The Winter of the Witch - Katherine Arden

Hardcover, UK Edition, 384 pages

Published January 10th 2019 by Del Rey (Ebury Publishing) (first published January 8th 2019)

Series: Winternight Trilogy #3

YA Historical fantasy

Library

My Thoughts

Book 1 was great. Everything from language to story. A wonderful fairytale. Book 2 has issues but was still good. It was no longer a fairytale. This one again was better than book 2, but still no book 1.

Vasya is in trouble, and omg that Konstantin, I want him hung up by his entrails! There is no place for a witch in Moscowy. 

She spends more time with magical "things" and places in this one. She learns a few truths too.

The whole Winter King and her is still weird, I mean he liked her from when exactly? The Bear went weird too...

Oh and the Tatars are coming so better rally the army!

But yes it was good, easy reading, nice story. And when it ended I was curious and wanted more. But I longed for a return to the more fairytale writing, and not the harsh reality of 14th century Russia.

Blurb

Moscow has burned nearly to the ground, leaving its people searching for answers - and someone to hold accountable. Vasya finds herself on her own, amid a rabid mob that calls for her death, blaming her witchery for their misfortune.

Then a vengeful demon returns, renewed and stronger than ever, determined to spread chaos in his wake and never be chained again. Enlisting the hateful priest Konstantin as his servant, turmoil plagues the Muscovites and the magical creatures alike, and all find their fates resting on the shoulders of Vasya.

With an uncertain destiny ahead of her, Vasya learns surprising truths of her past as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all... 

The girl in the tower - Katherine Arden

For a young woman in medieval Russia, the choices are stark: marriage or a life in a convent. Vasya will choose a third way: magic...

The court of the Grand Prince of Moscow is plagued by power struggles and rumours of unrest. Meanwhile bandits roam the countryside, burning the villages and kidnapping its daughters. Setting out to defeat the raiders, the Prince and his trusted companion come across a young man riding a magnificent horse.

Only Sasha, a priest with a warrior's training, recognises this 'boy' as his younger sister, thought to be dead or a witch by her village. But when Vasya proves herself in battle, riding with remarkable skill and inexplicable power, Sasha realises he must keep her secret as she may be the only way to save the city from threats both human and fantastical... 

Hardcover, UK edition, 364 pages
Published January 25th 2018 by Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing (first published December 5th 2017)
Winternight Trilogy #2
YA, Historical fantasy
Library

My thoughts:

I liked it, it was an interesting story, BUT, no, it did not live up to book 1. That one was more magical and at the same time now. That one was a fairytale. This one was not.

Vasya is on the run. First, omg, I haaaate people who is all witch witch!! I am certain I was a burned at the stake in a previous life because if anyone accuses anyone of being a witch and when the priest preaches hellfire I breathe fire. SO yes Vasya left her home and is heading to her sister.

Thought break:

I found it fascinating how the Muscovites put highborn women in towers. And only let them out to church. They lived their entire lives in those towers. And that is where Olga now is. She might be married to a prince, but she is still stuck in that tower.

End:

Bandits are burning and killing and soon Vasya has the eye of the prince of Moscow. This girl does not think ahead, instead she rushes into things. So strike  one for her there, please, think about things! 

ALso, everyone thinks she is a boy....we all know that will bring drama.

I really like the winter spirit, Morzorko, I forgot how to spell it already. In this one he really shows more of himself.

There is this other person that comes into the novel and I really did not get his story at the end. It stopped making sense.

Arghhhh priests!!!!

Conclusion:

All in all, it is still a good story. It did loose some magic, which is weird since there is more magic now. 

I am looking forward to more and I hope that one will be back on track to awesomeness. I have no idea how it all will end

Cover:

I did not like the previous one, it felt so MG, but this one looks kind of cool

The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales. 

Hardcover, 328 pagesPublished January 12th 2017 by Del Rey (first published January 10th 2017)The Winternight Trilogy #1YA/fairytale/fictionLibrary

My thoughts

I enjoyed this one and yes I was surprised because hype books, aye, they often fail me. But then it is a sort of fairy tale and I love them.

Vasilisa's grandmother was a witch, or so people said. And her own mother dies giving birth to he last child. The daughter she wanted to be like her own mother. A wild girl who runs in the woods and sees things in the shadows. And I liked all those things the in shadows, all known to me, except for that the Russians have a woman drowning people and we have a man. I always liked the stories of those taking care of houses and stables, and that you should feed them to make them happy. In the story they give bread, here it would be porridge. I have always loved folklore and it is so beautifully woven in and it makes you miss those times. But then came men with crosses and called them demons and they disappeared. And it made me sad.

Right so the mythology was obviously interesting. 

I liked the story of her growing up and being destined for something. I liked her spirit.

And then came that dang priest, arghhhh, and her evil stepmum, arghhhhh. Yes a book needs baddies but everyone was so happy before those two!

Conclusion:

'I enjoyed this tale and it does end well. But there will be more and I am happy for that. She needs more adventures, and at the same time I am happy there was no cliffie.

Cover

Not a fan, it looks so childish and this tale fits everyone