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Book summary:
Emmeline knows she’s not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters. Living with the shame of her grandmother’s insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent.
When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, it’s an opportunity for Emmeline to wash the family slate clean—even if she has eyes for another. But before she’s forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her into the woods, where she uncovers a path she can’t help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the village will kill to protect. Her grandmother followed the same path and paid the price. If Emmeline isn’t careful, she will be next.
Firstly, I'm glad that this book haven't got labeled as retelling as I'm not sure I'd put it there. The cover gives of a vibe like this is a story about Red Riding Hood, but in reality it's not that much. This is actually something I have no idea where to put. Depending on your interpretation it can be either historical story or dystopia, but for me it works both ways.
Now, this is a story about Emmeline (Em for short), who grew up in settlement. It's the world she and people living there know about. The woods around them are scary and full of malmaci who are their worst nightmare. But Em is a very curious young girl and wondering in the woods is what she often does. But, it's what she discovers there is what will change her.
I have no idea why, but I always liked stories which give off a very old fashioned vibe. I have got a feeling like I'm in 17th century and somewhere in area of today's Canada (be prepared for lots of French here, tho) and I loved it. Besides the setting, Em and I connected right away. She is not your extraordinary, kick ass girl, but rather common but at the same time easy to approach. That leads us to the love interest here, which almost melted me! I made that weird squee whenever the two of them met. What can I tell you, I have a thing for first/sort of forbidden love deal.
Lastly, what made me fully enjoy this story is actually the writing. It was really nicely written and very readable. I couldn't stop reading once I started. The only issue I had with this book, is that some elements here seemed unnecessary. Maybe we'll get the point in the sequel. Well, let's hope.
Rating: 4 stars.
Until the next time,
Glad you followed your gut instinct on this and it turned out right. Wonderful review!
OdgovoriIzbrišiI love it when a book pleasantly surprises you like that, although it makes you think "Why did so many people not like it?" The writing sounds great, it's always nice to be able to easily fall into a book like that. So glad you ended up liking this one!
OdgovoriIzbrišiAh yes it's nice to have a story like that and it's always pleasant to be surprised like that, isn't it? Glad to see you had a good time.
OdgovoriIzbrišiOoh I remember seeing this one around a lot a few months back! Seems like this one is pretty fabulous. A nicely written book always makes me curious.
OdgovoriIzbrišiLovely review, Tanja <33
The old fashioned feel sounds nice to read about with the lovely writing
OdgovoriIzbrišiI think my comment got eaten yesterday with my tablet - so here goes again, lol! I'm so excited you decided to go with your gut instinct and ended up enjoying this tale. I have this on my tbl and I have the same feeling as well. Fingers crossed.
OdgovoriIzbrišiLovely review, Tanja : )
HEY, I rememebr DNFing this one XD It did not please me...unfortunately. I don't know but, strangely, it reminded me of Divergent too much because of the ''faction'' or I don't remember how they called it in this book. Although now I think about it and this was NOT Divergent haha. Glad you enjoyed though!!
OdgovoriIzbrišiIt does sound quite fairy tale like now that I think about it! Em does sound like a plain, normal girl who gets herself into an adventure, definitely. Great review Tanja!
OdgovoriIzbrišiGlad your instinct payed off Tanja. I think this is the first positive review of the book i have come across.
OdgovoriIzbrišiAparajita @Le' Grande Codex
17th century Canada! I studied that. And French! Wow. Actually, when I first saw the cover of this book, it reminded me of a novel we read for literature class called Snow (translated of course). So this sounds very nice and interesting to me. I'm actually looking forward to giving it a try. Thank you for bringing Winterkill to my attention, and great review, Tanja! Go winters!
OdgovoriIzbrišiSarika @ The Readdicts
I have had my eye on this book for a while as well, which intrigued me because I want to read it! I don't think the cover is too amazing and I do like a good retelling, so it's a mini downer for me to know this isn't really one. But I get the impression that I will like it a lot anyway!
OdgovoriIzbriši