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readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
I'll be honest, even though I read The Bear and the Nightingale only a year ago, I'd forgotten a lot of the details already. But it seemed appropriate to dive into this as winter was coming to a close, and before my memories of the first book became too far gone.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Child death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual assault
Minor: Trafficking, Rape, Vomit, and Violence
jessversteeg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
It’s very much like the previous book in its pace and story. It begins with Vasya’s sister, which might make it feel less interesting, but Vasya comes back into the story. Given the way it ends, I will certainly pick up the third!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage
Minor: Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
olivia_piepmeier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.0
Like the first book, this is a great winter read - so easy to fall into the world that's also in the midst of winter, and oddly comforting for the bitterness of winter to be relayed in what you're reading. I'm also rather impressed I didn't feel like I was missing anything having read the other book nearly a year ago. Folks that think "winter fairy tale in medieval Russia with some gender commentary" sounds good will dig it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Child death, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical trauma, War, Kidnapping, Slavery, Murder, Gore, Confinement, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
sas_lk's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
So incredibly good. So close to a 5 star, it just did not give me a 5 star feeling, but I absolutely loved it. Highly recommend this series, can't wait to start the 3rd book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: War, Miscarriage, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Slavery
paulina_laukova's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Blood, Sexism, Child death, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit and Confinement
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
3.5
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.
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
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Sexual violence, Vomit, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
mmefish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
3.5
Witch. The word drifted across his mind. We call such women so, because we have no other name.
This one... isn't as great as "The Bear And the Nightingale".
I still love Katherine Arden's writing and the way she shapes her characters but this book feels way less... mature? The beginning is fine and the middle section is great (I was anxious the whole time) but the ending felt rushed, unnecessary and trope-ish.
What I mean by unnecessary is, for example, this:
-
-
-
And by tropes I mean: Vasya is special, "plain" (so many time it's mentioned that she's ugly and not a beauty, we get it), everyone falls in love with her; Vasya is good/better at whatever; lack of communication, specifically people starting telling something and just... deciding not to (I hate it so much); the "twist" (
It read a little bit too much like YA.
Also, I'm really sick of
Overall, "The Girl in the Tower" is definitely not terrible but still feels like a letdown after such a strong first book.
_______________
Edit: decided not to finish the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Sexism
Moderate: Gore, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Slavery, and Rape
emfass's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Child death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Vomit
grimviolins's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Misogyny, Child death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: War, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Animal cruelty
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? It's complicated
5.0
Following the first book in it‘s magical footsteps, this book delivered everything needed in a sequel. We get a heroine that is maturing throughout the book while facing human and magical dangers. Vasya‘s development during this book is incredible and I wished to protect this innocent child from all the cruel things her world has to offer. However, she masters the difficulties she faces wonderfully given the circumstances and I‘m still amazed how good of a heart she has. If I were faced with all this stuff, I would gladly stay in a not-quite-there-hut in the forest.
The slow-burn left me sighing more than once and at this point I can‘t wait to nearly die in a winter night just to be saved by a handsome frost-demon. Also: the YEARNING. From both of them! And he is always there for her. These are the things that keep the seasonal depression at bay!
Despite introducing a new villain in this book, I still can’t fathom the idea of how much hatred and rage a certain priest provokes in me. The pure entitlement this man feels towards Vasya leaves me with the most urgent need to introduce him to a wall. Of Brick. Repeatedly. Needless to say, Vasya is confronted with a lot of misogyny and sexism, as could be expected in a historical fantasy. However, the reveal in the end was a little bit obvious if you know some Russian folklore but it was executed really well and the betrayal left me aghast (somehow I managed to expect it but also denying myself so yeah, the shock was real).
The things I liked most were definitely the scenes with amoroso and the ones with her little niece. Also, as I mentioned: I really want an opportunity to train my right hook with this blond dude….
The slow-burn left me sighing more than once and at this point I can‘t wait to nearly die in a winter night just to be saved by a handsome frost-demon. Also: the YEARNING. From both of them! And he is always there for her. These are the things that keep the seasonal depression at bay!
Despite introducing a new villain in this book, I still can’t fathom the idea of how much hatred and rage a certain priest provokes in me. The pure entitlement this man feels towards Vasya leaves me with the most urgent need to introduce him to a wall. Of Brick. Repeatedly. Needless to say, Vasya is confronted with a lot of misogyny and sexism, as could be expected in a historical fantasy. However, the reveal in the end was a little bit obvious if you know some Russian folklore but it was executed really well and the betrayal left me aghast (somehow I managed to expect it but also denying myself so yeah, the shock was real).
The things I liked most were definitely the scenes with amoroso and the ones with her little niece. Also, as I mentioned: I really want an opportunity to train my right hook with this blond dude….
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Trafficking, Vomit, and War