Wildalone: A Novel

by Krassi Zourkova

Overview

“Ancient Greek mystery religions, culture clash, and college romance form a heady blend in Zourkova’s poetic, striking debut.” — Publishers Weekly

In this enchanting and darkly imaginative debut novel full of myth, magic, romance, and mystery, a Princeton freshman is drawn into a love triangle with two enigmatic brothers, and discovers terrifying secrets about her family and herself—a bewitching blend of Twilight, The Secret History, Jane Eyre, and A Discovery of Witches

Arriving at Princeton for her freshman year, Thea Slavin finds herself alone, a stranger in a strange land. Away from her family and her Eastern European homeland for the first time, she struggles to adapt to unfamiliar American ways and the challenges of college life—including an enigmatic young man whose brooding good looks and murky past intrigue her. Falling into a romantic entanglement with Rhys and his equally handsome and mysterious brother Jake, Thea is soon drawn into a sensual mythic underworld as irresistible as it is dangerous.

In this shadow world that seems to mimic Greek mythology and the Bulgarian legends of the Samodivi or “wildalones”—forest witches who beguile and entrap men—she will discover a shocking secret that threatens everything she holds dear. And when the terrifying truth about her own family is revealed, it will transform her forever . . . if she falls under its spell.

Mesmerizing and addictive, Wildalone is a thrilling blend of the modern and the fantastic perfect for fans of dark academia. Krassi Zourkova creates an atmospheric world filled with rich characters as fascinating and compelling as those of Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and Stephenie Meyer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062328038
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/13/2015
Series:	Wildalone Sagas , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Krassi Zourkova grew up in Bulgaria and moved to the United States to study art history at Princeton. After college, she graduated from Harvard Law School, and she has practiced finance law in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where she currently lives. Her poems have appeared in various literary journals, and her essay, "Book Collecting in the Absence of Books," about compiling a personal library under Communist censorship, won first prize in essay contests at Princeton and Harvard. Krassi is an accomplished musician, and her love of Chopin and her national folklore inspired Wildalone.

Editorial Reviews

Readers who love fantastical romances and mythology are apt to fall under the spell of Zourkova’s debut, and once they reach the final page, they will hope that Thea and the Estlin brothers’ adventures continue in future books.” — Booklist

“Zourkova pens a wonderful debut that intertwines love, mystery and Greek mythology in its pages. Readers will eagerly journey alongside Thea as she tackles an atypical freshman year of college. [...] her story is one that cannot be missed.” — RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 STARS)

“A clever, dark romance steeped in mystery, with a bittersweet thread of melancholy and keen sense of place. Fantasy and romance lovers, as well as those who liked Donna Tartt’s The Secret History or Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin should enjoy this.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Ancient Greek mystery religions, culture clash, and college romance form a heady blend in Zourkova’s poetic, striking debut.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Zourkova pens a wonderful debut that intertwines love, mystery and Greek mythology in its pages. Readers will eagerly journey alongside Thea as she tackles an atypical freshman year of college. [...] her story is one that cannot be missed.

RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 STARS)

Readers who love fantastical romances and mythology are apt to fall under the spell of Zourkova’s debut, and once they reach the final page, they will hope that Thea and the Estlin brothers’ adventures continue in future books.

Booklist

Readers who love fantastical romances and mythology are apt to fall under the spell of Zourkova’s debut, and once they reach the final page, they will hope that Thea and the Estlin brothers’ adventures continue in future books.

Booklist

11/03/2014
Ancient Greek mystery religions, culture clash, and college romance form a heady blend in Zourkova’s poetic, striking debut. In the fall of 2006, Thea Slavin applies to Princeton from her native Bulgaria, unaware that her older sister, Elza—about whom Thea’s family refuses to speak—disappeared from the university 15 years earlier. Once on campus, Thea finds the memory of her passionate, talented “earlier version” impossible to evade, as one of her professors is obsessed with Elza’s theories about Orpheus and Dionysus. Thea also has to contend with the attentions of beautiful, wealthy brothers Rhys and Jake Estlin, whose dizzying sexual allure almost disguises their secretive, erratic behavior. Bulgarian-born Zourkova draws perceptive and persuasive connections between Balkan folklore and Greek myth, especially when she identifies the Bulgarian samodivi—lethal, sensual female spirits of the forest, translated by Thea as “wildalones”—with the Greek maenads, but she fails to anchor her romantic triangle with the same meticulous conviction. The resulting novel is strongest when building its maddening mysteries, and it falters when its characters need to deal with the answering revelations. Agent: Grainne Fox, Fletcher & Company. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 12/01/2014
Zourkova infuses her first novel with atmosphere, lyrical language, Greek mythology, Bulgarian folklore, and the sharp stab of first love. Thea is a piano prodigy from Bulgaria beginning her freshman year at Princeton University. After a public concert performance, she draws the attention of several men on campus, A first-person point of view and a sense of the surreal places the reader firmly in Thea's head as she tries to navigate an unfamiliar culture steeped in tradition: from dressing the part of a Princeton coed to the school's exclusive eating clubs. She is also thrown by the unexpected intricacies and intimacies of American relationships; her feelings for two mysterious men are complicated by family secrets on all sides. Fantastical creatures, forest witches known as Samodivi, or Wildalones, weave a thread through the entire novel, leading Thea to a decision that has consequences far beyond anything she could have imagined. VERDICT Zourkova pulls off a balancing act that few debut authors manage: a clever, dark romance steeped in mystery, with a bittersweet thread of melancholy and keen sense of place. Fantasy and romance lovers, as well as those who liked Donna Tartt's The Secret History or Pamela Dean's Tam Lin should enjoy this. [See Prepub Alert, 3/3/14.]—Charli Osborne, Oxford P.L., MI

Library Journal

2014-11-06
A paranormal romance among college students inspired by an ancient Bulgarian myth.Bulgarian piano prodigy Thea Slavin is hopelessly attracted to not one, but two young men, eerie but beautiful orphaned brothers who live in a mansion just off the Princeton campus where she is a freshman. Like their clear predecessor, Edward Cullen of the Twilight books, both men are secretive, controlling, possessive and egomaniacal, but to Thea, who says repeatedly how irresistible they are to her, their dark, brooding and mysterious traits outweigh their nastier ones. Thea's personality, like Bella Swan's, is mostly a blank slate; her desires shift any time it's necessary to advance the plot or ratchet up the romantic tension. She seems to constantly be running to or away from one of the brothers, when not attending class or practicing piano (both of which are subjects of great emphasis in the beginning of the book but fade away without consequence as the love triangle develops). Initially, Thea's mission at Princeton, aside from education, is to investigate the disappearance and possible murder of an older sister she never knew who was obsessed with the mythological samodivi, or "wildalones," of Bulgarian culture—gorgeous moon worshipers who would beguile then destroy any man who came across them. Zourkova's greatest strength in her debut novel is drawing parallels between the samodivi myths and the Orpheus story of Greek mythology and then bringing these elements to life on the Princeton campus. But the plot tries overly hard to craft reveals at the expense of natural progression or action, and the prose is crammed so full of abstract poetics that it obscures more than it illuminates. Passages on music are an enchanting exception. For those willing to wade through the dense text, there are many points of intrigue, but given the reductiveness of the love triangle, they may not be enough.

Kirkus Reviews