Firstly, I have not read the previous two entries in this trilogy. I had not realised this was part of a trilogy until after I started to read the book so I am very late to the proceedings but I will look at the book on its own merits.

Arden’s novel is very well written with very memorable characters. The reader is put in the middle of a situation from the get go and I spent the first third of the book playing catch up. Arden has excelled at doing this far better than say someone like J K Rowling who would spend up to two hundred pages rehashing plot points from previous points to the point where one found their eyes glassing over. Arden doesn’t do this but cleverly mixes them in whilst keeping the plot moving forward. In fact, it is very rare that anyone characters or writers ever come up for breath which is a testament to her writing style.

The characters are fully developed and lead you by the hand with their emotive detailing. Her characters emote some strong emotions from the reader which what captivated me. Arden also doesn’t make some easy half hearted decisions but informed hard hitting ones that leaves the reader devastated but satisfied by the character arcs.

The plot is thrilling and moves forward and is embroiled in intrigue, mystery and politics of the land. She has an excellent style of bringing these to the fore and given the reader some real meat to sink their teeth into. This is a excellent novel that really captures the imagination mind and soul.

Overall, this is a very accomplished novel that hits all the plot points very well. My only fault is with myself that I hadn’t read the first two in the series because it would have kept me more in the loop. This didn’t necessarily ruin my enjoyment of this book, but after reading the finale, it gave me little cause to read the first two. Saying this, at some point, I will be scoping these out to see how the story began. This is a phenomenal work of art that captures the heart and the thrilling adventure kept the pages turning well through the night. Unstoppable piece of fiction that keeps going until the end which broke my heart as I was totally immersed in the character’s fates.

I loved the previous two books in this series, so I was very excited to read book three, and I was not disapointed. The Winter of the Witch is just as magical, intriguing and beautifully written as the rest of the series. I adored every page of this Russian folklore inspired read.

I started this book and almost immediately found myself in tears. I was barely 10 minutes in and Arden broke my heart to pieces. I don’t cry reading books either, I just continue reading until the terrible moments pass on by - but I halted here and felt unable to continue for a little while. But then I had to know what came next so I picked myself up and carried on. And was immediately swept away with the story.
Arden creates a beautiful tapestry world with her words and this was breathtakingly beautiful. There were surprises, shocks, moments where you wanted to hide behind your hands and most always I was on the edge of my seat. This book was immense and stunning.

I can’t be specific because I never post spoilers in my reviews - I find that horribly unfair on the author. But this was everything I wanted it to be and more. And for someone who has never cried whilst reading a book, Arden got me again towards the end. I can’t say when, but after you’ve read it you’ll understand - I barely dared to hope either.

The only downside to reading this book was that I left the pages at the end and found that I was in the real world. And worse than that - this is the last book in the series. So no more escaping into that world for me. I truly hope that “last in the series” means that although this tale is done, the characters will continue in other books. I want to have multiple “spin-off” books. There are far too many avenues to explore with each of these characters for me to never see them again. Or at the very least I’d love for Arden to remain with this genre - she is thorough and respectful of the old tales and I’ve learned so much through these books - I don’t want that to end.

In short, this book was amazing. It was exactly as it should have been, everything I could have hoped for - and more. In one word: Perfect.