One girl can make a difference …
Moscow is in flames, leaving its people searching for answers – and someone to blame. Vasilisa, a girl with extraordinary gifts, must flee for her life, pursued by those who blame their misfortune on her magic.
Then a vengeful demon returns, stronger than ever. Determined to engulf the world in chaos, he finds allies among men and spirits. Mankind and magical creatures alike find their fates resting on Vasya’s shoulders.
But she may not be able to save them all.
The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden
Publisher: Del Rey, Ebury Publishing
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: January 10th, 2019
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐½
I have plucked snowdrops at Midwinter, died at my own choosing, and wept for a nightingale. Now I am beyond prophecy.
I’ve been pondering over how to review The Winter of the Witch for the longest time, and I simply couldn’t find the right words, or the right way to start. In the end, I decided to go about writing my review in a different way for this book, because it’s … special.
Instead of pointing out the many, many aspects of it that absolutely amazed me (and there were many), and the ones that didn’t quite manage to—The Winter of the Witch, for some unknown, quite baffling reason, didn’t entirely touch my heart, in the end—I’m going to list three reasons why you should absolutely read this book.
Because despite ending up being a spectator of its beauty from a small distance, rather than reveling in it, I still believe with my entire heart that this is an incredible book that’s part of a book series no one should miss out on.

The beautiful writing
You all know how much I love beautifully written books (I dedicated an entire blog post to books with gorgeous prose after all, so it stands to reason that it’s pretty high on my list of aspects to gush about), and Katherine Arden’s writing is truly arresting in its beauty. I’m usually a fast reader, but I read this book much more slowly than others, simply because I wanted to take my time to appreciate it, and soak in every single word.

The setting
The Winter of the Witch is a Russian inspired fantasy that, for the most part, is set during the wintertime, and I truly felt like I could taste the snow on my lips, feel the tree branches crunch beneath the soles of my shoes, and hear the sound of hooves on the ground, as I accompanied the main character Vasya on her journey.
All the surroundings were described with so much care, without going overboard, or distracting from the story itself, and it was truly wondrous to see Moscow come to life before my eyes.

The feminist aspect
The Winternight Trilogy has been delightfully feminist from the very beginning, which I absolutely adore. We can never have too many books featuring fierce, determined, and unapologetic female characters, and The Winter of the Witch only deepened my appreciation for them.
My fate and my life lie beyond your judgement.
All in all, The Winter of the Witch was a delight to read, and I can only whole-heartedly recommend everyone to pick up this stunning conclusion to a magical series—it tells a story that will doubtlessly stay with you for many, many years to come.
Thank you so much to Del Rey for sending me an ARC of this book! It in no way influenced my opinion, or rating.
You’re interested in this book?
Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery
Have you read the first two books in this series?
What are your favorite books that have the best, most immersive setting?
Any January releases you’re looking forward to?
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Sounds like this is an amazing book! I’ll have to get my hands on the first two!
Fantastic review! ❤
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It is! And the entire trilogy is officially released now, so they’ll look gorgeous on your bookshelf. 😍 I hope you love this series!!
Thank you, Lacy! 💕💕
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(did you mean to put Batman: Nightwalker there?)
ooh your review was so pretty and also this book sounds really intriguing!! The world building sounds so cool and also, the cover is SO Pretty
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Ahhh where do you see Batman: Nightwalker? I just cmd+f’d the entire post & HTML, and didn’t find anything 👀
Thanks, Ju!! 💗 The UK covers are so gorgeous, and the world-building is fantastic!! 💫
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Oh maybe it was a glitch?? I just saw the cover of Batman: Nightwalker in the beginning of the post lol
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I think it shows the wrong cover when you read the post in your Reader? But I have no idea whyyy
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THATS SO WEIRDDD
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Those were the three things I LOVED about books 1 and 2! Cannot wait for book 3!
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Ahh that’s so cool! These were really just the top three things I absolutely adored, so … :’)
I’m pretty sure you’ll love book three as well, then! ❤ Happy reading, Em! xx
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I’ve wanted to read this series for so long! I’m slacking.And yes feminism in a book is always a plus. That makes me want to read the series more. x
Darianne | http://www.placestoconstrue.com
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Ahh you absolutely have to read it soon, Darianne! It’s such a worthwhile series. ❤
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[…] 🌟 Lily recommended The Night Circus, one of her fav books! […]
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I have unfortunately not read any of the previous books, but I am planning on it…someday. I can’t really think of a book that I have read which had such an immersion of setting as you’ve described here, which makes me wonder if I should pay more attention while reading…huh! Anyways, I have so maaaaaaaany anticipating January release I don’t even know where to start: The Wicked King, The Gilded Wolves, Ship of Smoke and Steel, etc…
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I’m currently reading The Wicked King, and it’s so good!! And I think you’ll enjoy The Gilded Wolves as well, it has a very engaging quality.
And I hadn’t heard of Ship of Smoke and Steel before, I’ll have to check it out. 👀
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I’ve been pondering over buying this book since I read the second novel in the series, and I’m still so unsure if this is for me, though I appreciate the positives you listed in your review; you definitely brought me a step closer to getting this. It’s just that I found the first novel so unique, its world building mesmerizing and its characters well-developed… but the second book ended up being a massive disappointment for me. 😦
Veronika @ The Regal Critiques
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