This is the second book in a series about Vasya, a charming and original main character. She's curious, freethinking, friendly, brave and independent, which makes her more than a little out of place as a woman in medieval Russia. She can also see pagan creatures out of Russian mythology that no one else can see, river goddesses and household gods. This book sees her dressing as a boy and fleeing from her village with her wonderful horse, as people there have noticed her abilities and have begun to fear her as a witch. But in the wide world, she's still unable to fly below the radar and her bravery attracts notice. She winds up with her brother and sister in Moscow, and she also winds up with powerful enemies. I read this like I was under a spell.. This writer creates an engaging and exciting tale.

A deep jump into Russian folklore that will enchant and exhilarate every reader.
Surpassing the first novel of this trilogy, The Girl in the Tower put my emotions through a rollercoaster, to the very last page. It follows Vasya's journey after the horrible events in the last book, exploring the inherent advantages the world gives men, the courage a woman must have to be a woman (whichever definition of woman she choses to be), and the hard situation of loving someone. Vasya has become on of my favorite female characters, stubbornly growing into the person she wants to be, yet still being vulnerable of the Vasya everyone else thinks she should be. The plot was, in my opinion, way more interesting than the first book and I particularly love the development of the relationship between Vasya and Morozko. Beautiful book, I cannot wait for the third book.

I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of this book early. I absolutely fell in love with the first book which had been on my to-read list forever. This book is just as amazing as the first one and left me longing for more of her world. This book takes up right where the first one left off and Vasilisa is immediately deep into the action when she saves three young girls from a raiders camp with the help of her trusty equine companion Solovey. She is reunited with her brother when she brings the children to the remote monastery where he is with a band of soldiers also looking for the raiders that have been burning villages in the area. Once her brother realizes the girls savior is his sister dressed as a man he has to perpetuate the lie of who she is in order to protect her from the scandal this would cause. Once they have returned to the capital things get complicated when she catches the eye of the man she believes is connected to the kidnapping and things quickly spiral out of control.
Her relationship with Morozko—Frost, the winter demon is not as prominent in this book but it's still a very vital link in the story that has not fully unfolded.

After hearing rave review after rave review for The Bear and the Nightingale, I took a chance and read even though it's not typically a genre I read or enjoy. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the atmospheric reimagining of Vasilisa. And I was so ready to dive back into the world of this retelling of a Russian folktale.

Your feisty fave, Vasya, is back and faced with the ever-looming decision of taking a husband or going to the convent. Obviously, neither of these options is attractive to her. She's also tired of the judgment from the villagers, who still deem her a witch due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding her father's death. Vasya decides to become a traveler and hops on Solovey for a life on the road. After running into burnt and pillaged towns overtaken by rebels, Vasya becomes a hero and takes on the persona of Vasilii, a male. Throw in her complicated relationship with the frost-demon, Morosko, and her estranged family, it's adventure after adventure for Vasya.

For me, reading this was a different experience than the first book. While I greatly enjoyed "Bear," I kind of felt like I was playing catch up the entire time trying to figure out the characters, settings, and different elements of the folklore. And although more characters are introduced and more story is revealed, it was nice having that background knowledge to build from. I was able to move more quickly through it, and therefore, flowed better in my head.

The writing is just as descriptive and really puts you in the story being told. I love Vasya and how steadfast and independent she is. I also don't feel strongly towards horses, but I want a Solovey in my life. I'm also very invested in Morosko and Vasya's relationship. *Sends good vibes to Katherine Arden*

PS Life Hack: If you're finding you need a memory refresher, there's a handy dandy reference guide in the back that I found greatly helpful. :)

Thanks NetGalley and Del Rey books for letting me read.

I really enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale, but I felt it was complete on its own and couldn't imagine how it would develop as a series. I'm delighted to say that I liked this book even better than the first.

Vasilisa, now a young woman, refuses to accept either of the fates open to her by her sex and parentage - confinement in a convent, or marriage and confinement in a terem, the women's quarters of a noble's castle - and instead leaves her village in the guise of a boy to explore the world. She rides her magical horse, Solovey, and has gifts from the frost-demon Morozko, who is both Death and the guardian of the order of things in the old world of chyerti and domovoi, the spirits which are fading in the face of Christianity.

Vasya's fight against the constraints of her world, and the fight of ancient folkloric spirits against the power of the new religion, are themes of the first book that are here as well. This story is set against the real history of Moscow and its conflict with the Golden Horde of the Mongols in the fourteenth century, with a generous sprinkling of fantasy elements from Russian folktales. The worldbuilding is complex and delightful, and especially interesting to me because it's something different from the traditional Western mythologies that tend to permeate modern fantasy.

As a heroine, Vasilisa is complex and fascinating, and not just because she goes adventuring dressed as a boy (although I love this trope). She is impulsive and sometimes foolhardy; she depends, perhaps overmuch, on her relationship with Morozko to rescue her from peril. But she is still the kind-hearted girl of the first book, loyal to her family, polite to the old spirits, determined to right wrongs and do what she can for her country. In this book the stakes are higher and the dangers are greater, and it makes for a captivating story. I am looking forward to the third book!

Wow.

I really enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale, but this book blows that one completely out of the water.

Yet again, Katherine Arden takes the cold and dark of medieval Russian fairytales and breathes life and poetry into them through her flawless writing.

I am at a loss to describe exactly how she made this both epic high fantasy and completely relatable simultaneously. But she did just that.

The expanded character development of Morozko and Solovey (oh how I love him) really made this story for me. I delighted in them as characters.

The seamless interweaving of several Russian myths (that I have a minor familiarity with) was so well done that I want to go read more about them.

And finally, thank you to the author for getting horses right. There were so many places in the story where I exulted because where another author would have left the horses hanging, like a prop or an inanimate object, this book dealt with them realistically and with the knowledge and love of a true horse person.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the chance to read an early copy of this wonderful book

I had someone ask me how this novel stacks up against The Bear and the Nightingale, and my response was that, though the two books have characters with the same names, and though the main character, Vasya, is persecuted in each of them, this book is a completely different one to the one that came before.

Better? No. Mainly because The Bear in the Nightingale was so perfect, so unique, that it would be difficult to see a second book, especially by the same author, with the same writing style, top it. But worse?

Different is the word I'm going to stick to. In this book, we see Vasya in Moscow itself. We see Vasya pretending to be a boy. We see Vasya, again, betrayed before the ending. We see Vasya's interactions with the frost demon, Morozko.

My favourite parts were actually not to do with Vasya at all, however. For several chapters at the start, it is Olya and Sasha who are the main characters, both of whom were removed to Moscow right from the start of the previous book. Both of whom happen to also be Vasya's siblings. The title of this book clearly relates to Olya herself and, as such, I was actually surprised by how little she had to do with the overall plot. Maybe it was just an aspect of the woman's perceived role in the time that this fairy tale is set.

My favourite character in this book actually ended up being Morozko, his own self awareness, the exploration of what it is to be immortal, as opposed to a man. The consequences to his actions of tying himself to a human girl so that he would continue to survive this new, Christian time. Many of those quotes I have kept below.

One of the things I loved about the first book was the way that Vasya managed to rid herself of the expectations placed on her due to her gender. I found that part of the book deeply dissatisfying in this one, unfortunately.

<blockquote>You cannot love and be immortal.</blockquote>
I must admit that I was a bit wary that the second book in the series would not live up to the perfection of The Bear and the Nightingale, but although very different I loved it equally. The Girl in the Tower was not quite as dark, and had a much quicker pace with many more characters. I am also happy to say that writing is still absolutely bewitching - painting vivid pictures of medieval Muscovy, you get a sense of the politics and way of life in this savage but beautiful place. We get to see a time where paganism and Christianity overlap. I loved that Vasya is not pretty or conventional, that she is brave and strong-willed in a world that does not accept her. Although this contains snow-maidens, frost-demons,winter-kings, magical horses, witches, ghosts and sorcerers don't expect sugar-coated children's fairy-tales with happy endings. Like Juliet Marillier's books, this is historical fantasy filled with difficult decisions and real emotions. I you have not read the first in the series, please give it a try, and if you have, I'm sure I don't need to tell you to get the second one when it's released.

The Story: For a young woman in medieval Russia, the choices are stark: marriage or a life in a convent. Vasya will choose a third way: magic... The court of the Grand Prince of Moscow is plagued by power struggles and rumors of unrest. Meanwhile bandits roam the countryside, burning the villages and kidnapping its daughters. Setting out to defeat the raiders, the Prince and his trusted companion come across a young man riding a magnificent horse. Only Sasha, a priest with a warrior's training, recognizes this 'boy' as his younger sister, thought to be dead or a witch by her village. But when Vasya proves herself in battle, riding with remarkable skill and inexplicable power, Sasha realizes he must keep her secret as she may be the only way to save the city from threats both human and fantastical...

Book: The Girl in the Tower
Author: Katherine Arden
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

Let me let you in on a little secret...Katherine Arden is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I was first introduced to her through The Bear and the Nightingale last year and just fell in love with both her writing and characters. So, whenever Del Rey emailed me and asked me if I would be interested in a review copy of The Girl in the Tower, I said yes right away and went back to the wonderful world of Katherine Arden and Russian fairy tales.

It has been well over a year since I first read The Bear and the Nightingale. I was a little worried that I may not remember what happened in the first book, but I was surprised. It was so easy to get right back into the world and remember the plot line. In this second book, there is far more world developing and a lot more adventure than The Bear and the Nightingale. The stakes seem to be even higher and the characters have grown so much. Of course, it’s been ten years, but still, it’s just a wonderful continuation of what we got to see in The Bear and the Nightingale.

The mixture of both history and fairy tale just comes alive in Katherine’s writing. I love the backdrop of Russia and the time period. We have a very healthy mixture of both fantasy and real events. We have some romance, fighting, and political issues, which make for a very complex world and just as complex characters to go along with it. All of this just makes for an edge of your seat adventure that will leave you wanting more.

Vasya is back and better than ever. Everything that she was in The Bear and the Nightingale is still here, but she’s so much stronger and an even more complex character. She is brave and refuses to play by the rules that society has set up for women. This in turn makes her kind of an outcast in the eyes of so many; the even go as far as to call her a witch. I just love her and think that with all of her flaws she is the perfect lead!

Now, let’s talk about the real stuff. We have the Tartars and the real Grand Prince of Moscow. I just love how Katherine manages to weave these real events into the realm of fantasy. All of the problems that the country faces are more developed in here, as well as the fairy tale elements, which are used to help out with the real events. I am just stunned at how she was able to do this. I can’t think of too many authors who have this ability and gift.
Overall, a great, great read! If you loved The Bear and the Nightingale, you must read this!

Loved the first book in the series and loved this one as well!

I loved the first book in this series, and this one was almost as good. Vasya is growing up but unwilling to submit to the constrained life awaiting her, either shut away in a convent or married and shut away bearing children as some man's wife. So she disguises herself as a boy and takes to the road on her horse, Solevey. And that's when things get interesting.
This was a more "mortal" adventure, at least at first, but the author made sure to include the traditional Russian fairy tale elements that made the first book so interesting and exciting. Another solid story.

I am stupefied by the awesomeness that I just read. Has a book ever been followed by such a spectacular sequel?? As underwhelmed as I was with the first book in this trilogy, I am in complete awe of the world Arden has created and continued with The Girl in the Tower. While the first one read like a complicated Russian fairy tale, this one achieves a striking whole new level of exceptional, extraordinary story telling. This book reads like a magical, chimerical, complex opus. One of the most interesting things about this series is the most unique setting, medieval Russia (The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz being a close second). In this second book, Vasya is out in the world, trying to figure out more about who and what she is. And it is enthralling and irresistible. And you MUST read it RIGHT NOW...or actually when it comes out in early December. Trust me.

The Girl in the Tower was a slow burn of a read. Or a long ripple in a pond. We, the stone, are dropped into Medieval Moskva where Vasya's brother Aleksandr or Sasha and Olya reside with the Crown Prince. Olya has grown bitter locked in her tower surrounded by comforts. She envies her brother and her husband who can come and go as they please. Dmitrii, the Crown Prince, is married to a shrew he despises so he spends his time drinking, womanizing and slaying bandits. A particularly difficult case arises when the Russian holds are pillaged and the female children are kidnapped by Tatar. Tatar are much reviled in Russian literature. They are also often mixed with Mongols. Even though there are many strains of Tatar including the 600k living in Crimea. In any case, the Tatar depicted here fit with the canon of Russian literature and serve as a good enemy within Arden's writing. Sasha and Dmitrii ride out to stop the threat but are outwitted by the Tatars that are being paid by a sorcerer.

What began as a beautiful, complicated love story in The Bear and the Nightingale came to a head in the sequel. Vasya fleeing prosecution from her hold and on the heels of her father's deaths begs Morozko for her dowry and shelter so she can travel the world. Morozko, unused to the feelings of affection and his growing humanity agrees but only to teach her a lesson. Her adventures on the road connects her with her brother and Morozko's plans backfire to his chagrin.

The plot boils over back in Moskva where Vasya is pretending to be the young lad Vasilii. She uncovers a sinister plot with Kaschei the Deathless and the signicance of the sapphire jewel that Morozko gave her father. The ending is beautiful and forces the main characters to respect the pagan beliefs even with the rise of Christianity. As I said earlier, the book is a slow burn. Arden spends the first 20% of the book meticulously painting Moskva and its people before retiring to Vasya.

I was skeptical after the success of the first book but the sequel does not disappoint. I applaud Arden for tackling Russian lore tastefully. Lately, I have seen too many stories that try to do too much and come off tacky. 4 stars for another beautifully crafted story.

I received an ARC curtesy of NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. Thank you!!!

I had high hopes for this book, and luckily for me The Girl in the Tower was every bit as brilliant as The Bear and the Nightingale. Katherine Arden continues to amaze me with the depth and professionalism of her research work, and I enjoyed her writing immensely again.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

This second book is more action-packed, somehow less eerie than The Bear. As promised in the first book we have a lot more of Olga and Sasha here, but these are the adult version of Vasya's siblings and there is little left from the young adults shown before. This second book is even more centred on Vasya's struggles as a woman in a world where her only choice is a husband or a convent (and the choice is not even hers). The girl-disguised-as-a-boy is an old vehicle to show how different her life could be but it's still very effective and it was equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating to see how differently Vasya was treated when disguised as Vasilii.

Her relationship with the siblings she had not seen in years was complicated to say the least. Neither Olga nor Sasha understand their sister's desire for more, although at least Sasha reluctantly admits that Vasya was not born to be kept in a tower in the end. Olga is even less inflexible about her sister's deception as it could cost her her position, her marriage and even her kids. I was often frustrated with them, especially with Olga for trying to force Vasya to a life that they both know would kill her, but their reactions are understandable considering the time and setting of the story, and in any case the dynamics of their relationship was very interesting.

The weakest point of the book was the romance, in my opinion. The triangle was not really a triangle, and I wonder if there's even a couple to talk about at all. I had guessed the whole twist the minute Kasyan said he had previously been to Moscow searching for a woman he loved. That part, although predictable, was entertaining and I could have killed Kasyan for humiliating Vasya like that after she won the race, so I guess he works well as a villain. My problem was Morozko. His character is still not developed at all - other than his showing up every time Vasya is about to die there's no info about him at all until the end of the book, which felt like too little, too late, and on top of everything their feelings are kind of forced because of the spell? For me this killed any interest I had on them as a romantic couple.

Obviously I'm not going to miss the last book on the series, I cannot wait to see what will happen to Vasya now that she's headed back home!

A beautifully layered, vivid continuation of the dark fairytale that began in The Bear and the Nightingale. As Vasya disguises herself as a boy and travels toward Moscow, she comes in to her own as a strong, independent character. The story drags a bit (perhaps fittingly) as she slogs through the ice and snow toward an uncertain future in the big city, but it's buoyed by her ongoing relationship with Morozko. The prose is certainly stunning—you can nearly hear the chanting, smell the incense, touch the stiffly embroidered fabric. However, I found myself a bit incredulous at just how segregated and oppressed the women seemed to be in this time and place. I know the story needed that tension to contrast with Vasya's utter freedom as a boy, but how true is it to that part of history?

As with the first book in this series, The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden weaves folklore, fairy tales, and magic into creating Vasilisa’s amazing adventures in The Girl in the Tower. Vasilisa is determined to escape the two options open to her as a young woman: marriage or the convent. With Morozko’s help and dressed as a young lad, she goes out into the world with Solovay, two travelers looking to visit other parts of the world. However, in her journeys she is challenged with increasingly strange occurrences, such as personal attacks, the burning of villages and the kidnapping of young girls from those villages. She encounters violence, killings, and deceit.

Upon reaching Moscow, she is reunited with her brother Sasha and her sister Olga. There she also meets her cousin Dmitrii, Grand Prince of Moscow, and a new character by the name of Kasyan Lutovich. Additionally, Vasya encounters another new, unanticipated character. Vasilisa becomes known throughout Moscow as the boy Vasilii the Brave. However, as complications ensue, she must rely on her wits and on the chyerti to triumph over her enemies and over those seeking to keep her in her place as a woman.

This is an action-packed tale that kept my attention throughout, a real page-turner. Knowing that there is a third novel to follow, I was never sure whether Vasya would overcome the challenges put before her or how she would attempt to do so. A very exciting tale made all the more so as I impatiently await the third book in this series.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, let there be more books. This tale has captivated me since I read the first book, only a short time ago. This is a beautiful story. I feel emotionally invested in the lives of the characters, particularly Marozko and Vasya. I want more of them. I can't go into too much detail because spoilers, and I got this through Netgalley, but if you haven't read this, read it when it comes out. If you haven't read The Bear and the Nightingale, what are you waiting for? I wish I had the words to describe how I feel about this series.

I loved the first book - I did not feel that this sustained the same air of mysticism of the first, but it is a solid book

Having accepted and embraced her ability to see what others do not, Vasya is viewed as a witch by her fellow villagers, prompting her to leave and explore the world in The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. 

Faced with the unappealing options of marrying or joining a convent, Vasya travels around on her trusty steed Solovey dressed as a boy, having received reluctant help from Morozko. In her wanderings, Vasya comes across villages savaged by bandits that have stolen the girl children away. In rescuing three girls from the bandits' clutches, Vasya is not only reunited with her siblings, maintaining her guise of being a boy, but she also unknowingly becomes part of a larger plot to overthrow the Grand Prince of Moscow. Throughout the mortal, societal troubles she combats, Vasya is also confronted with a decision regarding her relationship with Morozko that will impact his ability to help her and the people of Moscow.

Maintaining the well-written and well-realized world previously established, the narrative is a fitting continuation of The Bear and the Nightingale, folding together the events from slightly overlapping character perspectives that incorporate Vasya's brother and sister, Sasha and Olga, while developing into a darker, more complex narrative. There is much more action taking place throughout this story that accelerates the pacing, with weapons training, fighting with and outsmarting bandits, and a battle for Moscow's future - all of which is fueled in part by Vasya taking action, both as her assumed male identity and her original female identity while simultaneously exploring the historic societal constraints Vasya rebels against. Though not a huge detraction, a pitfall common to sequels is demonstrated in this text with regard to momentum; the first part of the book is primarily a resolution to the first book, leaving the remainder to build the plot of this installment to finally present some interesting information only to bring the book to an end, which places lulls in the momentum of the story as the narrative switches gears. 

Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I have found that the second book of a series can be hit or miss, but this book hit so hard it broke the target. A fitting sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale and I already cannot wait for the next tale. Thank you!