The stunning conclusion to the Winternight trilogy that we've been waiting for. An alternate magical 14th century Russia, a witch girl, demons and gods, this suspensful fantasy will keep you on the edge of your seat!

I’m so excited to finally have finished this series! And I'm honestly kicking myself in the butt a bit for waiting so long to get to it because it was so, so good.

I can confidently declare that THE WINTER OF THE WITCH is a strong conclusion to this trilogy. Arden deftly brings the conflicts that have been building ever since the first book to their conclusions so well. Her readable, lovely prose; the enchanting, haunting lore; a compelling, quick-moving plot; fascinating and complicated characters - all these elements really worked in concert to draw the reader into this story and hold them there all the way till the end. I was personally quite enthralled from start to finish, and I'm so glad to finally know how Vasya's story draws to a close.

This trilogy may be my favorite of recent times YA wise. I adored the Russian influence. One rarely hears anything about the history that influenced this author. Excellent storytelling and plot design. So glad I was able to learn something new while still being entertained.

This was such an amazing ending to this trilogy. After reading this trilogy, I will pick up and pre-order anything else Arden releases in the future. This was probably my favorite fantasy series-I loved the folklore-the relationships-the atmosphere.

I would highly recommend not only this book but this entire series to anyone that enjoys folklore, fantasy or historical fiction with romance mixed in.

Thank you to Netgalley, Katherine Arden, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful novel. All opinions are my own.

I have since purchased a copy of this book for my library at home.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I loved this book! This was a fabulous conclusion to this excellent trilogy!

Thank you so much to the publisher for approving me. This was a DNF for me, I suppose since I never got back into it and I’m just updating this to move this off my shelf.

I’ve had nothing but praise for Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy thus far. The third and final book in the series, The Winter of the Witch, is no exception. Like the previous novel, this one picks up right where the second book left off, with Moscow reeling from the treachery of the Tatars. Dmitrii Ivanovich, Grand Prince of Russia, wants revenge for their betrayal, but some of his anger is misdirected. He believes the Tatars ransacked and set fire to his city, but only half of that is true. As the layers of deception are peeled back, the Grand Prince discovers a betrayal far worse in his eyes than that of the Tatars in the form of our heroine, Vasilisa Petrovna or Vasya, a witch who has deceived almost everyone around her by disguising herself as a man in order to insert herself into the narrative of her beloved homeland.

Looking back at this book and the series as a whole, I have to say that this final novel in the series was “more of the same.” More of the same intrigue, fascinating folklore, and superb writing. But as good as all of that is, The Winter of the Witch also takes things up a notch as befits a final chapter in the series. Vasya has matured greatly, both in terms of her personality and her magic. She has singlehandedly saved Moscow, yet cannot come forward as the city’s savior for fear of persecution as a witch. Also, she is currently on the run from the wicked priest, Konstantin, and Morozko’s evil brother, Medved. She has a lot to deal with, needless to say, and only herself to rely upon to triumph over evil and save her soul.

While it’s sad to see this series end, it’s also a satisfying ending to a rich and wonderful story. As I’ve said before, getting one ingredient of a story right isn’t too hard, but getting so many right so that you end up with a near perfect novel (not to mention series) is rare. This series may have come to a close, but I’ve no doubt the author will continue to intrigue with future novels. I will certainly have an eye out for whatever comes next for her.

Fantastic conclusion to a stellar series! The Winter of the Witch continues Vasya's story from where we left off, all leading up to final confrontations, discovering secrets of her family history, finally getting somewhere with a super slow-burn romance, and ultimately achieving a sort of balance. But getting there requires a great deal of violence, pain, and loss. I don't want to give a lot of details because this is the final book in a trilogy, but I think Arden really nailed the landing here. It's also a really satisfying conclusion to the tension that has been threaded through the entire series: the tension of Christianity encroaching on folk religion and mythology. The authors note adds some pretty interesting context. Overall, beautiful series, beautiful book and one I wholeheartedly recommend!

I loved this entire series. It's fantasy and Russian heritage and science fiction. I was sad to see this end, bit I was so glad I was able to experience this beautiful book and the first two, as well.

A stunning conclusion to one of the best trilogies around. With each book in this series, Arden's writing only got better and more beautiful. I hated to see this one end.

The conflicts of medieval Rus’ come to a head, with Vasya and Morozko at the center of the storm. Religion vs paganism, personal ambition vs social convention, Tatars vs Russians, all wound up neatly in myth and magic.

This is a beloved series, especially to be read during wintertime. The story of Vasya is magical and atmospheric. It definitely is a perfect read for winter and the political intrigue in this semi-fantasy is the perfect balance.

Ending this trilogy was so hard for me but once again Arden did an amazing job. I will always love her prose and the vague opague layer you feel like you're peering through to get to the story. Her writing is amazing and I can't wait for what she does next.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to download this book in time. The 5* star rating was chosen in order to not hurt the book sales or ranking, even though it was not possible to read it.

A satisfying, engrossing finale to a wonderful fantasy/folk lore series.

This series has much to recommend it: a well-built world - realistic but with a folk lore infusion - a strong, compassionate female lead and well-developed secondary characters.

This will appeal to fans of Naomi Novik, Helen Wrecker and Erin Morgenstern.

Sad to see this fantastic series come to end, but what an ending! Arden's storytelling is top notch, and it was great to spend time with the amazing characters one last time!

Wow, just wow. What an ending to an extraordinary tale. This was a fantastic ride (literally) for the main character and the developing characters. Highly recommended.

"I want Dmitrii’s admiration. I want a victory. I even want power, over princes and chyerti. I am allowed to want things, winter-king."

The Winter of the Witch is the thrilling conclusion to Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy – and it’s what I’ve been waiting for since I first read The Bear and the Nightingale over two years ago.

The author really knows how to pack a lot into her books. Every time it feels like the story is heading toward a conclusion, the author throws a curveball and then something else happens. It's a wild ride to say the least and had the effect of always keeping me guessing as to what would happen next.

I think my biggest complaint about this book, and about the author’s writing style in general, is that all of the action seems to be over far too quickly. I had the same complaint about The Bear and the Nightingale, which built up the whole story to this ultimate showdown which only took a few pages to conclude (much too neatly). This book, too, had this buildup to Vasya rescuing the Winter King and having a showdown with the Bear, that when it was over only 67% (or so) through the book, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. However, there was a lot more story to tell.

However, that being said, the fact that the author writes in this style means that she can pack a lot more action and story into a 300-something-page book than other authors might, allowing for a more satisfying read and conclusion.

I can't wait to see to see what the author writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in the Winternight series following on the continued adventures of Vasya. Vasya gets beaten down in the worst way in this book but develops a new ability from the aftermath of it all. She travels through strange new areas where she finds out a more in depth history of her true roots. Everything in this book is leading up to war and strange alliances are made to defeat the enemy. This book is full of revelations, heartbreak and new beginnings. My only complaints are the confusion with the names with the series. As stated in the back of the book, names in Russian are used interchangeably with sometimes several nicknames. The first book in the series was the most confusing for this reason and also some names were very similar. There was also at least one thing in my mind left open ended but can’t state due to spoilers. Overall a satisfying conclusion to the series.

Overall this is a great, epic historical fantasy series. This third book was no exception to the rule,