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. 

Four ARC Mini-Reviews

Getting behind again!  So here we go with some mini-reviews of ARCs I either won or were unsolicited.

Men and Dogs by Marie-Eva Chopin and Alice Chaygneaud:

Published:  September 26th, 2017
Source:  ARC from publisher - won through Shelf Awareness
Genre:  Humor
My rating:  3 stars

Cute little book, although maybe something more to each page.  The dogs and men were both nice to look at.  For different reasons of course.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

From the authors of Men & Cats comes this delightful follow-up, featuring 50 new pairs of gorgeous men and candid canines When the world has you down, there's no better way to instant happiness than with handsome men paired with cute puppies. In this new book from the creators of the popular website Des Hommes et des Chatons, you'll find an original collection of 100 clever photo match-ups, with a heartthrob human on one page and a pooch in a similar pose or with a similar expression on the next. 
 
Wearing a tux.
Taking a walk.
Playing catch.
Toweling off after a bath. 
 
Can't decide between man or man's best friend? Well, with Men & Dogs, you don't have to choose.

Monster (Gone Series #7) by Michael Grant:

Published:  October 17th, 2017
Source:  ARC
Genre:  YA science fiction
My rating:  5 stars

The Gone series has always been one of my favorites, so when I saw there was another one coming out, I was excited, yet a little leery.  I was worried it would mess up where the story had left off.  Fortunately, I was wrong.  I loved how at the beginning the author gave a shout out to some other awesome YA authors.  The book was very action packed and while mostly we had all new characters, there were a few from before, and that made the story even better.  I look forward to where this story will go in the next book, and will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

In the stunning follow-up to the globally bestselling Gone series, Michael Grant continues the story of the teens who morph into superheroes—and supermonsters—when they ingest an alien virus.

Four years after the events of the FAYZ, new meteorites are hitting Earth, and the whole world is exposed to a strange alien virus that gives humans unique superpowers. 

As some teens become heroes and others become dangerously out of control with their new powers, the world will become more terrifying than the FAYZ—and only a monstrous battle between good and evil can save them.

Year One (Chronicles of the One #1) by Nora Roberts:

Published:  December 5th, 2017
Source:  ARC
Genre:  Science fiction/post-apocalyptic
My rating:  5 stars

I feel like this is my first Nora Roberts book, although I think I've read one or two under another pen name she has.  While I don't know that this has made me want to go read all her other books, it definitely was a good read, and I am probably going to read on in the series, if I have time when the next ones come out.  It reminded me a lot of my favorite post-apocalyptic stories Swan Song by Robert McCammon, and The Stand by Stephen King.  There wasn't really a lot that was that unique compared to other stories, but the story itself was still good.  This one tied in both magical beings along with some kind of disease.  And it is this mixture that makes me want to read on and find out just what caused all of it to happen.  If you like post-apocalyptic or the other titles I mentioned, you should give this one a try.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

It began on New Year’s Eve.

The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed—and more than half of the world’s population was decimated.

Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river—or in the ones you know and love the most.

As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.

In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.

The end has come. The beginning comes next. 

The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2) by Katherine Arden:

Published:  December 5th, 2017
Source:  ARC won on Goodreads
Genre:  Historical fantasy
My rating:  4 stars

As with the first one, while it took me a minute to get into the story, once I got into it a little bit, I was sucked in and had trouble putting it down.  The characters were very well written, and I loved all the Russian folklore and history.  The scenes were all written very vividly, in such a way that you felt you were there.  My only issues were kind of the same that I'd had with the first book in the series.  The fact that there would be more than one name for the same person, and sometimes that was confusing as to who was being talked to.  Or who was doing the talking.  And then, there was a character that said his house name or his name or something was ironic, but even after googling the name, I could not find what reason made it that - Bashnya Kostei?  If you can figure it out, I'd love to know.  Anyway, I'll definitely be interested to see what the final book includes.  

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingalecontinues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.