The Girl in the Tower Review

The Girl in the Tower continues pretty much straight after The Bear and the Nightingale concluded. In this sequel we follow some different perspectives, Sasha and Olga who are both currently living in Moscow and we continue on with Vasya’s journey after she fled home on Solovey’s back.

I like that we get more insight into the court at Moscow and the power struggles that The Grand Prince has to deal with however, for me I am not the biggest fan of political fantasies so that element of the story kind of dragged for me.

The pace of the story started off really fast, which I enjoyed, it really sucked me right into the book. The whole mystery behind the bandits and who was behind the fires and the missing girls was intriguing and held me attention. I like that we followed Sasha’s perspective and followed his journey in finding the bandits and then when we finally got to Vasya’s perspective we had some context.

Sasha was a little up and down for me. I didn’t quite know what to feel about him. I thought he was integral to the story line but he didn’t really do anything remarkable that cemented his status for me. Sure he was a good strategist and the Grand Prince really held him in high regard but I didn’t like how he doubted Vasya at every turn. I thought since he was the closest to her at the start of the series and being a priest he would be a little less judgmental.

Olga I didn’t quite warm to in this book either. I thought she was really narrow-minded when it came to her sister and she was quite combative with her at the start. I don’t understand how she can’t just accept who Vasya is as a person, I realize she probably thought that her sister had grown out of her wild ways but upon realizing that she hasn’t I don’t get why she wouldn’t embrace her. I feel she has been molded into that one sided perspective of how a woman should behave hidden away in her tower. She is ultimately trying to protect her family but she could of used a little empathy for her younger sister.

The magical side of the story though is what really prevailed for me. We got a little further into the mystery of Vasya’s grandmother which I LOVED! That was one of my hopes that the books would delve more deeper into who Tamara is and what drove her to Moscow all those years ago. The twist with Kasyan completely blindsided me. I had a feeling he wasn’t who he made himself out to be, especially with the timing of meeting Vasya and then her being driven out of the town by bandits trying to capture her. I didn’t anticipate how much of an impact he was going to make and it was highly entertaining.

The budding romance with Vasya I didn’t like at first, however it is growing on me. I have a feeling the next book will the focus of that given the title and I’m hoping I’m not left feeling disappointed. I already have a few predictions in mind and it will be fascinating to see whether or not I’m right!

⭐️4/5 The magical/fantastical elements really saved the book for me!