What do you think?
Rate this book
Winter Born: The Quartaine Series Book 1
In a world of magic and danger, Aurora and Eli, the male who raised her, journey from Quartaine to Quartaine, never staying long enough to be noticed. But when three hooded figures arrive at their doorstep, their peaceful existence is shattered. Eli's past has finally caught up with them, and Aurora is forced into the Guild, home of ruthless assassins, tricky thieves, and secret-keeping spies. Aurora must fight to survive while struggling to hold onto her own sense of morality.
Meanwhile, trained to lure, seduce, kill, and steal. Asher’s life has been bathed in deception and blood. Raised within the Guild, his life was not only owned by them but tainted and molded to be the best weapon in their arsenal. Dealing with the hurt of his mentor’s betrayal and being replaced, a life-altering change turns Asher’s whole world upside down. Answers must be found and quickly because the Guild doesn’t stand for their belongings being taken away.
Winter Born is the first book of The Quartaine series by Autumn Swann and Kate Denver. An enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, high fantasy slow burn romance featuring a grumpy/sunshine duo, who are our morally grey heroes.
Meanwhile, trained to lure, seduce, kill, and steal. Asher’s life has been bathed in deception and blood. Raised within the Guild, his life was not only owned by them but tainted and molded to be the best weapon in their arsenal. Dealing with the hurt of his mentor’s betrayal and being replaced, a life-altering change turns Asher’s whole world upside down. Answers must be found and quickly because the Guild doesn’t stand for their belongings being taken away.
Winter Born is the first book of The Quartaine series by Autumn Swann and Kate Denver. An enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, high fantasy slow burn romance featuring a grumpy/sunshine duo, who are our morally grey heroes.
399 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2024
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 9, 2023
I had the privilege of reading this over a month ago as part of the beta readers & have to say this is a wonderful introduction to the adventures ahead.
I recommend viewing it as a very long type of "prologue" where you get to really understand the characters past and their trauma, setting us up for what's to come.
The writing is easy to understand and so many different types of characters have been introduced. Sexy, funny, annoying, loveable and so on.
I can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes. If you love fantasy, assassins, magic, mystery, definitely a book for you
Just make sure to check out the triggers!
I recommend viewing it as a very long type of "prologue" where you get to really understand the characters past and their trauma, setting us up for what's to come.
The writing is easy to understand and so many different types of characters have been introduced. Sexy, funny, annoying, loveable and so on.
I can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes. If you love fantasy, assassins, magic, mystery, definitely a book for you
Just make sure to check out the triggers!
April 16, 2024
Fae. Magic. Assassins. Drama. Dual POVs. This book has it all.
Asher Rivenshaw is a young fae male who excels at his job, which happens to be an assassin. Being a bastard born led him to be raised in the Guild – home to many talented faes like him, and even after his character is shaped by cruel fate he still finds time to be a snarky, funny, and loveable person, who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. His story follows a journey of betrayal, pain, and mystery, until one day when his life turns over completely and a big secret comes to light.
Aurora Tirich is our female main character, raised by a male named Eli. Besides her life being a never-ending circle of moving from one place to another to keep both of them safe, she has an easygoing nature, a loveable smile, and a casual charm that gets her everything she wants. Till one cold night, when the past catches up to both of them and Aurora is forced to move to the Guild. There, she is forced to thicken her skin, show some teeth, and fight not only for herself but also for her mentor.
Both main character’s personalities are complimented by other side characters, which you will either love or hate, no between.
Winter Born is the very first book in The Quartaine series by my lovely friends Kate Denver and Autumn Swann. I had the absolute honor to get my hands on this book before it was released and I’m excited for the books to come. So Kate, Or Autumn, if you’re reading it – I want a copy of the second book in my mail, like right now.
Asher Rivenshaw is a young fae male who excels at his job, which happens to be an assassin. Being a bastard born led him to be raised in the Guild – home to many talented faes like him, and even after his character is shaped by cruel fate he still finds time to be a snarky, funny, and loveable person, who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. His story follows a journey of betrayal, pain, and mystery, until one day when his life turns over completely and a big secret comes to light.
Aurora Tirich is our female main character, raised by a male named Eli. Besides her life being a never-ending circle of moving from one place to another to keep both of them safe, she has an easygoing nature, a loveable smile, and a casual charm that gets her everything she wants. Till one cold night, when the past catches up to both of them and Aurora is forced to move to the Guild. There, she is forced to thicken her skin, show some teeth, and fight not only for herself but also for her mentor.
Both main character’s personalities are complimented by other side characters, which you will either love or hate, no between.
Winter Born is the very first book in The Quartaine series by my lovely friends Kate Denver and Autumn Swann. I had the absolute honor to get my hands on this book before it was released and I’m excited for the books to come. So Kate, Or Autumn, if you’re reading it – I want a copy of the second book in my mail, like right now.
April 27, 2024
Wow, where do I begin.
Ok so at first, I was a bit worried about this one, I started reading it and the prologue was very intriguing, but coming into the first probably 10% I just didn’t vibe. A lot of the beginning felt out of place to me. I almost DNF’d.
However, I forced myself to push a little further and boy am I glad I did! The remainder of this book was amazing!! It’s super dark, super intense and so interesting! A great setup for further books to come in the series. I can’t wait to read more about Aurora and Eli and where their journeys take them.
This world was so unique and interesting, and I’m excited to explore more of it in the future.
A great book if you love magic, fae, assassins and monsters (human and non human).
Thank you so much to the authors for sending me an arc copy of this book!
Ok so at first, I was a bit worried about this one, I started reading it and the prologue was very intriguing, but coming into the first probably 10% I just didn’t vibe. A lot of the beginning felt out of place to me. I almost DNF’d.
However, I forced myself to push a little further and boy am I glad I did! The remainder of this book was amazing!! It’s super dark, super intense and so interesting! A great setup for further books to come in the series. I can’t wait to read more about Aurora and Eli and where their journeys take them.
This world was so unique and interesting, and I’m excited to explore more of it in the future.
A great book if you love magic, fae, assassins and monsters (human and non human).
Thank you so much to the authors for sending me an arc copy of this book!
April 12, 2023
I had the honor to be a Beta Reader for this book.
Fair Warning, this book is very backstory/set up for the future based. Even with that said I was immersed in the characters and the world. I enjoyed the twists, especially where I was literally screaming "What is going on" for the last 5 chapters.
Smut is not a focus here, but it beyond makes up for that in the storytelling.
I have added new book boyfriends to the ever growing list and a few that need to be punched several times. ❤️
Fair Warning, this book is very backstory/set up for the future based. Even with that said I was immersed in the characters and the world. I enjoyed the twists, especially where I was literally screaming "What is going on" for the last 5 chapters.
Smut is not a focus here, but it beyond makes up for that in the storytelling.
I have added new book boyfriends to the ever growing list and a few that need to be punched several times. ❤️
April 26, 2024
Eli is a part of The Guild. A secret society of sorts that takes care of issues within the fae world.
He leaves The Guild to raise Aurora. But nobody actually gets to leave The Guild so they live on the run.
When he left he also left behind Asher who he basically raised and trained. Leaving Asher with a ton of anger and resentment.
This book is mostly world building. Think of it as a very long prologue. It ends on a huge cliffhanger.
Check your TW.
I received this book as an arc for my honest review.
He leaves The Guild to raise Aurora. But nobody actually gets to leave The Guild so they live on the run.
When he left he also left behind Asher who he basically raised and trained. Leaving Asher with a ton of anger and resentment.
This book is mostly world building. Think of it as a very long prologue. It ends on a huge cliffhanger.
Check your TW.
I received this book as an arc for my honest review.
May 7, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 / 5 stars
Eli thought he could outrun the assassins guild he left behind years ago, moving himself and his daughter Aurora around, never staying in the same place for too long. But you can only run for so long before your past finally catches up to you.
When the guild finds Eli, he has no choice but to return and bring Aurora with him. He must face the consequences of his choice to leave-including Asher, the protégé he left behind all those years ago.
Crafted to be the perfect assassin, Asher has been trained and molded by the guild his entire life. When questions arise about his own past, he sets out in search of answers, leaving his old mentor behind to train Aurora, the girl he foolishly chose to replace Asher.
Thrown into guild life with no warning, the charming Aurora must survive and prove herself worthy or die trying. But even if she survives to be a true guild member, will any part of her remain untainted by their cruelty?
This book will keep you turning pages! There are so many questions to be answered and mysteries to figure out, there's never a dull moment.
The characters are engaging and interesting, you WANT them to succeed (even though I wanted to kick Eli in the teeth). Aurora is sweet and living her best life when it all gets turned upside down. You want her to succeed but know there's a cost, a loss of part of herself. Asher is too charming for his own good and you want to protect him at all costs. His story is heartbreaking and you just want the best for him. Even the side characters who briefly appear make you want to know more about them and their stories, their past. When they were off page, I wanted to know where they were and what they were doing. (Especially Atlas.)
I found the fight scenes to be really well written and fun to read. The spice scene was also really well written and I want them to be endgame SO badly.
The relationship between Eli, Asher and Aurora was complicated and painful at times. Ashers feelings of abandonment will never NOT hurt. Aurora is also better than me and far more forgiving.
This IS book 1 in a series, so you're getting a fair amount of character and world building. This is like a tasty first course that's teasing the main dish to come. It WILL hook you and there's no way you'll finish this book and not immediately be ready for the next installment.
If you love fantasy and adventure, magic and mysteries, this is the book for you. If you like strong female characters who aren't just made up of toxic male traits and witty and charming male characters who aren't just there to be eye candy, this book is for you. (Although, I don't think Asher would object to being called eye candy.) I was lucky enough to beta read this and can't wait for book 2!
Things to note:
DO check the trigger warnings before reading
LGBTQ+ rep
Spice Level: 2/5 . Well written, M/M
Eli thought he could outrun the assassins guild he left behind years ago, moving himself and his daughter Aurora around, never staying in the same place for too long. But you can only run for so long before your past finally catches up to you.
When the guild finds Eli, he has no choice but to return and bring Aurora with him. He must face the consequences of his choice to leave-including Asher, the protégé he left behind all those years ago.
Crafted to be the perfect assassin, Asher has been trained and molded by the guild his entire life. When questions arise about his own past, he sets out in search of answers, leaving his old mentor behind to train Aurora, the girl he foolishly chose to replace Asher.
Thrown into guild life with no warning, the charming Aurora must survive and prove herself worthy or die trying. But even if she survives to be a true guild member, will any part of her remain untainted by their cruelty?
This book will keep you turning pages! There are so many questions to be answered and mysteries to figure out, there's never a dull moment.
The characters are engaging and interesting, you WANT them to succeed (even though I wanted to kick Eli in the teeth). Aurora is sweet and living her best life when it all gets turned upside down. You want her to succeed but know there's a cost, a loss of part of herself. Asher is too charming for his own good and you want to protect him at all costs. His story is heartbreaking and you just want the best for him. Even the side characters who briefly appear make you want to know more about them and their stories, their past. When they were off page, I wanted to know where they were and what they were doing. (Especially Atlas.)
I found the fight scenes to be really well written and fun to read. The spice scene was also really well written and I want them to be endgame SO badly.
The relationship between Eli, Asher and Aurora was complicated and painful at times. Ashers feelings of abandonment will never NOT hurt. Aurora is also better than me and far more forgiving.
This IS book 1 in a series, so you're getting a fair amount of character and world building. This is like a tasty first course that's teasing the main dish to come. It WILL hook you and there's no way you'll finish this book and not immediately be ready for the next installment.
If you love fantasy and adventure, magic and mysteries, this is the book for you. If you like strong female characters who aren't just made up of toxic male traits and witty and charming male characters who aren't just there to be eye candy, this book is for you. (Although, I don't think Asher would object to being called eye candy.) I was lucky enough to beta read this and can't wait for book 2!
Things to note:
DO check the trigger warnings before reading
LGBTQ+ rep
Spice Level: 2/5 . Well written, M/M
May 14, 2024
The beginning of Asher’s story threw me off a bit, since the book takes a drastic turn after it. I enjoyed the story after, and look forward to where it will go in the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews