A tale of two sisters. And monsters.
Odette is the storyteller and warrior. Trudchen is the psychic, finding portents of monsters in the tea leaves. Or, Od is the wild, ruined runaway, and Tru is the frail cripple. There's more than one way to tell a story, and the lens you look through can make sense of an impossible world. Winters succeeds in a masterpiece of a historical fiction adventure told in two alternating timelines and perspectives. Great historical detail, with care taken to avoid anachronism and the perspectives of the time informing the plot and character development. Feminism and freedom play into the plot. I would have liked more monster hunting, but it's a bit more origin story-oriented.