I was so excited to get the third and final book in Arden’s “Winternight Trilogy” through NetGalley.  Who knew that I’d be this obsessed with tales of Russian Folklore and Witches?

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

SO MUCH HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK!  In 384 pages, there is a little bit of everything:

Witch burnings, devil sightings, horses that can fly, secret midnights, WAR, and of course, Zombies.  Zombies you ask?  Well, let’s just say the devil has a way of calling an army of the dead in the fight for Russia.

And most of that takes place in first three parts of the book.  *Phew*

I will say, there is one part in the beginning of the book that broke my heart so thouroughly.  It’s redemeed by the end, but man, I was gutted.

At the end of the second book, Vasya is found to be masquerading as a boy to help Moscow and Russia.  She is roundly condemed, and her old nemisis rears his ugly head after making a deal with the devil.  Through deals and escapes, the devil/bear has reappaered and is determined to rid the world of people who dont believe in his kind of spirits.  Vasya goes through the darkest midnights to recover and find her heritage.  It’s here how she learns to fight for her beliefs and fight for her family.

The winter king looms large, and she must depend on his help even more.  This book culminates in a war (in which the second most heartbreaking thing of the book happens) and we learn that man must trust the spirit world in order to survive.  It was a beautiful conlcusion to this series.

Even with all the stuff happening in this book, I still wanted to learn more about Vasya’s young niece stuck in the captial with the same powers as her Aunt.  Does she travel to the cottage by the lake to learn her craft, or is she destined to go through the same trials and tribulations of her Aunt?  I would love to know more!

This series has been amazing, and I can’t wait to read what Arden has next up her sleeve.

(For reference, here is the link where I talk about the first book in the series:  https://wordpress.com/post/nicolesbookcorner.wordpress.com/427)