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pragmaticallypassionate_reader's review against another edition
4.0
I have an incredibly hard time describing this series and reviewing it. On one hand, I loved the folklore aspects and Vasya herself, but on the other, the pacing lags at times and there's some feeling of an overall goal that's missing. Let me elaborate.
There's a lot of things this series - and this book especially - get right. There's folklore mixed with daily life, strong characters, light magic, historical details, clever dialogue, and satisfying plot turns. However, through all that, there's something missing.
I stuck through the first book, which I found most tedious of the series. It read like an extended prologue. The, the second book was that seamless gap, but still slow and lacking a larger motivation. Then, this book, which opens with a flurry of activity and never quite stops. But there were several places that I thought would be the climax, the final defeat of evil, and the urgency continued past that point? Perhaps this was a case of adding too many plot points right at the end?
I definitely would like to reread these books eventually, as I feel I would better understand the story if I did so. There were so many people, places, and titles (especially in this last book) that I got a little lost. The politics oscillated between seeming important and trivial. It made the ultimate conflict or goal hard to discern. Maybe I just zoned out one time too many?
Regardless, I really enjoyed this series! The Winter of the Witch was probably my favorite of the three, because there's finally action and a focus on the folklore creatures (of which I can spell approximately zero, thanks to listening to the story over audio). The ending was satisfying, and Vasya is such a vivid character in my mind. The romance was lovely and subtle and clever and sweet. There's just something about the whole of the story that I . . . don't understand yet? Hopefully, I will get to revisit this series in the not-too-distant future and have that click of understanding!
**romance notes: one vague fade-to-black scene and lightly described attraction.
There's a lot of things this series - and this book especially - get right. There's folklore mixed with daily life, strong characters, light magic, historical details, clever dialogue, and satisfying plot turns. However, through all that, there's something missing.
I stuck through the first book, which I found most tedious of the series. It read like an extended prologue. The, the second book was that seamless gap, but still slow and lacking a larger motivation. Then, this book, which opens with a flurry of activity and never quite stops. But there were several places that I thought would be the climax, the final defeat of evil, and the urgency continued past that point? Perhaps this was a case of adding too many plot points right at the end?
I definitely would like to reread these books eventually, as I feel I would better understand the story if I did so. There were so many people, places, and titles (especially in this last book) that I got a little lost. The politics oscillated between seeming important and trivial. It made the ultimate conflict or goal hard to discern. Maybe I just zoned out one time too many?
Regardless, I really enjoyed this series! The Winter of the Witch was probably my favorite of the three, because there's finally action and a focus on the folklore creatures (of which I can spell approximately zero, thanks to listening to the story over audio). The ending was satisfying, and Vasya is such a vivid character in my mind. The romance was lovely and subtle and clever and sweet. There's just something about the whole of the story that I . . . don't understand yet? Hopefully, I will get to revisit this series in the not-too-distant future and have that click of understanding!
**romance notes: one vague fade-to-black scene and lightly described attraction.
lmsmaxwell's review against another edition
5.0
This whole series is like stupidly good. I wish I could read it again for the first time.
fuzzy_fairy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
itsam3m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.5
thebunbun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
maria_hossain's review against another edition
5.0
O! M!! G!!!!
Did I just finish one of the most amazing finale of an equally amazing trilogy???
God damn! This book is just...I'm speechless, to be honest. It is so so so so so good!!!
I am extremely lucky that NetGalley and Penguins Random House trusted me with this ARC. I am so so mesmerized and also a little bit traumatized by this book. It tore apart my heart and also gave me one of the most thrilling and memorable finale to an epic trilogy. I am just a mess, a puddle of emotions right now.
Since the first page to the last, the author kept us up in our most alert state, giving us such a book which kept me devouring it entirely and wishing for more. Honestly, I flipped the pages in my Aldiko app looking for one more chapter, just one more chapter to live a tiny bit longer in this breathtakingly awesome world and get to be more with the coolest of characters.
Ms. Arden, I'm a huge fan now!!
So the book picks up where it left off in the previous book. Moscow is in a state of disarray, after the huge fire and the subsequent snowstorm left the general populace scattered and scared. And you know what happens when people are scared? That's right, the Bear lounges. And boy does he do! Together with a certain character, he unleashes his utter scheme to terrify and overpower the humans, in order to establish a world where the Chyerti won't be forgotten and forsaken.
Ms. Arden brings loose threads of both The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower in this epic conclusion. All the little breadcrumbs she had left behind in both the previous books are tied up in a prefect knot here. The first half of the book will tear apart your heart layer by layer until you are a sobbing mess.
But...in the latter half, you just get sucker-punched by so much awesomeness and exciting things you are left off gaping and eyes widened.
As for the characters, OMG I just wanted them to be real you know.
I mean, in the first half, our girl Vasya has her The Dark Night of the Soul moment, when everything goes wrong for our fierce little girl. But boy oh boy, she does turn out such badass in the second half. She just turns 180° in her badassery (dunno if that's a word) and just smashes everything like Thor OMG!
I mean, forget the little village girl from The Bear and the Nightingale. That girl is gone! And it is for the good! From the recklessly lovely village girl who drew the wrong attention from Father Konstantin, she grows so much more into the fierce little fireball she now is. I cannot stop fangirling about her. She is the type of girl who makes mistakes but doesn't whine or lament on it and thus waste time. She shakes off the embarrassment/regret and does her job to minimize or fix things. She is just so inspiring like OMG!!!
And Sasha? Oh my poor baby Sasha! He is the most adorable character here (okay, tied with Morozko) and he is the kind of big brother any girl would want. Protective, fatherly and brotherly, affectionate, forgiving, nurturing and what not. I just wanna hug him tight and pat him on the back saying "YOU ARE THE BEST BIG BROTHER A GIRL CAN EVER GET!!!!" And this is coming from someone who never had a brother and never wanted one.
And Morozko, our other cinnamon roll baby? Oh my God, I just love him so so much! As you know from book 2, he becomes much more than an ally to Vasya, but he becomes much much MUCH more here in book 3. He is just so cute! His humble yet adorable way of showing affection to those he love is just heartwarming. Gosh, I feel hot!
And the Bear? Although he is the antagonist, he is the antagonist you want. Equal amount the embodiment of horror and humor, he is almost like Loki, you know.
I dunno if Ms. Arden wrote the Morozko-Medved brother duo while watching Thor-Loki pair on MCU movies, but boy these two brother pairs are so alike!
And in the latter quarter of the book, the Bear becomes someone I like too! Never have I ever thought I'd say this though. But the Bear becomes one of the most interesting villains in young adult fantasy genre in my opinion.
Last but not least, I wanna punch and kick and throttle and torture Father Konstantin so so much! Ugh!!! He is the most intolerable and annoying character I've met so far, almost equalling with Dolores Umbridge. Gosh, he is insufferable! At one point, I really wanted to become the Hulk and smash him across the ground like in The Avengers.
As for the rest of the book, I loved how Ms. Arden brings in so many cool Chyerti characters who bring in both good and bad parts of the Chyerti world. Through the whole trilogy, she showed us good and bad sides of both humans and Chyerti and how much we resemble. These two parallel worlds are no different from each other. Gosh, I love it!
So there you have it. My long long fangirling review of this epic conclusion. I was in for a thrilling ride and every bit of it was worth it. If you have read the previous two books, get ready for this! And if you haven't, gosh dang what are you waiting for? Pick this series up and immerse into a world of magic like never before.
Thank you NetGalley UK and Penguins Random House for trusting me with the ARC. I hope my review did this book justice.
Did I just finish one of the most amazing finale of an equally amazing trilogy???
God damn! This book is just...I'm speechless, to be honest. It is so so so so so good!!!
I am extremely lucky that NetGalley and Penguins Random House trusted me with this ARC. I am so so mesmerized and also a little bit traumatized by this book. It tore apart my heart and also gave me one of the most thrilling and memorable finale to an epic trilogy. I am just a mess, a puddle of emotions right now.
Since the first page to the last, the author kept us up in our most alert state, giving us such a book which kept me devouring it entirely and wishing for more. Honestly, I flipped the pages in my Aldiko app looking for one more chapter, just one more chapter to live a tiny bit longer in this breathtakingly awesome world and get to be more with the coolest of characters.
Ms. Arden, I'm a huge fan now!!
So the book picks up where it left off in the previous book. Moscow is in a state of disarray, after the huge fire and the subsequent snowstorm left the general populace scattered and scared. And you know what happens when people are scared? That's right, the Bear lounges. And boy does he do! Together with a certain character, he unleashes his utter scheme to terrify and overpower the humans, in order to establish a world where the Chyerti won't be forgotten and forsaken.
Ms. Arden brings loose threads of both The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower in this epic conclusion. All the little breadcrumbs she had left behind in both the previous books are tied up in a prefect knot here. The first half of the book will tear apart your heart layer by layer until you are a sobbing mess.
But...in the latter half, you just get sucker-punched by so much awesomeness and exciting things you are left off gaping and eyes widened.
As for the characters, OMG I just wanted them to be real you know.
I mean, in the first half, our girl Vasya has her The Dark Night of the Soul moment, when everything goes wrong for our fierce little girl. But boy oh boy, she does turn out such badass in the second half. She just turns 180° in her badassery (dunno if that's a word) and just smashes everything like Thor OMG!
I mean, forget the little village girl from The Bear and the Nightingale. That girl is gone! And it is for the good! From the recklessly lovely village girl who drew the wrong attention from Father Konstantin, she grows so much more into the fierce little fireball she now is. I cannot stop fangirling about her. She is the type of girl who makes mistakes but doesn't whine or lament on it and thus waste time. She shakes off the embarrassment/regret and does her job to minimize or fix things. She is just so inspiring like OMG!!!
And Sasha? Oh my poor baby Sasha! He is the most adorable character here (okay, tied with Morozko) and he is the kind of big brother any girl would want. Protective, fatherly and brotherly, affectionate, forgiving, nurturing and what not. I just wanna hug him tight and pat him on the back saying "YOU ARE THE BEST BIG BROTHER A GIRL CAN EVER GET!!!!" And this is coming from someone who never had a brother and never wanted one.
And Morozko, our other cinnamon roll baby? Oh my God, I just love him so so much! As you know from book 2, he becomes much more than an ally to Vasya, but he becomes much much MUCH more here in book 3. He is just so cute! His humble yet adorable way of showing affection to those he love is just heartwarming. Gosh, I feel hot!
And the Bear? Although he is the antagonist, he is the antagonist you want. Equal amount the embodiment of horror and humor, he is almost like Loki, you know.
I dunno if Ms. Arden wrote the Morozko-Medved brother duo while watching Thor-Loki pair on MCU movies, but boy these two brother pairs are so alike!
And in the latter quarter of the book, the Bear becomes someone I like too! Never have I ever thought I'd say this though. But the Bear becomes one of the most interesting villains in young adult fantasy genre in my opinion.
Last but not least, I wanna punch and kick and throttle and torture Father Konstantin so so much! Ugh!!! He is the most intolerable and annoying character I've met so far, almost equalling with Dolores Umbridge. Gosh, he is insufferable! At one point, I really wanted to become the Hulk and smash him across the ground like in The Avengers.
As for the rest of the book, I loved how Ms. Arden brings in so many cool Chyerti characters who bring in both good and bad parts of the Chyerti world. Through the whole trilogy, she showed us good and bad sides of both humans and Chyerti and how much we resemble. These two parallel worlds are no different from each other. Gosh, I love it!
So there you have it. My long long fangirling review of this epic conclusion. I was in for a thrilling ride and every bit of it was worth it. If you have read the previous two books, get ready for this! And if you haven't, gosh dang what are you waiting for? Pick this series up and immerse into a world of magic like never before.
Thank you NetGalley UK and Penguins Random House for trusting me with the ARC. I hope my review did this book justice.
brieflyblue's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
Reading the Winternight trilogy has been such a fun experience, and I’m sad that it’s over. It was a breath of fresh air.
squid99's review against another edition
4.0
this trilogy was so great. the character arcs and power crawls all felt so natural, and really made me feel the years that the series spans. I think the writing itself was most beautiful in this last book. I even shed a single tear!
riedk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5