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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Winter of the Wicked is a spellbinding witchy read that explores sisterly sacrifices and the length one would take to protect loved ones. A beautifully woven tale of love, loss, & finding oneself again.
After the shocking events of Autumn of the Grimoire, readers get ready to explore a new perspective, Wendolyn (sister of winter). The moment her sister, Agatha, shook the foundations of their rules and beliefs Winnie has struggled with who she is and everything she was supposed to stand for. If that wasn’t enough, thoughts of her past and secrets she has kept from her sisters plague her as well.
JL Vampa did a fantastic job weaving Winnie’s own tale alongside Agatha & Grimm’s current storyline. Both tales & perspectives felt necessary in the development of character arcs for Winnie and the rest of the sisters. The world is a bit expanded with the addition of new characters and the expansion of the old characters. Nonetheless, Vampa does not disappoint with continued world building and creating more lovable characters.
Throughout this novel, we get to see Winnie struggle against her fears, face her flaws, and embrace the hauntings of her past. Her complex character slowly but surely unfolds as the story continues. Because of this, you can’t help but fall in love with her. Winnie is definitely the mother hen of the sisters, and will do what it takes to protect them. I relate to Winnie on a different level than I did with Agatha. My heart ached for her. I felt her burdens to the very core of my soul. I wanted everything to work for her and her sisters, not to mention for her and Laurent as well. Laurent aka Lau is your mysterious, hopeless romantic circus master. Need I say more?! That should be reason enough. I should think! Another swoony worthy man going after his only love. He does everything to protect his woman. Also, in the circus troupe, may I introduce you to your knife master, Tomás. He's a jokester, a flirt, caring, and loyal. The chemistry between him and Eleanor is just perfect! Tomás teaches Eleanor, Agatha’s old maid, how to throw knives. Honestly, I love this trope when men teach their women to defend themselves. *fans oneself*
While I always relate to and love Agatha’s story more, I loved Winnie’s for totally different reasons. Vampa did not disappoint with book two. I’m excited to see where JL Vampa takes Sorscha’s story next! Not to mention that Vampa rudely left me hanging with THAT ending! Excuse me ma'am, but how dare you hurt my babies like that?! We need to have a serious talk with you and I.
Read if you like:
- Second chances
- Sisterly love
- Winter witch vibes
- Touch her & unalive
- Political intrigue
- Caraval/circus vibes
- True loves
- Multiple POVs
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I need spring of ruin now!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Dove, whatsoever you’ve lost, remember that family can be made. Chosen.”⠀
⠀
JL Vampa, Winter of the Wicked ⠀
⠀
⠀
📖 Winter of the Wicked by JL Vampa is one of those rare books where the sequel is just as good if not better than the first in the series. This book is stuffed so full of witchy intrigue, dynamic characters, and found family vibes that it made me want to cry happy tears! I absolutely love that you get to see each of the sister's personalities develop and also get a glimpse of their backstory. The sisterhood, while sometimes strained, is deep and loving with each sister pouring into one another in unexpected ways. I adored 😉 some of the newer characters that were introduced and can't wait to see more of their story continuing in the series. ⠀
⠀
💙 Now let's talk about our woman of the hour, the winter witch herself, Winnie. Winnie is amazing!!! I did not think I would love her as much as I do, but she is truly a sister of the soul. She exudes oldest child angst and her wit is as sharp as a knife. I related to her in so many ways, from little things like her tchotchke collections to big personality points like never feeling like you've done enough for your loved ones. She's a phenomenal character and I hope you end up loving her as much as I do. ⠀
⠀
✨ Winter of the Wicked is a magical, dark romance with a dash of spice and a heaping measure of spellbinding sisterhood. Five Stars across the board!⠀
⠀
JL Vampa, Winter of the Wicked ⠀
⠀
⠀
📖 Winter of the Wicked by JL Vampa is one of those rare books where the sequel is just as good if not better than the first in the series. This book is stuffed so full of witchy intrigue, dynamic characters, and found family vibes that it made me want to cry happy tears! I absolutely love that you get to see each of the sister's personalities develop and also get a glimpse of their backstory. The sisterhood, while sometimes strained, is deep and loving with each sister pouring into one another in unexpected ways. I adored 😉 some of the newer characters that were introduced and can't wait to see more of their story continuing in the series. ⠀
⠀
💙 Now let's talk about our woman of the hour, the winter witch herself, Winnie. Winnie is amazing!!! I did not think I would love her as much as I do, but she is truly a sister of the soul. She exudes oldest child angst and her wit is as sharp as a knife. I related to her in so many ways, from little things like her tchotchke collections to big personality points like never feeling like you've done enough for your loved ones. She's a phenomenal character and I hope you end up loving her as much as I do. ⠀
⠀
✨ Winter of the Wicked is a magical, dark romance with a dash of spice and a heaping measure of spellbinding sisterhood. Five Stars across the board!⠀
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
✨Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review✨ No big spoilers in my review but marking it with a spoiler warning just in case!
4.75/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Where to even begin?? I fell in love with this world in Autumn and was so happy to get to dive back in Winter!
I was excited to learn more about our Icy sister Winny and book 2 delivered!
I thought I related the most to Aggie in book one but there are parts of Winny that just wrenched my heart. She’s so much more than her cold exterior and we got to peel away those frosty layers and years of sadness, trauma, and loss she experienced being bound by the Grimoire and her responsibility to protect her sisters who she loves so fiercely.
I would have never expected her character to have travelled with a carnival, nor did I expect to love the element of the Druids as much as I did! So unique, unexpected, and fun! And the heat between she and Laurent?!? WOWZA.
There’s a lot to love about the book and we get to see the world and events from many different perspectives.
The complexities and differences between the sisters’ personalities really get to shine and I can’t wait to learn more about Sisters Spring and Summer.
We get suspense, heartbreak, mystery, and several OMG/WTF moments. The last act will have you on the edge of your seat and hate to say it, but the ending will leave you wanting book 3 asap because of the massive cliffhanger!
In the end, the story of the Sisters Solstice is an intricately beautiful love story. It is driven by its characters and their relentless and complex love for one another (familial, platonic, and romantic love). It’s what hooked me in Autumn and will keep me eagerly awaiting Spring!!
…….
With the multiple POVs came my only teenie tiny criticism. It felt a bit like some of the POV breaks came at odd points in the plot progression and it was a little hard to keep track of the overall story especially with flashbacks and dreams being tossed in. I know when I read again it’ll hopefully feel more prepared and easy to follow, but as a reader that little bit of structure choice was the only thing that didn’t make it as smooth a read as book one. Not the fact that there were multiple POVs (loved them!), just where we flipped back and forth. I’m not a writer so I have no idea if I’m expressing that correctly but that technical aspect of the book was the only thing that kept it from being a full 5 stars.
4.75/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Where to even begin?? I fell in love with this world in Autumn and was so happy to get to dive back in Winter!
I was excited to learn more about our Icy sister Winny and book 2 delivered!
I would have never expected her character to have travelled with a carnival, nor did I expect to love the element of the Druids as much as I did! So unique, unexpected, and fun! And the heat between she and Laurent?!? WOWZA.
There’s a lot to love about the book and we get to see the world and events from many different perspectives.
The complexities and differences between the sisters’ personalities really get to shine and I can’t wait to learn more about Sisters Spring and Summer.
We get suspense, heartbreak, mystery, and several OMG/WTF moments. The last act will have you on the edge of your seat and hate to say it, but the ending will leave you wanting book 3 asap because of the massive cliffhanger!
In the end, the story of the Sisters Solstice is an intricately beautiful love story. It is driven by its characters and their relentless and complex love for one another (familial, platonic, and romantic love). It’s what hooked me in Autumn and will keep me eagerly awaiting Spring!!
…….
With the multiple POVs came my only teenie tiny criticism. It felt a bit like some of the POV breaks came at odd points in the plot progression and it was a little hard to keep track of the overall story especially with flashbacks and dreams being tossed in. I know when I read again it’ll hopefully feel more prepared and easy to follow, but as a reader that little bit of structure choice was the only thing that didn’t make it as smooth a read as book one. Not the fact that there were multiple POVs (loved them!), just where we flipped back and forth. I’m not a writer so I have no idea if I’m expressing that correctly but that technical aspect of the book was the only thing that kept it from being a full 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief
Minor: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
SCREAMING! Huge thanks to JL Vampa, who let me get an ARC of this beauty!
I’ll be fully honest: about halfway through, I wasn’t sure how I would end up rating this— and it was killing me. I like to think of my ratings and reviews as I go, and a few little things were bothering me.
Even with my most favorite characters, universes, books and authors, I try and remain as objective as possible (if I didn’t, I would just review each book I read with some keysmash and move on!)
BUT THEN! The second HALF! THAT ENDING!!
Let me try and put my thoughts in order.
First and foremost, the biggest change compared to book 1: the multiple POVs.
We had so many new POVs and not a single one annoyed me.
It seems quite silly to say, but I have to! Often in multiple POVs books, I am fed up with one or particularly obsessed with another, and therefore don’t fully enjoy each perspective.
In that particular case, JL Vampa’s writing is compelling enough to literally make every POV interesting. This is also helped by solid characterization, the groundwork of which was already laid in the first volume, so you already have an idea of everyone’s temperament and only get more insight into all their psyches.
Each POV also had its lot of adventures and… this is where it becomes a bit tricky— the narrative felt a bit deconstructed at times, especially in the first half. I’ll remain vague for the sake of a spoiler free review, but there were some decisions or plans made by the characters that I didn’t always understand.
That was mostly because A LOT was in the works and so, to get things moving, we are suddenly given a piece of information here, then another significant information is slipped there— without always seeing the actual development leading to these discoveries.
I think it’s definitely due to the multiple POVs narrative, HOWEVER!! It’s absolutely not a bad thing per se— as stated before, JL Vampa’s writing is as amazing as in Autumn of the Grimoire.
The few insights we had into Sorscha’s POV made me eager for her book (oh I so wished we had gotten more of her and Gaius, they were hilarious, even though Gaius might beg to differ!) and Seleste is warmth and sun incarnated. She is just incredibly wholesome and I need more of her.
Anyways: this series possesses what is now one of my favorite cast of characters and universes.
I still adore Agatha as much as ever and Winnie is such a complex character! I loved that we got to dig into her past and discover the beautiful, delicate and luminous snow under the frozen, thick and impenetrable layer of ice. Some revelations about her past had me sobbing.
All in all, a very solid second volume— 4.25 stars rounded up for GR!
I’ll never thank JL Vampa enough for the opportunity to read more of this incredible world early. Can’t wait for the rest of the Sisters’ adventures!