Review of ‘The Skin of the Bear’ by Edurne Valiente, the most spicy, shocking and detailed medieval fantasy age-gap.

Reread to Edurne Valiente It’s returning to a home you didn’t know you belonged to. The talent and, above all, the thoroughness of the author when creating arguments in her universe of medieval fantasy It is a safe place to shelter from the literary barrage of works that reach us at all hours (the latest The hurricane war, which I really liked, but compared to Edurne’s pen… It falls short). And, be careful, when it comes to books I don’t put doors on the field, but finding rest in that author that you know is going to work is an unbeatable feeling.

And Edurne Valiente works.

The bear skin It is his third novel for sale, a book of more than 600 pages (which contrasts in length with his first work, the novelettes a funeral song), where the first thing we find is a young protagonist, Clémence, for whom they have arranged a forced marriage. The scene is also bleak. A place called Blackstone appears before our eyes as a blackish tower, with a perhaps more optimistic past, but right now it is in ruins, with hardly any servants and a cold climate, with a certain feel of Winterfell. There the most powerful lord of Scysia, Lord Tulyn, a man twice his age, arrives riding along with about twenty men.

From the first pages we can already appreciate Edurne’s artistic display when it comes to recreating the settings of her novel and, also, outlining her characters. The innocence of clemenceone of the personalities he best describes, collides head-on with the impatience, sobriety and seriousness of Lord Tulyn, a character who will show his most human side as the pages progress. Furthermore, as in all of his medieval fantasy works, Edurne displays some of his concerns. In this case, The bear skin includes a protagonist with very clear OCD from the beginning of the pages. I have never encountered this type of inclusion in the genre, but we really feel poor Clémence’s anxiety that leads her to perform compulsions in an unrestrained manner from the beginning of the reading. Perhaps it is one of the themes that I feel that Edurne does not fully develop and that as the pages turn we cannot follow up on what seems so evident at the beginning, turning the focus of attention to other issues, but now the The simple fact of having a character like that seems meritorious on the part of the author and very original.

As for the scenarios, I think the most notable thing is Edurne’s ability to create an atmosphere for each of them. The splendor of Lord Tulyn’s fortress, the decrepitude of Blackstone, the restlessness of Bastow.

Reading the book at home The bear skin by Edurne Valiente

There are some trigger warnings important. Followed by the main conflict of the play, the forced marriage, we soon arrive at the first shocking scene that will determine much of the plot of The bear skin. Clémence and Tulyn break up in this first encounter and throughout the story they will have to heal, evolve, give in and adapt to each other to come to love each other. Between both, furthermore, there is a significant age difference, which Edurne has known how to treat with respect. Especially in the sexual scenes. Because yes, hold on to your glasses because there are quite a few spicy scenes coming.

The central part of The bear skin She is calm, another identifying sign of Edurne Valiente. The author takes her time in some parts of their stories to calm the waters and develop a topic of interest. In this case, the personality of its two main protagonists, as well as their connections with the world and, above all, the relationship between them. Throughout several seasons, well The bear skin It is divided into winter, spring, summer and winter again, we witness the encounters and disagreements of Clémence and Tulyn. We passed by phases of denial, anger, negotiation, depression and acceptance as in pure and simple grief. In these most central parts I have found another small drawback and that is that some situations perhaps become repetitive because the same setting and the same action are used to advance the plot, such as when Tulyn calls his wife all the time, at the beginning of the play, to his office. But it’s something I’ve only glimpsed at the beginning.

—If you stay, you will always sleep with me-he said impassively—. If you leave, you won’t get into my bed again.

Before continuing, I would also like to refer to a beautiful magical being who accompanies Clémence throughout the book and who stars in one of the most emotional scenes of the work: Purple. A violet fairy being that when Clémence suffers anxiety, she is nervous, sad… she transmits calm and security with her small hands through her skin. A companion who reminds us of all those silent companions who take care of us without asking for anything in return. I also see here a small nod from the author to to magicwho likes it to have some appearance in her books, although she prefers that it not eclipse the main plot (another magnificent identifier of Edurne Valiente’s style).

And ladies and gentlemen, promise me that if you start reading The bear skin they will reach chapter 89. They won’t be able to put the book down anymore. Everything is going to rush.

Without a doubt, yes a funeral song led to one of the most debatable endings in history, The bear skin It closes, although also with a certain enigma, in a satisfactory way for, surely, the majority of readers. But I hope you can make your own opinion.

The bear skin of Edurne Valiente It is an age-gap medieval fantasy that, despite its more than 600 pages, is read in one sitting due to the thoroughness and originality of the author’s work. Characters full of contradictions and wounds that must heal by accepting and adapting to each other. A story with more than one twist and an amazing environmental display. A new highlight for an author who is already essential to me: Edurne Valiente.

You want to know more?

🐻On the author’s page you can access more information about her books.