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The Kings #8

The Winter King

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“If you believe anything I tell you, believe this. You are my queen, therefore, you are my world. You are the most important piece on the chessboard. Everything I do from here on out will be about you. I will eat, sleep, and drink you. I will breathe you. And I will stop breathing without you… If you go, the game is lost.”

Far beyond the easy reaches of the mortal world lies a kingdom of ice and snow. Its glacier mountains reach the horizons of eons, and its cold, hard oceans paint the vastness of its world. It is terribly harsh, and terribly beautiful, and there is only one man capable of ruling from its frozen throne. He has ruled there alone for more than a thousand years.

But the Thirteen Kings are finding their fated queens, and though he’d all but lost hope he would count himself amongst their lucky numbers, the moment she walks into view, his frozen heart and soul are rekindled with by a fire that will melt through anything, even him.

Persephone Glacia Nix – “Poppy” – is a human warlock who has forced herself to fit in with the mortals around her, despite her inherent differences, despite her secret longings, and regardless of the very different way in which she sees the world. Her empathetic nature makes life better for others, but difficult for her. She’s come to accept this as the curse that accompanies the gift of understanding. However, when Kristopher Scaul approaches her on a dark street in a dark city on a cold night and introduces her to a world she at last feels “at home” in, Poppy must finally decide whether to continue faking it in the mortal world – or take her place on a second frozen throne, in the lonely but beautiful Kingdom of Winter.

The Winter King is the eighth anticipated novel in the Big Bad Wolf spinoff series, The Kings, by NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Killough-Walden.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 21, 2016

138 people are currently reading
536 people want to read

About the author

Heather Killough-Walden

61 books2,187 followers
Heather Killough-Walden is a California native currently living in Texas with her husband and child. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Big Bad Wolf series. Heather’s educational background includes religious studies, archeology, and law. She has traveled all over the world but hopes to one day live in a town with a world-class hockey team. (Let’s Go Pens!) Visit Heather’s website at www.killough-walden.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter. Also, be sure to keep in touch with her and other fans through her Facebook fan page and through Twitter (killoughwalden)!

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5 stars
670 (52%)
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390 (30%)
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198 (15%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
Profile Image for Speed.
995 reviews2 followers
March 25, 2017
I loved the Winter King so much. Perfect pair of Kristopher and Poppy. I loved the back story and the imagery described for the ice castle was magnificent. I could picture It so vividly in my mind. Lol. It was sexy and fun and full of so much clues, as to who the traitor could be in their midst. Hmmmmm. I also believe that The Time King and a certain violet haired girl might be next! I hope so as I would love to hear his story as well.
Profile Image for Talltree.
2,081 reviews25 followers
no-dnf-zzz-avoid
June 29, 2016
Zzz
Profile Image for crashqueen73.
1,263 reviews12 followers
May 13, 2016
This book irritated me. I accidentally purchased the whole book so I thought that I may as well give it more of a chance even though the sample didn't REALLY appeal to me.

A couple of things really, really annoyed me and one was how freaking awesome the hero's laugh was (along with his hot body... but his laugh... oh, his laugh). And the connection between the two was like death warmed up (ha ha... they were ice king and queen and the sex was about as cold as ice.)

Overall I found the book really YA and I really don't enjoy these unless they are incredible. This one wasn't.

DNF at 57%.
Profile Image for Anniek.
436 reviews258 followers
February 13, 2017
Kristopher has been the winter king for thousands of years. He rules from his frozen throne and is part of the council, which contains thirteen kings. All of them are finding their fated queens and he's the next one in line. Kristopher is drinking a cup of coffee at Starbucks when she walks in. The minute he sees her he knows that she is his queen. All he has to do now is convince her to come home with him. When he realizes that his kingdom is under attack, Kristopher has no time to lose.

Poppy has had the worst day ever. All she wants is a nice hot cup of coffee, but every time she takes a sip her coffee is cold. She couldn't even take a hot shower since the water was cold as well. Poppy is having a migraine and struggles through the day. In the evening she finally has a chance to stop by Starbucks to get the much needed hot coffee. When this one turns cold too Poppy loses her temper on her way home. In a dark alley she meets Kristopher. When Kristopher tells her who he is and who she is fated to be Poppy needs to make a difficult choice.

Kristopher has lived for thousands of years. He was a sixteen year old boy when he changed into the winter king and came out a man. Kristopher knows how to rule. He's brave, intelligent and even a little arrogant. He thinks he can outsmart Poppy, but is terribly wrong. He underestimates her and when he notices her true power, he knows that he has found his match. I liked reading about the love he feels for his sister and for Poppy. He's a true king in every way. Kristopher has heard rumors of a traitor amongst the thirteen kings. Now that Yggdrasil is under attack by the Entity, which could lead to the destruction of the winter realm, Kristopher will do anything to keep his queen safe.

Poppy is a human warlock. Even though she doesn't perform magic in the human world, this is forbidden, she's more powerful than she knows. Poppy is a caring and sweet person, but can also be very feisty. She makes instruction manuals for a living and is good at what she does. Poppy is smart and she's a quick thinker. I loved the way she challenges Kristopher when he tries to ambush her. She's a perfect match for him and I knew straight away that she would be an outstanding queen.

The Winter King is an amazing story. It goes back and forth between the past and the present. Heather Killough-Walden uses the proper language for each era and it's little details like this that makes The Winter King a captivating read. The vivid way Heather Killough-Walden tells this story made it almost possible for me to smell the snow and feel the cold of the winter world. Kristopher and Poppy are a perfect match from the moment they meet each other and I loved to read about their journey together. Heather Killough-Walden knows how to write a magical story and definitely managed to enchant me. This is my first book of the Kings series and I can't wait to read the other stories. The Winter King already has me addicted. This book is an absolute must-read, it kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.
Profile Image for Theresa.
4,114 reviews16 followers
November 3, 2017
This is two stories intertwined. The first is the main story of how the Winter King finds and courts his Queen, then together they solve the immediate crisis. The second is how Kristopher became the Winter King. Both were interesting in their own ways. I like the history of the King best of all the Kings so far. It makes the most sense and is the most complete.

Footnote: 1) Where’s the Summer King? Or the Water King? Or the other possible positive, opposite side Kings? Yes we got the Seelie/Unseelie, but how about Light for Shadow? And where are the other elementals? Pi’s not the only one though he is cute.

Fave scenes: throwing the coffee, The King finding his ice castle, meeting Meridian and swimming with the snakes.
Profile Image for Rachelle.
1,342 reviews14 followers
January 7, 2020
2020 EBN Challege - Categore #14
Challenge Topic: A book with a fictitious creature.

Book #8 of The Kings Series. Dragons, Goblins, Valkyrie, Talking Elementals... this book has some amazing characters in it. And I love her sense of humor and the way she develops her characters.

Kris and Poppy are great together! I had no idea Poppy was going to be The Winter Queen, but she does a grand job.

I do have to say though that Heather could really use an Editor/Proofreader. Sometimes pronouns get used wrong, the wrong name gets used, or missing letters off of words can distract from the story.

Profile Image for Denise.
3,718 reviews
May 1, 2020
Poppy has been having a really bad day. Her coffee maker seems to be on the fritz, she is getting a migraine, her boss can't find a file she submitted and she has to recreate it, then the coffee she buys at the coffee shop is cold. Then, as she throws a temper tantrum (and the coffee) a mysterious man shows up and offers to buy her another cup and he turns out to be some know of weirdo who seems to know way too much about her. On top of all that, when she attempts to flee him through a portal she ends up in the middle of a snow covered world, the weirdo's world. The man claims to be in the Winter king and guess who he claims is his queen? Oh, hell no.

Lots of adventure in this one.
168 reviews
June 30, 2018
I've had my eye on this series for some time, I've found when a series goes in for as long as this one has sometimes the books become redundant, the characters fall flat, this is actually the first one I read because this one sounded most interesting, I liked it well enough even though Poppy continually talking about Kris's laugh became kinda annoying and I was expecting a bit more in the sex department. I have the first book on my tbr list, we'll see how it goes
194 reviews
February 22, 2018
Love this series

This is one of the best series I have read. Each book just keeps getting better and better. I get drawn in from the very first page and find myself having to read the whole thing in one or two sittings because I don't want to put the book down until the end. Then I can't wait for the next book.
1,682 reviews12 followers
April 22, 2020
I really liked Kris. He was the most down to earth king so far. He was still intense, but in a more approachable way. I wish there was more time spent with them loving each other, but there was so much action and mystery involved they had to solve, it was hard to do enough alone time
We learn more about the traitor, but not who. A woman attacks Lalura.
Profile Image for Leah Ford.
629 reviews3 followers
June 16, 2020
Persephone Glacia Nix – “Poppy” is the Winter Kings queen. Kristopher Scaul is the Winter King.

The winter king's back story was interesting and his realm was amazing, the description of it left a wonderful images in my mind.

The fight / war continues!

I seem to be speeding through these books in the series but they really are very addictive.
Profile Image for K.K..
635 reviews23 followers
June 27, 2017
Similar to the former book, I enjoyed it very much. The characters were good. the story was a little different since Winter King also had association with Norse Gods. So there were Valhalla and Norse Gods in this book.

4.25 stars
Profile Image for Barbara Stoker.
68 reviews22 followers
April 1, 2021
I really enjoyed not only this book but this series. I love that each book is about a different couple but you never loose sight of the previous couples. This series pulls you in and each book is so different then the one before yet runs perfectly together. it's worth every single penny
Profile Image for Nichell.
130 reviews4 followers
June 22, 2018
Funny! I loved Poppy! She reminded me so much of myself. Tough and never gives up. This book was more relatable than the others in the series so far. Looking forward to the next book. Good read.
17 reviews1 follower
August 13, 2018
My favorite book in the series. The queen in this series, goes all out for her man. The winter king is refreshing like the breeze across your cheek on a hot day. Very good read.
Profile Image for Antoinette Lewis.
802 reviews20 followers
April 16, 2020
It was ok the stories are good a bit wordy in some arears and I am getting a bit bored to read the others.

I will finish the series but it will take some time
Profile Image for Apurva C.
168 reviews
February 15, 2022
The good: Characters. The flashbacks and present story format. Winter as a separate entity. The ending was okay.

The bad:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Angela Goodrich.
1,608 reviews102 followers
July 4, 2016
I absolutely loved this installment in The Kings series. I won’t say it’s my favorite, because I suspect The Vampire King will always hold that spot, but The Winter King certainly gives it a run for its money. As I read it immediately after finishing The Shadow King, there was a major juxtaposition from a world of darkness and shadows, to a world of brightness and white – snow and ice as far as the eye can see. Just like the kings before him, Kristopher could not fathom finding his queen because he could not imagine ever finding a woman willing to live in the land of Winter. And again, just like the kings before him, he recognized his queen the moment he laid eyes on her…

What made The Winter King so enjoyable for me was that Killough-Walden combined several elements of mythology, magic, and legend to craft Kristopher’s character and find the perfect queen for him. Having met Kris in The Shadow King, he had already been described as being the modern-day equivalent of Thor, so his physical characteristics were not hard for me to conjure up – think Chris Hemsworth, but bigger. But the author takes it one step farther and gives us chapters that take us back to the Shadow King’s past, back to 739 AD in Norway, when he was a human known as Erikk. This is just one of the things that makes Kris different from the other kings we’ve met so far – he was born human, with no supernatural ties. As the book moves from the present where Kris has found his queen and is trying to lay claim on her, to the past where we learn what transpired to turn the human, Erikk, into the immortal Winter King, the reader is treated to two stories which pull heavily from Norse mythology. But learning about Kris’s past is vital to understanding why Poppy is to be his queen – and the parallel between Poppy’s namesake and the land her king oversees is not overlooked either, adding a touch of Greek mythology. However, unlike her namesake, Poppy is human, but she is special in that she studied warlock magic alongside Violet and Dahlia, something very few humans are capable of doing. I enjoyed how the author imparted the knowledge of who Kris and Poppy were, each learning about the other and taking the reader along for the ride as they battled against the forces attacking Yggdrasil and trying to bring an end to the Kingdom of Winter.

In addition to witnessing the Winter King finding and claiming his queen, and them fighting to save Winter, more about the series plots are revealed. Dannai finally reveals to Lalura, Lily, and Diana what she learned from her father when she entered the Land of the Dead to collect her husband’s second body. The knowledge about her mother and who placed her in a magical coma and why provides more insight into what the Entity is hoping to accomplish. We learn once again that despite her frail appearance, Lalura is not a witch to be underestimated – which is exactly what occurs when one of the traitors attacks her. Interestingly, I believe that we may have met the possible queen for book nine, simply because we didn’t meet the king (and I only know this because of the title listed on Goodreads for book nine) and because of Lalura’s letter to her at the end of the book. Unfortunately, we still do not know who the traitorous king is. Now back to the elements of magic and legend that I mentioned made The Winter King so fascinating to me, there is a scene in the book in which Kris talks about a homophone – pay close attention to this scene if you want in on another of the Winter King’s secrets, because if you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself smiling once you figure out what Kris is trying to tell Poppy. The Winter King is hands down, one of my favorites in The Kings series and I’m not only looking forward to The Demon King, I’m also looking forward to one day being able to read all of the books back to back so I can pick up on all the nuances I’m missing.

I reviewed my personal copy of this book.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!
Profile Image for Karina Guerrero.
64 reviews14 followers
March 4, 2017
Love it

I love this series the last two books weren't my favorite but I really liked The Winter King. Can't wait for the rest of the books in the series.
Profile Image for Nereid.
1,466 reviews21 followers
February 28, 2017
One of my favourites so far

The Winter King was action packed with battles, Valkyries and the pages were not just filled with steamy interludes. I enjoy some romantic moments but too much of a good thing and it gets boring. I liked the fact that although Kristopher had found his queen he was still trying to save his kingdom as well. Poppy was perfect as the Winter Queen and she was likeable and relative with her humanity and empathy for others. Winter is my favourite season and this was a great read
2,336 reviews85 followers
March 6, 2016
GENERAL INFO: The Winter King
Year Pub/Re Pub: 2/2016
Indie/Publisher: indie
Page Length:228
Genre: PNR
Sub-Genre/Age: 18+
Book's Price: 3.99
Price I'd Value: same, it's a steal
Standalone/Cliffhanger:standalone
Standalone /Part of a Series/Installment:The Kings Book#8
Epilogue Included:​yes,though I'm not sure who the next the book is going to feature, the Time King?
=======================================
POV (1st/2nd/3rd Person): 1st
Character(s)POV Spoken: H and h
=======================================
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ​
=======================================​
M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F
HEA/HFN/etc Ending:HFN
Contains Cheating:no
Contains Children:no
Flashbacks: Yes, Erikk/Kris back in AD
Jealy/Possy/OTT Rating: a little 2
Amount of Sex In The Book:only 1 scene
Overall Smex Rating: 2
=======================================
CHARACTER DESCRIPTION:
=======================================​
HERO: Kristopher Scaul
Hero Description:Winter King
Hero Likability Rating:​4
HEROINE:Persophone/Poppy
Heroine Description: human,warlock
Heroine Likability Rating:5
Secondary characters: Violet-Shadow Queen-Poppy's BFF,Will-Time King
=======================================
H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO: once Kris explains everything to Poppy, she's all in
=======================================​
OW/OM/Exes:n/ a
=======================================
Cheating Before/During/Outside H/h Relationship:n/a
Grovel Rating:n/a
Did OW/OM/Ex Ruin the Book For You:n/a
=======================================
TRIGGERS/WARNING: n/
=======================================
AUTHOR OVERVIEW: Heather Killough-Walden
=======================================​
Technical/Editing Quality:4
Writing/Content Quality:4/4.5
=======================================
PERSONAL OVERVIEW: Overall Rating: 4
Do You Recommend This Book: yes
Will You Re-read This Book: maybe
Would You Read More Books by this Author:definitely
=======================================​
COMMENTS/NOTES: This series hasn't gotten stale yet. Some books I liked more than others, but overall a great idea. I love Poppy's personality- she's fun, spunky, and a little dangerous. Kristopher is her opposite in many ways. He's serious and determined to make her his. There isn't much action until the end, when Poppy comes into her own power.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Melvina.
177 reviews
February 28, 2016
There are some series' that are completely addictive, and for me this is one of them. I adore this author' style of writing, i know that when i pick up one of her books i'm going to be immediately transported to magical worlds, full of wonder & mystic. With characters of every description & a story that will not only grip me, but also drag me in to become almost a participant in the unfolding drama. Kristopher was one of the easiest kings to like, he was quick to laugh & very easy on the eye. His pursuit of Poppy was determined but done with a twinkle in his eye. He & Poppy were absolutely adorable together, they just fit. Their instant sizzling connection was full of tension, but their was no denying that they belonged to each other. I loved Poppy's nature, empathetic with a streak of wildness , you couldn't not love her. I was willing Kristopher to win her over & there were times when i was almost kicking Poppy towards that throne. The interaction between the two was fun, magnetic & full of sexual suspense. In this story we were introduced to other magical beings & lands that made me gasp in wonder. They were so enthralling that i wanted to hold Kristopher's hand myself and walk through the beauty & majesty that had been created to actually SEE it with my own eyes. It shows how powerful words can be, that they can create an image in your minds eye and bring a sense of wonderment & awe, that's exactly what this author achieves. As usual you never know where or when evil is going to strike, and when it strikes at the Winter King & his Queen, he strikes with venom, causing fatal consequences, but that's exactly when Poppy steps up to the plate and proves her strength as the Queen. There are new players on the chessboard, revelations, & i believe the Time King is awaiting his Queen, can't wait for the next installment......absolutely brilliant!
Profile Image for Karen.
2 reviews17 followers
February 23, 2016
A heart of fire to melt the Ice Kings heart

Miss Killough-Walden delivers a fun, exciting, and fast paced love story in this paranormal series featuring kings in search of their queens. The author fills her stories with well developed characters who both intrigue and mystify, capturing the imagination and heart of the reader. Alone for centuries the Ice King finds his queen in a most unlikely place proving the search for love can be less fruitful than just sitting with a cup of coffee without expectation.



Well written with excellent flow, this plot driven novel delivers romance, action, and interesting settings which keep the reader turning the pages with intensity. A well written captivating story to join the series.

Karen Bryant Doering
Mistblueeeyore@gmail.com
Parents Little Black Book @ Facebook
17 reviews3 followers
February 25, 2016
I literally waited and tried to hold off finishing the book in one day... Heather amazes you with the depth of characters and their lives.. I was just amazed at the turn this series will now take... I can relate to Poppy with her love of coffee! .......and the Winter King -- icing on the cake! He by far has overwhelmed my senses to the point he is my favorite (and let me tell you.. its hard!) The ending yet another loop that twisted in another direction to the point that I keep looking forward to the rest to see how it all ties together! She gets you addicted to these characters because they just pop out at you.. their background, lives and obstacles...As I read I can picture the chessboard slowly being filled with the kings and their queens. The looming battle on the horizon I expect will be a memorable one!
945 reviews7 followers
February 25, 2016
I love this series and this book was another great contribution to it.

Unlike the other stories in the Kings series, most of the other kings don't make an appearance. The story was squarely focused on the Winter King and his Queen, who were great together. Poppy accepted her role as queen slowly, but once she did, she was truly formidable and Kristopher's perfect compliment.

The Time King and the Traitor make appearances in the book... I'm really hoping that The Time King's story comes next, because I would hate to find out that he is the traitor.

Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews

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