Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Girl in the Tower

3.5 stars rounded up!

I liked this sequel, and I liked that we saw some failure from Vasya. She seemed to miraculously know most things last book, so seeing her have to put pieces together and realize that everything won’t be handed to her added more depth to her than she had before. She makes hasty choices and they have consequences, and seeing her deal with that made her feel much more real.

I was not into how much this book leaned on assault and objectification to strike fear into Vasya; bodily harm (because yknow, war & magic battles) without rape threat and violent misogyny would’ve been sufficient. Staying historically accurate doesn’t require focusing in on details like that. The Game of Thrones school of dealing with misogyny in history should be burned to the ground, but I digress

I was afraid this book would bore me because it verged on political intrigue, but honestly those parts were easy to gloss over to get to the magic bits. I love the balance the author found there. I don’t care about palace life beyond how it directly impacts our characters, and I don’t enjoy reading about political machinations. This book gave me just enough context to continue making its point about gender & power dynamics in this time period

Overall fun, but I’ll be honest in saying that I hope the next book is far from a palace. I also find myself ready for a conclusion, so I’m glad this is a trilogy.

Content Warnings

justjo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I have really mixed feeling on this whole series. The overall plot is good, the climax/last 25% is a fun ride, and the relationships of the characters nicely resemble that complicated family love/hate. But the characters have no depth themselves.

I let it slide with the Bear and the Nightingale, reading it more as a prequel to Vasya as a character. I held out hope that she, and the story would grow from there (and that we wouldn't have an immortal falling for a 16 year old). But that didn't happen. Vasya remains a very naive and reactive protagonist. She doesn't ask a lot of questions about things around her, and seems to simply stumble into the plot all the time. She doesn't change a lot by the end, I feel, outside seeing the very simple "my actions=these consequences". I think in 9/10 of the scenarios where she could learn to grow, she would most likely make the same mistakes over and over again.

On top of that, the author just keeps hitting you over the head with "this world sees women as practically subhuman", but uses it more as a driving plot device without much more thought. It's easier to write what seems like a headstrong character in a world that is cruel for cruelty sake, and not have to address the society itself. I understand it's based on midevil Moscow, but everytime there's a choice between creating nuanced, deep scenes/characters or just screaming "witch" and having random side characters assault girls, the author chooses to assault girls. For the plot. Which I think has turned me off of finishing the series

I will look up a summary of the third book because throughout both of the books so far, there's the mystery of the grandmother and why Vasya (and potentially other) have this sight and magic. We get a small insight, but it's left more as a cliffhanger to pull you into the next book.

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toriffic's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

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dariusmortee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was one of those books where I had a lot of trouble in the first half of the book. I was a bit lost on where the story was going and it felt slow and quick at the same time. The second half was great. It had the exciting parts that I loved from the first book and I could feel Vasya’s feminine rage.

I am both a bit scared and excited for the last book. I am hoping for more sibling bonding between Sasha, Vasya and Olga and I hope that Marya will have a more prominent role. There are some question I hope will be answered.

Also, this may sound weird, but I hope the focus on horses will be less.

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elliemaryn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the girl in the tower is heavier on ancient russian politics than the bear and the nightingale. if that's your thing, then you're in luck, but I have never been a big fan of reading aboit politics myself. I will say that this book packed a heavier punch than its predecessor and its themes were much better executed.

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ameliabee33's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

✨️ As I could, I loved you. ✨️

The second book in the Winternight Trilogy leans heavily into the concept of womanhood and what it meant to be a woman in medieval Russia in the 1300s. Vasya left her small village to see the world, to live a free life. To do this she dresses as a boy, because traveling as a man is much safer than traveling as a girl. As a boy, Vasya can be respected and not questioned, and for the most part she is safe from wandering eyes and hands. Vasya often comments on how much more comfortable and freeing being a boy/man is in this book, to herself as well as her brother and sister in Moscow. As a boy Vasya can be brave and rewarded for it, which she likes- because honestly why would she just want to be locked up in a tower we're highborn women in Moscow are supposed to live.

Her relationship with her siblings is strained because of her desire to not conform. Olga is the quintessential woman, who married, hand kids, and lives in the Tower and prays. Vasya is the exact opposite of everything Olga stands for, and their conflict with one another is very apparent throughout this book. Sasha leads the life Vasya wants (except for the Christian part), a man who is held in high regard by the Grand Prince of Moscow and someone who has traveled and seen the world. Sasha doesn't understand why Vasya is doing what she is doing and also wants her to "act like a woman". However, he is more lenient and allows her to live her lie.

This book also leans heavily into the "Death and his maiden" trope. We all know it and a lot of people love it. Vasya and Morozko become closer throughout the book and kindled their budding romantic relationship. Morozko is constantly confused as to why he, and immortal death god, is feeling human feelings, especially for a young human girl- keep in mind Vasya is ~16/17 here. Vasya doesn't know what it is Morozko wants, but knows she is interested in the freedom and power he offers, and if romance comes with 🤷‍♀️ But really, there is a lot of nuance surrounding Vasya growing up, becoming wiser and the growth of her relationship with Morozko, in my opinion.

The only reason I dropped his 0.5⭐️s was because of the creepy men that kept wanting Vasya. Like seriously I know times were different then, but GROSS. Like leave my girl alone!

Content Warnings

tarmakworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

mnerd63's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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