Review: The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3)

Author: Katherine Arden

Started reading: May 29th 2020

Finished the book: June 19th 2020

Pages: 384

Genres: Fantasy, History, Fairy Tale

Published: January 8th 2019

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.51

My score:

Synopsis

Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.

My thoughts

This series has been a bumpy ride for me. I wasn't all that excited by the first book, and didn't really want to continue. Loads of readers told me the second and third book were so much better and they were right! I enjoyed this series a lot and love Vasya so much. She's definitely in my list of awesome, female, badass main characters!

Pros

• Vasya: Vasya is AWESOME. She's fierce and fearless and would do anything for her family. Her character development since book 1 is one of the best I've ever seen. It really feels like I just came home from an awesome journey together with Vasya.
• Author note: I love when an author note adds something to the story. This author note told me how certain parts of this story really happened and it shows how much research the author did. The explanation about the Russian names, the glossary, the family tree, this all made it a complete book and definitely gave the story an extra layer.
• People: Ded Grib was an amazing addition to the characters in this series, I was a fan right away. I'm also glad that there were more magical creatures in this book, I always love when an author adds new characters in new books. The dead and the living at the ending of the book were a good choice. I think the relationships between people in this book were solid. There was definitely a pinch of romance, but it wasn't that obvious and that made it more magical.

Cons

• Ending: The ending wasn't that exciting for me. I always find it hard, when in books the characters prepare for a big fight and it takes them 300 pages, and then the fight is over with under 15 pages. It just feels so weird to me.

Overall

Glad that I listened to all the readers that told me I had to keep reading this series. It's magical, it's different, it feels like a fairytale and I'm in LOVE with Vasya. Her personal journey is among the best character developments I've seen in a series.

Other opinions on this book

"Arden's gorgeous prose entwines political intrigue and feminist themes with magic and folklore to tell a tale both intimate and epic, featuring a heroine whose harrowing and wondrous journey culminates in an emotionally resonant finale."

- Publishers Weekly

"Exciting, moving, and beautifully written, this is a story readers will savor."

- Library Reads

Memorable quotes from this book

"Love is for those who know the griefs of time, for it goes hand in hand with loss."

"Men make themselves afraid," the Bear told her, smiling. "Imagining is worse than anything they actually see."

Thanks for reading!

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