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valpyre's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
this book made me feel the biggest feelings. once again, i am in awe of how arden writes the omniscient pov, especially as we haven't seen or heard from sasha and olga since the first book. their roles in moscow and their characters were really refreshing and made the setting more immersive. and much like vasya, their minds are always at work, detecting and deducing, so i as the reader always felt like the story kept moving.
i took a really big break from the book around 75% (ish) in, mostly due to life stuff, but also the story itself -- i wasn't totally surprised by the reveal that happened, but i was hoping it wouldn't and it was a lot of secondhand embarrassment for me to handle. i got right into it again when i came back to it though, and everything wrapped up a bit quicker than i expected, but with so much foreshadowing that i just want to know what happens next.
also obsessed with vasya and the frost demon. ive never highlighted a book more.
Graphic: Miscarriage and Child death
kukazashi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Minor: War, Grief, Rape, and Fire/Fire injury
pitchblackkoi's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Miscarriage, Child death, Sexual assault, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Kidnapping
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thankfully, though still a bit fuzzy, those recollections did slowly come back to me as I reoriented myself in this world. I did find the first half rather frustrating — Vasya is missing for the first 100 pages, and then we get vaulted into the past to see what she had been up to in the meantime. I didn't at all understand the point of this; simply moving back and forth between perspectives would, I think, have been perfectly adequate here. But once the group emerges out of the woods, with the initial threat seemingly conquered and still half the book to go, the intrigue really picked up, and so did my interest in the story.
Arden's writing is truly lovely, lush and descriptive, and really does make this seem like you're reading a fairytale. But I think because of that fairytale framework, there is very little here that feels original. The characters are all barely disguised stereotypes, and while the world of spirits and demons that only Vasya can see is interesting, it's nothing I haven't come across before. I remember a lot more of the domovoi and other spirits in the first book; while they do play some part in the plot here, there was not as much interaction with them as I would have liked. The generic, snowy Russian setting of these books is certainly atmospheric, but, again, just not original.
I did enjoy this, so I am willing to still give it four stars, but to be honest, I am just not invested enough to continue any further with this series. The end to this installment was dramatic and definitive enough that I feel pretty satisfied to go no further. I would definitely, however, be interested in exploring more of Arden's work outside of this series and seeing if she has developed her creativity to live up to the exquisite flow of her writing.
Graphic: Blood and Child death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual assault
Minor: Trafficking, Rape, Vomit, and Violence
mary_stormageddon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Slavery, Body horror, Pregnancy, Blood, and War
jessversteeg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage
Minor: Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
After the events of the 1st #book, Vasya made a life-changing decision on how she wants to live her life. In this installment, we get to see soo much more of medieval Russia, and I can only say that was what I needed all along!☺️
CW : death, slavery, horror (supernatural), extreme discrepancy between genders, traumatic birth, loss of children, violent and humiliating outing of a person
This time I'll try to be more concise with my thoughts as this is a sequel.
In terms of setting and atmosphere, Katherine Arden does a fantastic job in transporting you in that era. You can feel the winter's harshest snow storm, see the forests alongside Vasya and the others, the frozen rivers used for travel and, definitely, you are walking Moscow 's dirt streets between horses, carts and merchants while women and children stay out of harm's way.
Now...themes and action : the story follows the footsteps left by the author in the first book...we get to see a heavier accent on customs, gender and society, how important was religion in those times and what role it took when people are faced with hard times, and lastly, the complex political playground that was Russia then.
I'm very happy to say that the political aspect drives A LOT of this book while always being weaved with Vasya's struggle to find herself and what she wants.
Perfect transition engaged😙👉 my favorite characters continue to be Vasya, and members of her family! A close second to our MC is Morozko!🥰 I absolutely loved their scenes full of meaning both towards their relationship and us! I feel like I come to learn peace with them🧐
Kasyan...now...this was an interesting character...his story balanced political, mythical and day to day aspects☺️...I was very happy to especially see the role he played in Vasya journey to accept her role in her family.
Sasha and Maryam were great, I both understood and got frustrated with Olya..not to mention...grieved with her, and, finally, I was left unsatisfied with Konstantin's involvement...don't get me wrong...what happened felt just right...only I wanted more.
That's it! 👉 go read the book!
Graphic: Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Torture, Misogyny, Child death, Slavery, Violence, Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Hate crime, Murder, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Sexism
amjone12's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Sexism, Death, and Child death
teganbeesebooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child death and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault
pnonikki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Sexism, Animal death, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Infertility