Posted on Goodreads – Nov. 15 and onward.

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

Here is my fun fact origin story for the series:

Not knowing what it was about, I read the first book after taking my Early Russian Culture midterm. After that fun realization, I fell in deep love with Vasya fighting for herself in a world where the boundaries between folklore and religion blur in the woods and darkest of winters.

The Winter of the Witch has this and takes the idea of dvoeveriye to a new level with a road tethered by midnight, a land where death cannot touch an elderly woman, and a girl who helps holy men and monsters to work together. Told in the same lyrical prose as the previous two books in the series, Vasya’s stakes are higher after her secret is revealed to the city. Putting her family in further danger, she is forced to confront not just her family legacy, but the Bear who killed her father. With the Winter Demon trapped, it is up to one girl to save the future of her home for humans and demons.

I love this book. I lost sleep reading it after getting the ARC approval. Readers will also experience the wave of emotions in the battle for Rus’ , and will be delighted by the appearances of certain characters who were only mentioned in passing. Elements from the first book are repeated, bringing the entire story full circle.

Grab a heavy coat and make sure your blood is warm enough to help you cross Midnight Road!

I've received the arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

So good. The culmination of everything that came before. I love stories about women who come to know, understand and harness their power. This story dealt with literal and figurative power, both, and it was riveting from beginning to end. A very human protagonist, who finds her way through courage and all that other other good stuff you look for in a classic fairytale.

YES! I got my early Christmas gift this year. Almost a week ago, this book was up for request. I got excited because this book has been long awaited novel since I read The Girl in the Tower in December 2018. 5 days later, I came home from work to an email telling me the publisher has approved my request. You betcha that I was just like that 8 year old girl who just opened the best present on a Christmas morning! Made myself a cup of salted caramel hot chocolate, put on my PJs, turned off my phone, climbed into my wonderful bed with my dog Ewok, and my cat, Luna, and started reading.



Wow! What an amazing breathtaking finale! I needed a day to stop reeling from all the aftermath of this beautiful folklore before I could write this review. Sadly, I needed to step out of the book affter saying goodbye to my favorite characters.



Like the synopsis stated, stunning conclusion. It did not lie! It was gut wrenching, anger, sorrow, relief, freezing cold, tired, self discovery, betrayal, love(not the sappy kind, mind you!) evilness, blood and gore, goodness, neutral, new and old friends, family, leap of faith, religion, and cult. They all wrap into this fairytale, folklore, myths, and history.

Katherine Arden has done it again. She did not fail with this third book in this Winternight Trilogy. In fact, it just may be the best book of the 3 books in this trilogy! Ms. Arden has improved with her story telling gift. She is extremely talented with words and lyrics. While I'm inside the story, I can almost hear her telling the Russian Folklore in the background.



The story picks up immdiately at the ending of the novel, The Girl in the Tower. I was able to remember the characters from both of the books. This story was packed with mythical creatures, evil priest, mob, magic, evil, good, grief, madness, action, battle. The heroine was growing into her own powers and discovering her self while discovering her love for the "winter king". She really became one bad assed chick. The romance was hardly there but the love grew mostly out of admiration and respect which grew stronger. She learns more of her magical ancestry and her self worth despite of the powers she has. Bear, the evil twin brother of Winter King(many names for winter king) comes back and she has to use her wits, powers, and forgiveness against him. Ironcally, they ended up working together on the same team with her brother, brother in law and other prince in the battle.

I had to admire Vasya so much because her background was so deeply rooted to gods, and old beliefs to the point where she had to question herself with her beliefs and the religion her brother, Sasha believes in. She basically questioned everything. By opening her eyes and beliefs, she became a bridge between the old world and the new world.



There's so much in this story. Ms. Arden wrapped all of the pieces together as should be in this conclusion. There were new understanding, new bonds, consequences and etc. This is a wonderful, magical world of winter with midnights, mythical creatures, spells, and fairytale weaved with myths and history.



I was very spelled bound with all of the trilogy and Katherine Arden did not disappoint me one bit at all. It was so well worth the wait. When the hardcover comes out, I will most definately purchase it to add it to my other two books, The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower. This trilogy will be among my favorite series of all time.



I received this beautiful magical ARC from Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Del Ray through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you so much!

A stunning conclusion to a world bending fairy tale of a story where the old gods and men find their paths intertwined and the power of faith is on full display.

“Winter of the Witch” picks up where book 2 left off and Vasya finds herself again at the mercy of those who fear her strange ways before coming face to face with a demon she thought was banished who hopes to bring hate and fear back into world and threaten the lives of those she loves while the of whispers of war creep closer to her homeland.

For me the strongest aspect of this series is the power of faith and the protection it grants you in both good times and bad and how those beliefs can be called into question as time changes. Here we have Vasya who is so tethered to that of the old ways that when the new system is brought in and the world she was raised in is forgotten she becomes the strange one, too wild or a witch but it is through her unwavering strength and trust in what she knows to be real and the respect granted to those creatures that helps her survive where many would have fallen.

There’s also a great consequence to that seen in this book as to how far a human girl such as she can really travel through the worlds of the gods and how easy it would be to get lost and forget everything you’re fighting for. I really love the weaving of Russian history and mythology into a story that’s very much a fairy tale as it calls to the quiet moments of magic from your childhood and the more adult reality of war and that even the best laid plans might benefit from making deals with devils if it’s for the greater good.

This is probably one of my favorite series in recent years and I can’t recommend it enough as it carries you off into a world of magic surrounded by the soft chill of winter from the first page to the last.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

This was a beautiful conclusion to a wonderful trilogy of historical fantasy! It picks up right where The Girl in the Tower left off- with fourteenth century Moscow in ashes and Vasya taking the blame for accidentally setting fire to the city. In order to save her family and her people, Vasya seeks the help of the old gods, demi-gods and spirits of Russian folklore, especially Morozko, the Winter-King, and his brother, a spirit of Chaos. Since the first book, Vasya has been a heroine of great bravery and compassion, but through this book she grows into her powers and learns from her earlier mistakes. She becomes a wise leader and powerful bridge between the spirit world and the the human world. Her romance with Morozko also deepens. I really loved how the love-story between them changes over the course of the trilogy so that they are eventually standing together as equals, with Vasya asserting her strength and autonomy and charting her own future, with the love, support and respect of Morozko.

On a side note, I also really appreciated the detailed Authors Note at the end, which gives the historical background for the story and the glossary of Russian terms.

While this book is a satisfying conclusion to Vasya and Morozko's story, I'd love to read another book about the world and characters Katherine Arden has created. Highly recommended for readers of historical fantasy, fairy-tale retellings and romance.