Cover Image: The Girl in the Tower

The Girl in the Tower

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

As I said after the first book, The Bear and the Nightingale, I am not a big fantasy reader, but i would classify this book also as folktale/mythology/history. I was looking forward to this book in the trilogy and even though I did not enjoy it as much as the first, it was still a very strong story and moved along quickly.

Medieval Russian superstitions are the backbone of this trilogy, with many of the same chyerti (spirits and/or demons) in this book as the first as well as some new ones. Vasya (Vasilisa) has the sight passed down to her by her mother and grandmother before her. Unfortunately, she has been labeled a witch, so unless she wants to be sent to a convent or marry someone she doesn't love, she hops on her magical horse, Solovey, dresses up like a boy, and heads off into the world for adventure. Running into bandits who are burning villages and stealing young girls to sell as slaves, she escapes to a monastery with 3 of the girls and runs into her brother and the Crown Prince of Moscow. Her brother agrees to keep the secret of her gender so she is off to experience battle, camaraderie, and more. Once again, the winter king, Morozko, the man made of ice and snow, with his chilling pale blue eyes, comes to her aid many times. He also comes as death welcoming those who are leaving the earth. Vasya makes many decisions and choices that affect not only herself but family and others who have befriended her. Whether these decisions are the right ones or not will be revealed as you read this story.

Katherine Arden has done a great job creating the time period and introducing us to the various magical creatures and the power they possess. This story is quite a bit darker with more violence than the first in the series. There is magic, family, folklore, the arising power of the church, battles, adventure, political uprisings and coups as well as bandits and the culture of the time. This was a very harsh and uncertain time for those in power as well as the individual lords and their villagers. The weather, especially the descriptions of the winter, make you feel what those living there are going through. There are pieces in the story that give us more information about the family that explain more about Vasya's gift. The ending is a surprise and leaves you wanting more. I am looking forward to the last book in this trilogy. The author's notes at the back give information about the folklore, the characters and her desire to stay true to the history of this period. I recommend this book to anyone as there is something for any book lover.

Was this review helpful?

This second book in the series, the first being the enchanting The Bear and the Nightingale, surpassed my expectations. It was every bit thrilling as the first. This second book finds Vasya choosing her own path of adventure over marriage and leaving behind an uncertain relationship with Morozko. While some readers may be pining away for their union, I loved that she stayed true to her character and set out on her own path with her trusted friend, Solovey. The dangers they face and the choices she's forced to make in this second installment makes the tension all too real, Arden masterly portrays the inner conflicts Vasya and the other characters struggle with. What the heart wants vs what is the right thing to do. You see their flaws and commiserate with them. It wasn't just the characters that made this book memorable, I was enthralled by the 14th century Russia that Arden created, from the frozen forest Vasya traveled through to the historical setting and political intrigue that was Moscow. This is definitely one I will recommend over and over.

Was this review helpful?

When I read The Bear and the Nightingale I was enraptured in a way that I had not been with a book in a very long time. I was grieved to reach the ending, fearing that I had read the last of these characters that I had come to love so much. The Girl in the Tower was an unexpected joy, and knowing now that there will be a third book is even better.
The Bear and the Nightingale was such a strong start that one would expect anything following it to pale in comparison, but that did not happen with The Girl in the Tower. Vasya and Morozko are just as delightful and frustrating in this sequel and I find myself cheering for Vasya through every victory and defeat. The mystery and tales entwined through this novel are wonderful, but Arden's rich storytelling could hold my attention through even the most boring of tales. What a wonderful world she has built for us to visit.

Was this review helpful?

Oh, MY GOSH! I love this series so much and The Girl in the Tower was no exception! I really can't go into much detail as this *is* a sequel but if you haven't read The Bear and the Nightingale I would recommend that you do it right away!

Was this review helpful?

The atmosphere in The Girl in the Tower is a mixture of dark, forbidding, and embodied the spirit of storytelling in a wholly magical manner. The landscape of Russia was beautifully laid out in the forests and the bitter winter weather. Even more so than the physical landscape in regards to atmosphere, it felt like there was a lot of work put into keeping the people authentic. From names and titles to the attitudes, I felt like these were real people coming off the page, though I did need to pay attention because the names changed depending on gender and relationship, more so than other fiction I've read.

This is not a fast reading book. Normally I have issues with stories that take forever to get anywhere, but there are instances of when a slow burn plot can be done well: Memoirs of a Geisha, Rin Chupecho's The Bone Witch series, and now Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy. I noticed it when I read The Bear and the Nightingale last year and can confidently add the series, most recently with The Girl in the Tower being published, to the list of successful slow burns.

The narrative opens with Sasha, Vasya's priest brother, and the horror of bandits that seem supernatural in nature and in their capacity for terrorizing the Russian countryside. Then there is some backtracking to Vasya and Solovey's beginning as travelers and what she's been doing, how she's come to meet up with Sasha at a monastery. Nothing is easy and there is always a sense of dread, which made the reading a bit uneasy, but at the same time amazing.

Sometimes Vasya was foolish, always stubborn, but overall I was reminded of what I liked about her from the first book. While the journey was difficult, protecting herself from a life chosen for her, she was determined to find it and her own life. Her strength was present at all times and you could see how much it cost her to brave the world rather than succumb to marriage or a convent.

Solovey was my favorite character: a strong, noble, enormous horse that was companion and mount to Vasya. He was in turns funny and stern and had quite the love of porridge. Morozko was also beguiling and I enjoyed the interactions between him and Vasya. He understood much more of the world and tried to impart this knowledge on Vasya while at the same time allowing her to learn on her own terms, even if that sometime lead to almost deadly pursuits.

I would recommend reading The Girl in the Tower soon after reading The Bear and the Nightingale because it will be easier to remember characters introduced in the first novel and prevent confusion in the second.

Was this review helpful?

Oh god, I think I'm in love. This book was absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to buy my own copy. The world was developed, the characters remarkable, and the writing was simply the best I've read in a long time! I demand everyone has this book on their shelves, it's that amazing!

Was this review helpful?

5 Stars - I highly recommend if you enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale!

This book picks up right where the first one left off. I don't want to give any spoilers!

When I started this book, it was just a little bit hard to get into. There is a change of setting, which took me a bit of time to adjust to. However, at about 25% through the book, it really took off for me, and I was really invested in the next chapter of the story. This chapter of the story is a bit more political and societal than the last one was, but I really enjoyed that part of it. Again, I marveled at how Arden wove together folklore with historical fiction. Her writing was just as full of detail and magic as in the first book. I am just as in love with Vasya as ever. What a wonderfully headstrong character. I love Solovey. I love Vasya's brothers. I love Morozko. Goodness. I'm SO excited to get my hands on the last book in the series. :) :) :)

Was this review helpful?

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Girl in the Tower picks up where The Bear and the Nightingale left off. Vasya flees her father's village on her horse Solovey, deciding to travel the world and see the things she has only ever heard about. She encounters towns and hears bells ringing for the first time. Morozko reluctantly helps her in her travels, but the joy of experiencing new things comes to an end as she comes across burnt villages where survivors tell of bandits with a near magical ability to disappear-taking the young girls of the village with them. Vasya's quest to reunite stolen girls with their families brings her to Moscow and puts her in the path of some familiar faces.
The Girl in the Tower is a delightful mix of medieval adventure and Russian fairy tale. Fantasy isn't a genre I usually pick up on my own, but the Slavic folklore in The Bear and the Nightingale caught my eye. I was excited to see what would happen next for Vasya in The Girl in the Tower. I wasn't disappointed and am looking forward to the third installment of her story. This one's ending took me by surprise...I was so caught up in the story that the end of the book crept up on me. I was so disappointed it was over!

Was this review helpful?

(see link for full video review)

Was this review helpful?

The Girl in the Tower is a stellar follow up to The Bear and the Nightingale. Katherine Arden has a way with words, and her writing is lyrical. I enjoyed this book every bit as much as the first one. My one caveat is that the books are dense, and it takes quite a while to get through them both. I received this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

After I finished reading The Girl in the Tower, all I could think was wow, what an amazing followup, because much like The Bear and the Nightingale, Arden's second title in the Winternight Trilogy satisfies some of the questions left at the end of the first book and leaves a lot of questions to be answered in the upcoming final book. The writing and atmosphere is both foreign and familiar, like a fairy tale you've only heard on the peripherals of the familiar stories we've grown up with. Arden expertly weaves and subverts those familiar fairy tale tropes while managing to make her tale fresh and exciting. After such a stunning followup to the already incredible The Bear and the Nightingale, I'll certainly be picking up anything Arden writes in the future without any hesitation.

Was this review helpful?

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing falls flat in this sequel. The story is just as lush and beautiful as the first. The story comes to life on every page, and I was enthralled from start to finish. I generally devour books, but Arden's writing deserves to be savored. I don't want to give anything away, but read it if you're looking for something magical that you can really sink your teeth into!.

Was this review helpful?

Book: The Girl in the Tower
Author: Katherine Arden

It's been awhile since I've so fully enjoyed two books by an author. But Katherine Arden's The Girl in the Tower and The Bear and the Nightingale are two that I have delighted in. The newest story picks up just after the first, and follows the strong-willed, teenaged, female protagonist as she tries to save her people and discover her place in a man's world. She walks a delicate line in terms of a woman's role in Russia and makes many questionable choices, but that just makes me wince for her all the more and draws me further into the story.
The atmosphere of these books are both chilly and warm, for there is an almost-romance in each that made me both sad and expectant. While this is technically a sequel, it's easy to read as a standalone novel, (but certainly gives the most enjoyment by having read book 1).

Was this review helpful?

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34050917-the-girl-in-the-tower" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy, #2)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501159995m/34050917.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34050917-the-girl-in-the-tower">The Girl in the Tower</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13922215.Katherine_Arden">Katherine Arden</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2139409996">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
NETGALLEY #4<br /><br />Many thanks go to Katherine Arden, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. <br />Having been emotionally swayed by The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower is leaving me bated.<br /><br />Even better than Book One! Often I dread reading the second book in a trilogy because it's a bridge between the stage set of One and the climax of Three, so just not a very exciting experience. That was not the case with Tower. The same characters from Nightingale are back, but they are up to brand new adventures. The story picks up mere days after the other ended, so no time has passed. Vasya, however must disguise herself as past of the plot, so she's in constant danger. Not to mention her fight against her attraction to Winter. We meet new guardians and welcome old ones. And we support the Muscovites as they battle the evil one who cannot die. <br />I dont know about you, but every time I read Arden's books I become freezing cold. There is just so much snow. I could never live in Russia. That's how I judge.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6595648-bam-the-bibliomaniac">View all my reviews</a>

Was this review helpful?

I have to say that I am loving this trilogy more than I ever expected to. It is completely different from anything else I read and I have trouble “letting go” of the books after I’ve read them. I’ve ended each book feeling like it is a 4.5 star book, but then as it settles within my brain and I keep thinking about it for days and weeks after finishing they inevitable turn into 5 star books.

I think what I loved the most about this book is that I NEVER knew what was going to happen next. Everything that happened was unexpected, and even when I tried to guess I ended up wrong. Most of the books I read are formulaic (some extremely so) and it’s refreshing to have a book where I have absolutely no clue what is going to happen at any time. No clue. At. All. Katherine Arden has serious storytelling skills. Both books started off slow for me, but once I let myself become immersed in them then they were excellent. It’s hard to write a review when I want to start each sentence with “The thing I loved most was…”. Everything is my favorite thing about The Girl in the Tower, but especially the atmosphere that Arden developed in The Bear and the Nightingale and then continued/evolved/changed as book two progressed. That atmosphere shines through on the covers and they completely represent the books.

Cover Love is real with these books. I absolutely loved the covers for The Bear and the Nightingale and was trying to decide if I preferred the American or UK cover better. I ended up with an American hardcover, and it is even more gorgeous than I expected. I imagine the UK cover is the same way, so I believe that this is one series that I will be buying in duplicate. Seriously. I never do that, but these covers are that good.

Was this review helpful?

I love sequels that build on everything good about the first book. Did you want more Vasya being badass? This book has it. Did you want even more scary spirits, ghouls, and demons? Wrap yourself in a blanket and hold onto your amulets because there are plenty.

Vasya escapes her town and goes to Moscow to find her brother, Sasha, and sister, Olga. She saves a small village from bandits and goes around as Vasilii, meeting a mysterious lord named Kasyan. Secrets are abound and her family is in even more danger than ever.

I loved all the tower sequences. They were my favorite part of the book. They hit on every emotional, legendary, and mythological level. Each family had more of an arc than in the first book. I even enjoyed Solovey as more of a character, even though the magic horse served as more of a vehicle for both Vasya and her story.

If I had to complain about something, there was a little bit of unnecessary romance. Taken into account of fairy tale nature of the book, I give it a pass. It rang true to tropes and I cannot wait to see how the story comes together full force in the final book.

Was this review helpful?

This is a strong second book from Arden- no sophomore slump here.

Vasya is so much herself here, while still being a young woman figuring out who exactly she is, in this world that doesn't care for women like her. She's headstrong (sometimes to her detriment) and passionate and it all rings very true. The continued exploration of family ties is well done, particularly across generations.

The developments with Morozhoko worked out in a way that I'm content with, we'll see how book 3 goes.

I felt some very real suspense toward the back third of this book, as the tension and stakes ramp up for both Vasya and Moscow.

There really isn't anything I'd change about the story, it's lovely, I just don't end up loving these quite enough for a full five stars (maybe the small cast?)

Was this review helpful?

oh man, I struggled with this one. I do not know why but I just didn't enjoy it as much as the first, though there were certainly some good parts and overall I liked the story and I still want to read book 3, it just wasn't as... <i>enchanting</i> as the first one. if I could do half stars, it would be 3.5.

I really like and am super curious about Morozko, and of course I love Solovey. Unfortunately, Vasya really got on my nerves at times. I get what she wanted and why, totally, but it just seems like she made a lot of stupid decisions and hurt people, but it moved the plot along, so if she'd been smarter, the plot wouldn't have been able to progress as it did. so, I get it, but she still annoyed me at times.

Unfortunately, I really struggled through the first half of the book which tainted the entire book for me. The second half really picked up and was just wonderful, which is great, but I shouldn't have to read half a book just to get to some good parts. that's annoying. Ugh. I don't know. I feel bad rating it a 3, but at the end of the day, even if I want to read the next one, this one did not hold my attention as well as the first, and it was not as enjoyable a read.

Was this review helpful?

I feel like I should apologize to this book for taking so long to read it. It was wonderful. Dark, ethereal, and compelling, and I can't wait to read this again.

Was this review helpful?

I really like this series! I enjoy fairy tale retellings and reading about different cultures. This books has all that and more: compelling characters and deep emotions. I can't wait for the third book to come out!

Was this review helpful?