Stitched

Kozlov Chronicles, Book 1

By: Elena Sobol

Narrated by: Scully Fyfe

Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloodthirsty monsters. Stupid-hot elves. And a demigod who wants his “destiny” to shove it.

Hi, I’m Dmitry, Baba Yaga’s grandson—but don’t tell my boss at the bar. For a guy who makes great beer, a lot of people want to kill me. Ever since my grandma hid me and my magic daggers in Utah, I’ve kept a low profile with my metalhead roommates.

‘Cause that’s what you do when your demigod cousins want to burn you alive.

Now portals to my home world are opening across the city, trashing my hard-won new identity. Not to mention all the human-snacking monsters they’re letting through.

My shifter friend, Alysa, wants me to help hunt down the shidiot tearing open reality and, even worse, the universal police are threatening deportation.

This is about to get messy. And if my cousins follow the commotion? I am one dead demiguy.

Folklore meets humor in this action-packed urban fantasy saga. Perfect for the fans of Kevin Hearne, M.D. Massey, Deborah Wilde, and Jim Butcher.

©2023 Sobol Books (P)2024 Sobol Books

By the magic of Baba Yaga!

Dmitry Kozlov is your ordinary 20-something living in Salt Lake City, Utah. He tends bar and waits tables at a local joint, his roommate is an adonis of an indie rock player, he’s got friends from Asia, friends from Europe, and even a friend with blue hair. He has a garden in the backyard of his house, he’s hoping to open his own distillery, life’s good in ol’ SLC, and he’s not even a Mormon!

But Dmitry’s got a secret. Dmitry isn’t - exactly - what you’d call “human”. He’s more… supernaturally endowed than that. Oh Velis above, get your heads out of the gutter. He’s a demigod!!! A harvest demigod to be precise. So his garden is completely GOATed (convenient since his last name is old Slav for “goat”), he can fix the makeup of alcoholic drinks to make them taste better and give a better buzz, and he brews THE best beers this side of the World Tree, and his rosé? Out of this world! Dmitry’s not just ANY demigod either. He’s the grandson of Baba Yaga herself (yeah, the cauldron-flying, chicken-house living, baddest witch in all of the Vyraj. THAT Baba Yaga).

Dmitry’s been hiding out in the Yav for the last 12 years. Sent to SLC by his dearest babushka to be hidden away from his incredibly homicidal cousins who’d love to separate him from the only thing he’s got left from his mother, goddess of good luck and good harvest. Her knitting needles-come-daggers. Without giving them up willingly, Dmitry’s dear cousins can’t even grab the things, so since he’s not about to hand them over, they reckon he’ll just have to die. No biggie, right? His cousins have all also come into their full demigod powers, whereas Dmitry has been avoiding doing just that. And they’re hundreds of years old and experienced with the magic and the world, where he’s in his 20s…and not. It’ll be fine, they can’t find him in SLC, the Yav is safe.

But when portals to the Vyraj start opening up randomly all over Salt Lake City, Dmitry’s buddy Alysa, a shifter and living portal (it’s a long story), is under suspicion for it by the Spiral. The agency in charge of managing the mystical to keep the mundane world never the wiser. Now Dmitry’s going to have to make a decision. Is keeping his head down worth risking one of his best friends? Is hiding from his cousins going to keep anyone safe?

I think Dmitry’s gonna need that beer.

“Stitched” is the first book in the Kozlov Chronicles (current) trilogy by Elena Sobol. With rich dives into old Slav culture, mythology, and adventure, the reader is immersed in Dmitry’s Salt Lake City, celebrating his brewing triumphs, and sweating the next firecat attack. The character and setting descriptions are rich and beautiful, so much so that you can almost smell the grass in the Vyraj. The story is a page-turning blast, from start to finish, making the reader never want to put it down and look forward to more when they reach the end. Now, for the first time available as an audiobook, the characters are brought to an even brighter life with stunning narration and beautiful descriptions. I cannot possibly recommend this audiobook (or if those aren’t your thing, e-book or novel) enough. A must-read addition to the Urban Fantasy genre that readers only knew they needed once they had it. Enjoy!

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.