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dienercontent's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thepagelady's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book to read for this time of year! The author has created a chilly but absolutely beautiful winter icy world with an ice kingdom & a magical polar bear! I really liked Rowan, the main character! She isn't perfect actually she's pretty selfish and knows she is but it was nice to see her character develop throughout the book! The other character would be the polar bear. I loved him! There's a lot of action in this book which made for an entertaining & exciting read! As for the retelling of the Beauty & the Beast I rather liked the author's twists! I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. Maybe we'll see some more Rowan in the future!
fmcfranny's review against another edition
4.0
So this was a unique and wonderful retelling of sleeping beauty but not the same old thing you've always read. This had a twist. I know this is the 3rd book in a series but I only read this one and honestly, I had no trouble at all following along. I will likely be adding the others to my to-read list. Authors do not always remember that people change and evolve over time but the character development in this was fantastic and with relatable characters, amazing considering the fairytale aspect but entirely true. The brother-sister relationship made me wish I had a brother! You really should read this if you are a fan of fairytales or even just fantasy in general.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
meisbooknook's review against another edition
5.0
❄️ The prince needs the girl's help to save the kingdom. First she’ll save it, then she’ll steal it back. ❄️
Once you start The Winter Charlatan, you cannot put it down. Rowan is a princess. Or well, she's supposed to be. Knowing that she is supposed to prick her finger and fall into an 100-year sleep on the eve of her 19th birthday, her parents make the decision to swap her for the throne's security. Growing up in the false prince's shadow, she yearns for the day where she will be recognized as the rightful heir.
And she'll do anything to take back her throne.
The world that Victoria built is lovely, and so vivid! I loved discovering world that the characters lived in - particularly the politics behind the kingdoms, and the unique pieces of magic that were part of their day-to-day lives. The pacing in this book was perfect!
I loved seeing Rowan's character development throughout the books! Watching her open herself to those around her, and find the courage to be the Queen that she needed to be was truly inspiring.
I did not mind the lack of romance in this book at all! There was absolutely no room in Rowan's life (or in her mind) for romance, and I never felt as if this book was lacking for it. Definitely a breath of fresh air! I did feel, however, that the extent of some of her friendships were not completely explored.
I enjoyed every minute of this book - especially the plot twists! The ending though...I should have seen it coming but I was in complete and utter denial. I was glad to find out that a second book was coming because I would not have accepted it otherwise
Once you start The Winter Charlatan, you cannot put it down. Rowan is a princess. Or well, she's supposed to be. Knowing that she is supposed to prick her finger and fall into an 100-year sleep on the eve of her 19th birthday, her parents make the decision to swap her for the throne's security. Growing up in the false prince's shadow, she yearns for the day where she will be recognized as the rightful heir.
And she'll do anything to take back her throne.
The world that Victoria built is lovely, and so vivid! I loved discovering world that the characters lived in - particularly the politics behind the kingdoms, and the unique pieces of magic that were part of their day-to-day lives. The pacing in this book was perfect!
I loved seeing Rowan's character development throughout the books! Watching her open herself to those around her, and find the courage to be the Queen that she needed to be was truly inspiring.
I did not mind the lack of romance in this book at all! There was absolutely no room in Rowan's life (or in her mind) for romance, and I never felt as if this book was lacking for it. Definitely a breath of fresh air! I did feel, however, that the extent of some of her friendships were not completely explored.
I enjoyed every minute of this book - especially the plot twists! The ending though...I should have seen it coming but I was in complete and utter denial. I was glad to find out that a second book was coming because I would not have accepted it otherwise
alexandergrantwriter's review against another edition
5.0
❄️ ~ “I couldn’t decide which was worse, but they both sent a chill up my spine that was colder than the wind I’d just endured outside. Colder than the coldest nights in the mountain. That coldness wouldn’t take me. But my fears just might.” ~ ❄️
This book was so amazing!!!! Let me first compliment Victoria for doing such a great job with the atmosphere!! I was violently shivering several times through this book thinking about the cold and the descriptions of the mountains that really drew you in!
The characters were very well done, Rowan is definitely my favorite protagonist that Victoria has written and I’m so glad that the next book has more of her story! Cassian, Tarion, and Elis were well-developed too and I liked seeing their individual character progressions! I was also pretty glad that although romance was toyed with, it was never actually a part of the main story!! I didn’t feel like this was a romantic book so I really enjoyed seeing things be set up for future romance rather than being forced on the reader for the sake of it!!
Now let’s talk about the plot!! This was court intrigue and mystery done right and I literally could not put this book down for more than a few minutes before I felt some supernatural urge to just read a few more pages!! The plot twists were well done, and although I guessed most of them, I think that speaks to an author’s talent of layering, if you (the reader) can see the pieces of the puzzle along with the character and start putting it together on your own! (It’s one of those where you either gasp or triumphantly whisper I knew it, I knew it, I knew it :) )
Overall this was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021 and I think it’s my favorite one Victoria has written so far! Her skills have developed a lot and it really shows in the quality and care of her writing!! !!!GO PREORDER OR BUY THIS BOOK ASAP!!! It comes out December 7th and I promise you will not regret buying it!! I absolutely cannot wait to read the fourth book Heir of Roses to see more of Rowan and I’m sooooo excited for Oathbound as that’s been one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 for a longgg time!!!
Great job Victoria!! You’re such a talented author and I cannot wait to keep reading your books and following along with your author and life journey!!
*I received an early copy to read and review and all opinions are my own*
❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨
This book was so amazing!!!! Let me first compliment Victoria for doing such a great job with the atmosphere!! I was violently shivering several times through this book thinking about the cold and the descriptions of the mountains that really drew you in!
The characters were very well done, Rowan is definitely my favorite protagonist that Victoria has written and I’m so glad that the next book has more of her story! Cassian, Tarion, and Elis were well-developed too and I liked seeing their individual character progressions! I was also pretty glad that although romance was toyed with, it was never actually a part of the main story!! I didn’t feel like this was a romantic book so I really enjoyed seeing things be set up for future romance rather than being forced on the reader for the sake of it!!
Now let’s talk about the plot!! This was court intrigue and mystery done right and I literally could not put this book down for more than a few minutes before I felt some supernatural urge to just read a few more pages!! The plot twists were well done, and although I guessed most of them, I think that speaks to an author’s talent of layering, if you (the reader) can see the pieces of the puzzle along with the character and start putting it together on your own! (It’s one of those where you either gasp or triumphantly whisper I knew it, I knew it, I knew it :) )
Overall this was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021 and I think it’s my favorite one Victoria has written so far! Her skills have developed a lot and it really shows in the quality and care of her writing!! !!!GO PREORDER OR BUY THIS BOOK ASAP!!! It comes out December 7th and I promise you will not regret buying it!! I absolutely cannot wait to read the fourth book Heir of Roses to see more of Rowan and I’m sooooo excited for Oathbound as that’s been one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 for a longgg time!!!
Great job Victoria!! You’re such a talented author and I cannot wait to keep reading your books and following along with your author and life journey!!
*I received an early copy to read and review and all opinions are my own*
❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨❄️✨
anotherstoryreader's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a little torn on this story. There were parts about it that were very well done but others were more little lackluster for me. Some of the character arcs were excellent. The world-building was also very good.
This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling and 85% of the book is leading up to the finger prick. There is a lot of traveling back and forth between kingdoms and I must say as many times as they moved around we didn't have to hear the details of each trip. So the pacing was good on that point. Rowan had a great character arc. She was very self-absorbed and she knew it. On the other hand, she did have a lot of crappy stuff in her life. Her parents treated her like a dead woman walking. Her father showed her no regard whatsoever. Even if we learn that was his way of coping. It was a really cruel way to treat her even if it was to protect the big secret.
Rowan never seems to know who to trust. One minute this person threatens to kill her and the next he's worried for her safety. All of the characters seemed to flip flop at one point or another.
Another thing about Rowan that somewhat annoyed me as she was gifted with wisdom when she was an infant but you really saw no signs of wisdom. She was constantly making unwise choices. Despite not trusting anyone around her she is very quick to do whatever it is they ask of her even at great personal risk.
Also, she's searching the whole book for a way to break the curse That will make her sleep for 100 years. The curse that can only be lifted with true love's first kiss. Why does she never look for true love in her search to break the curse? Not only does she not look for love but she actively avoids romantic attachments. It just seemed the easiest way to break the curse, especially since (Although she didn't trust him at first.) There was a perfectly good option in front of her. Maybe it wasn't true love but there were definitely feelings there. Plus that was how her mom got broke the curse early.
I will say the last 25% was binge-worthy! I do have a few other points but I'm going to hide them below so I don't spoil them for anyone. But I'd love your feedback if you've read this too.
First of all. Her sister. What a complete 180! One moment she's a devoted friend in Rowan's schemes to break the curse. The next she's instantly falling in love with the enemy prince. I understand she was disillusioned with her own kingdom but in the course of a month, she's willing to overthrow the king and queen she practically grew up with. Leave behind her own devoted family and spill every secret her sister has without remorse. He killed his own father for goodness sake!! Real gen you chose their girl. There was also no closure when it came to the sister or the enemy prince. We learn that they occasionally came to check ( Although her sister never entered her room.) on her but never what happens to them.
My next point. Rowan waits 100 years. The perfect prince charming comes along and wakes her. Cue swoon! Like I said I LOVE the last part of this book. My complaint actually comes with the blurb for the next book.
"Rowan's sleeping curse is broken by a stranger's kiss. They're happily ever after should begin, but they aren't in love. They struggle to develop feelings as plots of betrayal, mysterious deaths, and a sword-wielding mother-in-law challenge them. When the king sets up a queen's competition as an attempt to settle unrest, Rowan's place is threatened. She must fight for the prince she ought to love to secure his position at court, ...."
They don't even love each other (Ok no insta-love, I can somewhat appreciate that.) But she fights for the man she out to love to secure his position...To be honest the blurb kind of killed my motivation to follow along with their story.
This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling and 85% of the book is leading up to the finger prick. There is a lot of traveling back and forth between kingdoms and I must say as many times as they moved around we didn't have to hear the details of each trip. So the pacing was good on that point. Rowan had a great character arc. She was very self-absorbed and she knew it. On the other hand, she did have a lot of crappy stuff in her life. Her parents treated her like a dead woman walking. Her father showed her no regard whatsoever. Even if we learn that was his way of coping. It was a really cruel way to treat her even if it was to protect the big secret.
Rowan never seems to know who to trust. One minute this person threatens to kill her and the next he's worried for her safety. All of the characters seemed to flip flop at one point or another.
Another thing about Rowan that somewhat annoyed me as she was gifted with wisdom when she was an infant but you really saw no signs of wisdom. She was constantly making unwise choices. Despite not trusting anyone around her she is very quick to do whatever it is they ask of her even at great personal risk.
Also, she's searching the whole book for a way to break the curse That will make her sleep for 100 years. The curse that can only be lifted with true love's first kiss. Why does she never look for true love in her search to break the curse? Not only does she not look for love but she actively avoids romantic attachments. It just seemed the easiest way to break the curse, especially since (Although she didn't trust him at first.) There was a perfectly good option in front of her. Maybe it wasn't true love but there were definitely feelings there. Plus that was how her mom got broke the curse early.
I will say the last 25% was binge-worthy! I do have a few other points but I'm going to hide them below so I don't spoil them for anyone. But I'd love your feedback if you've read this too.
Spoiler
First of all. Her sister. What a complete 180! One moment she's a devoted friend in Rowan's schemes to break the curse. The next she's instantly falling in love with the enemy prince. I understand she was disillusioned with her own kingdom but in the course of a month, she's willing to overthrow the king and queen she practically grew up with. Leave behind her own devoted family and spill every secret her sister has without remorse. He killed his own father for goodness sake!! Real gen you chose their girl. There was also no closure when it came to the sister or the enemy prince. We learn that they occasionally came to check ( Although her sister never entered her room.) on her but never what happens to them.
My next point. Rowan waits 100 years. The perfect prince charming comes along and wakes her. Cue swoon! Like I said I LOVE the last part of this book. My complaint actually comes with the blurb for the next book.
"Rowan's sleeping curse is broken by a stranger's kiss. They're happily ever after should begin, but they aren't in love. They struggle to develop feelings as plots of betrayal, mysterious deaths, and a sword-wielding mother-in-law challenge them. When the king sets up a queen's competition as an attempt to settle unrest, Rowan's place is threatened. She must fight for the prince she ought to love to secure his position at court, ...."
They don't even love each other (Ok no insta-love, I can somewhat appreciate that.) But she fights for the man she out to love to secure his position...To be honest the blurb kind of killed my motivation to follow along with their story.
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Winter Charlatan
Author: Victoria McCombs
Rating: 5/5
Recommended For...: middle grade readers, fantasy, magic, retellings, Sleeping Beauty
Publication Date: December 7, 2021
Genre: MG Fantasy
Recommended Age: 10+ (Romance, Slight Violence, Slight Gore)
Explanation of CWs: Very light romance with some kisses and the story doesn’t focus on it. There is also some very slight violence and gore.
Publisher: Indie Published
Pages: 336
Synopsis: A Queen raised in the shadows, and a Fraud Prince who needs her help.
The sole heir to the kingdom is destined to sleep for a hundred years. To hide this liability, the queen left her cursed daughter in the care of a trusted lord, while taking his son as her own. Rowan grew up hating the boy who had her crown and vowed to one day reclaim her place as queen.
But when a neighboring king threatens a war they won’t survive, Rowan must work with the fraud prince to save Elenvérs. She pledges herself as his spy in the enemy court and lives in the heart of danger. If she can’t save her kingdom before the curse hits, there may be nothing left to wake up to.
Review: For the most part I really liked this book! The character development and world building was well done and I loved all of the dialogue and all of the relationships. The writing was well done and I was able to read through this super quickly. The book had a lot of fun twists and turns and it was just a fun magical book.
The only issues I had with the book are that I felt the book was too fast paced for me and that I feel like I would have a better understanding of this world overall if I read the other books.
Verdict: It was good!
Book: The Winter Charlatan
Author: Victoria McCombs
Rating: 5/5
Recommended For...: middle grade readers, fantasy, magic, retellings, Sleeping Beauty
Publication Date: December 7, 2021
Genre: MG Fantasy
Recommended Age: 10+ (Romance, Slight Violence, Slight Gore)
Explanation of CWs: Very light romance with some kisses and the story doesn’t focus on it. There is also some very slight violence and gore.
Publisher: Indie Published
Pages: 336
Synopsis: A Queen raised in the shadows, and a Fraud Prince who needs her help.
The sole heir to the kingdom is destined to sleep for a hundred years. To hide this liability, the queen left her cursed daughter in the care of a trusted lord, while taking his son as her own. Rowan grew up hating the boy who had her crown and vowed to one day reclaim her place as queen.
But when a neighboring king threatens a war they won’t survive, Rowan must work with the fraud prince to save Elenvérs. She pledges herself as his spy in the enemy court and lives in the heart of danger. If she can’t save her kingdom before the curse hits, there may be nothing left to wake up to.
Review: For the most part I really liked this book! The character development and world building was well done and I loved all of the dialogue and all of the relationships. The writing was well done and I was able to read through this super quickly. The book had a lot of fun twists and turns and it was just a fun magical book.
The only issues I had with the book are that I felt the book was too fast paced for me and that I feel like I would have a better understanding of this world overall if I read the other books.
Verdict: It was good!
a_court_of_words_and_phrases's review against another edition
3.0
I really am not sure how to rate this one. I really enjoyed a lot of the book - Rowan was an interesting character, and all of the politicking happening was a really neat. This was a very unique take on the Sleeping Beauty story, and I really liked the way this became it's own story while keeping the important bits from the original fairytale. I liked the character development we saw from Rowan, Tarion, Elis and Cassian. But man, that ending frustrated me. Without getting into spoilers, it felt rushed and like a totally different story than the first 30 or so chapters. It also ripped away most of the buildup of the story. There were a lot of ways I thought it could go, but this one was just tough for me. 3.5 stars. Huge thanks to BOMM and the author for my copy. All thoughts are my own.
morgangiesbrecht's review against another edition
5.0
My heart. I have no words. *takes deep breath*
This is hands down my favourite book of Victoria’s (and I’ve read all of them)!
I wasn’t familiar with the story of Sleeping Beauty beforehand, apart from a princess, a spindle, and sleeping for 100 years & being awoken with a kiss. Frankly, I always thought it sounded a little ridiculous. However, this story was incredibly intriguing! The tension was intense & palatable, and I was dying to see how it would all end.
There are so many parts of the book I can’t talk about because of spoilers. The layers Victoria wove about who is trustworthy and who isn’t was just incredible…I mean I was afraid to trust anyone!
I found Rowan to be a deeply relatable heroine, and I loved seeing Cassian and Rowan have to work together and trust each other. It was thrill that offered plenty of comical and tense moments!
In every book of this series, Victoria has managed to upset my idea of how the romance was going to turn out. That’s not a bad thing but definitely unexpected!
Finally, THAT ENDING! My heart has been shattered, stomped on, and scattered to the wind. I’m sure this MUST be the epitome of bittersweet endings, but my heart is convinced it’s a sad ending. I will unashamedly admit to crying.
There are two lines at a very specific moment towards the end that are very short, almost simple really, and yet their poignancy had me bawling. I can’t mention them for spoiler reasons, but they are my new “go to lines to remember when I’m in need of a good cry and would rather cry over someone’s problems and not my own.” Please tell me this isn’t just me.
This is hands down my favourite book of Victoria’s (and I’ve read all of them)!
I wasn’t familiar with the story of Sleeping Beauty beforehand, apart from a princess, a spindle, and sleeping for 100 years & being awoken with a kiss. Frankly, I always thought it sounded a little ridiculous. However, this story was incredibly intriguing! The tension was intense & palatable, and I was dying to see how it would all end.
There are so many parts of the book I can’t talk about because of spoilers. The layers Victoria wove about who is trustworthy and who isn’t was just incredible…I mean I was afraid to trust anyone!
I found Rowan to be a deeply relatable heroine, and I loved seeing Cassian and Rowan have to work together and trust each other. It was thrill that offered plenty of comical and tense moments!
In every book of this series, Victoria has managed to upset my idea of how the romance was going to turn out. That’s not a bad thing but definitely unexpected!
Finally, THAT ENDING! My heart has been shattered, stomped on, and scattered to the wind. I’m sure this MUST be the epitome of bittersweet endings, but my heart is convinced it’s a sad ending. I will unashamedly admit to crying.
There are two lines at a very specific moment towards the end that are very short, almost simple really, and yet their poignancy had me bawling. I can’t mention them for spoiler reasons, but they are my new “go to lines to remember when I’m in need of a good cry and would rather cry over someone’s problems and not my own.” Please tell me this isn’t just me.