REVIEWED BY
Micky Barnard
Amid the Winter Snow by Grace DravenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 stars overall
In the Darkest Midnight - Grace Draven 4.5 stars
Grace Draven delivered on a novella with the fullest sense of story, characterisation and completion. It had a seasonal feel in terms of some key moments in the story, though of course not traditional Christmas. This is a story told over more than a decade that is set in a world tenuously connected to Bast Haradis with a cameo from a character from Radiance and Eidolon. Jahna was a wonderful character, with that departure from traditional beauty that Grace Draven is so good at. Her admiration for Radimar is something to behold, young crush at first and over time their connection was beautiful. The world and the characters pulled me in so completely, the writing slipped into my imagination with ease. This winter anthology started off in the best way possible.
The Chosen - Thea Harrison 4 stars
This is my first read by Thea Harrison and I can say I’m infected in the best way by the story and characters that she weaved. This magical story of war, confrontation, leadership, desire and connection was superb. Wulf was both a bad and good man wrapped up in one, formidable and yet honourable. Lily was the chosen one, leader of her people at the abbey. She was a very interesting character to get to know and I loved their chemistry together. I would have to say that I came to this anthology for Grace Draven and found Thea Harrison of a similar style, so I’ll be checking out her work.
The Storm - Elizabeth Hunter 2.5 stars
My least favourite of the anthology, partly because angel stories aren’t really my bag (despite the subtlety of the context) and partly because I just didn’t gel with the storyline. I think this is because it is a novella from a wider series and I lacked knowledge of the world building necessary to appreciate it fully.
The Snows of Windoven - Jeffe Kennedy 3.5 stars
Whilst this book is a novella from a series I’ve not read, I did not feel disadvantaged. It was cleverly written so I could understand everything I needed for the purposes of this story and it’s world. The focus was a relationship of some longevity, a queen and consort and their battle to keep or lose what they had. It was sensual and riveting with a fantasy world that piqued my interest.
A copy of this anthology was provided by the publisher through netgalley in return for a honest review.
Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.
View all my reviews
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