After recovering after the traumatic battle in the forest, Vasya makes a deal with the Winter King to see the world for herself disguised as a boy. It is a harsh world, but Vasya is thrilled by her experiences and her freedom, but chance brings her back into contact with her family, where circumstances force her to continue the charade under the nose of Moscow. The capitol is full of delights and adventure, but there are treacherous political currents and Vasya cannot ignore the hurt she has caused her loved ones. There's also the small matter of ancient evil raising its head, threatening Vasya and the whole city.

It is so strange how often I delay reading something I know I'm going to love to pieces. 'The Girl in the Tower' is an amazing follow-up to Arden's debut 'The Bear and the Nightingale'. The characters are well-drawn, and perhaps its because of my relative unfamiliarity with this historical period, but none of my usual objections to historical fiction came up.

Arden does a good job of balancing the needs of the plot, adjusted historical realities, and maintaining the feel of genuine folklore. My only complaint is that the climactic moments of the book didn't match the power of 'Nightingale'. It's a good thing there's more already available!

Winternight Trilogy

Next: 'The Winter of the Witch'

Previous: 'The Bear and the Nightingale'

I’ll say this, The Girl in the Tower nears perfection.

The Bear and the Nightingale was a fine novel, but I felt it was laying the groundwork for the setting and the characters. Whimsical magic was on full display, immersing the reader in a world that was likely very foreign to them, but it may have been too much. The result was a good story, but it didn’t quite have the cohesion that this follow-up does.

I’m not a big fan of Fantasy, but Arden sells me completely with The Girl in the Tower. The setting is as gorgeous as it was in the first book; the author really brings this frigid landscape to life. The characters are well defined. I especially love how Arden displays her protagonist as a strong woman, but one who still has some flaws. The language is engaging and navigable. The plot moves along at a great pace. With the characters well defined, the fairy tale established, and the story evolved, The Girl in the Tower is given the room to just be fabulous. It really does come close to being perfect.

Now here's where I deviate from the mainstream: I find action incredibly boring. I generally enjoy stories for their characters and their dialogue, sometimes their language or devices, but almost never for their action. When a fight breaks out, I tune out. (Strange, right?) That's exactly what happened when I reached the climax of this novel—my attention waned considerably. I stopped caring. It’s no fault of Arden or this novel—I’m the abnormal one—but its inclusion did leave me wanting. And if you’ve read either of the first two books in this series, then you likely know action plays a big part.

Even considering this one hiccup—something most readers would probably embrace—I felt The Girl in the Tower was one of the better stories I’ve read in the last few years. I cannot think of one Fantasy novel I’ve ever enjoyed nearly as much as this one. I’m already anticipating the third, but I may have to wait—novels such as these are best enjoyed when the windows are frost-touched.

What a wonderful continuation of the "Winternight Trilogy" by Katherine Arden. We don't only follow Vaysa in this one, we follow her brother and sister. We also get a couple of appearances from the fallen priest from book #1 and even more insight into Morozko. 

I wanted to see what the future held for Vasya and the Winter King and now in part two we get to follow Vasya after she rejects a typical life for freedom on the road with her stallion Solovey. Unfortunately, a new villain and an old enemy rear their heads in the second book which leads Vasya back to her brother Sasha, and her sister Olga, who all together try to stop Moscow from falling.  

Vasya will win your heart. After blaming herself for her father's death in the first book, Vasya realizes she cannot stay in her village. She will either be forced to marry, forced to enter a convent, or be damned as a witch and killed. She wants to go traveling, see cities she has heard of, and be with Solovey. When she is given an option by Morozko, she takes freedom on the road though he warns her away from it. Vasya decides to go about as a boy and pretty quickly comes to danger. Though she eventually does meet up with her family again, it is not a warm reunion. 

We get more insight into Morozko and his past along with why the necklace that Vasya wears is so important. It reminded me a bit of "American Gods" since it delves into beliefs keeping gods and goddesses alive. You do get to see the winter king turn warm though since we realize even if he does not, that he is falling in love with Vasya.

Sasha has his beliefs in Christianity and is going to do what he can to support his cousin, the Prince of Moscow. I think that it was smart that Arden set up the pagan beliefs that Vasya believes in against what Sasha has belief in as well. 

Olga though she is a princess, is smarter in a way than Sasha and Vasya. She sees strategies all at once and comes to conclusions quickly. 

When the three siblings are together again (after ten years) you get to see the ways in which they are similar and the ways in which they have grown apart from each other. 

The writing is very good. Arden has a great gift for setting a scene for you. I felt cold and hungry at times reading about Vasya's life on the road. Arden also links her writing to the bigger tale about a snow maiden that ended up falling in love and melting away when she decided she wanted to feel love. There's a word of warning in there for Vasya, but you have to read onto book #3 to see what the future holds for her.

The flow was great. The book moves seamlessly between Olga, Sasha, Vasya and back again. I found myself holding my breath at times and just muttering that all of them needed to survive what was coming to Moscow.

I really enjoyed the world building. I already read the third and final book so I know what comes next. I do wish that Arden would do an anthology that follows Vasya and others she has introduced in her books. 

The ending was a surprise, but I worry for Vasya. 

So freaking good. 

Well the first part feels a bit slow, but then things quickly pick up speed. 

In the second book we follow Vasilisa, her sister (for a bit) and her brother Sasha. It appears raiders are ruining towns and stealing young girls to sell. There is some grossness said by a character saying at least these girls could have better lives then being forced to stay warm with very little food. I went, oh, so being sold and raped is better? Bah to that jerk of a character. 

I have to say that I am feeling more and more sorry for the snow demon known as, Morozko. I get why Vasilisa wants to be free to travel, but after all of the issues she ran into, one wonders why she doesn't try to settle somewhere. I can't see her going on like this forever with Morozko stepping in to save her from herself. This book has me feeling cold though. I was freezing the entire time on the train this morning. It's like the words seeped into my bones.