The Girl in the Tower: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy Book 2) Kindle Edition

"Come in, Vasya," Morozko said. "It is cold."When last we left Vasilisa Petrovna in The Bear and the Nightingale she had left Leznaya Semlya on her beloved Solovey, the magnificent and magical stallion son of the great horse of Morozko. As the story in The Girl in the Tower opens we find ourselves in Moscow, with Vasya's sister Olya, and eventually again meet her brother Sasha and even the shameful priest who had harmed Leznaya Semlya's delicate balance between the old ways and the new. It takes a deliciously long while for us to find out what happened with Vasya arriving at the home among the tree grove that is Morozko's.There is no magic. Things are. Or they are not.In many ways, The Girl in the Tower is a deeper and more complex story than The Bear and the Nightingale. The complexity is both due to the interweaving of more folklore (we see other famous 'monsters' from the pantheon) than just that of Morozko in this book, but also deeper because of questions about mortality, immortality, love, truth, and magic. The relationship between Vasya and Morozko deepens and we find that Death is surprisingly kind. Vasya must deal with further strife in terms of how everyone, at times even Morozko want her to be. But the two most important male figures in her life- Morozko and her brother Sasha, seem to find some way, some space, to allow Vasya to always be herself, even as they fear for her safety. Their fears are well justified. Torn between fates that would be anathema to her- two different towers with both implying differing horrors if you are Vasya, she is also caught between Death and Deathless, for a time.There was a passage in the first book in which Solovey rebuts Vasya's saying he is not a bird with the comment "You do not know what you are; can you know what I am?" Although, yes, we can call Vasya a witch, I'm not sure, still, even at the end of this book, that we know exactly what Vasya is or what has been passed down to her from Tamara's mother to Tamara, then to Marina to Vasya and even Masha. We are left with strong suspicions, however. It will be interesting to see what Vasya can rebuild from what she has destroyed. And what little Masha will become.This was a masterful second novel and an entirely satisfying middle book in the Winternight trilogy. I cannot wait to see what Katherine Arden has in store for us in the final book, "The Winter of the Witch."

"Every time you take one path, you must live with the memory of the other: of a life left unchosen. Decide as seems best, one course or the other; each way will have its bitter with its sweet.”The events that happened in the Bear and the Nightingale left Vasilisa Petrovna orphaned and branded as a witch by the people in her small village. She was given two options to choose from: spend the rest of her life in a covenant or allow her older sister to match her with a Moscovite prince. Both of which would imprison her in a tower and cut her off from the things she loves most - the wilderness and her freedom.Not wanting to burden her brother Alyosha and her younger step-sister Irinka with her bad reputation, Vasya felt she had nothing left in Lesnaya Zemlya. So, with the help of Morozko (the frost demon) and her beloved stallion Solovey, she decides to become a traveler disguised as a boy so that she may explore the world and live freely."Thus Vasilisa Petrovna, murderer, savior, lost child, rode away from the house in the fir-grove. The first day ran on as an adventure might, with home behind and the whole world before them."However, her travels don't go as smoothly as she may have hoped. When she comes across bandits that have been terrorizing the countryside by burning villages and abducting young girls, 'Vasilii Petrovitch' successfully tracks them down and pulls off a daring rescue, which earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow.Being in Moscow has reunited Vasya with her sister Olga, the Princess of Serpukhov and her brother Alexsandr, a well known traveling monk. Together they try to keep Vasilisa's gender a secret from their cousin Dmitrii Ivanovitch, the Grand Prince, so that they may remain in his good graces. However, the bandits were never the real problem, its who was commanding them. The kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces, and Vasilisa is the only one who can stop it - will they let a wild girl, branded as a witch, save them?The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden is the second book of her Winternight trilogy. This a fantasy retelling of the Russian fairy tale Vasilisa the brave/beautiful.This book begins where the first leaves off, so it was very easy for me to get lost in the story again. Katherine Arden's writing is poetic - its beautifully descriptive and full of emotion. While The Bear and the Nightingale had more of a slower pace (being the introductory book), The Girl in the Tower reads much more quickly.There aren't a lot of new characters given in this book, most of them are ones we've already met in part one. However, we get to know them all so much better, which I really enjoyed! I loved seeing not only how Vasilisa grows and changes, but her siblings and even the frost-demon himself, too. They all go through trails and have issues of their own to deal with, Vasilisa especially; she learns quit a few lessons the hard way. One of the newer characters in this story is Marya, Olga's daughter, and I really hope to see more of her in the third book. There are a few mysteries from book one that are revieled in this part, giving us even more of an understanding of her family.There was no romance in book one, but in this book there was just a touch of it, which I didn't mind. I actually really enjoyed it, and I'm excited to see where that goes.Overall, I feel this is the perfect sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale. There's tons of action and its full of fairy tale creatures and adventures. Thankfully, just like the first book, The Girl in the Tower doesn't end on a cliffhanger. We end with Vasilisa set out on another adventure. One I can't wait to read about!**** I received an eBook copy of this title via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Random House publishing! ****

It's been many years since a book has compelled me to forget everything around me and to read all day and all through the night. Well, I finished The Girl in the Tower as dawn was breaking this morning (we had heavy frost during the night, perfect!). The first part of the trilogy, the Bear and the Nightingale, was superb, but this second story is even better. I was lost to the world of fading chyerti, the conflicted Morozco, talking horses, political intrigue, ice and folklore. It's a book I know I'll read again and again. Five stars doesn't do it justice.

After the excellent 'The Bear and the Nightingale', Katherine Arden continues her 'Winternight' trilogy with this absorbing fantasy adventure. The novel picks up straight after where the first left off, and you would definitely be best to read them in order. Once again, the story is set in medieval Russia, in a land of snow and Tartar invasions, Grand Princes in Kremlins (fortified settlements), and women firmly in their place. Not to mention magic and mystery, although the old spirits ('chyerti') are being gradually forgotten by a people who are moving more strongly towards Christianity.One woman who doesn't intend to be married off and shut away in a tower is the heroine, Vasya, who has been exiled from her home village following the events of the last book. Vasya's refusal to submit to the life of a 'girl in a tower' is an important theme of this second novel. Readers will be pleased that her sister Olga and brother Sasha have bigger parts to play in this novel, after being introduced in the first but then going out of it when they moved away. There are also the return of many other familiar characters - the conflicted priest Konstantin, Vasya's horse Solovey, and Morozhko the frost demon. New characters also arrive - mysterious prince Kasyan and Olga's spirited daughter Marya.There is action from the start, and it's a novel packed with event and that bowls along at a good pace. It's hard to put down so don't start reading if you've got some important chore you need to get done! It's easy to read and draws you in, the sort of book you hurry home to read and sit up late to have 'just one more chapter'. In terms of storyline, it does feel a bit of a bridging novel in some ways - to get us from the opener to the big finale - but it's still good enough to deserve a five star rating. At times Vasya's behaviour crossed the line from high-spirited to plain stupid, but hopefully that's just to give her a character arc.If you love fantasy, it's a must read. If you are indifferent about fantasy and only read the very best, this is one of the very best. If you don't like fantasy but do like fast paced novels with characters are care about, you might just find this is an exception to prove the rule. I hope Arden is writing hard on the third and final novel as I'm certainly eager to read it!

The Girl in the Tower is the second of the second in the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. I loved the first book, so was very keen to read the next two. This book continues with the adventures of Vasya, the protagonist from The Bear and the Nightingale. Vasya’s life appears to be one of either forced marriage or a life in a convent, believed to be a witch by the villages of her town. Both options mean a life cut off from the rest of a world living in a tower, in isolation. Vasya chooses a third option and flees her home. Vasya, chooses a life of adventure and danger exploring the world. She disguises herself as a boy and rides into the woods. After a battle with some bandits she comes into contact with the Grand Prince od Moscow, who believes her to be a boy. She reunites with her brother and sister in Moscow. Vasya gets caught up in political matters and is finally called upon to defend the city when it comes under siege.This is a beautiful fairy story where Vasya continues her journey discovering who and what she is. She straddles the unseen magical world and the human world, bringing them both together. I love the character of Vasya, she is wild and reckless, but also brave and compassionate. I liked the development of the relationship that the siblings have, the descriptions of the beauty of Rus and Moscow, beautifully written and very atmospheric. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Vasya and Morozko. Arden writes this beautifully and we see their relationship grow and develop.

For some reason I'm finding this one very hard to review. I did enjoy it, though maybe not quite as much as the first one. It has the same magical feel to it but it is a very different beast. Honestly in the first book not a lot happened, it was very low key, almost slice of life. This book expands into the greater Russian medieval world. It continues pretty much where the first left off, Vasya is leaving her village and dresses as a boy to see the wider world. It's not long though that she gets drawn into bigger events and meets her brother Sasha and his friend, the crown prince of Moscow.I should have liked this more. There are battles, political manoeuvrings, more of the spirit world (we get a lot more Morozko) and basically a lot of action full stop. However I think it was the very poetic/prosaic (if that makes sense) feel of the first book that I really liked and was expecting more of the same. It's not to say that this was bad. I really enjoyed it and flew through it in a few days. The author really makes you feel for the characters, with one scene in particular very hard to read. The wider world is very interesting, and I like the push and pull of these vassal states to the Mongol empire, it's a part of history I know very little about and it is fascinating to read about, I hope we get more in the final book. The themes of old versus new and the role of women in this society are still front and centre, maybe even more so, with Vasya resenting it and her sister Olya trying to make the best of it.Overall a very enjoyable book, maybe not quite so magical as the first one but still very good. Looking forward to the finale.

Accused of witchcraft and falsely blamed for the death of her father Vasya has two options open to her, accept an arranged marriage or join a convent. Unsurprisingly neither of these choices hold much appeal to someone as independent as she is so instead Vasya disguises herself as a boy and, with the help of Morozoko, sets out on her own to travel the world and have an adventure. It's all going pretty well until she catches the attention of the Grand Prince and he insists on taking her back to Moscow where two of her older siblings are caught up in her lies and forced to help her continue her deception. And that's where things really start to get complicated.I absolutely adored The Bear and the Nightingale so I had incredibly high expectations for The Girl in the Tower and thankfully Katherine Arden didn't disappoint. The sequel had everything I loved about the first book and more and I was immediately sucked back into Vasya's world. These stories are just so atmospheric and really make you feel like you've taken a step back in time to medieval Russia and I enjoy exploring that world through Vasya's eyes. She's a great character who is so independent and who wants to live life on her own terms no matter how restricted women's lives were at that time. That reckless streak does get her in trouble on more than one occasion and it also makes things extremely difficult for her siblings but I could understand her desire for more than marriage or life in a convent.Morozoko continues to be one of my favourite characters and we get to see a lot more of his history in this instalment of the series. I'm enjoying finding out more about his character and I'm not going to lie, I'm totally rooting for him and Vasya to end up together! This series is going from strength to strength and I can't wait to see how it ends in The Winter of the Witch.