Title: The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2)
Author: Katherine Arden
Rating: ★★★★★

“She had a fleeting taste of winter: smoke and pine and deadly cold, and then there was a warmth, too, and a swift, impossible sweetness.”

I greatly enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale when I read it last year upon its release, but I wasn’t as awestruck and enamored by the book as everyone else seemed to be. I never expected to love The Girl in the Tower as much as I did. It completely blew me away and I want to sit down and read it all over again. 

“That love of maidens for monsters, that does not fade with time.”

The Girl in the Tower picked up right where the first book left off, but I felt much more invested in the story and characters this time. I was more apathetic towards Vasya in The Bear and the Nightingale, and now she has become one of my favorite female protagonists. She has grown as a character throughout the book and I loved following her on her journey. I’m so excited for where her story is going to take us next. I also felt pretty meh about Morozko when I read the first book, but now I’ve seen the light and I’m completely in love with a morose frost-demon. 

“Once in the chaos, he could have sworn he saw a tall white horse beside the bay stallion, whose rider kept the bandits’ blades from finding the girl. But then Sasha realized it was only a cloud of flying snow.”

The setting in these books are totally atmospheric. Katherine Arden is such a talented writer; her lush writing and vivid descriptions create a magical world unlike any other. I have a particular fondness for Slavic folklore, and she does such an amazing job weaving history with elements of Russian fairytales. 

The Girl in the Tower is an enchanting read that has become a favorite of mine. The gorgeous writing easily immerses the reader into this atmospheric world and I highly recommend the series. The Winter of the Witch releases in August and I cannot wait to read the rest of Vasya’s story!