Even better than the first

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The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

Star Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5 stars

Format: paperback ARC

Summary: The sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale, this book follows Vasya on her travels after leaving her childhood home.

Review: I received a free arc galley copy of this book from NetGalley and BookishFirst for review.

I loved the first book in this series, I wasn't sure if would be possible to love the sequel more than that first book but I totally did. I think the fact that the story was already established so we got right into the action of it rather than having to do world building or much exposition. I enjoy Vasya as a character and there was much more of her in this than the first.

The love story between Vasya and Morozko ended up being much more enjoyable than I imagined. I thought I wouldn't like them because the first book was so vague about their relationship but it was a real nice slow burn.

I actually liked Kasyan until the horse race. I thought he was an interesting character and I thought there could have been good chemistry between him and Vasya. Although, I did suspect when she ran into him in the first village she visits that he sent the men after her.

We get more explanation about Vasya and why she sees chyerti. And also the reunions I was waiting for with Vasya's brother and sister finally happen. I wished Vasya and Olya's reunion was happier than it ended up being.

The language in this is beautiful. The book is long but it reads fast because the story is so good. It keeps me enthralled in it, I kept wanting to pick it up and continue reading. The story is really magical, I love Russian folktales and I think this series does a good job bringing them to life.

Recommendation: This is a great series, the first book starts a little slow but the second is fast paced and such an amazing story. I can't wait to read the third book in this series.