Reviews with content warning for Bullying - A Winter's Promise

pretty disappointed in this, only because I thought I would like it (I didn't know anything going into this but heard good reviews) and I definitely did not. the last 150 pages (of my 494 edition) was interesting but I hated the beginning part and I just hated all the characters and the world argh. also I don't know if the original french used fancy language but the translation used heaps of higher calibre words, in that I actually googled the definition of a word... and I've never done that before. probably won't continue with the series for a long time.

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emgulph's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As lyrical and confusing the world building could be at times, I powered through with absolute delight because I just know this dude is going to be dreamy soon. Jokes aside, I ate this up

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morganphoenix's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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bookspaperink's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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sarahthebookwhore's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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mxrumphius's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Ophelia has lived on Anima, an Ark populated almost entirely by her family, her whole life. When her family arranges her marriage with a mysterious man from the Pole, a distant Ark, she must move there, accompanied only by her godmother and armed with her Animist powers: "reading" objects' histories by touch and mirror travel. She soon learns that her life has become far more dangerous than she ever imagined, and she must decide who to trust in order to survive the brutal Ark.

3. 5 stars

I had high hopes for this book after seeing it on booktok, and while I enjoyed it, it didn't completely live up to those expectations. The world-building was a bit heavy-handed, but I really liked how the setting felt like a book version of a Studio Ghibli movie. It was a bit confusing trying to follow the details of the Arks, families, and magic system, but ultimately it created an interesting universe. The characters also weren't always likable, but Dabos did a good job (almost too good!) creating tension so that I never knew who to trust. Ophelia is not like most YA protagonists; not only is she mostly very quiet and thoughtful, but she barely used her powers throughout the book. I honestly didn't know that this book was originally written in French until about a third of the way through, when I looked it up because the writing style and word choice was often a bit odd. I'm not sure if that's due to the translator or if it's Dabos' writing style, but it definitely added to the tone of the book.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):

Kind of a cliffhanger, I guess? The end isn't really happy or sad, and I honestly still don't 100% know what to think about most of the characters, so we'll see.

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aunteaandbiscuits's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A slow set up that leads to a much more exciting sequel.

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