Review | Kathleen Gati narrates the second installment of Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy

The Girl in the Tower
by Katherine Arden
(read by Kathleen Gati)
Random House Audiobooks

3.5/5 stars

Part two of the Winternight series continues the story of Vasya Petrovna, a Russian girl who first appeared inThe Bear and the Nightingale (2017). Vasya discovers a magical snowbound world, magical powers and magical beings, including frost demon Morozk. The sequel opens with Vasya disguised as a boy and the deception is justified when she encounters a band of tartars whose hob­bies include arson and kidnapping girls.

As Vasya’s bond with Morozk deepens, despite an age difference of possibly hundreds of years, romance seems on the cards. Kathleen Gati’s stilted narration is suitably sombre but also mono­tonous. The Russian accent she adopts for dialogue livens things immensely. Great, absorbing fun. James Kidd

Off the Charts: The Hidden Lives and Lessons of American Child Prodigies
by Ann Hulbert
(read by Kirsten Potter)
Random House Audio