Red Winter (Red Winter Trilogy #1) by Annette Marie
Published: October 21st 2016 by Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Review:
Myth: 3.5/5
I feel like I have to say that even though this is Jill reviewing this, I’m reading the book because it’s one of my co-reviewer Katie’s favorites. She’s obsessed with Shiro (which I totally get) and loves the Japanese inspired fantasy world.
I was definitely into the world building, Emi has lived her whole life in service to her goddess, with the understanding that she will become her earthly vessel on her 18th solstice. It’s a bit of a slow start as Emi sorts out what her future really holds and what she’s going to do about it. Even in this slightly slow start though I really enjoyed Emi’s debate against wanting some of her own experiences versus being the chosen one that she’s been raised to be all her life. It’s one of those YA evaluations of what life experiences are you giving up for this prescribed path that you’ve been set on.
Magic: 3.5/5
Along that vein, Emi has been taught that the yokai or earth spirits are evil, but the kitsune shifter that she finds herself entangled with doesn’t seem evil….unpredictable? sure, dangerous? probably but also has a mysterious magical past that she finds herself needing to help him understand. While book one focuses a lot on the yokai magic, especially Shiro’s, I expect we’ll see a lot more of the powers of the gods throughout the rest of the series.
Overall: 3.5/5
Though a little bit of a slow start, I can see why Katie loves this series (she would give the whole thing 5 stars). I’ll definitely keep reading to see how Emi’s character grows and see what kind of sparks fly between her and the mischievous kitsune. For Annette Marie fans, the Emi/Shiro pairing reminds me a lot of Robin/Zylas in demonized.
Lastly, these books have awesome accompanying illustrations, even in the Kindle Unlimited download. Definitely a great add on to the story.
