VE Shwab, with a touch of Howl’s Moving Castle. There is a fair amount of body horror that manifests through nature-related elements, as well as the straightforward violence of a fantasy book. However, everything was written in a beautifully horrifying way that I enjoyed. This book also deals with religious opposition to magic and demons, the driving point for Liska to leave home and kick-start the story. 

Characters: 700-year-old gods, a village girl, and a cat who is not a cat

The Lesky is very Howl-like to me, and it’s entertaining to experience Liska chipping away at his sassy, 700-year-old self throughout the book. It was refreshing to see a love interest who had multiple roles within the story besides just being the love interest. I also enjoyed the fact that he wasn't 100% stoic or suave at all times. 

Liska is an entertaining main character who struggles with religious and familial guilt. These elements of her character made her more relatable, in my opinion. It also made her growth throughout the story much more meaningful. Her unwavering curiosity unraveled various secrets and past stories.

The side characters were all unique and meaningful in their own way, and perfectly completed the found family trope. The only characters who felt one-dimensional were those who lived in Liska's village. I didn't really care for her tragic backstory much past the basic details of religious trauma and her mother's neglect.

World Building

Most of the time I would long for a wider world view from a book. However, I appreciated the isolation that Liska experienced within the wood and the manor. In my opinion, this is because of the narrow worldview that her small village has regarding magic and demons. Right away, readers understand that the church rejects all magic and that Liska, as someone with power, is in danger from this. We see the isolation that she experienced in her village through her flashbacks and witness her relationship with her family through this. Because these shape her as a character- and aren’t particularly happy memories, I was fine with the majority of the story taking place in the wood. 

Readers are also given the history of the Lesky throughout the book, and the history of magic is also touched upon. 

Relationships: romance and found family

I would say that the romance is only a small element and that the overall action and folklore of the story overshadow it. I honestly enjoyed that aspect, but I can recognize that some readers may be expecting a stronger and more obvious romance. I appreciated the subtle yearning woven not only throughout the main couple’s love story, but also through the Lesky’s past, and the wood itself. There was just a beautiful undertone of longing that defined the Lesky and the wood he protects. 

I also think that the found family trope was done very well. Because of the darker feeling that the book sometimes gives, I had a hard time trusting a lot of newer characters as they were introduced. I believe that this made most of these characters much more interesting and personable to me. 

Magic: the folklore and magic system

One of the best parts about this read was the folklore, which was the root of the story. It was interesting to see different creatures and classic characters play their roles in this book. I admittedly don’t know much about Polish folklore, so I enjoyed learning more. 

Liska’s magic tends to go 0 to 100 in the book. In her memories, readers can see how powerful she was in her village until her magic was locked away. Then, she spends the majority of the story with limited abilities, until it is unlocked again and she is all-powerful. I only wish she had a bit more trouble controlling her magic once it was unlocked. She learned from the Lesky when her magic was limited, and so she struggled less when her magic was at full force again. But, I almost wanted Liska to struggle with control when facing her full force of magic again. 

Overall, this book felt like a magical ode to nature, in its own gothic and folklore-y way. I would recommend it to any fellow VE Schwab fans, gothic literature fans, and classic fantasy lovers.