The Girl in the Tower

I don’t normally write reviews, but this is the first book in a long time I just couldn’t finish. The first book was painful for me, and this one was so frustrating I stopped 3/4 the way through. And I NEVER quit books. It feels like a betrayal. The book is a giant miscommunication/pointless secret. The overarching plot moved soooo slow, with a romance constantly providing obvious suggestions that need to just pan out. I found myself not caring at all about the current predicament, and just wanting the actual story to happen. Vasilisa is so obviously good at everything (of course she can fight well, and ride a horse well, and win races, and everything else), who’s only flaw seeming to be stubbornness and arrogance. I don’t know why but this book just wasn’t for me.

I read a hard copy of first book in this series and really enjoyed it so I figured I’d listen to the 2nd book on audible. However, I feel like I missed a lot listening to this book. By listening to it I couldn’t quite visualize the story and the characters in the same way as when I read the first book. There was just too much going on to take in and weave together. The story line in general wasn’t as good as the first either. I think I may try reading the hard copy and maybe all of the small details, nuances and foreshadowing won’t be lost in translation.

Extremely slow @ first.. painfully so.. But don’t give up as it turns in a truly beautiful Russian fairy tail.. princess Vile villains true heroines and beautiful bewitched horses..

I still loved the story, the overall plot and conclusions. But about halfway through, Vasya\’s impulsiveness lost its charm and became annoying. It\’s not enjoyable to keep using a (main) character flaw repeatedly to move the story along. It makes the main character look like an idiot and seems to make it so that her suffering is deserved. I had wished for a slightly wiser Vasya in this book. Not this impulsive, unthinking, short-sighted girl playing at \”independence\”. I hope the growth she exhibited towards the end is maintained in the next book. I was glad to see what had become of Olga and Sasha. I think their characterisation was realistic, even though they were harsh. Kathleen Gati\’s performance is impeccable.

Just as in the first book in this series, I felt a strong connection to Vasya despite the differences in age, era, surroundings. This second book was every bit as captivating as the first and I look forward to the third!

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member