Reviews with content warning for Violence - 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

sorrel29's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

toriffic's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

ameliabee33's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

aunessa's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted tense 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? Yes

4.75

I really love this second book of the trilogy. A really good audio book and an amazing story that will not let you breathe at some chapter.

Content Warnings

mnerd63's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

bannedfrombookclub's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

4.0

A strong sequel that carries the story on, same well written world and characters. I thought the characters were even better expressed this time, less sameness to their voices.

I have some minor issues with the plot but still a great read.

Content Warnings

More...