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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
I'm afraid that the winter king stole my soul. And I'm willing to stay there. Because it's cold outside.
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Oh, this was gorgeous!
Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy has been on my radar for ages, and I’m so glad I finally got around to starting it.
This book delivers exactly what you’d expect from its blurb and cover: a mystical, whimsical atmosphere told in a fairytale-ish manner, all set in the historical Russian wilderness of a wintry forest. While the heroine of the story is a young girl called Vasilisa, it also follows her family as they change and grow over the years.
Vasilisa is the daughter of a Russian nobleman and noblewoman, and from a young age she’s set herself apart from the rest of her household through her unafraid, wild, yet deeply perceptive nature. She’s the quintessential “weird girl” — talks to forest deities, makes friends with the horses, communes with sprites.
This is definitely an archetype of the fantasy genre: the girl who’s adept at seeing things, in tune with her environment, and as untamed as the nature surrounding her and I loved how Arden executed it here, showing Vasilisa as messy, smart, loving, and brave.
The story is a slow burn, letting you soak in the intricately crafted setting and various characters going through their own arcs. I enjoyed all this, though it might be a drawback for someone looking for less of a meandering, folktale-like vibe and more of a tightly focused narrative.
But gah, for me, this was absolute perfection!
🎧 Audiobook/Narration:
The narrator did a masterful job bringing the story to life! I listened to her for the beginning chapters and fell in love with her voice and narration style, but had to switch to reading when I got a tiny bit confused by the different names/nicknames, which is such a staple in books featuring Russian characters or set in Russia, lol. Still, I can fully recommend this as a listen. It matched the fairytale feel of the story beautifully!
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Russian folklore
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This has left me with mixed opinions, and I’m still debating whether I actually enjoyed it or if I’m just telling myself that I did. Bought as a book club read, and the first fantasy book picked so far this year, which had me excited from the get-go.
I enjoyed the folklore elements in this, as well as Vasya and the majority of her family. I’ve picked up book two already so I’m looking forward to seeing how certain characters develop. Set in a historical Russian village, the setting and the depictions of winter has me wishing it was a cosy December and I was reading all curled up under a blanket, and not in the humidity of my daily summer commute.
The pacing and density of the story seemed to be my biggest struggles consistently through this read; it’s taken me 3 weeks to read from cover to cover, and picking it up and dedicating time felt almost like a chore. There were more times than not where the plot, or sometimes lack thereof, totally lost my interest at times, particularly in the second part, though it did somewhat pick up again in the third, albeit a little rushed.
All of that being said, I’m looking forward to reading book 2 at my own pace, and not trying to rush to finish it the day before a book club meeting, and the synopsis for book 2 has grabbed my interest a little more, so we’ll see if the extra time to digest will help with my enjoyment
4.5 stars
This was almost 5 stars but it had the most ridiculous, over-and-done ending I've ever read. I was also so looking forward to seeing why the nightingale was so important and the answer is just that it isn't.
But still, this is the best winter ambiance I've ever read. It felt so so cozy and I absolutely fell in love with the domovoi and other creatures. I just wish a little more thought was put into the ending!
Also, to me this is definitely a stand-alone.
This was almost 5 stars but it had the most ridiculous, over-and-done ending I've ever read. I was also so looking forward to seeing why the nightingale was so important and the answer is just that it isn't.
But still, this is the best winter ambiance I've ever read. It felt so so cozy and I absolutely fell in love with the domovoi and other creatures. I just wish a little more thought was put into the ending!
Also, to me this is definitely a stand-alone.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
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
I really enjoyed this book! I appreciated Arden's writing style and her cast of characters. Most of the characters had distinct personalities that allowed me to have specific feelings toward them. That is something a lot of books fail to do for me, where the characters have no personality of their own and I'm unable to care about them. But Arden was able to give us characters with distinct personalities even if they did not appear often in the book.
I'm not too familiar with Russian fairy tales so I enjoyed that aspect and I loved learning the Russian words and context from the glossary and author's note.
I also really, really appreciated that Vasilisa was not a copy and paste heroine who is always bold and fearless and is somehow plain and gorgeous at the same time. I loved that she was an imperfect child and adolescent, but we got to see her grow and learn.
I think some of the people voicing an opinion one way or another about the religious aspect of the book aren't considering what normal life was like in medieval eastern Europe. Some people are saying real world religion doesn't have a place in fantasy...I disagree with that, I feel like some readers just don't like it and others do.
I also don't believe Arden was trying say all religion leads to corruption. It's just something she incorporated in the book and the way I interpreted it was setting the values and expectations that surround Vasilisa and how to fantasy element intertwined with natural world.
I will say the last few chapters of this book kind of lost me, especially after the part where. The fantasy element really amped up here and, maybe it's because I'm unfamiliar with Russian fairy tales but I had trouble understanding what was going on toward the end.
I'm not too familiar with Russian fairy tales so I enjoyed that aspect and I loved learning the Russian words and context from the glossary and author's note.
I also really, really appreciated that Vasilisa was not a copy and paste heroine who is always bold and fearless and is somehow plain and gorgeous at the same time. I loved that she was an imperfect child and adolescent, but we got to see her grow and learn.
I think some of the people voicing an opinion one way or another about the religious aspect of the book aren't considering what normal life was like in medieval eastern Europe. Some people are saying real world religion doesn't have a place in fantasy...I disagree with that, I feel like some readers just don't like it and others do.
I also don't believe Arden was trying say all religion leads to corruption. It's just something she incorporated in the book and the way I interpreted it was setting the values and expectations that surround Vasilisa and how to fantasy element intertwined with natural world.
I will say the last few chapters of this book kind of lost me, especially after the part where
Spoiler
Pyotr leaves to offer aid to the fires
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No