A review by soniabookish
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

5.0

“There are no monsters in the world, and no saints. Only infinite shades woven into the same tapestry, light and dark. One man’s monster is another man’s beloved. The wise know that.”

— 5 ★

The Winter of the Witch is the perfect conclusion to The Winternight Trilogy, it had the magic of the first book and the action and political intrigue of the second. Vasya is one of those characters that you want to strangle at first, but as the story progresses, you grow with her, you learn the world is not always as you wished it were, and finally, you can’t help but fall in love with her. She’s also a perfect representation of women strength. I hope to always carry a little part of Vasya with me, deep in my soul. And remember, that anyone could be the hero of their own story.

“I have plucked snowdrops at Midwinter, died at my own choosing, and wept for a nightingale. Now I am beyond prophecy.”

I can’t really express with words how I feel at the moment. I wish it wasn’t over and I’m heartbroken, but I’m glad I got to know this amazing world, that made me believe in impossible magic, in cheyerti and winter kings. What a joy it is to have discovered this story, which brought such magic into my life.

“Love is for those who know the griefs of time, for it goes hand in hand with loss. An eternity, so burdened, would be a torment. And yet—” He broke off, drew breath. “Yet what else to call it, this terror and this joy?”

“Magic is forgetting the world was ever other than as you willed it.”