Wintergate

Border Kingdom

by C.E. Murphy

No one has traveled to or from faerieland since the end of the Border Wars, save through the Wintergate, whose power can only be activated on the shortest day of the year. When gatekeeper Emilia loses everything to the Border Kingdom, ice touches her heart and grows within her, until the day comes that she must finally choose between her duty and someone else's loss....

Genres: Fantasy

59 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2020

About the author

CE Murphy began writing around age six, when she submitted three poems to a school publication. The teacher producing the magazine selected (inevitably) the one she thought was by far the worst, but also told her–a six year old kid–to keep writing, which she has. She has also held the usual grab-bag of jobs usually seen in an authorial biography, including public library volunteer (at ages 9 and 10; it’s clear she was doomed to a career involving books), archival assistant, cannery worker, and web designer. Writing books is better.

She was born and raised in Alaska, and now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland.

She also writes paranormal romance as Murphy Lawless and cozy mysteries as Catie Murphy.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect read for the Winter Solstice. Kind of a dark retelling of the Snow Queen, but from a wonderful point of view.

[Erika Ensign · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the other Border Kingdom book, ROSES IN AMBER (a Beauty & the Beast retelling), I needed to read WINTERGATE to see what a spin on The Winter Queen would look like in this world. Unsurprisingly, it's a lot colder -- but in the most beautiful way. I really like Emilia, a main character who's a woman over 30. She keeps doing her duty in service to others, even though it hurts. And when the adventure really kicks off, she's still trying to help. That resonates deeply.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Snow Queen retold

This is an interesting take on the Snow Queen, with Murphy’s trademark powerful women, movie quotes, and compelling story. It’s nice to see more of the worlds in her Rising books.

[Larisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murphy excels again with a lush magic filled fairy tale retelling in her Roses & Amber Universe. The story is familiar yet still filled with unseen plot twists & turns.
Perfect novella for a winter's afternoon or evening.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who enjoy retold fairy tales, this is a solid take on The Snow Queen.

[Jennifer Burrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok short story. Not representative of this author.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - I liked it

This was a short but decent retelling of the Snow Queen. A little more emotion fleshed it out while still keeping the fairy tale fee!.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting novella focused on re-telling the story of the snow queen, though it isn't obvious in the initial chapters. I found the first chapter a little disconnected and a bit challenging to follow, but I stuck with it and the pieces fell into place for the most part. I'm not sure if this is set in an existing world or not, but I'd love to read more set in this world.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Nothing in particular against the writing style. The story was just want not my cup of tea.