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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Girl in The Tower: The Winternight Trilogy in Books

Mar 22, 2018  
The Girl in The Tower: The Winternight Trilogy
The Girl in The Tower: The Winternight Trilogy
Katherine Arden | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Girl in the Tower is the second in the Winternight Trilogy, after the acclaimed debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale. It's always hard to talk about sequels without giving too much away about the preceding books, so forgive me if I'm vague. One advantage to waiting so long to read The Bear and the Nightingale was that I got to jump straight into the sequel! Now I have to several months for the third.

The Girl in the Tower revisits our heroine, Vasya, from the first book. Now she has left home to begin her adventures - though her travels are curtailed pretty quickly, and she's roped into going to Moscow with her brother and the Grand Prince, while disguised as a boy. While in Moscow she learns a little bit more about her family history, and I'm hoping the rest will be revealed in the third book this summer. (The Winter of the Witch is scheduled to release in August 2018.)

In this second book, Vasya has done some growing, and has learned to make use of the spirits she sees - she knows the hearth spirits can always find their families, and uses that trait to track a kidnapped girl when no one else can. So long as no one realizes what she's doing, she's fine. But Rus is in the crossover period between the old ways and the new, and if she's found talking to spirits, she'll be branded a witch all over again. She keeps her masquerade going through the first two-thirds of the book, but it's obvious it's going to fail eventually. The way in which it does is sudden and unexpected, and the repercussions are harsh.

And then there's Morozko, the Frost Demon, the god of death. I love Morozko. He's by necessity enigmatic - and in a rough position. I want he and Vasya to fall in love and have a happy ending - the attraction between them is impossible to miss - but immortal beings, in this world, can't love. If they love they lose their immortality. And, possibly, their lives entirely. I hope the author has a solution in mind for these two, because I currently don't see one.

I actually liked this one more than the first book, which is unusual. I liked the first one, but I wasn't blown away. This one pulled me in and didn't let me go. Amazing sequel, and I hope the third one lives up to this standard!

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
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Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Awaken in Books

Jan 25, 2019  
Awaken
Awaken
K.S. Marsden | 2018 | Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Awaken
Awaken is book 2 from the Northern Witch Series. Read my review for Winter Trials, book one in the series.

I have enjoyed reading the first book, and I was so eager to get to the second one. This is a story about a young boy Mark and his grandma, who is a witch. This is also a story about Damien, a new guy in town, in which Mark falls in love with.

The second book starts where the first book left off. Mark and Damien have feelings for each other, but Damien is a danger to himself and others, and grandma will try to fix this with her power.

The book is a short and fast read. It is fast-paced, and I kept spinning the pages intensely. It brings you the feelings of home, and winter times, and family moments, and high-school memories. It has all the good vibes put together neatly.

The high-school romance was an addition to the book, and it was a pleasure to read. I enjoyed it a lot, even though we didn’t see as much romance in this book as we do in book one.

And then, there is the word ‘’Dunno.’’ A word that I don’t really mind, unless it’s used too often. And it bothered me, I will admit it.

But then, there was Nanna – a character full of light and power that pierces through. A character full of wittiness, giving life to each scene unlike any character can. A woman I so greatly admire, for her love and dedication to the family, and unconditional love and teaching towards her grandchild.

I read about magic, and high-school, more about high-school than magic. I wish there were more romance scenes, and was terrified when the book finished the way it did. I was afraid, and happy, and excited and sad, and not to forget, annoyed, but this book gave me all the right feels at times, and all the wrong ones too.

It has never been harder to judge a book in-between this space of annoyance and love, and I am struggling. But I love Nanna too much.

I would recommend you to read this (or the first book in the series, if you haven’t yet). If you enjoy LGBT high-school romance and witchcraft adventures, this one will be a pleasurable read for you.

Thank you to the author, K.S. Marsden, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
  
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Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated The Familiars in Books

Mar 11, 2020  
The Familiars
The Familiars
Stacey Halls | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Thriller
9
8.5 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
I do like a good historic fiction and this one intrigued me as I read the blurb. A pregnant woman who has previously had miscarriages meets a woman who is a midwife, but is also accused of being a witch. This is a story with an underlying theme (or not so underlying) of women striving for more but being trapped by a society run by men who are trying to keep women at a lower status and importance of themselves, while striving to continue to maintain authority and bloodlines. A story of one woman who uses the resources available to her and her intelligence to make situations favour her wants, needs and justices. The Familiars and the concept of The Familiars within the story deemed vague, unimportant and not pressed upon, I'm not entirely sure if their relevance, in comparison to these themes of strong women in a male dominated society of 1600s Britain. If you like Jessie Burton, you will love Stacey Halls! And you will love this!