Starting out the new year with a beautiful and wonderful book! The writing was just as gorgeous as the first one, which I continue to love!

I loved this second installment of the Winternight Trilogy. Second books often drag for me simply because they focus more on the characters and setting up for the final book, but I felt that this avoided all those problems! I felt this one to be more plot heavy than the first and I loved the direction this took. One of my favorite troupes is women pretending to be men, and this delivered in the best way!

I continue to love Vasya and the natural strength Arden has given her. My biggest critique would be that I had hoped Vasya would learn to do magic on her own in this book. At times she became very dependent on others, when my favorite aspect of her has been her independence. So I hope to see that in the third book.

Finally, the slow, soft romance between her and Morozko is so sweet and fits perfectly into the story that's being told. It doesn't feel forced and is not a main plot point but I enjoy watching this small relationship grow. I can't wait to see how this trilogy is finished!