Wow.

I really enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale, but this book blows that one completely out of the water.

Yet again, Katherine Arden takes the cold and dark of medieval Russian fairytales and breathes life and poetry into them through her flawless writing.

I am at a loss to describe exactly how she made this both epic high fantasy and completely relatable simultaneously. But she did just that.

The expanded character development of Morozko and Solovey (oh how I love him) really made this story for me. I delighted in them as characters.

The seamless interweaving of several Russian myths (that I have a minor familiarity with) was so well done that I want to go read more about them.

And finally, thank you to the author for getting horses right. There were so many places in the story where I exulted because where another author would have left the horses hanging, like a prop or an inanimate object, this book dealt with them realistically and with the knowledge and love of a true horse person.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the chance to read an early copy of this wonderful book

I had someone ask me how this novel stacks up against The Bear and the Nightingale, and my response was that, though the two books have characters with the same names, and though the main character, Vasya, is persecuted in each of them, this book is a completely different one to the one that came before.

Better? No. Mainly because The Bear in the Nightingale was so perfect, so unique, that it would be difficult to see a second book, especially by the same author, with the same writing style, top it. But worse?

Different is the word I'm going to stick to. In this book, we see Vasya in Moscow itself. We see Vasya pretending to be a boy. We see Vasya, again, betrayed before the ending. We see Vasya's interactions with the frost demon, Morozko.

My favourite parts were actually not to do with Vasya at all, however. For several chapters at the start, it is Olya and Sasha who are the main characters, both of whom were removed to Moscow right from the start of the previous book. Both of whom happen to also be Vasya's siblings. The title of this book clearly relates to Olya herself and, as such, I was actually surprised by how little she had to do with the overall plot. Maybe it was just an aspect of the woman's perceived role in the time that this fairy tale is set.

My favourite character in this book actually ended up being Morozko, his own self awareness, the exploration of what it is to be immortal, as opposed to a man. The consequences to his actions of tying himself to a human girl so that he would continue to survive this new, Christian time. Many of those quotes I have kept below.

One of the things I loved about the first book was the way that Vasya managed to rid herself of the expectations placed on her due to her gender. I found that part of the book deeply dissatisfying in this one, unfortunately.

<blockquote>You cannot love and be immortal.</blockquote>
I must admit that I was a bit wary that the second book in the series would not live up to the perfection of The Bear and the Nightingale, but although very different I loved it equally. The Girl in the Tower was not quite as dark, and had a much quicker pace with many more characters. I am also happy to say that writing is still absolutely bewitching - painting vivid pictures of medieval Muscovy, you get a sense of the politics and way of life in this savage but beautiful place. We get to see a time where paganism and Christianity overlap. I loved that Vasya is not pretty or conventional, that she is brave and strong-willed in a world that does not accept her. Although this contains snow-maidens, frost-demons,winter-kings, magical horses, witches, ghosts and sorcerers don't expect sugar-coated children's fairy-tales with happy endings. Like Juliet Marillier's books, this is historical fantasy filled with difficult decisions and real emotions. I you have not read the first in the series, please give it a try, and if you have, I'm sure I don't need to tell you to get the second one when it's released.

The Story: 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 rumors 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, recognizes 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 realizes he must keep her secret as she may be the only way to save the city from threats both human and fantastical...

Book: The Girl in the Tower
Author: Katherine Arden
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

Let me let you in on a little secret...Katherine Arden is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I was first introduced to her through The Bear and the Nightingale last year and just fell in love with both her writing and characters. So, whenever Del Rey emailed me and asked me if I would be interested in a review copy of The Girl in the Tower, I said yes right away and went back to the wonderful world of Katherine Arden and Russian fairy tales.

It has been well over a year since I first read The Bear and the Nightingale. I was a little worried that I may not remember what happened in the first book, but I was surprised. It was so easy to get right back into the world and remember the plot line. In this second book, there is far more world developing and a lot more adventure than The Bear and the Nightingale. The stakes seem to be even higher and the characters have grown so much. Of course, it’s been ten years, but still, it’s just a wonderful continuation of what we got to see in The Bear and the Nightingale.

The mixture of both history and fairy tale just comes alive in Katherine’s writing. I love the backdrop of Russia and the time period. We have a very healthy mixture of both fantasy and real events. We have some romance, fighting, and political issues, which make for a very complex world and just as complex characters to go along with it. All of this just makes for an edge of your seat adventure that will leave you wanting more.

Vasya is back and better than ever. Everything that she was in The Bear and the Nightingale is still here, but she’s so much stronger and an even more complex character. She is brave and refuses to play by the rules that society has set up for women. This in turn makes her kind of an outcast in the eyes of so many; the even go as far as to call her a witch. I just love her and think that with all of her flaws she is the perfect lead!

Now, let’s talk about the real stuff. We have the Tartars and the real Grand Prince of Moscow. I just love how Katherine manages to weave these real events into the realm of fantasy. All of the problems that the country faces are more developed in here, as well as the fairy tale elements, which are used to help out with the real events. I am just stunned at how she was able to do this. I can’t think of too many authors who have this ability and gift.
Overall, a great, great read! If you loved The Bear and the Nightingale, you must read this!

Loved the first book in the series and loved this one as well!

I loved the first book in this series, and this one was almost as good. Vasya is growing up but unwilling to submit to the constrained life awaiting her, either shut away in a convent or married and shut away bearing children as some man's wife. So she disguises herself as a boy and takes to the road on her horse, Solevey. And that's when things get interesting.
This was a more "mortal" adventure, at least at first, but the author made sure to include the traditional Russian fairy tale elements that made the first book so interesting and exciting. Another solid story.

I am stupefied by the awesomeness that I just read. Has a book ever been followed by such a spectacular sequel?? As underwhelmed as I was with the first book in this trilogy, I am in complete awe of the world Arden has created and continued with The Girl in the Tower. While the first one read like a complicated Russian fairy tale, this one achieves a striking whole new level of exceptional, extraordinary story telling. This book reads like a magical, chimerical, complex opus. One of the most interesting things about this series is the most unique setting, medieval Russia (The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz being a close second). In this second book, Vasya is out in the world, trying to figure out more about who and what she is. And it is enthralling and irresistible. And you MUST read it RIGHT NOW...or actually when it comes out in early December. Trust me.

The Girl in the Tower was a slow burn of a read. Or a long ripple in a pond. We, the stone, are dropped into Medieval Moskva where Vasya's brother Aleksandr or Sasha and Olya reside with the Crown Prince. Olya has grown bitter locked in her tower surrounded by comforts. She envies her brother and her husband who can come and go as they please. Dmitrii, the Crown Prince, is married to a shrew he despises so he spends his time drinking, womanizing and slaying bandits. A particularly difficult case arises when the Russian holds are pillaged and the female children are kidnapped by Tatar. Tatar are much reviled in Russian literature. They are also often mixed with Mongols. Even though there are many strains of Tatar including the 600k living in Crimea. In any case, the Tatar depicted here fit with the canon of Russian literature and serve as a good enemy within Arden's writing. Sasha and Dmitrii ride out to stop the threat but are outwitted by the Tatars that are being paid by a sorcerer.

What began as a beautiful, complicated love story in The Bear and the Nightingale came to a head in the sequel. Vasya fleeing prosecution from her hold and on the heels of her father's deaths begs Morozko for her dowry and shelter so she can travel the world. Morozko, unused to the feelings of affection and his growing humanity agrees but only to teach her a lesson. Her adventures on the road connects her with her brother and Morozko's plans backfire to his chagrin.

The plot boils over back in Moskva where Vasya is pretending to be the young lad Vasilii. She uncovers a sinister plot with Kaschei the Deathless and the signicance of the sapphire jewel that Morozko gave her father. The ending is beautiful and forces the main characters to respect the pagan beliefs even with the rise of Christianity. As I said earlier, the book is a slow burn. Arden spends the first 20% of the book meticulously painting Moskva and its people before retiring to Vasya.

I was skeptical after the success of the first book but the sequel does not disappoint. I applaud Arden for tackling Russian lore tastefully. Lately, I have seen too many stories that try to do too much and come off tacky. 4 stars for another beautifully crafted story.

I received an ARC curtesy of NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. Thank you!!!

I had high hopes for this book, and luckily for me The Girl in the Tower was every bit as brilliant as The Bear and the Nightingale. Katherine Arden continues to amaze me with the depth and professionalism of her research work, and I enjoyed her writing immensely again.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

This second book is more action-packed, somehow less eerie than The Bear. As promised in the first book we have a lot more of Olga and Sasha here, but these are the adult version of Vasya's siblings and there is little left from the young adults shown before. This second book is even more centred on Vasya's struggles as a woman in a world where her only choice is a husband or a convent (and the choice is not even hers). The girl-disguised-as-a-boy is an old vehicle to show how different her life could be but it's still very effective and it was equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating to see how differently Vasya was treated when disguised as Vasilii.

Her relationship with the siblings she had not seen in years was complicated to say the least. Neither Olga nor Sasha understand their sister's desire for more, although at least Sasha reluctantly admits that Vasya was not born to be kept in a tower in the end. Olga is even less inflexible about her sister's deception as it could cost her her position, her marriage and even her kids. I was often frustrated with them, especially with Olga for trying to force Vasya to a life that they both know would kill her, but their reactions are understandable considering the time and setting of the story, and in any case the dynamics of their relationship was very interesting.

The weakest point of the book was the romance, in my opinion. The triangle was not really a triangle, and I wonder if there's even a couple to talk about at all. I had guessed the whole twist the minute Kasyan said he had previously been to Moscow searching for a woman he loved. That part, although predictable, was entertaining and I could have killed Kasyan for humiliating Vasya like that after she won the race, so I guess he works well as a villain. My problem was Morozko. His character is still not developed at all - other than his showing up every time Vasya is about to die there's no info about him at all until the end of the book, which felt like too little, too late, and on top of everything their feelings are kind of forced because of the spell? For me this killed any interest I had on them as a romantic couple.

Obviously I'm not going to miss the last book on the series, I cannot wait to see what will happen to Vasya now that she's headed back home!

A beautifully layered, vivid continuation of the dark fairytale that began in The Bear and the Nightingale. As Vasya disguises herself as a boy and travels toward Moscow, she comes in to her own as a strong, independent character. The story drags a bit (perhaps fittingly) as she slogs through the ice and snow toward an uncertain future in the big city, but it's buoyed by her ongoing relationship with Morozko. The prose is certainly stunning—you can nearly hear the chanting, smell the incense, touch the stiffly embroidered fabric. However, I found myself a bit incredulous at just how segregated and oppressed the women seemed to be in this time and place. I know the story needed that tension to contrast with Vasya's utter freedom as a boy, but how true is it to that part of history?

As with the first book in this series, The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden weaves folklore, fairy tales, and magic into creating Vasilisa’s amazing adventures in The Girl in the Tower. Vasilisa is determined to escape the two options open to her as a young woman: marriage or the convent. With Morozko’s help and dressed as a young lad, she goes out into the world with Solovay, two travelers looking to visit other parts of the world. However, in her journeys she is challenged with increasingly strange occurrences, such as personal attacks, the burning of villages and the kidnapping of young girls from those villages. She encounters violence, killings, and deceit.

Upon reaching Moscow, she is reunited with her brother Sasha and her sister Olga. There she also meets her cousin Dmitrii, Grand Prince of Moscow, and a new character by the name of Kasyan Lutovich. Additionally, Vasya encounters another new, unanticipated character. Vasilisa becomes known throughout Moscow as the boy Vasilii the Brave. However, as complications ensue, she must rely on her wits and on the chyerti to triumph over her enemies and over those seeking to keep her in her place as a woman.

This is an action-packed tale that kept my attention throughout, a real page-turner. Knowing that there is a third novel to follow, I was never sure whether Vasya would overcome the challenges put before her or how she would attempt to do so. A very exciting tale made all the more so as I impatiently await the third book in this series.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, let there be more books. This tale has captivated me since I read the first book, only a short time ago. This is a beautiful story. I feel emotionally invested in the lives of the characters, particularly Marozko and Vasya. I want more of them. I can't go into too much detail because spoilers, and I got this through Netgalley, but if you haven't read this, read it when it comes out. If you haven't read The Bear and the Nightingale, what are you waiting for? I wish I had the words to describe how I feel about this series.

I loved the first book - I did not feel that this sustained the same air of mysticism of the first, but it is a solid book

Having accepted and embraced her ability to see what others do not, Vasya is viewed as a witch by her fellow villagers, prompting her to leave and explore the world in The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. 

Faced with the unappealing options of marrying or joining a convent, Vasya travels around on her trusty steed Solovey dressed as a boy, having received reluctant help from Morozko. In her wanderings, Vasya comes across villages savaged by bandits that have stolen the girl children away. In rescuing three girls from the bandits' clutches, Vasya is not only reunited with her siblings, maintaining her guise of being a boy, but she also unknowingly becomes part of a larger plot to overthrow the Grand Prince of Moscow. Throughout the mortal, societal troubles she combats, Vasya is also confronted with a decision regarding her relationship with Morozko that will impact his ability to help her and the people of Moscow.

Maintaining the well-written and well-realized world previously established, the narrative is a fitting continuation of The Bear and the Nightingale, folding together the events from slightly overlapping character perspectives that incorporate Vasya's brother and sister, Sasha and Olga, while developing into a darker, more complex narrative. There is much more action taking place throughout this story that accelerates the pacing, with weapons training, fighting with and outsmarting bandits, and a battle for Moscow's future - all of which is fueled in part by Vasya taking action, both as her assumed male identity and her original female identity while simultaneously exploring the historic societal constraints Vasya rebels against. Though not a huge detraction, a pitfall common to sequels is demonstrated in this text with regard to momentum; the first part of the book is primarily a resolution to the first book, leaving the remainder to build the plot of this installment to finally present some interesting information only to bring the book to an end, which places lulls in the momentum of the story as the narrative switches gears. 

Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I have found that the second book of a series can be hit or miss, but this book hit so hard it broke the target. A fitting sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale and I already cannot wait for the next tale. Thank you!

Review to come in December on Goodreads and Tumblr

Thoroughly enjoyed The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. Vasya is brave, fearless, and courageous. Her character shines through the story and is very relatable (for women, I'm sure) in that she is a woman fighting in a man's world in disguise.

The Girl in the Tower is just as magical as The Bear and the Nightingale, but with the maturity and depth of a story that comes after the initial, innocent fairy tale.

If you have not read the first one, please pick that one up first! There are spoilers for the first book below.

In this sequel, Vasya leaves her home village of Lesnaya Zemly, fleeing from the accusations of witchcraft on the back of Solovey, her bay stallion. As she explores a new freedom wandering the world, against the frost-demon Morozko's wishes, she encounters wild adventures and takes incredible risks. She reunites with her siblings for the first time since her father's death, aids a Grand Prince, and finds her life still irrevocably intertwined with the fantastical.

Darker and with less of the innocence of discovery found in the first book, this story shows a deeper maturity. Vasya must face what she has been running from, accept the consequences of her actions, and attempt to discover what she wants her identity to be. Her stubbornness and ego push her into difficult situations, and she must grow and mature. I loved how the familial relationships were shown, the heartwarming and the ugly, and I think the story has really grown into itself in this latest edition. I'm not usually a huge fan of second books in trilogies, but The Girl in the Tower does its predecessor justice.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair review!

OMG, I loved this book! The writing is fantastic, the story engaging (I couldn't put it down!) and Vasilisa the protagonist is what every girl dreams of being.

The Girl in the Tower is the sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale. As that book ends, Vasilisa (Vasya for short) has left her family home after the death of her father. Vasya is special, but her neighbors think she's a witch. She can see spirits...the dumovi house spirits who inhabit the fireplace, ghosts of the dead....and the winter-king, who takes the dead with him. So rather than facing marriage or life locked up in a convent, Vasya does what any self respecting girl would do...she disguises herself as a boy and takes off on her magical horse, to help people who are oppressed. And there are many; brutal bandits are burning villages and taking off with the young girls. Vasya beseeches the Grand Prince Dimitri to help find and end this scourge of his people, but when it's done, who is the strange person who comes demanding tribute? In a land and a time when many are not what they seem, there are plenty of opportunities to help.

The writing in this book is so beautiful that I found myself just absorbing it, and then having to go back and read again to get all the detail. The descriptions bring things to life; you can see the spirits, hear the magical battles, feel the cold...its just wonderful. Because it had been a while since I read The Bear and the Nightingale I did go back and breeze through it again quickly to refresh myself on the details, but The Girl in the Tower also stands on its own. It's a wonderful blend of fantasy, adventure and girl power. I can't wait for the next book from Katherine Arden. Would I recommend this book? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

This is the second book I have read by this author, the first being the Bear and the Nightingale. I was intrigued when I first heard it compared to Uprooted by Naomi Novik and was pleasantly surprised that for once a comparison was fairly accurate.

I am happy also that this book doesn't suffer from the second book syndrome. It is just as magical and well written as the first. I find the world the author has created fascinating, especially not knowing a great deal about Russian folklore. I enjoy learning about the various demons and creatures.

This one I found was much faster paced than the first, but it works well since we had a good idea of the characters from the first book, so this book can spend more time on action.

Bear and the Nightingale was one of my favorite reads this year, and this is a close second. Amazing!