Review: The Winter of the Witch - Katherine Arden

One girl can make a difference...

Moscow has burned nearly to the ground, leaving its people searching for answers - and someone to hold accountable. Vasya finds herself on her own, amid a rabid mob that calls for her death, blaming her witchery for their misfortune.

Then a vengeful demon returns, renewed and stronger than ever, determined to spread chaos in his wake and never be chained again. Enlisting the hateful priest Konstantin as his servant, turmoil plagues the Muscovites and the magical creatures alike, and all find their fates resting on the shoulders of Vasya.

With an uncertain destiny ahead of her, Vasya learns surprising truths of her past as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all...

Winternight Trilogy:
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Girl in the Tower
The Winter of the Witch

Visit Katherine Arden's website for more information

Review:
I put off reading The Winter of the Witch, partly because I didn't want the series to be over but also because I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my high expectations. It's not often you come across a trilogy that is utterly fantastic from beginning to end, especially a debut one, but the Winternight books have been everything I could have hoped for and then some. The world Katherine Arden created is richly woven with both Russian history and folklore, it's like stepping back in time and falling into a fairytale at the same time and I've loved every minute of it.

Things have been getting progressively harder for Vasya as Father Konstantin has set out to turn the world against her. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that in a world full of magical creatures and monsters the most evil character is an old white dude who uses religion as a weapon to demonise a young girl who has done nothing to deserve it, it's what men have been doing for centuries after all. Really his character was utterly despicable and it makes my blood boil just thinking about him! Anyway, Vasya doesn't give up easily and even when the world has turned it's back on her she won't do the same, especially when her family are in trouble and need her help.

I don't want to say too much about the plot of this final instalment but I will say that Vasya continues to grow as a character. She has come such a long way from the lonely child we first met and is now a confident and powerful young woman who is wise beyond her years. Yes she's made mistakes along the way but she always learns from them and comes out stronger because of it. I like that she's not as reckless as she used to be but she'll always be an action first apologise later kind of character because that's her nature.

This is the perfect series to curl up with on a cold winter's night in front of a fire and with a huge mug of hot chocolate and it's definitely one I'm looking forward to rereading in the future. Katherine Arden is an author to watch out for and her name has been added to my auto-buy list.

Source: Received from Del Rey in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden

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 rumours 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, recognises 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 realises he must keep her secret as she may be the only way to save the city from threats both human and fantastical...

Winternight Trilogy:
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Girl in the Tower
The Winter of the Witch

Visit Katherine Arden's website for more information

Review:
Accused of witchcraft and falsely blamed for the death of her father Vasya has two options open to her, accept an arranged marriage or join a convent. Unsurprisingly neither of these choices hold much appeal to someone as independent as she is so instead Vasya disguises herself as a boy and, with the help of Morozoko, sets out on her own to travel the world and have an adventure. It's all going pretty well until she catches the attention of the Grand Prince and he insists on taking her back to Moscow where two of her older siblings are caught up in her lies and forced to help her continue her deception. And that's where things really start to get complicated.

I absolutely adored The Bear and the Nightingale so I had incredibly high expectations for The Girl in the Tower and thankfully Katherine Arden didn't disappoint. The sequel had everything I loved about the first book and more and I was immediately sucked back into Vasya's world. These stories are just so atmospheric and really make you feel like you've taken a step back in time to medieval Russia and I enjoy exploring that world through Vasya's eyes. She's a great character who is so independent and who wants to live life on her own terms no matter how restricted women's lives were at that time. That reckless streak does get her in trouble on more than one occasion and it also makes things extremely difficult for her siblings but I could understand her desire for more than marriage or life in a convent.

Morozoko continues to be one of my favourite characters and we get to see a lot more of his history in this instalment of the series. I'm enjoying finding out more about his character and I'm not going to lie, I'm totally rooting for him and Vasya to end up together! This series is going from strength to strength and I can't wait to see how it ends in The Winter of the Witch.

Source: Received from Del Rey in exchange for an honest review

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My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2017

It's always interesting to look back and try to pick my favourite books of the year but it can be really hard to narrow it down to a reasonable number so I thought I'd make a start on my top books of 2017 list early by having a look at my favourites from January to June. I limited it to first reads only (the books I reread are already favourites so would have an unfair advantage!) and no more than one book per author (again some authors would end up on the list multiple times!). The books can be old or new as long as they're new to me but as it happened this time around they're all 2017 releases and there are quite a few debuts on the list which is great.

My favourite YA books from the first half of 2017:

(Click the links to read my reviews)

1. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
2. Dawn Study by Maria V Snyder
3. Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
4. Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
5. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I don't really read contemporary YA so it's no surprise that this list is full of fantasy titles. We are really getting spoiled with the huge amount of YA fantasy being released right now and there are so many more books that I'm really excited to read and already suspect will end up on my final list at the end of the year!

My favourite adult books from the first half of 2017:

(Click the links to read my reviews)

1. White Hot by Ilona Andrews
2. Silver Silence by Nalini Singh
3. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
4. Scorpion Trap by Pippa DaCosta
5. Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

It doesn't surprise me that my favourite adult tiles are all branches of fantasy either, my favourite genres are still definitely urban fantasy and paranormal romance but fantasy in general always hits my hot spot! This list includes 4 of my favourite authors who are nearly always in my top book lists and Katherine Arden's debut has me incredibly excited to follow her writing career.

What are your favourite books of the year so far? Do any of mine make your lists too? If you have any fantasy recommendations (old or new) please do leave them in the comment, I can never have too many books on my to read mountain!

Review: The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

Winternight Trilogy:
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Girl in the Tower
The Winter of the Witch

Visit Katherine Arden's website for more information

Review:
Every so often a book comes along that is so good it just blows your mind. In 2014 it was Red Rising, 2015 was Uprooted, in 2016 it was Nevernight and I know it's early to say this but for 2017 it's The Bear and the Nightingale. These are the kinds of books that I actually get anxious about writing reviews for because I know I'll never be able to do them justice. They're the books that I end up buying multiple copies of, books that I walk around bookshops surreptitiously moving them into more prominent places on the shelves and books I start physically handing to random strangers. Basically if you're going to buy one book a year based on my recommendations these are the ones I would push at you.

This is the story of Vasya, the youngest daughter of Pyotr and Marina Vladimirovich. Her mother died just after giving birth to her but Vasya is doted on by her older brothers and sister and she has a wild streak a mile wide. Vasya is a quite a tomboy who would rather spend her time running in the forest or in the stable looking after the horses than indoors learning to cook and sew, she also inherited her mother's second sight and spends her time communicating with the guardians and spirits who look after the land. She isn't afraid of the strange creatures she finds, in fact she befriends most of them and does her best to help them stay alive when the rest of her village start to turn away from them. As Vasya gets older her father begins to worry that she'll never find a husband if she doesn't start to act like a proper young lady so he remarries hoping his new wife will be a good influence. Unfortunately things don't quite work out as planned and when another new arrival appears in the village things just go from bad to worse.

The Bear and the Nightingale is part historical fiction, part fantasy and all magical fairytale. It's beautifully written and highly atmospheric, the perfect book to read on a cold winter's night when you're wrapped up snuggly by an open fire and sipping from a mug of hot chocolate. Katherine Arden weaves a tale so evocative that you'll feel like the world around you is blanketed in snow and you'll be half tempted to leave out an offering of bread and honey for the hearth-spirits in your kitchen. There are so many things I want to say about this book but I find myself lost for words, it really is just the kind of lush story that you have to read for yourself to fully appreciate. I was utterly obsessed when I was reading this, I didn't want to put it down for a minute and I'm already anticipating a reread before the sequel comes out. It's hard to believe that this is actually a debut novel but Katherine Arden has earned a spot on my auto-buy list and I can't wait to see where she takes Vasya's story next.

Source: Received from Del Rey in exchange for an honest review

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My Most Anticipated 2017 Reads

As we close out 2016 I wanted to talk about some of the fabulous books that I'm looking forward to reading next year. I'm going to focus on releases from the first half of 2017 and I'll try to make a similar list in the summer to cover the rest of the year.

Young Adult:

1. Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder - I'm a huge fan of the Chronicles of Ixia series, Yelena and Valek are two of my favourite YA characters of all time so I can't wait to read the latest book even though I'm incredibly sad it's the last one.
2. Traitor to the throne by Alwyn Hamilton - Rebel of the Sands was one of my favourite books of 2016 so of course I have very high hopes for the sequel.
3. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor - If you've read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone you'll already know why I'm looking forward to this one, I just adore Laini's writing.
4. Caraval by Stephanie Garber - There is so much hype surrounding Caraval which makes me a little nervous but Hodder publish some of my favourite books so I think this will be awesome, especially since it's described as perfect for fans of The Night Circus.
5. Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima - I first discovered Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series this year and I was hooked from the very beginning, I devoured all four books as well as the first book in the Shattered Realms spin off and I can't wait to see what happens next.
6. Heartstone by Elle Katharine White - This is a debut novel that turns Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice into a high fantasy story with dragons. With dragons people, Pride and Prejudice with DRAGONS! Do I need to say any more than that?
7. Roseblood by A.G. Howard - I love it when authors take a well known story and put their own spin on it so I'm very excited to see what twists A.G. Howard is going to add to the Phantom of the Opera.
8. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth - I absolutely loved the Divergent series (even though I've refused to read the last book since someone spoilered me!) so I've been waiting a long time to see what Veronica Roth would come up with next.
9. The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine - I really love fairytales and retellings and this series combines the two so I'm looking forward to reading this one.
10. Silver Stars by Michael Grant - This is a little different to the other books on my list since it's not high fantasy but Michael Grant has imagined WWII as if women had been allowed to fight on the front lines. I enjoyed every minute of the first book so I'm looking forward to continuing the journey these women are taking.

Adult:

1. White Hot by Ilona Andrews - This is a bit of a cheat since I've already read White Hot (twice!) but it's so absolutely awesome that I can't wait to read it again and we also have the third book in the series, Wildfire, to look forward to later on in the year so I'm all about this series next year.
2. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - This debut fantasy is being sold as perfect for fans of The Night Circus and Uprooted which happen to be two of my favourite books so I'm expecting great things from this one.
3. Silver Silence by Nalini Singh - I love everything Nalini Singh writes and her Psy-Changeling series is absolutely fantastic so of course I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
4. Scorpion Trap by Pippa DaCosta - I discovered Pippa DaCosta in 2015 and completely fell in love with her writing. Since then I've devoured her entire backlist but luckily for me she's quite a prolific writer and I can't wait for the next book in her Ace Dante series. 
5. Blade bound by Chloe Neill - Well the end is here, the last book in the Chicagoland Vampires series. This is going to be a bittersweet read because I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters but at the same time I can't wait to see how things turn out for Merit and Ethan.
6. Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs - Mercy Thompson is one of my favourite urban fantasy heroines, I reread this series regularly but it's been a couple of years now so I'm hoping to find time to read them all before Silence Fallen releases.
7. Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet - A Promise of Fire was another of my favourite 2016 debuts so I'm sure this will be just as awesome.
8. The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz - I'm a huge fan of Tiffany Reisz's writing so of course this is at the top of my wish list.
9. Ride Rough by Laura Kaye - I may not read much contemporary romance these days but there are a couple of authors who I automatically preorder and Laura Kaye is one of them.
10. Too Wilde To Tame by Tonya Burrows - This is another series that I love and have been waiting almost a year for the next instalment of.

Are any of these books at the top of your list? What other books are you excited about reading in 2017?