Winternight Trilogy Readalong! discussion

In my edition, Part Two ends on page 327 and with the words "sighed out a breath and followed".

What do you think so far!
If you had to rate the book right now, what would you rate it?
Is there anything you are hoping will happen in the remaining third of the book?
What do you think of Vasya so far?

No spoilers for the last section please!😊

Still loving this. Liking Anna less and less. I can already tell this is gonna be a 5 star read for me.

Wow, I absolutely love this book! Thank you so much Megan for "making me" read this series :)

I can't even explain why I love the book so much. I really enjoy stories where we follow characters from childhood to adulthood and see them growing up and get to know their families. Vasya is an amazing main character. I love how much she cares about all the house spirits and is able to talk to the horses. I'm also intrigued by Konstantin to be honest. I mean he seems to be an asshole so far but maaaaaybe he can change?!?

If I had to rate this book right now it would be a 5 Star, a lot of bad stuff would need to happen to lower my rating at this point!

I'm really enjoying this book! Arden has made this story feel familiar in a timeless sort of way, which I absolutely love. I love how it took a bit of a darker turn, and how some of the more nefarious spirits and creatures are coming out now. I was honestly really creeped out by how the Bear has been speaking to Konstantin and posing as God, and I was especially creeped out by the scene where he briefly appears in the church. I think Arden has done a really great job making me love and fear the different spirits.

I also think Arden has done an amazing job with the characters! I love Vasya and her wild will and determination. Her relationship with the house spirits makes me so happy, and I also really enjoy how close she is with her brother, Alyosha. I am glad that she's got someone who takes her wildness in stride and loves her for it instead of trying to tamp it down. Then there's Konstantin, whom I've really enjoyed as a character. I think he is prideful and desires the command and fear/love of the people, but at the end of the day I also think he truly wants to help save them as well. He's so well-written.

I'm really not sure what I would rate The Bear and the Nightingale at this point. I'm trying to be more stingy when it comes to handing out 5-star reviews, but this one is pretty close to getting one from me.

For the last section I want the story behind the Bear and the Nightingale, and if we don't get the story behind these two spirits for this book, then I really want a solid set-up for where the over-all story is going for the next two books. I'm hoping that Olga and Sasha's stories are going to come back into play or that we are at least going to be guided in that direction for the rest of the series, because otherwise the whole set-up for them in the beginning of the book is going to feel a bit unnecessary for me.

Regardless of what happens, I am definitely vibing with this book and the story would really have to crash and burn for me to not want to continue with the series.

I really love how environmental this story is. These last few chapters have been really creepy. I hope there will be more development of Konstantin's character, because there seem to be many directions he could go in.

For now I would rate it 4 stars. I've been enjoying the story but it's not my absolute favourite. However, that may easily change with the second and third book.

I would really want to find out the story behind the Bear and the Nightingale. I would also like for Anna to be discredited, she annoys me so much.

I really like how strong Vasya is. I hope she gets to make decisions for herself from now on.

this part of the book is flying a lot faster for me, I liked part 1 because of all the tension that was being built and now we are seeing all those points in motion. I love alyosha and vasya's dynamic, like he really went to dig up that grave with her! i agree that scene took a darker turn than I had anticipated but I think it adds to the gravity of the situation tbh. theres this atmosphere of quiet malice built in this section and obvs we know why - with no tributes given to the house spirits but the people in the village (while some suspect) dont know this.
anyway this is a very long way of saying I love the atmosphere in this book, I love vasya and alyosha and I really appreciate that irina and vasya's relationship isnt just them hating each other which I was worried would happen. if I had to rate right now it would be a 4 star i think, and I'm hoping to see more of the spirits and the magic vasya is capable of in the next section!

oh and while Anna is very much a character that is cruel to her stepdaughter and I dont like the way she lashes out at others around her, I will say Arden has done a great job in making me at least understand and sympathise with Anna. Vasya and Anna are almost foils to each other in the sense that they both have the ability to see the spirits but their responses are so different and it's showing the paths that this ability can lead you on

I am really enjoying myself reading this, it's much better than part one, for sure. I love the characterisation and the atmosphere, but I do have some things that irk me still, mainly the arranged marriage, age gaps and the constant "you're a woman, so your place is to give birth to sons", all of which I can see and understand in the historical point of view, but doesn't make me any less uncomfortable... current rating would be about.... 3-3.5?

I love Vasya, she's impulsive, but sweet and brave and a great character. Love Alyosha too.

I'm curious about the rest of the book, all I can think is that she's gonna defeat the one eyed man. that's all I've got haha

I'm really enjoying this so far! Am I still confused when it comes to Morozoko and the Bear? Absolutely. Do I care? Absolutely not. The atmosphere is so immersive, I don't even mind that I'm confused! And, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the answers I want soon!

I think this is sitting at a solid 4 star for me. That could absolutely change here in the last part. This is a pretty typical rating for me when it comes to fantasy/magical realism and the first book in a series.

I mean...I kinda hope Anna stops being such a jerk. I saw someone earlier say that Arden has done a good job of making readers sympathize with Anna, and I absolutely agree with that. So, I understand why she is the way she is and why she is making her decisions, but it is still so infuriating. Especially because of how wonderful Vasya is.

Speaking of, I love Vasya! Her relationship with the spirits/old gods is endearing. She is also a very strong person considering she knows everyone thinks she is a witch, but she sacrifices so much to keep them safe. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

Part One was a little slow going for me. Don't know if it was my mood, the setting, or the characters, but I wasn't hooked. The tides seem to be turning in part two, though!

Also feeling very thankful for the sun right now 🤪

The link for the live discussion show is now up!

Set your reminders - it's happening at 8:30pm GMT tomorrow (1st Dec)!!

Can't wait to chat about this book with all of you!

https://youtu.be/Jz0rYBbKpXs