Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - De winter van de heks

This was probably the last thing I expected from the events of the first book. Truthfully, I had wanted Vasya to run away from it all and travel the world like she planned to. I admit I was disappointed by the second book's decision to turn inward toward her siblings. I think that disappointment probably puts a bias on my mediocre experience with this last installment. This third story is a good one and I did enjoy my time reading it, but it suffers a little from treating Vasya as untouchable and some questionable ethics.

We are pretty much outright told that no man can resist Vasya's wild/unique charm; while that's something seen in the behavior of other men in the previous books, making it some kind of general rule that gets her out of more than one life threatening situation feels pretty cheap. I also don't feel great, or even good at all, about a 17 year old feeling forced by a dire situation to have sex with an ancient winter god. I was already iffy about their relationship but this book pushed it from questionable to straight up ick for me. Not loving that the only queer relationship in the entire series is between the two villains either. Finally, if we're going to undo some of Vasya's greatest development into adulthood by bringing Solovey back, at least give us more time with him.

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fiveredhens's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

still enjoyed it but the pacing was bizarre. it felt waaay under-edited

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maeverose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Honestly, after sitting with it for a while, I wouldn’t be surprised if I bump this up to a five star upon re-read.. (I initially gave it a 3.75) but here’s my review from goodreads (a bit edited):

I feel like this review is going to sound really negative but I did really like it overall (obviously, based on my rating). I was a bit disappointed initially after finishing it. I didn't enjoy reading it quite as much as the other two. To start, this one is very bleak. More-so than the first two, that is. Especially at the beginning and the end. Which obviously is no fault of the book; I think those things made perfect sense for the story, it just wasn't as fun to read. I was also disappointed with how little Morozko was in this one, being as he's one of my favorite characters.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the team up with medved at the end, personally

In the end I really like how everything wrapped up and I don't have any issues with how the story played out, I think it actually worked out really well. I just didn't have as much fun reading it. I did cry at the end though so that counts for something I guess. Also Ded Grib must be protected at all costs. Smol precious boy.

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chattie_the_mad_chatter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

On a re-read this is even more incredible than when I first read it.

I love the journey we go with Vasya, it starts with a band then slows down, it took me by surprise but wraps everything up so well.

I love this out of all 3 as it mixes things I enjoy from the first 2, tje conflict between Chereti and the Church, politics, Vasya finding herself. Character growth is brilliant emotions are high and it has made me appreciate mushrooms!

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crownoflaurel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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lyserature's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? N/A

5.0

This book made me so mad, the men in here are just shit I wished I could choke the life out of all of them and that made me take a lot of breaks. But anyway, it was great. I went into this series with somewhat high hopes because everyone said such amazing things about it and... they're all true imo.

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galactic_gigi's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0

I‘m not gonna lie, this was a wild ride. Don‘t get me wrong, I loved every single part of this series and finished every book in one sitting! But now I‘m left with this feeling of emptiness, wanting to know more about Vasya and Rus and all the potential stories that could follow while she‘s fully accepting her new role.
I really adored the fact that the people in this series weren’t divided into just good and just bad characters. They were all very well written characters, apart from if I liked them or not. I was able to understand their motivations and feelings and therefore was invested into their storyline.
Throughout the series I really got to know Vasya and I basically watched her growing up and maturing and making mistakes, because even though she has the best intentions she is not able to anticipate every single outcome of her actions. She always stood up for her beliefs, but in this book she was facing her greatest fear and standing up to herself.
The two main conflicts were really interesting and during the second one I was more than once on my toes, hoping and praying that this book wouldn‘t destroy me in the end. It did, but just a little.
It was a delight to read these books and I‘m left a little sad that it’s over. I would love to visit this world again!

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wiktoria88's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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