A review by wardenred
Heart of Winter by Lauren Gilley

emotional hopeful reflective
  • 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

4.5

Once a choice is made, it sometimes has to be defended.

This was a surprisingly cozy read, despite the high-stakes premise and the supposed urgency of the situation that brought the MC to a foreign kingdom, seeking to secure a marriage between its ruler and his half-sister and obtain much-needed help with the war that stole most of his family and threatens his home. I expected that war to be brought up a lot more and for the politics to be a lot more prominent. Instead, while the subject does come up now and then and there's certainly some political intrigue going on and tension rises toward the end, the majority of the book is practically slice of life. Getting to know Eric's family, the slow burn romance between Eric and Oliver, Tessa's love triangle with Eric's nephews, navigating a new culture, history lessons about dragons, overcoming a chronic illness flare-up—all of that constitutes the meat of the story, whereas the initial premise largely seems to exist to bring the characters together and keep them in the same place.

I must say I'm not really complaining, because I did very much enjoy all the thoughtful, detailed, slowly paced coziness. I loved the characters, the dynamics between them, how Oliver and Tessa got more and more included in Eric's family. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions, the nods to the Northern history and culture, the overall wintery vibe. The romance was beautifully executed, and I mostly liked how the age gap and the inherent power imbalance between the king and the foreign noble's bastard was handled. Really, this was overall a deliciously pleasant read!

Still, for all of the book's strengths, there's a bit of a "deceived expectations" case for me here. At least in the final part of the book, the things the beginning promised did start taking center stage, but they were also... not quite the same things the beginning promised? The plot definitely got a lot more political, but the direction of all those politics changed somewhat, and a lot of it was more like... a set-up for the future installments in the series rather than follow-through with the conflict that started this book. Which is mainly why this isn't a five-star read for me, but it sure came rather close!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings