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hellavaral's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury
sn8man's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Pregnancy
olivia_piepmeier's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I had no idea where this book would go/how the series would end, I just wanted to know. While the other two felt very fitting to read IN winter, this one less so - so if that is holding you back from reading this at a particular time, don't let it! Perhaps because I didn't know what I was getting into, I felt impressed by the journeys almost every single character goes on within this book compared with the trilogy as a whole. The fairy tale aspect with little spirits of nature and the unnatural (like stoves, "the home," etc.) really spoke to the child inside, which is one reason why it felt very easy to root for Vasya throughout. I could easily see picking up the whole series again in a few years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, and Religious bigotry
aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you, Katherine Arden, for writing a wintery and blustery book so I can sit in my warm house while it's cold and snowy outside and read my little heart out.
The setup: Vasya needs to go into hiding. The Girl in the Tower, the second book in the series, left off with those in Moscow in a rage after a fire nearly destroyed their home, and they believe a witch to be the culprit. Vasya is now left with one goal only: to care for her family. Her brother Sasha, her sister Olga, and Olga's daughter Marya are all in Moscow, piecing together what happened the night before with Vasya, the frost demon, and Kaschei.
However, those in Moscow want someone accountable for their suffering, and Vasya is an easy target. We follow Vasya as she faces many obstacles, including an angry mob, a vengeful demon, and a forgetful ally. She feels the weight of not only Moscow on her shoulders but all of Rus' and her beloved chyerti - the spirits she has called family her whole life. Can she bring together her people of Rus' - those who vehemently believe in the one God, and those of the spirit world, who seem to fade the more people forget about them and move on to another religion? Can she keep her family safe from the Tatars, those trying to take the rule of Rus'? The world seems to weigh heavy on Vasya's shoulders with these questions, and we watch her continuously battle for peace, not only for those in her country but for herself.
What I loved: Katherine Arden is a phenomenal writer to me - her work is unique, poetic, and her version of atmospheric. She takes 14th-century historical Rus' customs and somehow integrates them into her writing, both from a prose perspective and a literal historical take (one battle scene near the end is essentially a retelling of an actual battle in 1380 Rus' - read the author's note at the end, it's pretty lovely!). The intersection between fantasy and historical fiction continues to amaze me, and it is one of the most vital reasons why I can't help but feel this book is so fantastic.
As typical in this series, I loved Vasya and her strength, resilience, and grit. While the poor thing went through it in this book (even more so than the others), she was incredible. She was strong, powerful, and intelligent. Yet, she was imperfect and flawed. She had to continue making incredibly challenging decisions and understood that only some things would always work out. I think that is what I loved most about this book: Vasya learned from those around her, her environment, and herself to make better decisions in the future instead of just ~always knowing~ what to do, like other fantasy books I have read. I loved her character and what she tried to do for both the spirit world and Rus'.
I also thoroughly enjoyed many of the other characters - Sasha, Olga, Morozko (I'm glad we dove a little bit deeper into his character on this one, albeit I was still itching for more!), the Grand Prince Dmitrii, and I just loved Polunochnitsa (Lady Midnight) and the Bear. I had no intention of laughing during this book because it seemed so bleak and dark, but Polunochnitsa and the Bear truly helped provide (very minimal) comedic relief and were much more layered than I had anticipated (especially the Bear). My favorite secondary character was Ded Grib, the chyerti, a lil mushroom. Konstantin continued to be a unique, morally grey character that I also learned to enjoy, even if he was the worst. He was complicated, and you couldn't help but empathize with him.
Somehow, Arden did a brilliant job of making all characters nuanced and beautiful while juggling two plots without losing anything. I was so impressed by how much Arden could put into this under-400-page book because it packed such a punch, but it wasn't overwhelming. I just loved it. And somehow, like the first two, I read this under some snowy skies - something I didn't think would happen in early March, and I read this through Libby.
I'm a sucker for some political intrigue which was why I enjoyed the second book in this trilogy so much, but I liked this one even more because of the magical elements in it - less politics, more chyerti. I was impressed that Arden could do both so well.
Anything that could have made this a 6-star read? While I rated this a five because of Arden's beautiful ability to intertwine so many interesting plots and characters and the overall unique storytelling of Russia's history and Russian fairytales, this was imperfect, and others may have some criticism for it. For one, 90% of this book seemed to have no hope. Anything wrong that could happen seemed to have occurred, even if there were a few quick wins in the plot throughout the process. It was dreary. I swear that Vasya had eight broken ribs throughout this book and plenty of ample scars and concussions. It was hard to read because it just felt so BAD. Because of this constant dread, I felt the book read just a bit choppy, especially in the middle.
However, I had a blast with this and shed a few tears at the end. While sad, there was finally a dash of goodness and hope, and the ending was quite fitting. I look forward to reading more from Katherine Arden in the future!
The setup: Vasya needs to go into hiding. The Girl in the Tower, the second book in the series, left off with those in Moscow in a rage after a fire nearly destroyed their home, and they believe a witch to be the culprit. Vasya is now left with one goal only: to care for her family. Her brother Sasha, her sister Olga, and Olga's daughter Marya are all in Moscow, piecing together what happened the night before with Vasya, the frost demon, and Kaschei.
However, those in Moscow want someone accountable for their suffering, and Vasya is an easy target. We follow Vasya as she faces many obstacles, including an angry mob, a vengeful demon, and a forgetful ally. She feels the weight of not only Moscow on her shoulders but all of Rus' and her beloved chyerti - the spirits she has called family her whole life. Can she bring together her people of Rus' - those who vehemently believe in the one God, and those of the spirit world, who seem to fade the more people forget about them and move on to another religion? Can she keep her family safe from the Tatars, those trying to take the rule of Rus'? The world seems to weigh heavy on Vasya's shoulders with these questions, and we watch her continuously battle for peace, not only for those in her country but for herself.
What I loved: Katherine Arden is a phenomenal writer to me - her work is unique, poetic, and her version of atmospheric. She takes 14th-century historical Rus' customs and somehow integrates them into her writing, both from a prose perspective and a literal historical take (one battle scene near the end is essentially a retelling of an actual battle in 1380 Rus' - read the author's note at the end, it's pretty lovely!). The intersection between fantasy and historical fiction continues to amaze me, and it is one of the most vital reasons why I can't help but feel this book is so fantastic.
As typical in this series, I loved Vasya and her strength, resilience, and grit. While the poor thing went through it in this book (even more so than the others), she was incredible. She was strong, powerful, and intelligent. Yet, she was imperfect and flawed. She had to continue making incredibly challenging decisions and understood that only some things would always work out. I think that is what I loved most about this book: Vasya learned from those around her, her environment, and herself to make better decisions in the future instead of just ~always knowing~ what to do, like other fantasy books I have read. I loved her character and what she tried to do for both the spirit world and Rus'.
I also thoroughly enjoyed many of the other characters - Sasha, Olga, Morozko (I'm glad we dove a little bit deeper into his character on this one, albeit I was still itching for more!), the Grand Prince Dmitrii, and I just loved Polunochnitsa (Lady Midnight) and the Bear. I had no intention of laughing during this book because it seemed so bleak and dark, but Polunochnitsa and the Bear truly helped provide (very minimal) comedic relief and were much more layered than I had anticipated (especially the Bear). My favorite secondary character was Ded Grib, the chyerti, a lil mushroom. Konstantin continued to be a unique, morally grey character that I also learned to enjoy, even if he was the worst. He was complicated, and you couldn't help but empathize with him.
Somehow, Arden did a brilliant job of making all characters nuanced and beautiful while juggling two plots without losing anything. I was so impressed by how much Arden could put into this under-400-page book because it packed such a punch, but it wasn't overwhelming. I just loved it. And somehow, like the first two, I read this under some snowy skies - something I didn't think would happen in early March, and I read this through Libby.
I'm a sucker for some political intrigue which was why I enjoyed the second book in this trilogy so much, but I liked this one even more because of the magical elements in it - less politics, more chyerti. I was impressed that Arden could do both so well.
Anything that could have made this a 6-star read? While I rated this a five because of Arden's beautiful ability to intertwine so many interesting plots and characters and the overall unique storytelling of Russia's history and Russian fairytales, this was imperfect, and others may have some criticism for it. For one, 90% of this book seemed to have no hope. Anything wrong that could happen seemed to have occurred, even if there were a few quick wins in the plot throughout the process. It was dreary. I swear that Vasya had eight broken ribs throughout this book and plenty of ample scars and concussions. It was hard to read because it just felt so BAD. Because of this constant dread, I felt the book read just a bit choppy, especially in the middle.
However, I had a blast with this and shed a few tears at the end. While sad, there was finally a dash of goodness and hope, and the ending was quite fitting. I look forward to reading more from Katherine Arden in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Death of parent
Child death/death of parent = mentioning previous books, not on page. Rape is not detailed or even implied, but there are threats of it. Sexual assault and harassment is on page but not heavily descriptive or long.andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
From me, The Winter of the Witch gets 5 stars!
This series encompasses everything I want in folklore inspired fantasy, and this final book...is just perfect 🥰
After the events in The Girl in the Tower, Moscow and it's people are looking for someone to blame...and this is all you need to dive into this #magicalworld again!
CW: witch hunting, mentions of slavery, war, death, horror elements, cruelty and death of animals, weaponized religion, extreme discrepancy between genders, plague, etc.
I won't try to dissect this final installment as I usually do...instead I'll let myself ramble about what comes to mind.
Obviously, my #rating reflects my belief that this book is close to perfect.
It opens with strong repercussions for our MC, and it goes to give you blow after blow of flawless writing, top notch atmosphere and amazing pacing!
I really felt that the pacing and atmosphere were just right for each scene. As most of the action takes place at midnight, I will poetically describe this novel as a dream of lost memories...
Coincidently, the background music for this series matches my description : Memories by @fludjy, creator of the yt channel EternalDepth...you're welcome and happy listening 😉
Back to our story : important parts are driven by individual character growth, powerful emotions, consequences, political repercussions, supernatural and human elements.
With this being said...my favorites are as follows : Vasya, Morozko, Konstantin, Sasha, Medved, Pozhar,Lady Midnight and Marya.
I love every part and every character, so...that list isn't complete...
Characters :
Say what you want about Konstantin...and yes, his greed and hate is awful..but I couldn't help myself and cried 😭...maybe that's why I love Medved as well...
Solovey...cried and eventually came to peace with it...
Morozko....perfect portretization of Winter...every time he was on the page I felt I the middle of a forest at midnight.
Sasha...great brother and man...now I'm obsessed with his real life counterpart 😅
Vasya...well...she grows with EVERY SINGLE PAGE 🥰...as she should!🥰...I'm soo happy I met her...that's all I have to say..
As I said above Medved came to be dear to me...maybe as I saw his connection with our MCs...and how lonely eternity is...chaos is life, as winter is eternity.
Let's switch it up and say a few words about the action : I really loved how Katherine Arden moulded her historical fantasy with Russian folklore and actual historical events...I was there at Kulikovo..and I cried 😅
Even if I didn't mention Dmitry Ivanovich as a favorite.. His role and the perspective he offered the reader completed this magical story with the necessary elements of the real world!
Favorite scenes: the pyre , everything up to the Lake and there🤭, Kulikovo, at the edge of the lands of winter, at the campfire..all of them😅🤷♀️🤭
This is it! Please read this trilogy and lose yourself in a winter Midnight😌...don't forget to stop by the Lake😉
This series encompasses everything I want in folklore inspired fantasy, and this final book...is just perfect 🥰
After the events in The Girl in the Tower, Moscow and it's people are looking for someone to blame...and this is all you need to dive into this #magicalworld again!
CW: witch hunting, mentions of slavery, war, death, horror elements, cruelty and death of animals, weaponized religion, extreme discrepancy between genders, plague, etc.
I won't try to dissect this final installment as I usually do...instead I'll let myself ramble about what comes to mind.
Obviously, my #rating reflects my belief that this book is close to perfect.
It opens with strong repercussions for our MC, and it goes to give you blow after blow of flawless writing, top notch atmosphere and amazing pacing!
I really felt that the pacing and atmosphere were just right for each scene. As most of the action takes place at midnight, I will poetically describe this novel as a dream of lost memories...
Coincidently, the background music for this series matches my description : Memories by @fludjy, creator of the yt channel EternalDepth...you're welcome and happy listening 😉
Back to our story : important parts are driven by individual character growth, powerful emotions, consequences, political repercussions, supernatural and human elements.
With this being said...my favorites are as follows : Vasya, Morozko, Konstantin, Sasha, Medved, Pozhar,Lady Midnight and Marya.
I love every part and every character, so...that list isn't complete...
Characters :
Say what you want about Konstantin...and yes, his greed and hate is awful..but I couldn't help myself and cried 😭...maybe that's why I love Medved as well...
Solovey...cried and eventually came to peace with it...
Morozko....perfect portretization of Winter...every time he was on the page I felt I the middle of a forest at midnight.
Sasha...great brother and man...now I'm obsessed with his real life counterpart 😅
Vasya...well...she grows with EVERY SINGLE PAGE 🥰...as she should!🥰...I'm soo happy I met her...that's all I have to say..
As I said above Medved came to be dear to me...maybe as I saw his connection with our MCs...and how lonely eternity is...chaos is life, as winter is eternity.
Let's switch it up and say a few words about the action : I really loved how Katherine Arden moulded her historical fantasy with Russian folklore and actual historical events...I was there at Kulikovo..and I cried 😅
Even if I didn't mention Dmitry Ivanovich as a favorite.. His role and the perspective he offered the reader completed this magical story with the necessary elements of the real world!
Favorite scenes: the pyre , everything up to the Lake and there🤭, Kulikovo, at the edge of the lands of winter, at the campfire..all of them😅🤷♀️🤭
This is it! Please read this trilogy and lose yourself in a winter Midnight😌...don't forget to stop by the Lake😉
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Slavery and War
pnonikki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Death and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
sas_lk's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I just loved it, honestly. An amazing series. One of my favourites. The characters have my heart, I love them all so much and I just want to protect them forever. So glad this series came into my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and War
Minor: Rape, Slavery, and Vomit
basil_touche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book certainly fulfilled the expectations I had from the previous book. Arden's writing style flows best in this final installment of the Winternight Triology, where chyerti and man alike join forces to protect their home. Chyerti appear much more in the plot here than last time, with the introduction of Midnight being a fascinating way of introducing more of Russian folklore (I was particually fond of Deb Grib, love that he was insistent that he was Vasya's first ally) and a new means of transportation for the protagonist, though not an easy one at first.
I have to admit though, I didn't really care for the romance between Vasya and Morozko. Their relationship felt underdeveloped for most of the novel but as characters I felt that they were still great. It just felt to me that there wasn't much build up to it.
I was surprised when they defeated Medved and the narrative still went on, however I quite like that Vasya freed Medved to assist her in fighting the war. He casually tries to make her lose her mind but they do have a somewhat begruding comradeship by the end (Medved's sly comments at everybody that made me smirk a fair bit).
There were some things that I felt were too quickly explained and others where I wished there were more details about but overall this is a fine conclusion to the triology.
There were some things that I felt were too quickly explained and others where I wished there were more details about but overall this is a fine conclusion to the triology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
simp_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this series. Book 3 had a lot going on and I got a little bogged down by it, hence the four stars instead of five.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and War
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was the perfect conclusion to the trilogy! It truly got better and better. I really liked the first book, loved the second and this one was just amazing.
I don't think I understand every theme that was explored in this book so I won't even try to analyse it. I just read this book for pleasure so I didn't make notes or anything. I can say that there is definitely loads of things to analyse and think about though.
I loved the way the myths were mixed with real events and people. It just feels like an alternative universe.
This series is officially one of my all time favourites. The writing is amazing, as is the storytelling. The characters range from good, to horrible, to amazing, to very morally ambiguous. The exploration of good & bad and if there even is such a thing in the first place was done so well. This book had a twist I truly did not expect. After the 3rd big chapter I thought everything was over (because in every other fantasy book, that is how the story ends), everything that came after was just so unexpected and amazing. I can't say more without saying too much and spoiling the book so I won't. This is truly a series you should know as little as possible about before reading.
Also I was surprised by how fresh this book felt. I have read so many fantasy books by now and I can enjoy a book while still realising how tropy and cliquee it is. This book felt like something new and exciting though.
I can only highly recommend this book! Especially if you are interested in russian folklore :)
I don't think I understand every theme that was explored in this book so I won't even try to analyse it. I just read this book for pleasure so I didn't make notes or anything. I can say that there is definitely loads of things to analyse and think about though.
I loved the way the myths were mixed with real events and people. It just feels like an alternative universe.
This series is officially one of my all time favourites. The writing is amazing, as is the storytelling. The characters range from good, to horrible, to amazing, to very morally ambiguous. The exploration of good & bad and if there even is such a thing in the first place was done so well. This book had a twist I truly did not expect. After the 3rd big chapter I thought everything was over (because in every other fantasy book, that is how the story ends), everything that came after was just so unexpected and amazing. I can't say more without saying too much and spoiling the book so I won't. This is truly a series you should know as little as possible about before reading.
Also I was surprised by how fresh this book felt. I have read so many fantasy books by now and I can enjoy a book while still realising how tropy and cliquee it is. This book felt like something new and exciting though.
I can only highly recommend this book! Especially if you are interested in russian folklore :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail