Milo Hawkins is just a regular guy struggling with how to handle losing his job while on vacation with his three best friends. They’ve been hiking all morning, might be lost, and he just wants to sit down for a minute when he approaches a ring of stones.
But the second he steps into the ring, he drops onto a fae prince’s breakfast table. The ice-like Prince Flurris is none too pleased to find a human in his bedchamber and sends poor Milo off to the dungeon. There Milo learns about the curse that’s cut the Seasonal Courts off from one another and the rest of the realms as well. So how did Milo come through?
Convinced that the only way for him to go home is to help the prince break the curse, Milo does what he can to get along and finds himself influencing change. Could it be that the prince has some life lessons to learn?
Might he also need to learn how to love?
The Winter Prince is the first in a series of four books about the princes of the Seasonal Fae Court who’ve been locked away until they can become better men and earn the love of another.
I really wanted to enjoy as I love reading Romance Fantasy, but unfortunately this one completely missed the mark for me. The biggest issue was the lack of depth across almost every aspect of the story.
The main characters felt incredibly flat and underdeveloped. I never formed a real emotional connection to them, and their motivations and personalities felt surface-level throughout the entire book. For a fantasy romance, the chemistry between the leads was especially disappointing. The romance felt rushed and shallow, relying more on clichés and attraction than genuine emotional buildup or meaningful character development.
The world-building was another major weakness. Fantasy novels thrive on immersive settings, lore, political tension, or magical systems, but this book barely scratched the surface. The setting felt vague and underexplored, making it difficult to feel invested in the stakes or atmosphere of the story.
The curse storyline was also painfully predictable. I found myself guessing major plot points very early on, and nothing about the twists or reveals felt surprising or emotionally impactful.
Overall, the writing style and storytelling felt very juvenile, almost like it was written for a middle school audience rather than adult fantasy readers. If you’re looking for rich fantasy world-building, layered characters, or a compelling romance, this probably won’t satisfy you. Sadly, this was a forgettable read for me.
A nice start to a new series! Wasn't sure where it was going to go at first, but you can only do so much with 200 pages or less. I'm glad we got some side character action because this could have easily focused more heavily on both MCa, but they needed some of the side people to solve their problems. I like how everything is connected to, not unlike certain other fantasy books with fae realms. I'm interested to see how this plays out in each court and what the last prince ends up doing to break the curse completely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I downloaded this ebook at 12:01 PST on pub day. And read it in one sitting. Because it’s got the sweet romance, the sultry spice, the sparks of magic and curiosity, and a complicated world facing complicated problems with complicated solutions that happen quickly and effectively and satisfyingly for the most wonderful, indulgent escape from real life
Milo went hiking with his friends and they got lost. As he goes to sit down, he finds himself in another land and in the bed of the Winter Fae Prince. Their journey to love (and sexy times) are filled with laughter, icy heat 🥵, and the courage to be better people.
Oh Delaney, you have outdone yourself again. I really like the grumpy -sunshine trope and you nailed it here. So many cute smutty comments that made me laugh …. Snow balls lol. I can’t wait for the rest of this series
I definitely tried! Alas, I couldn't take the horrible guns(?) or whatever modern-day live horror bits intruded into the fantasy to make is all too miserable to finish.