The Girl in the Tower

Quick Mini Review for The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden!

I read The Bear and the Nightingale, the first of this series, last winter. I found it at a used bookstore in the fall and was so excited to read it, but I saved it until the weather turned colder so I could read it in winter. I loved how the storyline was based on Russian folktales, and the magical element really brought the story to life for me and left me completely engaged. So when a friend received an advanced reader copy of this second book, The Girl in the Tower, and was more than happy to loan it to me, I didn’t hesitate. This second book continues in the story as we follow our female protagonist in her adventure. I think I loved the first book a bit more than this second one because it was so new and so magical, but the second one was wonderful in that it let me fall right back into the world that Katherine Arden created for her readers. I can’t wait for the third book to be released so I can fall back into that world and continue watching our characters develop into their roles.

Giveaway Time!

The day has finally arrived and I’m SO excited to share this Tolkien giveaway with all my followers on Instagram!

Spinning Silver

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫/5

If you like:  Myths or fables, Russian stories and settings, a bit of magic, cold and wintry climates, small aspects of faith woven into the storyline, multiple narrators and their rotating points-of-view, books over 400 pages

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August hasn’t been a really great reading month in the way of “amount of books” I’ve been able to knock out so far, but it’s been really great in “quality of books” I’ve read so far!  Spinning Silver was such a beautiful book and though I have maybe one little caveat, it fully deserves the five-star rating I’m happy to give.

July Reading Recap

Total Books Read:  Nine  (5 audio, 4 paper)

Favorites this Month: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows) and As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride (Cary Elwes)

My July recap is short and sweet.  I get down to the basics of each book in just 5 key points and you can decide for yourself whether or not it’s worth picking up!

The Wonder

Rating: ✫✫✫✫/5

If you like:  Ireland, history, the 19th century, backlist books, questions of faith, questions of morality, slow-building suspense, books under 300 pages

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Oh man, this book.  Based loosely on the many tragic and sometimes fraudulent stories of the “Fasting Girls” of the Victorian Era, this story is one for the books and one that I’m still working out for myself even as I write.