Name: Winter Reign: Rise of the Winter Queen
Rating: 3.53 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 9780995243699

246 reviews2 followers

April 17, 2017

Nevena of Ethore serves the House of Eaynfall in the Moerdra Castle on the lands of Dao. The family are kind and noble and Nevena enjoys her work for the family comprising Lord Jacob and Lady Katrina, plus their two daughters Thea and Delara. Nevena knows nothing of her life before a girl just nine years old, the then young girl Delara, found her lying in a valley during a campaign of conflict fought by her father. Had the brazenly courageous Delara not stowed herself among the equipment being carried by her father's troops near to the valley where she was located, then its anyone's guess as to what might otherwise have become of Nevena.

It was that spark that created the fire bonding her strongest friendship, even if propriety questions whether true friendship should've been allowed to come to pass or be possible between two very different classes and stations. To this end both she and Delara had developed a code to transmit their wishes without any others knowing, save perhaps her next closest friend, another servant called Ciraa; and perhaps in the instance of Delara, her younger sister Thea. Thus Nevena is eternally grateful for all the Eaynfall's have done in taking her in. Even though her fair complexion and white as snow hair colour contrast her significantly from the natives of Dao, and even from the natives of the land suspected as her own.

Nevena hasn't ever dreamt of a different or better life per se, not in the true sense of a desire to escape from an unwanted life. Although she has had various dreams of course, she's still happy with her life of servitude because of the goodness of those whom she served. Whilst Nevena has an amnesia of sorts for the life she might've lived with her own family before Delara found her, it is not to say that she has lived free of having a family; not considering the defacto family filled by the numerous servants who work at Moerdra, in the quarter century she's happily spent here.

Unlike Delara who has some magical ability such as being able to help in lighting candle decorations for the upcoming ball, Nevena has no traditional ability considered to be magic. She does however have an intuitive capacity recognised as feelings about certain events, things, places and people, and she's also capable of sniffing out those with magic in the environment around her. These could be considered to border on the edge of a magical abilities. Depending on when they arise you could almost consider the relevant ones to be a form of precognition. Not that she would make such a claim using those words, though.

Speaking of her intuition if that's how you prefer to consider it, a particular guest arriving for the Moerdra banquet to start that evening sparked off some form of innate recognition. Though she knew the man who's suspected of being the greatest sorcerer in all of the Hundred Kingdoms during his time span would be a reveler, Nevena needed no advice stating Eduard Grandestor had arrived: she could easily detect his presence in the aether, and well beyong the walls of Moerdra.

Before the celebrations of the night start Nevena learns of two things that put the largest of smiles on her face. The first is more mundane and relates to her fellow servants' exclamations of her ravishing beauty. Given it's the first ever dressing up that she's been called on to do since her servitude to the Eaynfalls, the transformation of her natural attributes into devine beauty has never had the opportunity to shine before. The second reveals what is perhaps the line of her aforementioned instincts that something special was about to begin. For the duration of the ball, Lady Katrina has called for a much coveted expansion on the server's roles. The rare honour of being a Red Shadow is assigned to her with regard to Eduard. A long-held tradition reaped in rewards if done well, in stigma if done poorly, and even in death should a Red Shadow make a sacrifice not unheard of in stepping between their charge and danger aimed at them.

Red Shadows are attaches assigned to one exclusive guest for whom only them do they serve. They must take the Red Oath, received by those assigning the role before they can begin their undertaking. It signifies esteem and trust among other judgements about who they're perceived to be by the nobles of the household. Whilst Nevena keeps in mind the honour of her undertaking she also cannot completely exclude the anxious tension it creates. In as much as everything it means reshapes her own realisation of her place at Moerdra, Nevena could however do without her trembling limbs. When Eduard turns out to be one of the most beautiful men she has ever beheld, it certainly doesn't help her to catch her breath or stop from shaking.

Whether Eduard's arrival at Moerdra was purely a chance invitation that came before the real purpose for his visit, or after he determined the very real need to visit, other than the mentioned social propriety and the workings of nobility is inconsequential in the end. Eduard has been visiting the dreams of a young enchantress and sorceress, the beguiling woman known by him as the one to rise once again as the mythical Winter Queen, only after his magic travelled all the Hundred Kingdoms seeking out his charge. Not in his four centuries has he been able to locate her until now. Only just this night before her role as Eduard's Red Shadow began in earnest did Nevena have the chance to confide in her soul sister Delara, over the man visiting formless and faceless to speak in her dreams in a tongue she doesn't recognise but still understands.

To now be facing this man who she has no doubt that he'd be capable of doing so is incomprehensible when he tells her it is she who he looked for; and that it was him speaking in her dreams. Had she not been experiencing the inexplicable meetings she'd no doubt be laughing it off as some absurd ploy. Stopping to speak with her at one of her favourite locations of Moerdra at night when none other than the assigned guard is present, more amazingly whilst his self is off teaching Delara some of the things she could do with the level of her gift just confounds her further. The only other things about him that confound her more are the ways his most startling eyes change between the most alluring colours; and that when the backs of his fingers graze ever so lightly against her cheek, she nearly loses the ability to stand.

The banquet also marked the beginnings in the instruction of the Royal Sorceresses, and the passion and love that grew in Nevena. She still couldn't conceive of happening some eight weeks later. As the ongoing Red Shadow she is given leave to be by her first and only lover's side. This brings her closer to the nine sorceresses honoured with the title of Royal Sorceresses, but for as far back as she can remember rumor has run rampart about them, at least that is in the land of Dao. Elegant, tall, blonde haired slender beauties who are graceful and privileged with well mannered poise of the very best impressions only up until you are there to meet them. Then its the sudden chill which tempers the air after they've passed through, leaving in their wake a stench of malevolence, that is most remembered.

With an empathic range commensurate with his power Eduard can send out his consciousness across the land, as he did with Nevena, and feels the evil that taints the air of their lands. Nevena's instincts certainly worn her about the sorts of sorceresses that they are. As he did the night of their meeting Eduard has used one of his spells to create the copy used by him to watch and monitor them. In this manner of investigation he knows what they are capable of. In his own words: “They are of the enemy that I have hunted...". Like some of the most poisonous things of the universe they have a most enchanting beauty which works as a facade to draw in their victims, to promote others into underestimating them, and to prompt others into giving allowances or favours they otherwise wouldn't. Sometimes beauty is only a face used to entrap.

Given the way that Nevena so quickly reacted to Eduard's presence in her life, to have something she'd known nothing of nor had the opportunity to previously explore, it should come as no surprise that other women should also come to fall in love with her sorcerer. Whether he encourages actively or passively through his gentlemanly and charismatic way is secondary to Nevena's concerns when it becomes blatantly apparent to her that her soul sister Delara has all the bodily language, and of course the ways she speaks of him, to reveal an unrequited love of him. She and Delara have yet to encounter any circumstances in their long friendship that would not only test the boundaries of their bond, but also the opinions regarding their station differences.

What would Delara come to think, feel and do if she were to learn of Nevena and Eduard's love; Nevena thus far has only revealed the truth to Ciraa, perhaps a telling indication of the subconscious instincts she has regarding how her noble friends and family would truly think of her when they learn of her tryst. He gave up his rank as the lord to ensure he wouldn't inherit his family's station to pursue his devotion to the arcane. Whilst he doesn't consider himself as a lord those of nobility do, so what would they think of the boundaries between lord and servant. This is never more evident than when Delara confides her desire for her family to consider a marriage, even though she speaks of no specific actions or acceptance by Eduard to suggest he also would consider the same.

So it is that Delara arrives at the eventual confirmation of what she'd thought to have seen between Eduard and Nevena but had disregarded it as preposterous, and thus her jealous wrath is raised. Before the impending argument has a chance to reach for its core and escalation, though, destruction begotten by the true nature of the Royal Sorceresses begins. They are just one front of what will come to follow. Evils forgotten or thought to have been removed from existence are at large once again. In consecutive battles the history of days, now centuries passed rises again and little known manipulations and espionage are revealed.

Once again the levels of meddling and collusion by those with evil souls and agendas takes foot in the lands of the Hundred Kingdoms. The War of the Four Heavens had unfathomable consequences, countless death, and the eradication of whole races. Although many in existence have come to forget or were not born when the fighting took place, those with evil intentions never forget and they would see their past defeat being avenged and the fighting renewed. Oftentimes it is evident that those of goodness are incapable of predicting the sorts of things evil will do because they have not the capacity to think in the same ways that makes them evil to begin with. Compounding that is where evil knows how goodness will react in predictable ways that are governed by protecting the weak and the ones they love.

But in Nevena's case, recovering and starting out again after being mortally wounded and having lost things she had no conception of how to handle or how they'd impact her before, it'd nonetheless be a mistake to consider that Nevena the Servant Girl has no mettle. For whether she permits her other name being spoken or not, Jasslwyn the Winter Queen is still capable of being wraithed in the snow and ice of the season that provides her first name. As to whether that is enough to do what none who came before her were capable of doing is an unknown element being played out, but one thing is for sure: if she continues to turn her back on wisdom bestowed by her cousin, Ciraa the glamoured servant who's also her best friend and the only family she knows, then she'll fight from a perspective offering less than her full potential and may indeed fail because of the one thing she stops embracing.

The world of the Hundred Kingdoms as Nikko has envisaged has a likeness to that of a model of her own making regarding that of Faerie. For lovers of the Fae the Rise of the Winter Queen and the way Nevena describes a magical tongue of spells spoken in a language known as Faerre, both offer the early indicators supporting such a supposition. Especially when the latter is further described in the narration as melodic and flowing. The seductive nature of the race in both appeal and desire is never more accentuated than it is by the scenario where the next winter queen gets her first kiss and gets laid whilst she's at it. A further example of Fae mannerisms is the extension of the propriety of Fae courts to the whole of the social environments abroad. Though this isn't by any means particular to only the Fae, there's a lot of bowing and curtseying that takes place.

Nikko has shown, and continues to do again, a capacity to place her cards in many hands instead of just one or two. They nearly all would be under the umbrella of fantasy, but their individual classifications or subgenres span several types. Herein is a storyline that fits into the traditional scope of say epic or high fantasy, with a splash of dark. There's also a paranormal cozy or supernatural mystery (the only line I haven't yet read). Then there's an urban fantasy thread, but this is only from my own less than well qualified ability to label what specific genres are applicable. The point I can make with certainty, though, is the fact that her storylines cross borders and boundaries to include aspects which make them applicable to the different subgenres, and in the case of her Witchy Cozy it spans into the broader genre of mystery; not than any of the other storylines don't include mystery too.

The pacing is quite quick but I did find a couple of the jumps quite sudden so I felt like I was trying to catch up. But what this does offer is a well packed amount of action. I haven't encountered the like before in Nikko's books, so I'm not settled on whether it was a good strategy or not. I liked Nevena as a central character whilst Eduard was a perhaps a little to good to be true. I would've liked to see a bit more of Thea. With each of the lands being characterised by various supernaturals and/or different people there's no dhortage of variety. The reconstruction of species encountered in typically Fae based novels is a nice touch, it gives it a unique quality to the intriguing worlds of Faerie.

There are a lot of battles which in one hand is great for pace and action, but there was a bit of hopping from one to the next without as much accounting after the first few. The anticipation of how far and in what ways events were about to fall created intrigue, captivation and the desire to read on. I must be honest in saying its not my favourite of Nikko's work but that's hardly a criticism. It does however mean that instead of the five stars I usually rate her work I'm going with four on the Winter Reign.

Winter Reign: Rise of the Winter Queen

N.M. Howell

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N.M. Howell

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