The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.
Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

Deep inside the dark woods. during the cold and ruthless winter, under the shine of the moon and stars, a story was born from magic and blood. A story of a maid pretending to be a boy, of magic and darkness, wicked spells and old Empires. A story of a girl who took more than she was given and felt the world ripping her apart for desiring and dreaming.
Yeah, reading a good fairytale-inspired book feels good, but have you ever been completely and utterly consumed by timeless storytelling and magical writing that drowns all senses leaving only the spirit of pages ahead? Because Katherine Arden created a portal and left the doors open for everyone brave enough to open them.

The plot follows shortly after the events at the end of The Bear and the Nightingale, giving readers a perspective in Vasya’s whereabouts through various narratives. After leaving Lesnya Zemlya and her family after the tragical death of her father, she decides to pursue her dream of becoming a traveler. But her wild nature and unyielding sense of righteousness can’t let her leave burned villages and kidnaped children – not without putting up some fight. But soon her escapades get a little too far and she finds herself in the royal palace, sitting next to the Grand Prince dressed as a boy. She doesn’t have a way out, nor does she want one. Why would she, when now she can finally do everything she ever wanted? While Vasya enjoys charming the court, old sorcerers and cruel barbarians rise to the doors of Moscow, waiting to bring the Empire down.


Everything that the first book represented, this one was even more so. Starting with a historical portrait of the 14th century Russian Empire, then adding layers of folklore-inspired magical worldbuilding and finishing with revolutionary characters that evolved from amazing to absolutely astonishing. It is a perfect extent of all elements, making it impossible for readers to stay indifferent, but inspires awe and longing for more and more. Just thinking about everything that I’ve lived through this book makes me want to climb to the Moscow tower and scream about this book until my throat goes raw.


Vasya still has that wild and resolved essence I fell in love with, only she is more grown and mature - she understands her actions and the consequences they have on those around her. The pain she caused her family when she only wanted to help combined with the grief following her all the way from Lesnaya Zemlya, resulting in tremendous amounts of guilt and shame that urge her to make more and more sacrifices and make promises she cannot keep. I loved the way she crafts her path through the conservative and unforgiving society that has no place for girls like her or anyone different, for that matter. It’s not just Vasya, but a whole lot of different yet inspiring characters - this story is filled with explicit characters that gave me heartache and inspiration at the same time, making me a part of the story as well.
I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about romance, mostly because, well, Morozko is an ageless frost demon and Vasya’s a teenager, but their connection is special. Still, I don’t believe that the story will end well.