I read this for school and it was fine, just not something I would ever pick up on my own.

2.5/5 stars

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one wasn't quite as good. The main problem is the pacing, which is fantastic for the first third and last third of the book, but really lagged in the middle. There were times when I was reading that I was frustrated with how hard it was for me to stay focused and interested to the point where I though about not finishing it. I really liked the overall plot, even if it was a little predictable at times, it just needed to be paced better and written in a more engaging way. I do like the fairytale like writing, but that kind of writing only works for me if something interesting is happening.

I generally liked the characters, but I was sometimes irritated with Vasya and her refusal to listen to Sasha and Olga or at least recognize that they know more about the politics and social expectations of Moscow. I know they don't always listen to her either, but she also lies to them about how and why she left home. Vasya waiting so long to tell them the truth also irritated me because the discussion about religion in the first book could have been extended in a really interesting way if we got to se how Sasha and Olga process what Vasya claims in the context of their Christian beliefs competing with their desire to believe their sister. I really liked Sasha and Olga as characters, but I wanted to see how this conflict between religion and family panned out for them and it could have been something to explore in the middle of the book where the plot slows down so much. The discussion of religion was also one of my favorite parts of the first book so I was disappointed there wasn't much of it in this one. Vasya's actions with Olga at the end also really bothered me.

Even though there were things I didn't like, I still really like the world, the ways the politics and magic work, and the historical accuracy. I also liked the villain in this better than the first one and that the stakes are higher. The other side characters and antagonists are interesting as well. Despite my frustration with this book I might still at least try to read the next one in the series because I want to know what happens next and some of the things I didn't like about The Girl in the Tower could be resolved in the next book.

3.o/5 stars

While I generally enjoyed my experience reading this book, it doesn't stand out as a new favorite. It included a lot of common tropes in YA fantasy, which is fine, but not all of them were done well in my opinion and there was nothing original enough about the book to make up for it. My biggest problem is that the main character isn't developed enough for how much time we have in her head and she acts in ways that frustrated me as a reader. Some of that is just a product of her situation, which is understandable, but I would have liked to see more layers to her personality and more growth in how she views other people, especially other women. I did like her relationships with Wren and Aoki, but I would have liked to see more development of her relationship with Blue and the rest of the paper girls. I also wanted more information about the other paper girls in general because knowing more about them through a section/chapter in each of their perspectives could have added a lot to the story as a whole.

I thought the world was interesting and fairly original. I'm interested to know more about it, but I think there was enough information to service the rest of the story, even if it didn't have the detail that some other fantasy books have. The writing was engaging enough to keep me reading, but it was a little over dramatic for me at times. The pacing was slow in places, which didn't seem necessary considering how long the book is and how underdeveloped the main character is.

I did overall enjoy reading this and I think I would have loved it when I was younger. I might be growing out of YA fantasy in some ways, but I think someone newer to the genre might enjoy this more, especially if they are looking for f/f representation or East Asian representation in fantasy.

4.5/5 stars

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. It's dark and suspenseful and just plain entertaining. I could not put this book down. The author does and amazing job of developing the characters and the world in such a short time. I really enjoy magic competitions in books and this one was a lot of fun to read about. I also appreciated that the plot had actual stakes ad developed in ways I didn't expect. For such a fast-paced and short book, every single character felt complete and will-rounded and complex. The writing is very efficient, which usually works because it allows for the fast-paced plot and character/world building. However, sometimes it was hard to tell who was speaking in long passages of back and forth dialogue. I thought the overall style and feel of the writing fit the story well, though

I really loved this book, but I wish it had been a little longer so we could get even more development of the characters and world. We got enough for the story to make sense and for me to be invested in what was happening, but there's no reason there couldn't have been more, especially since this is a stand alone. However, I only say that because I loved the plot and characters and world that we do get.