Will Russia Survive? – The Winter of the Witch {Review}

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Series: Winternight #3
Publisher: Del Rey (2019)
eBook (384 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
Also in this series: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
Reading Challenges: Read 2020

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.

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.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon

My Review

I had a bit of trepidation going into this books because it is the end of a series that I have absolutely loved. I did not want the series to end and I also wanted to know what was going to happen. So many mixed emotions here.

The book begins immediately after the end of The Girl in the Tower. It starts with a mob coming to the gates demanding that Vasya burn as a witch for starting the fire in Moscow. I was emotionally a wreck at the beginning of this book because of Solovey. Solovey is Vasya’s horse who has been with her since The Bear and the Nightingale. Solovey is basically my favorite character ever and I was not prepared for the first part of the book. 

So there was heartbreak pretty early as Vasya is dragged off by Konstantin and the mob he has assembled to be burned on the banks of the Volga river. Vasya keeps hoping her brother will come to save her with the Grand Prince’s men, but they arrive too late. Instead, Vasya relies upon herself and remembers what Morozko told her about how magic works. So Vasya uses her own magic to escape from the fire that was supposed to kill her.

In that escape, Vasya comes face to face with the Bear, Medved. It turns out that Morozko freed his twin to try to save Vasya. But Vasya does not trust Medved and makes her own escape with the help of Varvara. Vasya escapes into Midnight and through Midnight she finds the lake where the horses live that Solovey had told her about. She finds a house there and a domovoi who would love her to stay. 

But Vasya cannot stay. Medved is freed and Morozko is imprisoned and she feels it is all her fault. She needs to save Morozko and rechain the Bear. So begins her journey to find Morozko. This journey is not without its own perils as Vasya begins to learn more about herself and what she is capable of. And when she finally finds Morozko, it is not the cage she was expecting Medved to put him in. 

While Vasya is on this quest to find Morozko, we see Medved in Moscow. He is enjoying wreaking havoc and has made an alliance with the priest who wants Vasya dead, Konstantin. We see the Bear and Konstantin twisting the minds of the people of Moscow as the Bear brings the dead to life as vampires and then Konstantin exorcises them with Medved’s help. It is all a ploy to gain the trust of the Grand Prince Dimitri and to ruin the land of Russia.

When Vasya finally finds Morozko, she must convince him to come with her into the summer to fight his brother. And if that is not enough, after the fight with Medved, Vasya must decide how she can help Russia against the coming Tartar army. It isn’t going to be easy and Morozko, the winter-king, cannot stay in the summer to help her.

There are so many things happening in this book and so many different emotions. This is the third and final book in this series and it definitely answers all of the questions that have been building all series. And I love it.

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