Narrator Kathleen Gati invites listeners to embark on a journey of defiance and bravery alongside protagonist Vasilisa Petrovna. Gati seamlessly brings to life the myriad characters found in Kathleen Arden’s second Winternight Trilogy novel. Most of the reappearing “cherti” that aid Vasilisa are characterized by their disconcerted and raspy voices, though some, like the “bannik” and the demon, have softer, slyer tones. While born of a high social class, Vasilisa doesn’t put on airs. Read by Gati, her words are always steady and confident as she fights for her and her family’s freedom. Weaving Russian history and folklore with a powerful narrative, this audiobook makes for a captivating listen. V.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Arden’s lush, lyrical writing cultivates an intoxicating, visceral atmosphere, and her marvelous sense of pacing carries the novel along at a propulsive clip. A masterfully told story of folklore, history, and magic with a spellbinding heroine at the heart of it all.”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“[A] sensual, beautifully written, and emotionally stirring fantasy . . . Fairy tales don’t get better than this.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[Katherine] Arden once again delivers an engaging fantasy that mixes Russian folklore and history with delightful worldbuilding and lively characters.”—Library Journal
 
“A compelling, fast-moving story that grounds fantasy elements in a fascinating period of Russian history.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“[A] magical story set in an alluring Russia.”—Paste

12/01/2017
After the events of The Bear and the Nightingale, Vasya has been driven from her village as an outcast and branded a witch. Instead of going to a convent or marrying against her will, she disguises herself as a boy and takes off on her stallion Solovey. Following a battle with bandits that catches the attention of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she is reunited with her sister Olga and brother Sasha. However, there is more intrigue and mystery in Moscow, as Vasya confronts not only a threat to her new home but also the knowledge that Morozko's (the frost king) interest in her and her psychic powers may not be as benevolent as once thought. VERDICT Arden once again delivers an engaging fantasy that mixes Russian folklore and history with delightful worldbuilding and lively characters who are growing into the roles they are meant to play. [See Prepub Alert, 6/12/17.]—KC

2017-10-10
An impetuous young woman disguises herself as a boy and rides a mysterious horse through a lush and forbidding version of medieval Russia in the second novel in a proposed trilogy.Vasya, who came of age in Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale (2017), has no plans to settle down after the tragic events that end the first novel. With the help of the enigmatic frost-demon Morozko, who feels a fatally human attraction to Vasya, the young woman learns to wield a knife and make herself at home in the frozen forest. After rescuing several girls stolen from burned-out villages, she makes her way to Moscow, where she finds her sister Olga, now a conservative royal matron, and her brother Sasha, a monk with a swashbuckling side. She faces a force even stronger and more malevolent than the human outsiders who threaten Moscow and its rulers. Arden, who is obviously steeped in knowledge of the history and landscape of medieval Russia, uses that background as a playground for the imagination, creating a world in which the mythical intertwines with the historical. House and bathhouse spirits play a critical role in the action, and ghosts are as real as Tatar invaders. While the novel occasionally falls prey to the typical problems of the second part of a trilogy, awkwardly shoehorning in characters from the first novel and broadly hinting at issues to be resolved in the third, for the most part it stands solidly on its own as an independent work. Its outspokenly feminist themes color the story without overwhelming it. The characters, if painted in broad strokes, are vivid and personable, and the brutal landscape, both physical and social, convincingly shapes their destinies.A compelling, fast-moving story that grounds fantasy elements in a fascinating period of Russian history.