"Witch ... We call such women so, because we have no other name" This sequel really blew past. It was very different from the first in that the setting shifted largely to Moscow, and in all honesty I had much favored the more rural (and enchanting) Lesnaya Zemlya. With the city came more emphasis on politics and battle and a storyline with quite a bit in common with Mulan. There wasn't as much interaction with the Chyerti unfortunately, though horses did stay at the forefront. I did like that Sasha and Olga were brought back in since I missed them in the latter parts of the first book, but they were a bit underwhelming in their depth, and considering Marya is the "girl in the tower" I thought we'd have more on her as well. Kasyan was definitely interesting though (so Arden's record of complicated villains continues). I'm so keen to know more about Marya and Tamara and Tamara's mother especially and I hope we get into it in book 3, but also more into explaining the mechanics of some of the magic....why is it only girls who seem to get the second sight naturally, can anyone do magic if they just believe something to be different than what it is, so on.

Wow wow wow, this may be shooting straight into my favorite books list (thank you again Jackie for the rec half a decade ago). It ticks so many boxes for me - fantasy story in a somewhat familiar realistic setting, strong witchy heroine, interesting secondary characters and relationships, endearing magical creatures, the list goes on. First off I LOVED the incorporation of Russian terms and folklore and spirits, and Katherine Arden did a remarkable job of treating these elements in a thoughtful and respectful and knowledgeable manner, which cannot be said for some other authors (*cough* Leigh Bardugo). It's set around the 14th/15th century so it's not at all modern. There is also a glossary so the story is entirely accessible to non-Russian speakers, but has plenty of little Easter eggs for those who do know the language. The domovoi and vazila and rusalka will forever have my heart. As to the characters and story itself, it really was just so fascinating how Vasya essentially finds herself in a folktale. There was a gorgeous blending of myth and reality, and it was also really interesting how the reader gets to be introduced to all those pieces through the perspective of different characters so we don't immediately know who is right and what to trust. Anna's character was one I found extremely compelling, naturally because she's a foil to Vasya, but also because I just love a complex and somewhat sympathetic villain. Pyotr too I found myself thinking a lot about, especially with how utterly human his internal struggle was between his love for his family, his cultural values and beliefs, and his duty to his people. I suppose my only critique is that part 3 of the book did go a little bit too quick for me and I didn't really expect to get to the resolution that we did within this book. That said, I am grateful there wasn't a crazy cliffhanger and the door is still open for a natural continuation into the sequel.