Book Review: THE GIRL IN THE TOWER by Katherine Arden

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Every time you take one path, you must live with the memory of the other: of a life left unchosen. Decide as seems best, one course or the other; each way will have its bitter with its sweet.”

Book 2 of the Winternight Trilogy is storytelling at its finest! Now that we know the characters, we see them go through adventures so bizarre, with twists and turns in the plot that leave you gasping and crying out loud, because the world-building is over and we can finally just sit back and enjoy the wild Russian ride that is THE GIRL IN THE TOWER.

It is the same world, but grander and bigger, and oh so unpredictable. We are introduced to princes who are not princely, princesses who wish not to be princesses. There are mares who burn, and sisters who cast their own kin out into the snow. But always, we are with Vasya the Brave, the Tamer of Horses, whose bravery makes her a veritable Russian Mulan. She is one of the most fascinating heroines in fantasy literature!

What I love about Arden's work is that she makes us realize that things are not what they seem. That another world exists right beneath / beside the material one. This shadow world of hearth and house spirits, that coexists with Christianity, makes sense to us Filipinos. For we have our spirits, too.

Now if you'll excuse me, I will be in my room reading Book 3.



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Book Review: THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“It is a cruel task, to frighten people in God’s name.”

Well no wonder I couldn't drag my sister away from this book, even for food and drink! :) It literally plucks you from your everyday existence and places you in 14th century Russia. And oh, a word of warning: don't read this book at night. The cover might seem very pretty and fairytale-ish, but trust me, some parts of this book are pure horror.

But what's a bit of horror compared with the delights of a well-written tale, with a strong female lead? It's about honor, service, and the dangers of zealotry and blind hatred in the guise of Christianity. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was because I found the pacing slow going in the first half of the book, but the second half more than made up for the necessary character development.

And I am so lucky that my sister bought books 2 and 3!!!



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Book Review: SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"That much had lived in my heart all my life, a promise between me and my people, that my children would be Israel no matter where they lived... I wouldn't hold myself that cheap, to marry a man who'd love me less than everything else he had, even if what he had was a winter kingdom."

So my last book for 2018 was Naomi Novik's UPROOTED, and it seemed fitting that my first book for 2019 would be Naomi Novik's SPINNING SILVER.

It's like Game of Thrones meets Rumpelstiltskin meets Lord of the Rings and Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks! It's a mind-boggling tale with three heroines, at times working together, and at times seemingly fighting for opposite sides. A moneylender's daughter who can (at first, figuratively, then later on, literally) turn silver into gold, a daughter of a nobleman who is wed to a tsar with a demon living inside him, and a peasant girl whose golden heart makes her overcome evil within her own family... they are all queens in their own right. And I love how Novik takes care to describe her heroines as not beautiful. They distinguish themselves through acts of self-sacrifice and bravery, not by being pretty. Feminist writing for the win!!

YOU DON'T KNOW WHO TO ROOT FOR because Novik makes you love them all! I adore stories with strong female protagonists and am delighted with even just one, so having three in one story REALLY made my day!

I love how Novik merged her Jewish roots from her dad with the Polish roots of her mom. Part of the charm of the world-building is how Novik immerses you in different cultures living side-by-side. You see, hear, and feel the differences in settings and it's not every writer who can pull that off as well as she can.

I can't help but compare this one to UPROOTED, and I think SPINNING SILVER is less adult, more suitable for Y.A. audiences because the horror is less graphic, the intimacy less explicit. This is one book that's safe for school libraries to have in their collection, and one that I'd recommend ALL girls read!

I suppose, if I had read this book before or months after UPROOTED, I would have given 5 stars. The only reason I'm giving four stars is because UPROOTED had more romance in it, and hihihi I'm a romance reader at heart. If Goodreads had a 4.5 star rating, I'd give it that! :)



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