I want to start by saying that I enjoyed reading Winter Solstice Winter. The plot, especially contained within the last half of the book, was very fast paced and kept you on the edge of your seat as a reader. However, this book fell short of its potential for me.
First of all, I greatly adore beginnings. I want to revel in the newness of a world, learning all of its intricate workings and figuring out its occupants. At first, Winter Solstice Winter seemed to promise that, but then the descriptions fell away. Now most readers will be just fine with this, but the style did not satisfy my own personal taste. Likewise, I often felt events were rushed – not due to a lack of understanding how to write – but due to a wish to string the action along and continuously engage the reader. This is not a fault. Again, it’s my personal taste. However, I do think the writing of important events should slow a little to give the reader some kind of bearing as to what is really going on.
On the same bent, characters often seem a little forced – especially the dialogue. I like characters who I can intricately come to know, and although I feel the author makes a solid attempt to make this a reality for readers, the writing falls a little short. In all honesty, I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters.
Overall, I loved the plot of Winter Solstice Winter and plan to purchase the next book in the series to find out exactly what happens to Ailia, Soren, Eiess, Lucia, and the rest. I just wish it could have been slowed down to make the incredible chain of events, and the characters, more believable.
The Wordsmith's Review 