Yes, they were invaders and did terrible things. But, considering how badly Tatars are treated in Russia nowadays (I have friends who have been horribly harassed by authorities, police, and random people, it’s not pleasant) I feel it’s the wrong time to have a very high profile book where the Tatars are less human than the literal demons. We see only two named characters, and none of them has any personality. And all the others are a faceless horde. When Vasya is presented to a tent of Tatars, the single Russian person is the only one who shows her compassion. I’m not saying make the Tatars good guys. By all means, make them bad. But make them complex bad, with personality, and motivations, and quirks. Make them human.

It felt unnecessary. Baba Yaga is already very powerful, Vasya doesn’t need extra explanation for the magic in her blood. While the Tsar Saltan fairytales were among my favorite as a kid, this reference felt artificial, without much connection to the rest. Medved was there all the time. Watching him, sometimes touching the icon with an admiration that to Konstatin seemed almost human. Despite this, the priest was sure he was enjoying his slow descent into madness and getting drunk on it. The Frost Demon Morozko, Prince of Russia's immortal land of Buyan, has waited ages for a mate. And she is Stravinksy's fabled Firebird - incarnated as an orphaned witch! If it wasn’t for this book, I would have probably skipped, but, as I said, I can’t fight this weird fiction food cravings. So I ended up cooking them with butter, white wine, quark and chives:KA: I really have been: various conventions, various cons. I was at BookExpo America. There will be a lot of giveaways and other things like that leading up to the release.

In the WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY, Arden has proved herself particularly adept at weaving together folklore and actual history. The Winter of the Witch focuses on the events leading up to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, but puts a fantastical spin on it. As the country lurches toward war, Vasya is guided into the midnight realm of Polunochnitsa, or Lady Midnight, where she meets not only one of her ancestors ― a famous Russian folklore character in her own right ― but the mythical firebird, Pozhar (whose other form is a golden mare), and a delightfully opinionated mushroom spirit that Vasya called Ded Grib (Grandfather Mushroom). Pozhar and Ded Grib represent the high and the lowly among the chyerti, whom Vasya is trying to protect along with the humans who inhabit Russia. Even Medved, the fearsome Bear who played such a terrifying role in The Bear and the Nightingale, becomes more understandable and sympathetic, or at least much more entertaining as a character. It’s a nice reminder that even villains have some positive characteristics. He spoke of Russia. Not of Muscovy, or Tver, or Vladimir, the principalities of the sons of Kiev, but of Russia itself, of its skies and its soil, its people and its pride. Doubtless, The Winter of the Witch is the most fascinating book of the trilogy. You know why? Because it is filled to the brim with fairy-tale creatures, frost-demons, firebirds and nature. The kind of nature where mysterious magical things happen, the ones you want to be a witness to. And you don't have to be Russian to feel them. You just have to keep your eyes open. Come on. No one is universally beautiful or ugly, people have preferences, and I find it hard to believe that everyone who meets Vasya will: first, find her ugly, second, say it out loud, and third, somehow get attracted to her anyway. beautiful literary fairytale...incredibly lyrical prose...a joy to read. Arden opens her imagination wide and succeeds in transporting the reader to an evocative world...with a heroine it's impossible not to love... Stylist

I knew immediately who “the bear” in the title was, because медведь (medved) is the Russian word for ‘bear’. [Which is, in turn, derived from the word for ‘honey’, мëд.] The word domovoi comes from дом (‘house’), dvorovoi from двор (‘yard, courtyard’), Morozko from мороз (‘frost’). These books taught me the words for ‘nightingale’ (соловей) and ‘mist’ (туман). I could go on, but I think you get the point – for a language nerd like me, this series was a dream!

Content and trigger warnings for talk of death during childbirth, graphic animal death, graphic torture, graphic violence, sexual assault (unwanted touching), threat of rape, death, murder, blood depictions, slavery, captivity, and war themes. I purely enjoyed this final instalment and it was a fantastic way of finishing the series. (I am now just forever going to reread over them as they were so good!). This wintery trilogy has become exactly that for me - reminding me of all the reasons why I love literature. Kudos to the author for a job exceptionally well-done, and I cannot wait to see what else Katherine Arden has in store for us. Total book love.The thing that almost destroyed me, though, was Solovey‘s death. That horse was just the purest thing ever, and I sobbed my way through The Winter of the Witch, thinking he was gone forever. I will never forgive you for this, Katherine Arden, never! Still, I suppose it gave us the chance to get to know Pozhar, and I did love her, too. No one could ever have replaced Solovey, though. Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!