The Girl in the Tower

Starred review from August 21, 2017
Arden builds on the considerable promise of 2017’s The Bear and the Nightingale with this moving continuation of Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna’s journey across 14th-century Russia after the death of her father. Determined not to marry or wither away at a convent, Vasya, disguised as a young man, sets out on her magnificent horse to see the world. Bandits are burning villages and kidnapping young girls across the Russian countryside, and Vasya’s rescue of three of those girls leads her to the Lavra, where she finds her brother, who is now a monk called Brother Aleksandr, and the Grand Prince of Moscow, Dmitrii Ivanovich. After a battle with the bandits, they set off for Moscow, and Vasya’s delight at the unfettered freedom that her disguise affords her among Moscow’s exciting sights and sounds is tempered by a plot to unseat Dmitrii and the awakening of her magical powers. Vasya is a remarkable heroine, strong of will and sharp of mind, and her stark realization that her desire for freedom may have consequences for those she loves adds a layer to this sensual, beautifully written, and emotionally stirring fantasy. Fairy tales don’t get better than this. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit.

November 1, 2017
An impetuous young woman disguises herself as a boy and rides a mysterious horse through a lush and forbidding version of medieval Russia in the second novel in a proposed trilogy.Vasya, who came of age in Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale (2017), has no plans to settle down after the tragic events that end the first novel. With the help of the enigmatic frost-demon Morozko, who feels a fatally human attraction to Vasya, the young woman learns to wield a knife and make herself at home in the frozen forest. After rescuing several girls stolen from burned-out villages, she makes her way to Moscow, where she finds her sister Olga, now a conservative royal matron, and her brother Sasha, a monk with a swashbuckling side. She faces a force even stronger and more malevolent than the human outsiders who threaten Moscow and its rulers. Arden, who is obviously steeped in knowledge of the history and landscape of medieval Russia, uses that background as a playground for the imagination, creating a world in which the mythical intertwines with the historical. House and bathhouse spirits play a critical role in the action, and ghosts are as real as Tatar invaders. While the novel occasionally falls prey to the typical problems of the second part of a trilogy, awkwardly shoehorning in characters from the first novel and broadly hinting at issues to be resolved in the third, for the most part it stands solidly on its own as an independent work. Its outspokenly feminist themes color the story without overwhelming it. The characters, if painted in broad strokes, are vivid and personable, and the brutal landscape, both physical and social, convincingly shapes their destinies.A compelling, fast-moving story that grounds fantasy elements in a fascinating period of Russian history.

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Starred review from August 1, 2017
Now that her fellow villagers believe she's a witch, Vasya knows she can't stay with her family, so despite the dangers of traveling alone as a young woman, she loads up her pack and rides her beloved steed, Solovey, into the winter wilderness, south toward Moscow. Meanwhile, roving hordes of bandits are kidnapping young girls and burning villages to the ground all over Russia, and Vasya's brother, Sasha, tries to advise the Grand Prince on how best to handle the growing threat. There are a lot of moving parts in Arden's follow-up to The Bear and the Nightingale (2017), but she unspools them with stunning ease, expanding the scope of the story and building thrilling tension, particularly when Vasya, disguised as a boy, garners praise for her bravery from the Grand Prince and catches the eye of a mysterious stranger. But that's not her only transformation: in the first installment, Vasya was strong, capable, and virtually unstoppable, but the politically tense environment in Moscow is a wholly new challenge, and she faces a completely different brand of magic in the city. Arden's lush, lyrical writing cultivates an intoxicating, visceral atmosphere, and her marvelous sense of pacing carries the novel along at a propulsive clip. A masterfully told story of folklore, history, and magic with a spellbinding heroine at the heart of it all.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2017

After the events of The Bear and the Nightingale, Vasya has been driven from her village as an outcast and branded a witch. Instead of going to a convent or marrying against her will, she disguises herself as a boy and takes off on her stallion Solovey. Following a battle with bandits that catches the attention of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she is reunited with her sister Olga and brother Sasha. However, there is more intrigue and mystery in Moscow, as Vasya confronts not only a threat to her new home but also the knowledge that Morozko's (the frost king) interest in her and her psychic powers may not be as benevolent as once thought. VERDICT Arden once again delivers an engaging fantasy that mixes Russian folklore and history with delightful worldbuilding and lively characters who are growing into the roles they are meant to play. [See Prepub Alert, 6/12/17.]--KC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017

Following her absorbingly vibrant and highly praised debut, the LibraryReads pick The Bear and the Nightingale, Arden returns with a sequel that continues the story of the brave and impetuous Vasya in a fabulist medieval Russia. Now orphaned, Vasya is thrown out of her home by the villagers, who suspect her of witchery, and faces the grim choice of life in a convent or marriage to a Muscovite prince. Instead, she disguises herself as a boy, leaps on her beloved horse, Solovey, and rides off to glory as she battles bandits and a growing threat to the kingdom that only she has the power to counter.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.