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A review by doogsley
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the slowest of slow burns, on all dimensions. plot, romance, character development - the pace (and atmosphere) was glacial, padded with paragraphs of beautiful and intricate world building, old-school fantasy political intrigue, and the threatening cast underestimating our fmc's intelligence and abilities. all in all, i'm captivated and curious.
i can't decide if ophelia is nuanced or poorly written. i love fmcs with strong and clear dispositions, but i feel like her main traits are her lack of impulse, strong and silent willpower in the face of Gigahaters, and constantly having a cold. so she's just Enduring this whole book lol. she's also been medically diagnosed with Clumsy which adds another layer of woobie. there was a scene where she was physically backing away from Rich People Conflict and ended up hitting her head on a cabinet, which was like... yeah same haha.
i do think her passive presence is made up in her rich inner-world, where she absolutely keeps her wits about her despite appearing like she's at the whimsy of these massively powerful socialites. like, i dunno, i think i could find myself "playing the game" while awaiting more information as well. but she also lashes out sometimes and definitely hits breaking points, which admittedly felt random. once again, i'm struggling to decide if she's simply a multifaceted human or an author self-insert with some mary sue moments haha. also, she has a pet scarf who hugs her. just saying.
i LOVE the fantasy of 'reading' objects and mirror travel and visual mirage and nervous system domination. there's a funny balance of brutal and mundane magic and i'm eager to see what else this world can hold.
some other character musings: berenhilde is fucking absurd and awful and i love her. there's a "reveal" that illustrates why she's so wound up and, while i wasn't as convinced to forgive her as ophelia was, i'm glad that there was at least a method to her madness. thorn is kind of a tool and i hope i can grow to like him more. their romance is meh rn, and i'm in ophelia's court with her massive amount of trepidation. keeping the first sentence of this review in mind, i'm willing to let it all cook. i hope we get more fox and gail in the upcoming books. archibald is a smelly little freak and would be tumblr's blorbo. a core part of this story is how utterly *flawed* the whole cast is, which is admittedly one of my favorite tropes.
due to the maladroit energy signature of this tale, i was pondering whether or not i'd indulge in book 2 immediately... until a Very Important Story Beat happened around the 85% mark. OMG. honestly a relief. i'm all-in now!!!
this is a lovely wintry, fireplace read. recommended if you love fucked up socialites with a dollop of dark fantasy, a high stakes tale that doesn't Feel high stakes, breadcrumbs leading to God Drama, and a willingness to let the languorous pace grow upon itself. definitely neptunian, definitely gemini-heavy. a bit scorpio too.
i can't decide if ophelia is nuanced or poorly written. i love fmcs with strong and clear dispositions, but i feel like her main traits are her lack of impulse, strong and silent willpower in the face of Gigahaters, and constantly having a cold. so she's just Enduring this whole book lol. she's also been medically diagnosed with Clumsy which adds another layer of woobie. there was a scene where she was physically backing away from Rich People Conflict and ended up hitting her head on a cabinet, which was like... yeah same haha.
i do think her passive presence is made up in her rich inner-world, where she absolutely keeps her wits about her despite appearing like she's at the whimsy of these massively powerful socialites. like, i dunno, i think i could find myself "playing the game" while awaiting more information as well. but she also lashes out sometimes and definitely hits breaking points, which admittedly felt random. once again, i'm struggling to decide if she's simply a multifaceted human or an author self-insert with some mary sue moments haha. also, she has a pet scarf who hugs her. just saying.
i LOVE the fantasy of 'reading' objects and mirror travel and visual mirage and nervous system domination. there's a funny balance of brutal and mundane magic and i'm eager to see what else this world can hold.
some other character musings: berenhilde is fucking absurd and awful and i love her. there's a "reveal" that illustrates why she's so wound up and, while i wasn't as convinced to forgive her as ophelia was, i'm glad that there was at least a method to her madness. thorn is kind of a tool and i hope i can grow to like him more. their romance is meh rn, and i'm in ophelia's court with her massive amount of trepidation. keeping the first sentence of this review in mind, i'm willing to let it all cook. i hope we get more fox and gail in the upcoming books. archibald is a smelly little freak and would be tumblr's blorbo. a core part of this story is how utterly *flawed* the whole cast is, which is admittedly one of my favorite tropes.
due to the maladroit energy signature of this tale, i was pondering whether or not i'd indulge in book 2 immediately... until a Very Important Story Beat happened around the 85% mark. OMG. honestly a relief. i'm all-in now!!!
this is a lovely wintry, fireplace read. recommended if you love fucked up socialites with a dollop of dark fantasy, a high stakes tale that doesn't Feel high stakes, breadcrumbs leading to God Drama, and a willingness to let the languorous pace grow upon itself. definitely neptunian, definitely gemini-heavy. a bit scorpio too.