kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An extremely tumultuous, if a tad predictable ending to a fun series! Vasya’s powers finally made some sense, but still had a bit of mystery so it didn’t feel overly neat.
There was a lot of suffering in this book! Some of it was gratuitous, but overall I really like when fantasy doesn’t gloss over how fucking disgusting and dreary life could be in these historical settings. Battle half-planned half-freestyle, mud everywhere, cold as fuck, and everything sucks until the fight is over; it felt more accurate than if Vasya had ridden up in shiny armor with the perfect plan and giant allies. Still have complaints about the heavy-handed sexual assault & harassment throughout these books as an attempt at “historical accuracy” but … whatever
My biggest complaint that took this down a full star: The Bear actually liking Konstantin was… weird. I don’t love retroactive queering of villains, and this iteration of it felt especially shoehorned and strange. The author could have easily written in a few queer monks or cheyrti if they were that anxious to inject queerness after like 600+ pages of het-fest… loads of potential material given how willing they were to bend and freestyle mythology… Having the murderous mentally ill monk with a fetish for harming women he desires and the giant chaos bear that literally possessed and assaulted said monk be lightly gay for each other was ill-timed and ill-chosen. Don’t get me wrong, I live for queerness in historical fantasy but i thought we’d long ago established that throwing a little fruit into abusive, horrible villain characters was not an okay way to add diversity…
There was a lot of suffering in this book! Some of it was gratuitous, but overall I really like when fantasy doesn’t gloss over how fucking disgusting and dreary life could be in these historical settings. Battle half-planned half-freestyle, mud everywhere, cold as fuck, and everything sucks until the fight is over; it felt more accurate than if Vasya had ridden up in shiny armor with the perfect plan and giant allies. Still have complaints about the heavy-handed sexual assault & harassment throughout these books as an attempt at “historical accuracy” but … whatever
My biggest complaint that took this down a full star: The Bear actually liking Konstantin was… weird. I don’t love retroactive queering of villains, and this iteration of it felt especially shoehorned and strange. The author could have easily written in a few queer monks or cheyrti if they were that anxious to inject queerness after like 600+ pages of het-fest… loads of potential material given how willing they were to bend and freestyle mythology… Having the murderous mentally ill monk with a fetish for harming women he desires and the giant chaos bear that literally possessed and assaulted said monk be lightly gay for each other was ill-timed and ill-chosen. Don’t get me wrong, I live for queerness in historical fantasy but i thought we’d long ago established that throwing a little fruit into abusive, horrible villain characters was not an okay way to add diversity…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Death, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Torture, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit
elisabeth_g_mark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This became my favourite trilogy of the last year. Every character is alive, has depth, evolves and has a role to play. The setting is vibrant, you feel the cold, the darkness and the summer heat.
The love story is a side plot, because for our MC her own growth, searching for her own way, is more important than a man. But it's still important to her, home and in the end, she needs it all - her love, her friends and allies, her enemies and faith in herself.
I'll miss this world and will reread it next winter. Katherine Arden became quickly a favourite author with this 5-star trilogy.
The love story is a side plot, because for our MC her own growth, searching for her own way, is more important than a man. But it's still important to her, home and in the end, she needs it all - her love, her friends and allies, her enemies and faith in herself.
I'll miss this world and will reread it next winter. Katherine Arden became quickly a favourite author with this 5-star trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Grief, Violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Suicide and Torture
Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
rosequarterdrifting's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
still enjoyed it but the pacing was bizarre. it felt waaay under-edited
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
decembermagpie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, and War
Minor: Self harm, Pregnancy, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death
chattie_the_mad_chatter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
On a re-read this is even more incredible than when I first read it.
I love the journey we go with Vasya, it starts with a band then slows down, it took me by surprise but wraps everything up so well.
I love this out of all 3 as it mixes things I enjoy from the first 2, tje conflict between Chereti and the Church, politics, Vasya finding herself. Character growth is brilliant emotions are high and it has made me appreciate mushrooms!
I love the journey we go with Vasya, it starts with a band then slows down, it took me by surprise but wraps everything up so well.
I love this out of all 3 as it mixes things I enjoy from the first 2, tje conflict between Chereti and the Church, politics, Vasya finding herself. Character growth is brilliant emotions are high and it has made me appreciate mushrooms!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexism, Violence, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
wolfje's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Death and Physical abuse
Minor: Vomit, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
galactic_gigi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
I‘m not gonna lie, this was a wild ride. Don‘t get me wrong, I loved every single part of this series and finished every book in one sitting! But now I‘m left with this feeling of emptiness, wanting to know more about Vasya and Rus and all the potential stories that could follow while she‘s fully accepting her new role.
I really adored the fact that the people in this series weren’t divided into just good and just bad characters. They were all very well written characters, apart from if I liked them or not. I was able to understand their motivations and feelings and therefore was invested into their storyline.
Throughout the series I really got to know Vasya and I basically watched her growing up and maturing and making mistakes, because even though she has the best intentions she is not able to anticipate every single outcome of her actions. She always stood up for her beliefs, but in this book she was facing her greatest fear and standing up to herself.
The two main conflicts were really interesting and during the second one I was more than once on my toes, hoping and praying that this book wouldn‘t destroy me in the end. It did, but just a little.
It was a delight to read these books and I‘m left a little sad that it’s over. I would love to visit this world again!
I really adored the fact that the people in this series weren’t divided into just good and just bad characters. They were all very well written characters, apart from if I liked them or not. I was able to understand their motivations and feelings and therefore was invested into their storyline.
Throughout the series I really got to know Vasya and I basically watched her growing up and maturing and making mistakes, because even though she has the best intentions she is not able to anticipate every single outcome of her actions. She always stood up for her beliefs, but in this book she was facing her greatest fear and standing up to herself.
The two main conflicts were really interesting and during the second one I was more than once on my toes, hoping and praying that this book wouldn‘t destroy me in the end. It did, but just a little.
It was a delight to read these books and I‘m left a little sad that it’s over. I would love to visit this world again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, and Vomit
avisreadsandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Child death, Blood, Physical abuse, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Vomit
awashinfeeling's review
adventurous
dark
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Torture, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit
ehmannky's review
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
4.5
A wonderful end to the series. Winter of the Witch delves straight into the action, without any of the slow build up to Vasya's main plot that the previous two books did. And it starts out intense, with Vasya nearly killed by a mob spurred on by the corrupted priest Konstantin. I did kind of miss the meticulous world-building, but this is probably the most focused of the series in terms of plot. But I forgive much because I loved the relationship between Morozko and Vasya getting the room to really grow. Also, Vasya's PTSD from the beginning of the book was rendered so vividly and painfully, and I liked seeing a protagonist struggle with doing what she had to do with that disorder. It just makes her feel all the more real and brave.
The only thing I didn't particularly love was that it felt that there were essentially two parts that felt like an ending-one part in the middle and the other was the actual end of the book. I don't want to spoil it, but I felt that after one of the major forces of antagonism in Vasya's life are defeated, there was a 50 ish page gap where the book felt like it sort of stalled. Overall, I didn't hate it and I get thematically why this split exists and the meaning behind showing that "defeating evil" is not enough for a victory in a complex world, but it felt odd in a book that's so action-focused to have this weird lull roughly 2/3rds of the way through.
Overall, extremely satisfied with this series and its ending, and good god
The only thing I didn't particularly love was that it felt that there were essentially two parts that felt like an ending-one part in the middle and the other was the actual end of the book. I don't want to spoil it, but I felt that after one of the major forces of antagonism in Vasya's life are defeated, there was a 50 ish page gap where the book felt like it sort of stalled. Overall, I didn't hate it and I get thematically why this split exists and the meaning behind showing that "defeating evil" is not enough for a victory in a complex world, but it felt odd in a book that's so action-focused to have this weird lull roughly 2/3rds of the way through.
Overall, extremely satisfied with this series and its ending, and good god
Spoiler
was it satisfying to see Konstantin die. Still not sure how I feel about Solovey being resurrected in the last 10 pages of the book, but it is a very fairy tale twist so I did appreciate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Vomit