Bone-chilling
Wow, before I started reading, I never expected the pace of the narrative to pick up so fast - immediately from the very first chapter things instantly start getting pretty intense and pretty scary. The set-up kinda reminded of Stephen King's 'Carrie' where a girl also lived with a mother who wasn't entirely right in the head. However, Ana seems a much more innately violent human being. I wonder if her earlier childhood is going to be explained in more detail in the future chapters and at which point exactly she became so violent. Also, the fact that her mother systematically kills babies and refers to these killings as 'sacrifices' implies she might be a member of some sick, twisted cult of something. Again, would be really cool to look into this part of her biography as well.
Overall, very pleasant impression from reading this novel so far. The work delivers at keeping you intrigued and scared very well! Also, like I said above, I really like how fast the narrative progresses. The speed of plot development in my novels is usually about four times slower, because I prefer to go really deep into details of the events I describe, as well as dig really deep into the psychology of my characters. However, it's nice to read through something more dynamic for a change as it makes you crave even more for each next instalment.
The writing style is also great - I think your language skills are very well-developed and your use of words and speed patterns is quite effective. My only nitpick is that some sentences seem a little too long for me - when you read them, you get the feeling you'd rather have them split into two or sometimes even three. (or, perhaps, there's just a coma and a capital letter missing somewhere in the middle). Then again, nothing to ruin the pleasure.
The cover also reminded of Stephen King, particularly of the novel 'Outsider'. Then again, the picture you chose for the cover fits your novel's key idea just perfectly!
In conclusion I can only say that when you originally asked me to do a swap review with you, I was intending to do this more out of courtesy for you as well as to increase my own number of reviews. However, I gotta admit your novel really got me hooked-on, and I'm now really looking forward to reading more of it and sharing with you more of my comments and opinions. Thus, I now realize I got really lucky to come across you on Inkitt, so thank you so much for getting my attention!
By the way, should you ever want to discuss more about your or my novel, exchange some ideas, opinions, suggestions etc. or should you just wanna chat - feel free to write me at any time. Until then, take care and best wishes!
Wishing you every success with your writing!
P.S. Extra special thanks for locating your story in Russia - I happen to be from Russia myself, so I can well relate to certain aspects of the story :D On the side note, though: based on my personal experience going to a Russian school, our teachers and principals are rarely bothered to call your parents home when you skip classes at the age of eight lol. However, I graduated more than 15 years ago, so who knows, maybe the standards have become more strict since those times? :D
Read the story now