First book of 2018! Woot!

Katherine Arden was one of my favorite discoveries of 2017, which I know isn't that original a thing to say, because who didn't read The Bear and the Nightingale last year? So I was happy to see that The Girl in the Tower builds on the good things from the first book while developing Vasya and taking her out of her familiar surroundings. She still is the fiercely independent girl who bristles against societal constraints, but now she's been out in the world and really tested those limits. She's suffered and saved people and proven that she's really a badass, in no small part because of her compassion and her ability to problem-solve when things go spectacularly wrong. (And they do that often in this book.) She is imperfect. She makes mistakes and stupid decisions and takes so many risks. She doesn't listen to people when she should. And I love that about her.

Spoiler

I also love that she knees Konstantin in the balls. Super satisfying. Should have done it sooner. Should do it again.

I cannot wait for the third book to come out in August and teach me even more reasons why I'm glad that I don't live in Medieval Russia. In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for anything I can learn about Russian folklore, because how have I not given it a second thought before reading these books (beyond liking Baba Yaga a whole lot)? A shame.