A review by ghiblies
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed this a lot. The world building and magic system are seriously cool and I finished the book wishing we had gotten more of this. For me this is 3 stars because I found the ending somewhat underwhelming. I suppose a nicer way to put it is that we’re left with one hell of a cliffhanger, but in short you wouldn’t be able to read this as a stand-alone, which is a shame since the universe itself is such a strong selling point for this book.

As for our protagonists, I really like them, but oh boy, they really do put the slow in slow burn. Ophelia wasn't my favourite of the two but I found her blossoming love and respect for her aunt very heart-warming and I hope this relationship doesn’t fade into the background. I was personally more intrigued by Thorn, who was left as a very enigmatic character even by the end of the book. I will say, their relationship jumped back and forth quite dramatically which I am... scratching my head at a little... The reason for their conflict perhaps feels a little weak considering how pragmatic they both are, but hopefully as they get to know each other better these misunderstandings will be cleared up. (And do I love me some miscommunication and misunderstandings in my stories *rubs hands together gleefully*)

To close, I am looking forward to reading the sequel. I am equally as invested in uncovering the fate of our protagonists as I am in learning more about this universe and its magics!
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