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

Book info:

Title:  The Winter of the Witch
Author:  Katherine Arden
Series:  Winternight Trilogy #3
Genre:  Fairy tale retelling, historical fantasy
Release Date:  January 8th, 2019
Publisher:  Del Rey Books
Source:  Finished copy received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:
Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.

Reviewers called Katherine Arden’s novels The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower “lyrical,” “emotionally stirring,” and “utterly bewitching.” The Winternight Trilogy introduced an unforgettable heroine, Vasilisa Petrovna, a girl determined to forge her own path in a world that would rather lock her away. Her gifts and her courage have drawn the attention of Morozko, the winter-king, but it is too soon to know if this connection will prove a blessing or a curse.

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 Review:
This is a series that definitely needs attention while you read it.  You can't read this and watch tv or read a couple pages at a time and then do other stuff.  It is a story that requires you to be able to sit and read for at least a good 15 minutes or more at a time.  Not that this is a bad thing. It's just something you need to know.  Overall, I'd say this was a really great ending to a trilogy that has a lot of interesting ideas as well as historical aspects in it.    Now, if you haven't read the first two books, you should probably read those reviews first, and maybe not go on in this review, as I might spoil some things for you.  My reviews are here:  The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower.  
Now the one thing that still annoyed me a bit in this one, even though by this third book I knew who all the names referred to for the most part, was having the same character called by two of three different names, often within the same page or paragraph at time.  And sometimes those different names didn't match up like normal nicknames might, or they didn't refer to their position, like King or Prince, or whatever. Even though the author did address this point in the back notes of this book, and I understand her reasoning, it still made it a little difficult at times for the story to flow as easily for me.  Of course, that may be something that is only a problem for me, but I like to point it out, since it is one of the things that kept me from speeding through it, even if the story was really good.  I was definitely very happy for what finally happened in the bath house with Vasya and the Winter King.  I'd been rooting for that for so long!  The ending was good, and I liked again how the author talked about the actual history behind what had happened in this book and how she took her liberties with fitting the story around those things.

A great fantasy, with some great history and mythology/fairy tale retelling in it.  A series I keep in my high school library, and recommend to anyone who wants more Russian themed stories. 

Review: Alive by Scott Sigler

First, thanks to Edelweiss and Del Rey Publishing for allowing me to read an egalley of this title.  I was really excited to see a YA book by Scott Sigler, as I really enjoyed one of his other series, the Infected series.  This was a different kind of book.  I'm going to review it as best I can and try very hard not to spoil anything.

The main character is Em, or M. Savage as the coffin she wakes up in has written on it to identify her.  As far as she can remember, she is about to have her 12th birthday.  But she can tell something has changed about her.  None of her clothes really fit.  She has to break out of her coffin.  But then she sees there are other coffins and she hears another girl start screaming inside of one, and that is Spingate.  Together they end up helping several others out of their coffins.  And soon they realize that they all thought it was their 12th birthday, but they've all obviously aged, probably at least 5 years.  There are other coffins though, that the person inside isn't alive. And that person, child, still looks the age they think they are sometimes.  Spingate is able to help them figure their way out of the room.  Once out they will come across other kids like them.  But there are also rooms of coffins, or cradles, as others call them, full of babies.  And some rooms have other horrible things inside.  Piles of bones.  Obvious sacrifices or hanging of people.  In their search to find either a way out, food, water, or a grownup, they will find not all is as it seems.  There are things they should remember, that will change how they are acting, and what their goals are. 

I can't say much more.  Just that it was a really great story, lots of things that I was able to kind of guess, and others that I wasn't.  I'm glad to see it is going to have a sequel, as I'd kind of like to know what happens next, even if it could leave off where it ended.