Review: The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

The Girl in the Tower
(The Winternight Trilogy #2)
Katherine Arden
Release: December 5, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

A remarkable young woman blazes her own trail, from the backwoods of Russia to the court of Moscow, in the exhilarating sequel to Katherine Arden’s bestselling debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale.

Katherine Arden’s enchanting first novel introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family’s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko—Frost, the winter demon from the stories—and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost’s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch.

Now Vasilisa faces an impossible choice. Driven from her home by frightened villagers, the only options left for her are marriage or the convent. She cannot bring herself to accept either fate and instead chooses adventure, dressing herself as a boy and setting off astride her magnificent stallion Solovey.

But after Vasilisa prevails in a skirmish with bandits, everything changes. The Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits, and she is reunited with her beloved sister and brother, who are now part of the Grand Prince’s inner circle. She dares not reveal to the court that she is a girl, for if her deception were discovered it would have terrible consequences for herself and her family. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow’s intrigues—and as Frost provides counsel that may or may not be trustworthy—she will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself.

Review:
One of my favorite books of this year was The Bear and the Nightingale so I was so excited to get my hands on an ARC of the second book. Everything I loved about the first book was in this one. The folklore and the adventure and the family dynamics were glorious! What I love about this trilogy is that not everything is black and white but grayscale and messy.

Vasya has left her village behind with her beloved Solovey and is continuing with her quest to figure out who she is. She knows that she isn’t meant to be just a lord’s wife or left in a convent. She fights against these ideas by dressing as a boy. Vasya is a hero and that heroism brings with it a lot of complications. The world she lives in isn’t ready for someone like her and she sticks out.

One of the things I loved about this book was Vasya's interactions with her siblings because her family plays a key role in this book. Her brother, Sasha, left as a teenager to become a monk but he has become more of a warrior than a religious man. He is involved in politics and with the Grand Prince. I will admit that I missed him! But as much as I loved her interactions with Sasha, Olga was my favorite. Olga has grown up a lot since the last book. While I wish we could have seen more of her with her children, I loved the scenes between her and Vasya. Things weren't easy but their interactions were filled with sisterly love. I loved seeing Vasya with her niece, who is just like her in personality and spirit. She had more people she could rely on in this book and it made things more tense but also so much better!

Morozko and Vasya’s relationship develops more in this book and it was intriguing to watch. They embodied the classic trope of an impossibly old and supernatural being falling in love with a young woman. There is a definite power imbalance between Morozko and Vasya and Arden doesn't shy away from it and the complications it brings. Even though they're each developing feelings for each other, those feelings are messy and complicated. And while we learn more about him and who he really is, we're not quite sure what his existence really means. I actually liked him a lot more in this book than the last. He felt more real and mortal. Things are changing and I can't help but ship it.

The Girl in the Tower totally lived up to the expectations I had for it! If you loved The Bear and the Nightingale, you're going to love this one! I can't wait to get my hands on the third book! I want to know how everything wraps up.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 Stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Review: The White Lily by Juliette Cross

The White Lily
(Vampire Blood #3)
Juliette Cross
Release: October 10, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

To the north of the Varis empire, a mysterious faction spreads propaganda against the vampire monarchy. Friedrich Volya, the Duke of Winter Hill, seeks to discover who they are before his uncle finds them first. King Dominik will punish the traitors with brutal force.

Local schoolteacher, the raven-haired Brennalyn, is on her own mission—to spy on the duke and discover what she can for the Black Lily. She longs to help the commonwealth and bring justice to the many orphans left behind from the ravages of the blood madness, like the children she lovingly keeps in her care. What she doesn’t plan for is the heart-pounding attraction she feels for the duke, enemy to the Black Lily.

But when Brennalyn’s secret puts her life and the life of her children in danger, Friedrich steps in as her protector, she finds out there’s more to the duke than she thought.

Review:
I have loved each book so far in this series but this book is hands down my favorite! There is something special about this series. Something that I’m not sure I can adequately describe with words. It's so good! Each book mixes paranormal romance with a specific fairy tale and it's like instant book crack. And each book just keeps getting better and better!

We've encountered the Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood tales in the first two book so I was intrigued about which fairy tale this book would be based on. I can't tell you how tickled I am that this was a retelling of Snow White. It's not a fairy tale you see retold very often. And it was a glorious retelling in this case. Of all the characters I have met so far in this series, Brennalyn and Friedrich are my favorites. They're amazing together and I was hooked on their story from page one.

Told from both the perspectives of Friedrich and Brennalyn, The White Lily continues the tale of the search for more supporters to join the cause of the Black Lily. Brennalyn Snow is a twenty-three year old schoolteacher who is the foster mother to seven orphans ranging in age from preschool to late teens. But Brennalyn has a secret identity that if revealed would threaten her life and the lives of the children she loves. Enter Friedrich Volya, the Duke of Winter Hill, and a member of the reigning royal vampire family. What ensues is the building relationship between Friedrich and Brennalyn, and the potential fall out when Brennalyn’s true identity is revealed. Except Fredrich has a secret of his own.

Friedrich and Brennalyn have had the best chemistry out of all the couples in this series so far! Therir romance is the best! They try to resist each other but they can't help but fall for one another! I loved how elements from the original tale were included in this story. I loved how the seven dwarves became Brennalyn's seven adopted children. There's even a huntsman, poisonous fruit, an evil queen, and a magical mirror that reveals all to the other side.

This is a story of adventure, action, forbidden romance, and the ongoing war between human and vampires. The premise is entertaining and addictive while the characters are strong-willed and engaging. In true Juliette Cross fashion, the book builds to an intense climax that is enough to give me anxiety and make my heart stop. This book also has sweet romantic words, intense sexy times, adorable children, and heart-pounding action. It has almost everything! I couldn't put it down once I had started reading.

If you haven’t started this series yet, start with the first book, The Black Lily. While this book can be read as a standalone, the series is best read in order. There is a story arc that continues throughout the series and the characters are recurring. I can’t wait to see what Juliette Cross has in store for us next because it looks like the next book will be a Sleeping Beauty retelling! I'm so excited to get my hands on Mina's book!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 Stars



My reviews of other books in this series:
The Black Lily by Juliette Cross
The Red Lily by Juliette Cross 

Review: The Red Lily by Juliette Cross

The Red Lily
(Vampire Blood #2)
Juliette Cross
Release: June 19, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

When Red falls for the Big Bad Vampire...

The Black Lily resistance needs a larger army if they are to defeat the vampire monarchy. In order to do so, former lieutenant and traitor to the vampire Crown, Nikolai must seek help from the red-hooded temptress he needs to avoid at all costs. The secret he carries could prove dangerous for her if she gets too close...even though keeping her close—very close—is the only thing on his mind.

Sienna will do anything for the Black Lily, and when Nikolai asks for her assistance to gain the trust of the commonwealth, it's the last thing she wants to do. The thought of leaving her woods and her wolves behind is terrifying...not to mention the danger being with Nikolai poses.

Review:
What could make fairy tale retellings even better? Vampires, of course! I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I will admit that I wasn't sure that Little Red Riding Hood was going to be better than Cinderella. I'm glad I was proven wrong! I loved this book even more than I did The Black Lily!

I was interested in Nikolai from the moment he appeared to help Marius in the first book but I became intrigued by his love interest, Sienna, even more. It's kind of hard not to be when a beautiful red-headed woman appears on the page riding a giant wolf. I'm so glad that their story ended up being the second book in this series. Nikolai was delightfully charismatic, a bit broody, and very tenderhearted while still being lethal. Sienna was equal parts fierce and innocent. I loved learning more about them and their back stories. And their chemistry was fantastic! I'm totally on board for their romance! I ship them hard.

I loved seeing the world and the cast expand to deal with the sanguine furorem epidemic. I'm especially excited for the next book which will be about a certain Duke of the North. :) But, as much as I loved the new characters and the worldbuilding, it took a long time for anything to happen in regards to both the rebellion and Sienna and Nikolai finally succumbing to their attraction for one another. I would have preferred more story and less mooning. But I will say that when the story hit its stride, it exploded out of the gate. Plot twist after plot twist happened and things didn't slow down until it was over. And OMG! what an ending! I will admit that I didn't see that coming and there were tears on my part.

Like in the first book, Juliette Cross had some very unique interpretations of the lore normally surrounding fairy tales and vampires that genuinely has me excited for future books in the series. I'm absolutely fascinated by what seems to be the set up for a Sleeping Beauty retelling and maybe a Beauty and the Beast one in the future! Next on the fairy tale docket is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and I can't wait to see what the author does with it!

   

  4 / 5 Stars



My reviews of other books in this series:
The Black Lily by Juliette Cross 

Waiting on Wednesday (82)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Here's this week's WOW pick:

Technically, Furthermore is a middle grade book, but I've been hearing a lot of buzz about it from YA readers. I think anything Tahereh Mafi writes will be wonderful either way. She has such a unique and fascinating style in the Shatter Me series and I'm really excited to see how she applies it to something new.

It's obviously an Alice in Wonderland retelling, but I suspect it's more complicated than that. And I wonder if the "boy named Oliver" is based on another familiar character. What an interesting mash up that would be.

Furthermore
Tahereh Mafi
Release: August 30, 2016
Goodreads Amazon

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it’s been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she’ll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit—and with a liar by her side in land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

What book are you waiting on?

Show Me Your Fairy Tale Retellings! Spotlight on The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

We're trying something a little different with our Show Me Yours feature this week. In addition to recommending some books in the original post, we're spotlighting some of our favorites that we've featured previously on the blog. So we'll be showing your ours all week long.

This week's topic is fairy tale retellings. If you want to show us yours, comment on the original post.

Two of my most favorite things in the world are sci-fi books and fairy tale retellings. What happens when you combine the two? You get The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

I've been reading this series from the first. I found Cinder in my local Barnes and Noble and was immediately sold on the premise. It was about a cyborg Cinderella! How could I pass that up? I went home and immediately devoured it in one sitting and I've done the same with each book in the series. The following books are retellings featuring fairy tale favorites like Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rapunzel. The fairy tale elements used in each book is done so well that sometimes it's not immediately apparent that they were used. Marissa Meyer did her research when it came to the fairy tales she used and it shows.

This series is wonderful sci-fi goodness with lots of action, political intrigue, and super cute romances. Seriously. The sci-fi and fairy tale elements in this series are amazing, but the characters are what makes it so special. This series also has a villain that I really and truly hate. This is the first series that I recommend when friends ask me for fairy tale retelling recommendations. It's awesome and I think everyone should read it!

For more on the series, check out these posts:

Goldilox's review of Cinder

Goldilox's review of Scarlet

Goldilox's review of Fairest

Add The Lunar Chronicles on Goodreads

Buy the series on Amazon

Show Me Your Fairy Tale Retellings: Spotlight on the Baba Yaga Series by Deborah Blake

We're trying something a little different with our Show Me Yours feature this week. In addition to recommending some books in the original post, we're spotlighting some of our favorites that we've featured previously on the blog. So we'll be showing you ours all week long.

This week's topic is fairy tale retellings. If you want to show us your favorites, comment on the original post.

When we think of fairy tale retellings the first ones that come to mind are usually Cinderella and Snow White reboots, but there's more than just the Brothers Grimm in the fairy tale canon. Baba Yaga is the wicked witch of Russian folk lore and I love the way Deborah Blake updated the myth for her PNR series. Baba Yaga is not a name but a title, and there are three of them across the U.S. Instead of the traditional house on chicken legs, each Baba has her own version of a mobile home. 

But the Babas are still summoned the same way they've always been, by someone petitioning for help. Each one has a different kind of elemental magic, earth, fire or water, that she uses to help her solve the problem. I especially liked the way each book featured an environmental issue that tied into the Babas' powers. And, like I mentioned in an earlier spotlight, I like the fact that a character from children's stories gets to have an adult romance.

For more on this series, check out:
Gretl's reviews of Wickedly Dangerous and Wickedly Powerful
Gretl's review of Wickedly Powerful
Gretl's review of Wickedly Ever After

Add the Baba Yaga series to Goodreads
Buy the series on Amazon

Show Me Your Fairy Tale Retellings: Spotlight on Uprooted by Naomi Novik

We're trying something a little different with our Show Me Yours feature this week. In addition to recommending some books in the original post, we're spotlighting some of our favorites that we've featured previously on the blog. So we'll be showing your ours all week long.

This week's topic is fairy tale retellings. If you want to show us yours, comment on the original post.

Uprooted was everything I wanted it to be and more! A Dragon who isn't a dragon, a witch who doesn't do normal magic, and an amalgam of fairy tale elements were all rolled into this book and the product was absolute perfection! I loved everything about this book! The setting, the characters, the magic, the conflict... EVERYTHING! It has that modern fairy tale feel to it similar to that of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and a storytelling style very reminiscent to that of Robin McKinley.

This book has definitely made my list of all time favorite books I've ever read. I think it may have even achieved a spot in the infamous Top Ten. I have so much love for this book already and I can only imagine how that love will grow with each rereading as little details make themselves known.

Simply put, this is a story EVERYONE needs to read. Seriously. Go read it.

For more on this title, check out
Rose Red's review of Uprooted

Add Uprooted on Goodreads
But it on Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday (80)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating. Here's this week's WoW pick:

We've been talking about retellings this week so I thought I'd share one that I'm looking forward to. In Monday's Show Me Yours post I told you how much I loved Christina Henry's Alice. The sequel is coming out this summer and I can't wait.

One of things that made Alice so creepy for me was that all of the women in the Old City were victims, even Alice, though she overcomes her past in some ways. I'm really excited to see the difference powerful women make in this world. Alice is becoming more powerful herself as she discovers her magical abilities, but she's also meeting the queens.

I also thought that her relationship with Hatcher was really interesting. It's not exactly a romance, but it might turn into one. I'm curious about how it will play out in Red Queen.

Red Queen
(The Chronicles of Alice #2)
Christina Henry
Release: July 12, 2016
Goodreads Amazon

The author of Alice takes readers back down the rabbit hole to a dark, twisted, and fascinating world based on the works of Lewis Carroll...

The land outside of the Old City was supposed to be green, lush, hopeful. A place where Alice could finally rest, no longer the plaything of the Rabbit, the pawn of Cheshire, or the prey of the Jabberwocky. But the verdant fields are nothing but ash—and hope is nowhere to be found.

Still, Alice and Hatcher are on a mission to find his daughter, a quest they will not forsake even as it takes them deep into the clutches of the mad White Queen and her goblin or into the realm of the twisted and cruel Black King.

The pieces are set and the game has already begun. Each move brings Alice closer to her destiny. But, to win, she will need to harness her newfound abilities and ally herself with someone even more powerful—the mysterious and vengeful Red Queen...

What book are you waiting on?

Show Me Your Fairy Tale Retellings: Spotlight on The Transplanted Tales Series by Kate SeRine

We're trying something a little different with our Show Me Yours feature this week. In addition to recommending some books in the original post, we're spotlighting some of our favorites that we've featured previously on the blog. So we'll be showing you ours all week long.

This week's topic is fairy tale retellings. If you want to show us your favorites, comment on the original post.

In one of my reviews I described the Transplanted Tales as what would have happened if Once Upon a Time aired on HBO. The characters come to our world in a similar way to the ones on the show, via a spell gone wrong. But many of these characters from fairy tales (and nursery rhymes and classic literature) become criminals in their new home. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves run a brothel, for example. It's a darker version of what might become of these familiar characters.

It's also one of the rare adult retellings and I loved the idea of transforming children's stories into something more mature. One book features a serial killer and another a fairy dust smuggling ring. Enter Detective Tess Little (Red Riding Hood) and her friend CSI Trish Muffet - she was my favorite. Each book focuses on a new couple, but Red is usually involved in solving the mystery as well. If you're tired of all the YA fairy tale adaptations, check out this adult PNR series.

For more on this series, check out these posts:

Read This F@%!ing Book: Transplanted Tales

Gretl's reviews of  Along Came a Spider and Ever After

Add the Transplanted Tales series to Goodreads

Buy the series on Amazon

Show Me Your... Fairy Tale Retellings

Show Me Yours is our new discussion post where we ask for your book recommendations on a different subject each month.

Recently, I had a hankering to read a fairy tale retelling but there are so many out there now that I don't know where to start. Fairy tales have been a solid part of my reading diet since I’ve been small. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I grew up during the time when Disney was releasing some of their most popular fairy tale based animated movies. I remember going to see The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin in the theater! Not to mention, my sisters and I wore out the VHS tapes of Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.

After growing up on Disney movies and the dark fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, I discovered my first fairy tale retelling in Ella Enchanted and I haven’t turned back. I love reading both a story that is familiar but yet different at the same time. I’ve devoured retellings of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Donkeyskin, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Snow White, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, and many more. And if it’s a retelling of an obscure fairy tale, I'll read it just because so you can just take my money now.

I’ll admit that I’ve read some truly terrible retellings. But for every terrible one, I’ve found one that has blown my socks off! And I’ll be honest, if given the choice between a fairy tale retelling and a super popular contemporary, I’ll choose the fairy tale retelling every time. I've read a lot of the popular retellings like Spindle's End, Beauty, Uprooted, and The Lunar Chronicles. I know there's been a Fairy Tale Retelling revival recently especially in YA. Have you read any of them? I need recs badly!

Here's Gretl to get it started:

I haven't read many retellings, though I have a ton of them in my TBR pile - A Court of Thorns and Roses, Dorothy Must Die, The Lunar Chronicles, The White Rabbit Chronicles, and probably some others I'm forgetting. But I can recommend a few.

Christina Henry's Alice was one of my favorite books of 2015. It's one of the rare adult retellings, and we're talking NC-17 adult here. Alice was institutionalized after her first trip to the Old City, but when the asylum burns down she and and her fellow inmate Hatcher escape. Alice is forced to confront her fears and starts to understand the memories that terrorized her for the last ten years as they navigate a world of run by magical mobsters. The sequel, Red Queen, comes out this summer.

For more on this title, check out

My review of Alice

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury is the first retelling of Aladdin's story that I've seen. It's told from the jinni's point of view and delves into the jinn mytholgy, which I thought was really interesting. I had a few issues with the story, but the YA community is loving it. It was featured in a subscription box last month and has gotten great reactions so you might want to give it a try.

For more on this title, check out

My review of The Forbidden Wish

What are your favorite Fairy Tale Retellings? Why do you think I should give them a chance?

Now let us show you ours!
We're going to spotlight some of our favorite retellings we've reviewed on the blog throughout the week.

If you have a genre or topic you'd like to see in a Show Me Yours post, let us know in the comments or send us a Facebook message or email goldiloxandthethreeweres@gmail.com.

Read This F@!%ing Book (49)

Welcome to a feature I'm going to post on Mondays called:

Read This F@!%ing Book!

This is a feature for me to push my favorite reads that just aren't getting enough attention! 

I'm also opening it up to anyone who would like to guest post. Do you have a book that you just LURVED but feel like its not getting the play it deserves? Email me to let me know and I'd be THRILLED to have you post about it here! Especially if its something I haven't reviewed yet - that's even better (but not necessary)! If you're interested email me: 

Goldilox3weres@hotmail.com

 This week's post comes from our very own: 
Rose Red!

Read This F@!%ing Book Post 49: Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

(Click book cover to go to Goodreads page)

Remember me saying I was rereading a lot of my favorite books from my childhood and teen years? Well, it's been nonstop Robin McKinley books at my house for the past couple of weeks. My best friend once told me that Robin McKinley is an acquired taste. Which I can see from watching him read her books. If it's not apparent yet, I absolutely adore her books, but even I will admit that a lot of people won’t. McKinley has an unusual way of writing sentences that sometimes turn them into paragraphs. It is a very unique style and it’s one that I LOVE!

The one word that comes to mind to describe this story is ‘odd’. It’s a wonderfully odd fantasy placed in an odd setting and filled with odd yet loveable human and animal characters. The narrative style is detailed, quirky, and often had an edge of subtlety that required the full attention of the reader. It is so beautifully written. McKinley masterfully wove an elaborate story of high adventure, mischievous magic, mystery, foreshadowed the potential greatness of the involved characters and then somehow broke all of the stereotypes that the reader was expecting. Who else but Robin McKinley would write a book where magic works on inanimate objects as well as living things? Imagine having to convince your tea kettle that it is in fact a tea kettle and not something else. Overall, the story feels homey to me. Every time I read it I want to jump inside the book and live in the little cottage with Aunt, Katriona, and Rosie forever.

As much as I love it, Spindle’s End is a book you have to take with a pinch of salt. It is not perfect. I found some parts of the story frustrating but I had forgotten them by the end. One thing I really admire about Robin McKinley is that she doesn’t give you the ending you expect. It did not end the way I hoped it would but I’m glad it ended the way it did. This is definitely a case where the author knows best. The story needed to end the way it does even if it wasn’t the way I would have wanted it to. It all ties in with how McKinley focuses so much on the characters and their development. She actually develops Rosie’s character from infancy to womanhood and that is a time-consuming investment for both her and the reader. But it is oh so worth it in the end. All of the classic elements of the original fairy tale are included such as the princess in hiding. The story takes on a life of it’s own and is quite unlike any fairy tale retelling I’ve ever read.

This is a fantastic story that is done perfectly. You fall in love with the characters slowly and then all at once. The ending was both unexpected and satisfying in the way that you hate and love the author simultaneously for. Spindle’s End was exceedingly well done.

Recommended for fans of: 
I recommend this to fantasy readers who enjoy epics like J.R.R. Tolkien’s.