Review by bree_h_reads - Winter Glass

bree_h_reads 's review for:

Winter Glass by Lexa Hillyer

3.5

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a book I was really excited about. After having read Spindlefire in high school and having waited for YEARS before thinking to look into there being a second book, I was THRILLED to finally be finishing the series. Unfortunately, I felt this book fell a bit short. I did still have fun with it though!

I think this was a good conclusion to the series. It made me weepy and I felt content with the ending, even if I wanted the characters to be in different places. Even if I was disappointed with some outcomes, I think they all made sense for the characters and their stories. I read a series last year where I got to the next book and it just made me feel stupid for having liked the first book at all, but this book didn’t make me feel that way.

I also think the ending worked well with how the world and consequences of the story were explored. Just because the villain was defeated didn’t mean everything was fixed. There were still consequences, things were still broken, characters still had to go out and solve these issues. I liked that aspect of it, how real the world and impact of the story felt.

I also really liked the book’s fairies and how different fairy tales wove into them. The fairies were all so unique and you really get the sense that these are OLD things that have to face the fact that their time is coming to a close. And just how many fairy tales were worked into the story was fun for me. I enjoyed picking out the subtle and obvious details and figuring out what was what. The glass slipper, the curses, the enchantress in the north corrupting a hero, the frozen castle in the north, the rogue hunter in the king’s forest that gives to the poor, and everything else worked so well together. It was such a treat to connect them all to their inspirations.

Though, again, the book had some pretty glaring flaws. To start, the pacing felt really off. I think things were often very rushed and dragged on in unnecessary sections. This off pacing impacted not only the larger story beats, but the budding relationship between Aurora and Wren and it feeling rushed. I think this could have been fixed by making Winter Glass longer OR two books instead of one.

Overall, it was a good end to the story, even if it was a little weak.

Content Warnings