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Vasilisa’s people have condemned her as a witch. Driven from her home by frighted villagers, she has only two options: marriage or the convent. She cannot bring herself to accept either fate, though. Instead, she dresses as a boy and sets off astride her stallion, Solovey, for adventure.
But when Vasilisa confronts bandits raiding small villages and stealing their young girls, she’s considered a hero for her brave actions. Suddenly she finds herself in Moscow and reunited with her sister and brother, who are now a part of the Grand Prince’s inner circle.
If the Grand Prince of Moscow — or anyone, for that matter — discovers her deception and her true identity as a woman, there will be terrible consequences for her and her family. Moscow is surrounded in intrigues and mysteries, and untangling herself from the city may be harder than Vasilisa imagined. A grave threat lies in wait for Moscow, and Vasilisa may be the only one bold enough to face the truth of it.
The Girl in the Tower picks up immediately after the events of The Bear and the Nightingale. Like the first book in the series, the story in this book develops slowly with beautiful atmospheric writing and setting. The weaving of supernatural elements feels so natural it’s easy to believe medieval Russia really was once a land haunted by spirits and mythical beings.
Still, I read the story slowly. I wasn’t bored, exactly, but while the writing was beautiful, it also came across as dense prose with a lush setting. Most of the action didn’t materialize until the end of the book, and the reader witnesses with vividness (and perhaps too much detail) what life was like in the city of Moscow. The more I read, the more I longed for the dangerous forests, and I hope the third book will return there again.
Rated: Moderate. There are 7 uses of moderate language, 4 uses of mild language, and 5 uses of the name of Deity in vain. Violence includes razed villages and murdered people, girls kidnapped by bandits, and a bloody childbirth resulting in a stillborn baby. Sexual content includes a woman being confronted and cornered in a bathhouse by men intent on raping her (she gets away). Men talk of tumbling girls, and there is talk of having sex in payment for saving a life. A man drunkenly grabs a woman’s breast. A man forces himself upon a woman — groping and kissing (with tongue) is mentioned, but again, the woman gets away. A woman is stripped half-naked before a crowd as a way to humiliate her and reveal her gender after having masqueraded as a boy. While giving birth, the pregnant woman is naked in a bathhouse surrounded by women. Wet clothing reveals a woman’s breasts through her clothing. A woman changes clothing before a male priest.
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