Thea is a piano prodigy from Bulgaria beginning her freshman year at Princeton University. Zourkova infuses her first novel with atmosphere, lyrical language, Greek mythology, Bulgarian folklore, and the sharp stab of first love. The resulting novel is strongest when building its maddening mysteries, and it falters when its characters need to deal with the answering revelations. 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. 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. 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. 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. NovemAncient Greek mystery religions, culture clash, and college romance form a heady blend in Zourkova’s poetic, striking debut. Krassi Zourkova creates an atmospheric world filled with rich characters as fascinating and compelling as those of Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and Stephenie Meyer.

Mesmerizing and addictive, The Wildalone is a thrilling blend of the modern and the fantastic. And when the terrifying truth about her own family is revealed, it will transform her forever. 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.

Falling into a romantic entanglement with Rhys and his equally handsome and mysterious brother, Jake, soon draws Thea into a sensual mythic underworld as irresistible as it is dangerous. 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. 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.Īrriving at Princeton for her freshman year, Thea Slavin finds herself alone, a stranger in a strange land.