The Long-Forgotten Winter King (The Guild Codex: Unveiled #2) by Annette Marie

The Long-Forgotten Winter King (The Guild Codex: Unveiled #2) by Annette Marie

Jill Wittkopp
Book Review

Published: January 14th 2022

Goodreads synopsis

Review:

Myth: 4.5/5

Katie Review

Saber really struggles mentally to put her past behind her and move on/grow from it.

Her amnesia is a little annoying and a little too convenient as a plot device - once is okay, but anything more becomes a little too convenient to be believable.

Saber is very different from our other female characters in this world, who seemed more capable. Is Saber trying too hard to be “dark and edgy”? Maybe, but I think it’s setting up the next book for us to really dive into her psyche and see about some healing under the mentorship of her new guild ;)

But the world building here with the fae politics is just fantastic. Rikr is my favorite character in the series - he reminds me of a white fox from another of her series (yes, my all time favorite Red Winter). Yea, different worlds, different magical abilities, different entrapments, even different shapeshifter abilities… but the soul of the character is the same. That should make you go read that series and then hopefully it will get so popular that we’ll have to get a spin off of that series too! And yes this turned into a love rant of red winter, so go read that asap.

Jill Review

With the big reveal at the end of the first book, I needed to know what was going on and who could be trusted. If Ríkr wasn’t enough, Zak’s motivations continue to seem unclear. Saber’s trust issues reach new heights as she’s also trying to unravel her parent’s decisions. Needless to say, I was super ready for more of Saber’s journey and the second book did not disappoint!

Magic: 5/5

Katie Review

I have long been a fan of Annette Marie’s book - each series I love more and more. But from the first Guild Codex series I could never understand what was so cool about being a Druid. Unlike all the other mythics who have access to cool different types of magic, the Druid magic just felt like a let down. It was too… unusable. And all of Zak’s cool things he could do were due to his alchemy side and power that he had bartered for from other fae. He didn’t even have any control over his relationship with Lallakai, despite his consort status.

But boy did my opinion change with Saber’s point of view. As Zak asked her, did she want to be a powerless witch?? (Ironically I thought this is exactly what Tori was from his POV… except ya’know she was a badass that never let no innate mythic power stop her.)

As Saber learned more about the world of druidry, so did we. And it actually sounded pretty awesome - the ability to bargain with the fae, influence their world and the trickery you needed to be cunning enough to deal with them. While it’s hard to battle the brute force of a pyrpmage, for example, you need a lot more strategy to make an impact in the fae world and stay on the top of your game. Otherwise you could be mince meat for attacking mythics AND fae that want to chow down on your power.

Jill Review

I love this deeper dive into the fae and druid magic. It’s probably my favorite magic type so far in the Guild Codex series, and they pack a punch already (with elemental magic, mental control and demon summoning). Buckle up as we get first hand fae history and stories.

Overall: 4.5/5

Saber’s emotions and her desire simply not to deal with them, adds that perfect tension between her and Zak. They are both great at momentarily putting aside the past as they work together on current problems, but the past keeps coming back to haunt them at the least opportune times. I simply can’t wait for them to unpack everything. Expect tense moments, good and bad, and the book leaving you wanting more Saber and Zak, per usual.

Other books in the series:

Other books in the world:

Spellbound

Demonized

Warped

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