Vasilisa Petrovna’s adventures continue in The Girl in the Tower, by Katherine Arden, the sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale. Without her family to shield her from the hostile villagers of Lesnaya Zemlya, she lights out for the territories on her trusty, magical horse to become a traveler. But because a) Russian fairy tales tend to be as bloodthirsty or more than Grimms’ and b) fourteenth century Russia is no picnic anyway, Vasilisa is almost immediately in peril.

In fourteenth century Russia, women have few options. It’s either marriage or a convent. And, for high ranking women, marriage came with lifelong seclusion in terem. All Vasilisa wants is to see the world. Though her protector, Morozko (the snow-king) tries to dissuade her, Vasilisa takes to the road. Meanwhile, we also check in with Vasilisa’s older sister, Olga, in Moscow, and her warrior-monk brother, Sasha. As Vasilisa is making her way, disguised as a boy, Olga is trying to maintain order in her haunted tower and Sasha is dealing with the fallout of a series of violent attacks on villages around Moscow by bandits who don’t leave tracks.

It doesn’t take long for the siblings’ stories to intersect and for Vasilisa to realize that she’s up against something supernatural. Again. I don’t want to say too much because if I start talking about what happens, anyone who knows a bit about Russian folklore might be able to figure things out too soon. But I will say that I love the way Vasilisa and her family are caught between the native spirits of Russia who are still hanging on in the banyas and hearths of the country and the new Orthodox faith that dismisses the bannik and domovoi as devils. A few centuries before, Vasilisa might not have had to deal with everything alone or been accused of witchcraft. Half (or more) of Vasilisa’s fight is just trying to get people to at least allow her get on with things.

I remember liking The Bear and the Nightingale a lot, but I think I might have enjoyed this entry in the series even more. The stakes have been raised in The Girl in the Tower. The story has widened to bring in even more figures from Russian folklore. But most of all, I love who Vasilisa is becoming. She is learning that she is mostly on her own and she grows increasingly capable with every new challenge. She also has a gift for pushing her family and allies to be better people, to become heroes. There’s so much in The Girl in the Tower that I loved. I strongly recommend these books for fans of folklore and folklore retellings.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. It will be released 5 December 2017.

This second installment of a fantasy trilogy is as enthralling as its predecessor, The Bear and the Nightingale, expertly weaving history, folklore, and fairy tales into an exciting narrative of medieval Russia. Teenage heroine Vasya has left her remote home to pursue her ambition of seeing the world, but finds herself pursued by dangers related to past and present threats and to the supernatural creatures her special abilities enable her to see and communicate with. Caught up in deadly Moscow court intrigues centered on her family, Vasya comes to realize  both the strengths and liabilities of her beyond-human gifts. The exciting denouement will have both young adult and adult fans eager for the final volume.

I'll begin by saying thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a historical fiction fan. Occasionally, I can get into it, but not often. Books like this one though, with the hints of magic and deeper moments than many authors are capable of (so many are "oh, info dump about history, here you go!"), really make me want to try harder.

I mentioned in my review for book one, The Bear and the Nightingale, that when I first requested it based off of the description, I was disappointed to learn that it was not a standalone and was in fact the first of a trilogy. I also mentioned that by the end of book one, I was beyond happy that it had worked out that way... well, I'm still thrilled, because it means I get one more book, one more story in this world, one more adventure with one of my favorite heroines of 2017 - Vasya. Seriously, she's everything a good character should be -- strong but vulnerable, brave, smart, flawed, deep, and fiery. She's got the badass thing down pat.

I can't rave enough about Vasya or the depth and beauty of these two books. Give them a shot, even if historical fiction isn't really your thing. They have a fantasy element that kicks it up a notch, and they're beautiful, timeless, powerful stories about how one person can truly make a difference in her world, and how living life the way you're told isn't always the path you should take. Unless it means listening to me telling you to read this. That's one command you need to heed!

The Bear and the Nightingale was a big hit last year, and reminded me of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, which also enchanted a lot of readers.  I think bibliophiles are always impressed with something new and unique, which Katherine Arden has created with this series.  In The Girl in the Tower  the story continues, with Vasya escaping her intolerant village home to go out into the world on an adventure, which would be normally be unheard of for a woman in her era.  Entertaining and impressive in setting and tone, The Girl in the Tower is a satisfying sequel containing engaging characters, a compulsive plot and is filled with magic.

I was a little let down by the follow-up to The Bear and the Nightingale, but only because I loved the first book so much! The Girl in the Tower is a thoroughly enjoyable historical fantasy about a young woman struggling to escape the constraints of gendered expectations. Russian folklore enthusiasts will have another delightful read from Katherine Arden in December.

The Girl in the Tower is ambitious and interesting. It's fun to follow the heroine on her fairy tale all over ancient Russia.  There's a little bit of everything - magic, love (of a sort), nobility, and lots of adventure. As with the first book, the writing becomes a little less strong as the story is coming to its conclusion. But it's still impressive writing.
I was provided an ARC from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. I think it is a must read for fantasy lovers.

This is a gorgeous story weaving historical fiction into Russian fairytales. The story is not only stunning, but fast paced and action packed and one that you will not want to put down!!

The story continues right from its previous tale, The Bear and the Nightingale, following Vasya and her family as she has to come to terms with what the events of the previous book caused. Vasya has the ability to "see" the chyerti or spirits of her world, including Morozko-aka Death- and this ability has now grown from not only affecting her life but of those around her in ways you would not have guessed. Now towns are mysteriously burning down all around, so Vasya (in disguise) teams up with her brother & monk Sasha and the Grand Prince Dmitri to try and solve the mystery and save their lands.

While reading, I truly felt transported into a fairytale. The way the words rung off the page were done in a way that I was able to be in this world yet still feel like I was being told an old time fairytale by my Russian grandmother (note: not Russian, just describing the feeling here). Arden's writing is well crafted in this sense, making for a GORGEOUS and unique reading experience. 

Vasya as a character is wonderful. She has so many sides to her. She was heroic and brave at times then frustrating and meak at others which I found to be so true to character and realistic. I think the best way to describe Vasya is a dream and a nightmare-and it was awesome to see such sides of this character while still rooting for her. And lets not discount the rest of the cast. The balance between mystery and playfulness between them was wonderful and I had fun getting to know who each one was.

This book is a fantastic continuation and just puts you right back into the magical world Arden has created.  At the same time, I think the story stands on its own so well-which I think is very important for sequels. Although I did think Arden spent a lot of time replaying the VERY BIG details of what happened and never addressed some of the smaller things that were present with no explanation (i.e. mentioning Irinia in the Tower and what the heck the "one eyed" god was). While some where insignificant things, they left you a little confused and baffled which can pull you out of such a fantastical story.

My main problem was with the lack on answers I got. Why were the young girls were stolen? Sasha has a guess but was that confirmed? I Konstatine's state of mind was all over the place and random. Sahsa's internal struggle was there but I did not understand exactly what it WAS. The mystery of who people or items where got more played out than the answers we actually received. There were sentences like "later I would come to understand the significance of that" but as the reader I did not understand how that was significant either.  We saw some cool chyertis that we were told had a purpose in the beginning but then nothing came of it. While the overall story was well done enough for me to still love everything, these aspects definitely effected my reading experience.

Please do not let that detour you from reading this GORGEOUS book. The writing is truly beautiful, the story is so exciting and well done, the characters are ones you will crave more from, and the fairytales are ones you wish you grew up with all your life. This will be a book on your shelves that you will want to revisit over and over again!

Gorgeous, gorgeous read. The landscape jumps off the page and makes you see snowflakes everywhere. My only complaint is the Chyerti were not as plentiful as in the first book.

LINK WILL GO LIVE NOVEMBER 22, 2017 

It wasn't even a year ago when I, on a slight whim, picked up "The Bear and the Nightingale." It was in the middle of winter, and here in Minnesota, that's a real thing, so the gorgeous cover with its deep, cool blues centered around a girl, out in the cold, facing inwards towards the cozy warms hues of hearth and home, struck a particular cord. But nothing could have prepared me for the sheer joy that was reading that first debut novel by Katherine Arden. This time, I was prepared. And yet...was I? Once again, I've somehow been blown off my feet by the sheer scope of Arden's abilities and the story she is weaving together in this series.

"The Girl in the Tower" opens with a few chapters from the perspective of Vasya's siblings. These first glimpses highlight not only that life has gone on outside of the strange and magical happenings in Vasya's remote home village, but that in this time period, across all of this space, word does not travel fast. And her siblings have their own concerns. Olga, living the life of an aristocratic woman in medieval Russia, constrained to a tower and seclusion, is trying to raise her two children, particularly her willful young daughter, while looking forward to the birth of her third. And Vasya's brother, Sasha, a wandering warrior monk, brings news of villages being raided and burned, their daughters stolen, to his close friend the Grand Prince.

Within this framework, we return to Vasya, almost immediately after the end of the previous book, still set on her plan to wander the world, accepting neither marriage nor a convent as reasonable choices. Even in the face of Morozko's, the frost demon and god of death, open skepticism of her plan, she sets off. Only to discover that he is both right and wrong. The world is filled with much more danger than she had expected, but oh so much more beauty, as well. Along the way, she takes on the appearance of a young boy for further safety, and rescues two girls from the same group of bandits that Sasha had discovered. After running into her brother and the Grand Prince hunting these bandits, Vasya finds herself living a lie that is full of freedom but doomed to not last. Olga and Sasha, alone, understand the true, political dangers of what their young sister has gotten them all tangled up within.

As I said, I loved the first book in this series, and while I was hopeful that this book would continue to show that same strength, I never expected it to exceed it. And exceed it did, in almost every way. This book was by far more action-packed. The romance was increased. The danger and horror were there. And the characterization, allowed to build on what came before without the pressure of introducing completely new characters, blossomed. By being exposed to the world and its realities, the beauties and, more importantly, dangers and restrictions that confront women, Vasya's former naivety is brutally stripped away. And yet she never loses her fierceness or her conviction that, whatever anyone says, this is wrong. Seeing their fiery, brilliant sister's struggle, Sasha and Olga, not the most conservative individuals themselves, are forced to confront the lives they are leading and the expectations and assumptions they've made about themselves and those around them. One of my favorite quotes, from Sasha:

    Witch. The word drifted across his mind. We call such women so, because we have no other name.

Further, I continue to love the mixture of historical detail of a time period and location that is rarely explored, with Russian folklore and fairytales, some of them recognizable, some completely, refreshingly, new. The tower from the book's name, for example. In the author's note, Arden discusses how locking aristocratic women in remote towers or wings of castles, completely removed from society, was a common practice in this time period. But perhaps most interesting, no one fully understands why this was done. And here, she ties this aspect of Russian history so neatly into a full-fledged fantasy novel that includes frost demons, magical talking horses, and firebirds.

And, like the first book, Arden's prose is simply beautiful. While this book has more action than the first, this in no way detracts from atmospheric style of writing. Again, the cold of winter, the darkness of the woods, the bustle of the cities. It is all gorgeously drawn landscapes across which her characters romp.

The story also fully succeeds as a middle step in a trilogy. It takes concepts and interest points from the first story (particularly the romantic undertones with Morozko) and expands on them, tells a complete and compelling story of its own (the bandits, and a surprising tie-in to Vasya's own familial history), but also lays the groundwork for the next and last in the trilogy. Vasya's place in the world is by no means defined, and where she will go, and what role she will play in the ever-fading mystical world to which she is so closely connected is still yet to be determined.

Lastly, as a horse lover already, Solovey stole the show in this book. He was the primary source of much of the humor of the story, but it is also clear that without him, much of what Vasya accomplishes would have been impossible. As much as I love the bittersweet romance with Morozko, I'm all in for the horse/girl relationship as my primary bread and butter.

Honestly, I can't recommend this book enough.

Russian history, folklore and myth are woven together to create a story of a girl who sees and honors the Old Gods and who becomes vital in trying to save her people from ancient evil that threatens to destroy it. She is aided by some very unlikely allies, including one whose name is sometimes Death. 

I loved "The Bear and the Nightingale", and the sequel more than lived up to its predecessor. I'm not usually likely to read any contemporary versions of fairy tales, but this one is a page-turner because it doesn't warm up same old tales we've heard over and over. If you're a Slav, you'll recognize these myths, too, if you're not, you will love this new and wondrous world. 

Beautiful, nah - gorgeous - prose. There is almost something hypnotic about the pace and the imagery. Female readers will appreciate the undaunting spirit of the protagonist in a world that is so misogynist, that literally confines noblewomen to the four walls of their Towers for the majority of their days. Arden drops enough hints of a larger mystery to keep you wondering about Where Is This All Going? and the complicated relationship between Vasya and Morozko is sure to satisfy any shippers out there.

I was so enchanted by The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden's fantastic debut, that I knew I had to pick up the sequel. But somehow The Girl in the Tower fell flat for me.

Maybe it's the fact that Vasya, our protagonist, has evolved from a compelling child into a bit of a Mary Sue. Maybe it's the excessive use of YA romantic tropes; honestly, almost every main male character falls a bit in love with our protagonist, or at least views her with "lustful eyes." Yawn. 

With the first book, the author delved into dark and uncommon territory for a YA novel- religious oppression, the hypocrisy of the priesthood, and the stifling of free thought via fear-mongering. Here, the main messages have mellowed into something far more common in YA: a "chosen-one" defies society's traditions to become a badass and save the world. It's a common trope for a reason- the plot is exciting, the stakes are high. But without compelling characters, even the best plot can't make a great story.

Points are added for the gorgeous, lyrical prose, and the depth of the world-building. I felt immersed in the medieval Rus lifestyle; I could feel the austerity of the monastic cells, the cloistered opulence of the noblewomen's quarters, and the bone-chilling cold of the Russian winter. Still, good prose and a well-drawn setting can't save this book for me. Maybe if I picked it up ten years ago, I would be singing its praises. But now, I can only recommend it to fans of YA romantic fantasy. 3/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 or 5 stars. A delightful sequel to "The Bear and the Nightingale", this one is a bit less like a fairy tale and a bit more of a court intrigue. There are lots of action and battles, a few surprises, and still plenty of magic and mystery and winter. I love Katherine Arden's prose and the setting in medieval Russia and I really want a horse like Solovey! The covers of both books in the series are simply lovely and I can't wait for the next one!

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lush, beautifully written, and aching with want for something more than can be given. Absolutely stunning book and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Absolutely obsessed with this trilogy and can't wait to see it's conclusion.

The perfect follow-up to the lovely fairytale of The Bear and the Nightingale. The Girl in the Tower possesses all the same wonder and magic from the very opening of the prologue. 

Where Vasya seemed so young and innocent and utterly wild in The Bear and the Nightingale, here—appropriately and refreshingly so—Vasya has refocused her vision of the world, or begins to do so, and puts on her big girl spectacles to see everything with experienced and sophisticated eyes. Vasya is the perfect heroine to guide us through this inspiring world connecting Old World Russia and the magical realm Arden has fastened onto it.

Here again, there is such a beautiful and lasting quality to Arden’s writing. She strikes just the perfect note to balance all the magic, beauty, timelessness, wonder, and mystery within her books. Her characters are simply vibrating with life, and Arden is clearly skilled enough to handle all the heft she injects into her story. 

The Bear and the Nightingale was a cozy, mystical introduction to this world and its wondrous characters and places. There was an untamed innocence to it that drew you in. The Girl in the Tower has all that I loved from its predecessor, plus more action, suspense, adventure, and momentum. The steady hum that built throughout The Bear and the Nightingale becomes a pounding drumbeat, all leading us to what I can only imagine to be an emotional and magical finale in the next of the trilogy.

Fairy tales were passed from generation to generation through their telling, oral traditions, lessons, cautionary tales. Most fairy tales were born this way, through stories told generation after generation, and then eventually put to print. The original versions of these fairy tales, the ones that we were typically raised on, are not the Disneyfied ones that we think of, cleansed of sex, rape, incest, murder, but still contain a darker side. To balance that darker side, typically there is the use of enchantment, and often, folkloric characters – fairies, witches, and such, fantasy.

As a child, I loved the fairy tales I was read, and then not much later read on my own. A set of 12 books, “My Book House” books, filled with wonderful illustrations from, I believe, the 1920s / 1930s. Darker than the Disney versions, but enticingly lovely in their telling, these wooed me in.

So, when I first read Katherine Arden’s “The Bear and the Nightingale,” it was like revisiting those pages, and those feelings. When I heard there was a second one on the horizon, I knew I had to read that one, too, but I was somewhat wary. Could it live up to her first? For me, it did; in some ways, it may have even surpassed it. “The Girl in the Tower” flows more evenly, at least it did for me, and the story has a sense of urgency, while still retaining that aura of otherworldly beauty that drew me in with her first. There are a few new characters, but if you’ve read her first book, you’ll be familiar with most of the cast. If you haven’t read her first, I would recommend you do so before reading this. I think you would appreciate this story more if you read the first in the series prior to reading this.

While accusations of witchcraft are still hovering against her in her village of Lesnaya Zemly, in medieval Muscovy, Vasya flees on her trusty steed, Solovey, knowing that he will take her to the places she longs to go, to see the world outside their village. Safely away from the villagers whose wish is to see her be burned as a witch. Vasya leaves with few regrets, she wants to see more than their forest, the church, the bathhouse; she longs to see palaces, cities and the sun on the sea together with Solovey. She wants to see the world and all it has to offer, for she was once shown the world through the eyes of Morozko, the frost-demon; and ever since, she’s known she wants more. Everything she’d been taught about being a woman has chafed at her; she wants more for herself than to marry or to become a nun.

Determined, but cautious, she poses as a boy, Vasilii, the masculine form of her name, the feminine formal being Vasalisa, or Vasya, as a nickname. In her journey, she rights some wrongs, attempts to rescue the kidnapped, and through these tasks, her journey brings her into the world of her brother, Sasha, a priest, a monk. Reluctantly, Sasha keeps her secret, no easy task as time goes by and young Vasya begins to mature. Still, she’s proven her worth on the field of battle, and is accepted among the men as Sasha’s young brother. As the court of the Grand Prince shows signs of unrest amidst those determined to take his power, Vasya’s equally determined to prevent that which may prove to be her undoing.

Historical facts merged with fictional fragments of fantasy. Fantastical – conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination. That sums up what Katherine Arden has given us once again; a luminous, fantastical story conceived by her unrestrained imagination.



Pub Date: 05 Dec 2017


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House

How do you improve upon a debut novel that is a near-flawless, five-star book?

I guess if you're Katherine Arden the answer is, you write a six-star book, whether traditional rating systems allow readers to label something as such or not. 

The atmosphere of this book is a significant shift from that of The Bear and the Nightingale. We leave eerily quiet and magically wintry Lesnaya Zemlya for bright, bold, and often brutal Moscow, whence our heroine Vasya ventures, reunited with her family, a new enemy, and unfortunately, Father Konstantin.

Though the scene has changed and we see more action and less magic in this installment of the series, the same atmosphere of beautiful menace and sorcery both white and the darkest of black pervades, and the narrative is, if anything, even better than in the first book.

As for Vasya, she is in some ways the brave, convention-defying heroine I've always longed to find in a fairy tale, and in other ways selfish and foolishly impulsive. Still, her decisions all stem from good intent, and while I hate that she lives in a world where a woman who makes choices as she does is branded a witch and endangers her family, I also sympathize with Olga and Sasha's perspectives. They are good people, but creatures of their time and culture, even if Vasya is not. 

Beautiful, compelling, and smart, Arden didn't just match her first effort; she surpassed it. This series is everything a fairy tale trilogy should be, and more. 

I'll be checking my oven nightly for domovoi while eagerly awaiting the next installment. 

**I received and ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.]

Much like The Bear and the Nightingale, this book was masterfully written, full of atmosphere, and absolutely enchanting. Once the story gets on its feet, it moves along at such a rapid pace I hardly realized how quickly I was blazing right through it.

Vasya has left her home after the deaths of her father and stepmother, and gone off into the wilderness in the dead of winter. Morozko is always nearby, although not necessarily to help her (even though he does provide help in several ways throughout the story). Sometimes he felt almost too present, there at her greatest need, although I imagine he would be anyway. Vasya is off on an adventure, and unexpectedly, her path crosses with her brother Sasha's, who had left in the first book to become a monk. He is now an advisor to the Grand Prince Dmitrii, a warrior monk, and is forced to lie to everyone about his sister Vasya, who has been pretending to be a man.

While I was immediately drawn back into the world of Rus', I admit I did not get fully absorbed into the book until part two, where we really get into the meat of how Vasya came to be in the same place as Sasha at the same time. She has rescued three girls, who had been stolen by raiders, and brought them to sanctuary. Sasha and Dmitrii have been out hunting these raiders, and Vasya, riding in as a man, is the only one who knows where they were hiding. Fooling just about everyone as to her gender, she manages to get into the prince's good graces, and leads the party where they want to go. I won't spoil from here, but it is pretty much non-stop action, plot and fantastic storytelling from here on out.

There are new characters, who must have a careful eye kept on them lest they surprise you (admittedly I wasn't sure about one character, but I was not completely taken aback when my initial instinct was proved right). And there is also the return of my most despised character from the last book, Konstantin. That damnable priest is up to no good, and while I wasn't surprised by his arc, I was admittedly still feeling those same feelings of disgust I got the last time around.

If you loved book 1, you will love book 2. I am now going to eagerly camp myself out on this author's page and wait for book 3...

A strong follow up to The Bear and the Nightingale and an excellent winter read. This is essentially a coming of age story with a magical historical fiction setting. In a world where women are property, Vasya is coming into her own as a strong, independent woman (with an ability to see the mythological and magical), and her growth and explorations made for a fascinating (and at times tragic) story. Some of the characters actions toward and reactions to Vasya were predictable, but the depth of the setting and mythological background made up for these small weaknesses in the plot. Overall, The Girl in the Tower took the ideas and characters from The Bear and the Nightingale deeper and made me even more curious how the next book will address some of the loose ends and bring different characters together.  4.5 stars

I was hoping the sequel to The Bear and The Nightingale would be as spectacular as the first book in the series. I was not disappointed.

Russian fairy tales are a favorite of mine and this one has so many aspects of all of them. Vasya is back with the Frost King and some new enemies. Not accepting of the options she has, marriage or a convent, she sets out on her own with her faithful and unusual horse, Solovey.

Dressed as a boy she rides off and finds adventure waits just around the corner. Some mysterious force is burning villages and killing people. Who is to be trusted? Unfortunately not even the priests.

I am not going to give away much of this plot. If you read the first one you will want to savor every beautiful word. The world Ms. Arden paints for us is so easy to fall into much like the snow on the ground in Russia.

I can honestly say she is one of the finest writers I have ever had the pleasure to read.

Well Done!

Del Ray/ New York   Book Release is Dec. 05,2017.