Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden Narrator: Kathleen Gati
Series: Winternight Trilogy #2
Published by Random House Audio on December 5, 2017
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 13 hours, 2 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
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.
I loved The Girl in the Tower even more than the first book in the Winternight Trilogy. I was lucky enough to start listening to it immediately after finishing The Bear and the Nightingale. I have it from Penguin Random Audio but I ended up checking it out at the library because I liked the Overdrive listening features since I had just used them for the first one. I can see myself buying these audiobooks.
Now Vasya is grown up which is better and worse. It is better, in she can do more and could make more of her own decisions. But her father and step-mother and the corrupted priest all think they should control her future. The way of the time period is either you marry or you go into the convent. There aren’t other choices for women. Vasya doesn’t want to do either and after a series of events takes off on her own.
The Russian fairy tales of their spirits, told to Vasya as a child, continue to inform her. Her instincts and skills are good. But the bad guys are all about using her or getting her under their control. Sadly, good guys aren’t too much better as they want the same thing since women are little more than property at this time period. Vasya has hard choices to make and faces death more than once. Highly recommended. There is one left to release in January 2019. I CAN NOT WAIT for the end of the trilogy, The Winter of the Witch.
Narration:
I continued to love the sound of the all the voices, male and female. All were clear and easy to understand, while having a slight accent which gave the flavor of the region. It was comfortable at 1.25x speed. Another magical listen from Kathleen Gati.
Listen to a clip:
JIAM Giveaway:
This giveaway is described in detail on the Series on Saturday post. Because of shipping, this will be US only. I have listed the titles which are available for the giveaway. They are all first in the series. I will start with picking one winner. For every five new subscribers to the blog, I will pick another winner. Winners will have some input as to which audiobook they prefer. So tell your friends about the giveaway and the blog! Any I do not give away this month will be given away at a future date.
Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter, narrated by Kristine Hvam (MP3)
Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews, narrated by Renee Raudman (CDs)
Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi (CDs)
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence, narrated by Heather O’Neill (CDs)
Skinwalker by Faith Hunter, narrated by Kristine Hvam (Mp3)
About Katherine Arden
Born in Texas, Katherine studied French and Russian at Middlebury College. She has lived abroad in France and in Moscow, among other places. She has also lived in Hawaii, where she wrote much of The Bear and the Nightingale. She currently lives in Vermont.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2018 Audiobook Challenge
- 2018 Library-Love Challenge
- COYER BSBB
I’m looking forward to starting this series.
It’s definitely fantasy. historical. It definitely made me burn with anger at the treatment of women. But Vasya makes her own way which terrified me and made me cheer.
I had my eye on this series when the first one came out and then I forgot about it. It still sounds great. Even better since you think book two is even better. 🙂
I know. Sometimes the middle book is a filler or stretching to the third, or an a few details just to wait for the third book finale. This one was really great. We got more real information. Character growth happened to more than one. We also learned more about characters, they were more developed. All great things.
I loved this book so much! I liked the first book in the series but this book was one that I fell in love with. I am so happy to hear that you liked the narration for this book since I know it is one that I will want a re-read of at some point. Sounds like I might be adding the audio to my collection 🙂
Yes. I think this might be a trilogy I need to own as well.