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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
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