What do you think?
Rate this book
A Winter's Rime
A harrowing and emotional novel set in rural Wisconsin― A Winter's Rime explores the impact of generational trauma, and one woman's journey to find peace and healing from the violence of her past.
Mallory Moe is a twenty-five-year-old veteran Army mechanic, living with her girlfriend, Andrea, and working overnights at a gas station store while figuring out what’s next. Andrea's off-grid cabin provides a perfect sanctuary for Mallory, a synesthete with a hypersensitivity to sound that can trigger flashbacks from her childhood.
The getaway that's largely abandoned during the off season starts out idyllic, until Andrea's once-loving behavior turns controlling and abusive, and Mallory once again finds herself not wanting to go home. After a particularly disturbing altercation, Mallory escapes into the subzero night and stumbles into Shay, a teenage girl, injured and asking for help. But it isn’t long before she realizes that Shay isn't the only one who needs saving.
A story about sisterhood and second chances, A Winter’s Rime looks to nature to find what it can teach us about bearing hardship and expanding our capacity to forgive―not just others, but ourselves.
Mallory Moe is a twenty-five-year-old veteran Army mechanic, living with her girlfriend, Andrea, and working overnights at a gas station store while figuring out what’s next. Andrea's off-grid cabin provides a perfect sanctuary for Mallory, a synesthete with a hypersensitivity to sound that can trigger flashbacks from her childhood.
The getaway that's largely abandoned during the off season starts out idyllic, until Andrea's once-loving behavior turns controlling and abusive, and Mallory once again finds herself not wanting to go home. After a particularly disturbing altercation, Mallory escapes into the subzero night and stumbles into Shay, a teenage girl, injured and asking for help. But it isn’t long before she realizes that Shay isn't the only one who needs saving.
A story about sisterhood and second chances, A Winter’s Rime looks to nature to find what it can teach us about bearing hardship and expanding our capacity to forgive―not just others, but ourselves.
- GenresFictionContemporary
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 12, 2023
14 people are currently reading
255 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 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 15, 2024
A Winter's Rime is a deeply emotional, character driven novel. The main character, Mallory Moe, is a twenty five year old Army Veteran who works the overnight shift at a gas station in rural Wisconsin. Mallory suffers from the impacts of generational trauma. The violence of her upbringing causing Mallory to either shut down or lash out in anger. At times hurting those she cares about.
It's clear throughout the story Mallory is a good person. It was hard to read some of the chapters, the self-deprecation and complete absence of self love. I wanted to reach into the book and hug her! It's sad the situations people find themselves in because they are afraid. It seems easy to stay in a place we find comfortable, not knowing that so called comfort is really a prison. I was rooting for Mallory, for her health and happiness the whole time.
I am very surprised I haven't seen this book on bookstagram. Why aren't more people reading this?
My thanks to Kaye Publicity for this gifted copy. I look forward to reading the author's debut, The Net Beneath Us.
Trigger warnings: physical & emotional abuse/PTSD/human trafficking/death of pet/childhood trauma
It's clear throughout the story Mallory is a good person. It was hard to read some of the chapters, the self-deprecation and complete absence of self love. I wanted to reach into the book and hug her! It's sad the situations people find themselves in because they are afraid. It seems easy to stay in a place we find comfortable, not knowing that so called comfort is really a prison. I was rooting for Mallory, for her health and happiness the whole time.
I am very surprised I haven't seen this book on bookstagram. Why aren't more people reading this?
My thanks to Kaye Publicity for this gifted copy. I look forward to reading the author's debut, The Net Beneath Us.
Trigger warnings: physical & emotional abuse/PTSD/human trafficking/death of pet/childhood trauma
Read
October 28, 202387: A Winter's Rime by Carol Dunbar
I very happily obtained this book after meeting its author recently at her local book launch, and I became immediately intrigued by her story within the story of her writing of…and ultimately of…the book itself.
Additionally, that it is set in northern Wisconsin and specifically based on a very Kwik Trip-like place called a "Speed Stop" instead, makes me feel from its start like I'm "home" in some ways. That the main character's name matches one of my daughter's, the dog's name matches mine, well…it's a little crazy the number of ways in which I connect with it all.
Mallory Moe is Dunbar's main character in A Winter's Rime, and she has been through a lot in her 20-some years, and has also, seemingly, done her best. I cannot quite appropriately find words to convey how oddly my reading life works, me picking and choosing a tbr stack for a variety of reasons, deciding who-knows-how, also, what to read next, and then somehow to be reading this book about Mallory and her own self-guided "therapy," while also listening to Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma and truly merely because it was "available" "non-fiction" when I finished my last audiobook on Libby. I could not help but find/feel/see/think of all of the similarities and on so many levels while reading…to then be completely surprised and yet not at all to see Dunbar's acknowledgements at the end of this book appreciate that very author and his in her first paragraph.
My reading life is soooooooooooo weird and so amazing.
Dunbar's Mallory Moe is on a quintessential quest for finding her adult and successful self and after years of trying to figure out why not everyone in her family was rooting for her if, by nature, they should have been. She's a very believable character in numerous ways.
Mallory works nights, mostly, in the local Speed Stop after returning to rural Wisconsin from training and then some deployments with the Army, as a vehicle mechanic, possibly hoping that she can "fix" lots of things with all of that now distant experience. Having had four of my own daughters work, themselves, at the model for this "Speed Stop," I know that Dunbar has the vocabulary and setting, interactions of allllllll of that work, down...pat and completely. Lovers of "Speed Stop" may very much enjoy this book for those reasons, too.
But outside of work--and in, really--Mallory lives with trauma, and she's gotten herself into a living situation, with her girlfriend Andrea, that is not super healthy or helpful either.
Mallory's story in this book will provide a sort of therapy for many others, I believe, as they see in Mallory or in her relationship with her co-worker named Noah, her curiosity about Landon James, her challenges with Andrea, her interaction with Shay…things to which they may also relate on a little or a lot of levels. Like the best books and "bibliotherapy" (long my dream to practice it! I do my best with these reviews) provided by reading and discussing them, then, with others, this one packs so much value that way.
Unfortunately, it also provides lessons in the editing that is just not happening with so many books these days. From typos ("singed" instead of "signed," quite obviously) to other grammatical and punctuational errors with which I could have helped, there are just too many to be merely an oops. Either editors are not doing their work, OR they don't even--so sadly or any longer--know that important work. That is such a bummer to me!
Let's see this as a book way too good to pass on for those marring reasons, so instead, when you read it yourself: keep track of the errors, so we can compare those notes, too, and see if we agree. And then when it's ready for re-print, maybe Dunbar will contact me, and we could be helpful to all involved.
Truly: READ the book. Its content and messages are far more powerful than its errors are distracting…I think.
I very happily obtained this book after meeting its author recently at her local book launch, and I became immediately intrigued by her story within the story of her writing of…and ultimately of…the book itself.
Additionally, that it is set in northern Wisconsin and specifically based on a very Kwik Trip-like place called a "Speed Stop" instead, makes me feel from its start like I'm "home" in some ways. That the main character's name matches one of my daughter's, the dog's name matches mine, well…it's a little crazy the number of ways in which I connect with it all.
Mallory Moe is Dunbar's main character in A Winter's Rime, and she has been through a lot in her 20-some years, and has also, seemingly, done her best. I cannot quite appropriately find words to convey how oddly my reading life works, me picking and choosing a tbr stack for a variety of reasons, deciding who-knows-how, also, what to read next, and then somehow to be reading this book about Mallory and her own self-guided "therapy," while also listening to Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma and truly merely because it was "available" "non-fiction" when I finished my last audiobook on Libby. I could not help but find/feel/see/think of all of the similarities and on so many levels while reading…to then be completely surprised and yet not at all to see Dunbar's acknowledgements at the end of this book appreciate that very author and his in her first paragraph.
My reading life is soooooooooooo weird and so amazing.
Dunbar's Mallory Moe is on a quintessential quest for finding her adult and successful self and after years of trying to figure out why not everyone in her family was rooting for her if, by nature, they should have been. She's a very believable character in numerous ways.
Mallory works nights, mostly, in the local Speed Stop after returning to rural Wisconsin from training and then some deployments with the Army, as a vehicle mechanic, possibly hoping that she can "fix" lots of things with all of that now distant experience. Having had four of my own daughters work, themselves, at the model for this "Speed Stop," I know that Dunbar has the vocabulary and setting, interactions of allllllll of that work, down...pat and completely. Lovers of "Speed Stop" may very much enjoy this book for those reasons, too.
But outside of work--and in, really--Mallory lives with trauma, and she's gotten herself into a living situation, with her girlfriend Andrea, that is not super healthy or helpful either.
Mallory's story in this book will provide a sort of therapy for many others, I believe, as they see in Mallory or in her relationship with her co-worker named Noah, her curiosity about Landon James, her challenges with Andrea, her interaction with Shay…things to which they may also relate on a little or a lot of levels. Like the best books and "bibliotherapy" (long my dream to practice it! I do my best with these reviews) provided by reading and discussing them, then, with others, this one packs so much value that way.
Unfortunately, it also provides lessons in the editing that is just not happening with so many books these days. From typos ("singed" instead of "signed," quite obviously) to other grammatical and punctuational errors with which I could have helped, there are just too many to be merely an oops. Either editors are not doing their work, OR they don't even--so sadly or any longer--know that important work. That is such a bummer to me!
Let's see this as a book way too good to pass on for those marring reasons, so instead, when you read it yourself: keep track of the errors, so we can compare those notes, too, and see if we agree. And then when it's ready for re-print, maybe Dunbar will contact me, and we could be helpful to all involved.
Truly: READ the book. Its content and messages are far more powerful than its errors are distracting…I think.
October 8, 2023
Just what I needed in this moment.
October 6, 2023
Carol Dunbar's newest novel, A WINTER'S RIME, explores the tough themes of generational trauma and human trafficking. 25-year-old Mallory Moe is an Army vet living with her girlfriend in a cabin in the woods of Wisconsin. Mallory isn't sure what she wants to do next -- including whether or not she wants to stay in her relationship with Andrea, who is often jealous and controlling. Mallory works overnights at a gas station with Noah, a brilliant and funny young man on the spectrum, her only authentic friendship and one that seems to center her. She is estranged from her parents, who have divorced, and her younger sister. She is haunted by memories of her childhood and early adulthood.
One night, after a violent argument with Andrea, Mallory leaves the cabin to walk the dog. Suddenly, a young woman stumbles out of the woods, nearly naked and bleeding. Shay, the young woman, begs her for help; she has escaped from two men who are out looking for her. Mallory enlists the help of Landon, her neighbor, and the two bring Shay to the hospital in his pick up truck.
Mallory desperately wants to rescue Shay and has begun an inquiry into becoming her foster parent, when Shay goes missing again.
Dunbar has written a sensitive and studied story about generational trauma and it's effects. Though Mallory wants to save Shay, she really is trying to save herself. Dunbar's writing is evocative and lyrical. Her characters are complex and their relationships are conflicted. Yet, she does not turn to easy answers. And though things don't turn out as Mallory might have wished, in the end she finds salvation.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Listen to my author interviews the fourth Thursday of every month at 7:oo pm on WTIP Radio, 90.7 Grand Marais, MN or stream them at www.superiorreads.com.
One night, after a violent argument with Andrea, Mallory leaves the cabin to walk the dog. Suddenly, a young woman stumbles out of the woods, nearly naked and bleeding. Shay, the young woman, begs her for help; she has escaped from two men who are out looking for her. Mallory enlists the help of Landon, her neighbor, and the two bring Shay to the hospital in his pick up truck.
Mallory desperately wants to rescue Shay and has begun an inquiry into becoming her foster parent, when Shay goes missing again.
Dunbar has written a sensitive and studied story about generational trauma and it's effects. Though Mallory wants to save Shay, she really is trying to save herself. Dunbar's writing is evocative and lyrical. Her characters are complex and their relationships are conflicted. Yet, she does not turn to easy answers. And though things don't turn out as Mallory might have wished, in the end she finds salvation.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Listen to my author interviews the fourth Thursday of every month at 7:oo pm on WTIP Radio, 90.7 Grand Marais, MN or stream them at www.superiorreads.com.
September 4, 2023
A Winter’s Rime by Carol Dunbar. Thanks to @kayepublicity for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hannah is living with Andrea, her older girlfriend, at Andrea’s isolated cabin. After a violent altercation, she flees and meets a teenager escaping from her own traumatic situation.
There’s a lot of heart, emotion, and trauma to this story. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings but it is very slowly paced. I had a hard time sticking with it, but at the end I was glad I did. It comes together in a meaningful way at the end and brought an appreciation to the earlier part of the tale.
“Because if you loved someone long enough and true enough, they would show you how to be enough.”
A Winter’s Rime comes out 9/12.
Hannah is living with Andrea, her older girlfriend, at Andrea’s isolated cabin. After a violent altercation, she flees and meets a teenager escaping from her own traumatic situation.
There’s a lot of heart, emotion, and trauma to this story. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings but it is very slowly paced. I had a hard time sticking with it, but at the end I was glad I did. It comes together in a meaningful way at the end and brought an appreciation to the earlier part of the tale.
“Because if you loved someone long enough and true enough, they would show you how to be enough.”
A Winter’s Rime comes out 9/12.
November 27, 2023
I am enjoying this book. Different and new for new times; 2023. Very smartly written with words and sentences that make me 'feel' and consequently 'like' -literature. The author has put a concerted effort into a concisely written book which is well researched -on PTSD Mallory Moe is a War Vet. and on Noah's autism. I was thinking about the movie series Love On the Spectrum while reading. Stuck in a cabin in the woods with Andrea, Mallory shows strength and courage as she continues to seek for answers . Don't we all eventually ask, "Who am I really?" How did my family of origin change or affect how I am now. Anyway, this novel looks small but it's packed with issues in family life, work relationships and just plain living choices. It ends well.
I looked up Rime because I wondered about Rime and Winter and also Rhyme and even wondered about the The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. the spelling of rhyme is different as in the original title, 1798, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I won't dwell on whether rhyme or rime as the
Grammarist says:
While rhyme relates to poetic structure, rime has a different use. It’s not as commonly used as it once was and is derived from Old English. It’s meant to describe the frost that forms on cold things by the quick freezing of water vapor in clouds or fog.
Rime ice forms when supercooled water droplets freeze onto surfaces. In the atmosphere, there are three basic types of rime ice
So, A Winter's Rime is an elegant title, I think.
5-star rating but I'm rereading parts.
Note on the summary of "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner."
**The poem follows the Ancient Mariner as he travels at sea. In an act of selfishness and/or immorality, he kills an Albatross. Once this has happened, his crew and ship experience bad luck in which all the crewmembers die.
**The Mariner finds that he cannot die and is only able to escape his curse when he is able to find an appreciation for the beauty of all living things in his heart. At this point, the dead Albatross that his crew hung around his neck before his death is finally able to fall off, symbolizing his freedom from shame and guilt.
I looked up Rime because I wondered about Rime and Winter and also Rhyme and even wondered about the The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. the spelling of rhyme is different as in the original title, 1798, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I won't dwell on whether rhyme or rime as the
Grammarist says:
While rhyme relates to poetic structure, rime has a different use. It’s not as commonly used as it once was and is derived from Old English. It’s meant to describe the frost that forms on cold things by the quick freezing of water vapor in clouds or fog.
Rime ice forms when supercooled water droplets freeze onto surfaces. In the atmosphere, there are three basic types of rime ice
So, A Winter's Rime is an elegant title, I think.
5-star rating but I'm rereading parts.
Note on the summary of "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner."
**The poem follows the Ancient Mariner as he travels at sea. In an act of selfishness and/or immorality, he kills an Albatross. Once this has happened, his crew and ship experience bad luck in which all the crewmembers die.
**The Mariner finds that he cannot die and is only able to escape his curse when he is able to find an appreciation for the beauty of all living things in his heart. At this point, the dead Albatross that his crew hung around his neck before his death is finally able to fall off, symbolizing his freedom from shame and guilt.
February 18, 2024
This is one of those books that I could not stop reading, but kept getting pangs of sadness the closer I got to the end. Very different from anything I’ve read in awhile, and it will stay with me - I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. Definitely my favorite book of 2024, and a perfect winter read.
Themes of generational trauma, PTSD and sex trafficking are woven throughout, for those who are sensitive to these topics. The characters are complex and “real,” and Dunbar handles the nuances of emotions and complicated topics well.
As an aside, I came across this book randomly at the library. I’m really surprised more people aren’t talking about it. Excellent book club or literature course read. Note to publishers: there are a few typos in this book, which really bugs me as a reader.
Themes of generational trauma, PTSD and sex trafficking are woven throughout, for those who are sensitive to these topics. The characters are complex and “real,” and Dunbar handles the nuances of emotions and complicated topics well.
As an aside, I came across this book randomly at the library. I’m really surprised more people aren’t talking about it. Excellent book club or literature course read. Note to publishers: there are a few typos in this book, which really bugs me as a reader.
February 3, 2025
This book had some lovely writing. I especially liked how Dunbar depicted winter in rural Wisconsin and, because of her main character’s hypersensitivity to sound, how the author described Mallory’s experience with voices. That was new for me and I found it somewhat interesting. The story, however, unpacked a lot of depressing situations - potential triggers galore (physical and emotional abuse, rape, human trafficking, and pet death to name a few). I will say though that Dunbar created wonderfully-written flawed characters. For me, the book started out strong, wandered, and lagged in the middle to the point where I considered abandoning it. I stuck with it and it got better, but to borrow from another reviewer - it galloped to the end. One final note: there were more than a few typos. Drove me bonkers! 😩
December 10, 2023
A book that beautifully captures navigating life after a childhood of trauma, and the value of friendships and trust. Truly enjoyed this story, and the little lines inserted throughout that provided “advice”.
September 15, 2023
Thanks to the publisher, via Edelweiss for an advance e-galley for honest review.
Overall a solid story about the impacts and manifestations of trauma, but with a plot that got a little muddy trying to incorporate too much information. The setting is well done, and the desolation of winter is a good season for the story, and Mallory as a character is interesting and complex.
Overall a solid story about the impacts and manifestations of trauma, but with a plot that got a little muddy trying to incorporate too much information. The setting is well done, and the desolation of winter is a good season for the story, and Mallory as a character is interesting and complex.
April 13, 2024
Bravo! Very well drawn characters and insights into contemporary issues. The main character Mallory struggles with mental health issues and finds a sense of purpose and equilibrium by helping another. A great story and beautiful use of language!
October 28, 2024
A Winter's Rime is literary fiction that is beautiful and hard. (And aren't the best books like that? Challenging in numerous ways, but so beautiful.) I was so excited to get to listen to author Carol Dunbar delve deep into her writing process, share emotional personal growth that happened because of this book, and admit to eavesdropping on Kwik Trip employees in her research stage :) Maggie Ginsberg guided the conversation like a pro (and I felt very proud that we had the same question at one point).
Mallory, a 25 year old Army vet is lost in her life, her job, and her relationship. Then one night, someone literally lost in the woods provides the jolt Mallory needs to examine her life, her traumatic upbringing, and her entire understanding of herself. I loved the northern Wisconsin setting. There are several interesting and complicated side characters that all act as different foils to Mallory and her sense of self.
I've included a few segments of text below, because I think they show just the kind of depth of the writing and the story overall.
"Rime ice. It happens when a winter fog fixes to a supercooled surface. The moisture freezes instantly, creating individual barbs of ice. I haven't seen this since I was a kid."
Character goes on to explain that snowflakes have six arms, called dendrites, and branch out like trees. "And each tree grows the same, the exact same design replicated six times, even though it's a new design that has never appeared anywhere in the world before."
[Later as Mallory is shoveling and thinking about her traumatic upbringing]
"All her life she carried this weight, the burden, the responsibility of knowing what was going on at home and never being able to stop it. And maybe she should just surrender to her anger. Maybe there was no breaking the cycle. Maybe a family was just like those flakes of snow with all their matching arms. She'd grown up this way, like a dendrite, matching exactly her parent's design."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't know why," Mallory said. "All a daughter ever wants is to be seen by her dad."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conversation with Landon, neighbor man who Andrea worried she was having an affair with:
" Sometimes we convince ourselves that the only way to help someone who is hurting is by hurting right along with them. But that doesn't work and it never will. Becoming less doesn't help anyone become more."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overnight shift at the Speed Shop (Kwik Trip) conversation with young co-worker Noah:
"Dark matter makes up 27 percent of the universe, and dark energy accounts for 68 percent; therefore, we need the darkness of the universe would fall apart... Dark stuff holds us together. We need it." (meaning humans need the dark stuff too.
Mallory, a 25 year old Army vet is lost in her life, her job, and her relationship. Then one night, someone literally lost in the woods provides the jolt Mallory needs to examine her life, her traumatic upbringing, and her entire understanding of herself. I loved the northern Wisconsin setting. There are several interesting and complicated side characters that all act as different foils to Mallory and her sense of self.
I've included a few segments of text below, because I think they show just the kind of depth of the writing and the story overall.
"Rime ice. It happens when a winter fog fixes to a supercooled surface. The moisture freezes instantly, creating individual barbs of ice. I haven't seen this since I was a kid."
Character goes on to explain that snowflakes have six arms, called dendrites, and branch out like trees. "And each tree grows the same, the exact same design replicated six times, even though it's a new design that has never appeared anywhere in the world before."
[Later as Mallory is shoveling and thinking about her traumatic upbringing]
"All her life she carried this weight, the burden, the responsibility of knowing what was going on at home and never being able to stop it. And maybe she should just surrender to her anger. Maybe there was no breaking the cycle. Maybe a family was just like those flakes of snow with all their matching arms. She'd grown up this way, like a dendrite, matching exactly her parent's design."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't know why," Mallory said. "All a daughter ever wants is to be seen by her dad."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conversation with Landon, neighbor man who Andrea worried she was having an affair with:
" Sometimes we convince ourselves that the only way to help someone who is hurting is by hurting right along with them. But that doesn't work and it never will. Becoming less doesn't help anyone become more."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overnight shift at the Speed Shop (Kwik Trip) conversation with young co-worker Noah:
"Dark matter makes up 27 percent of the universe, and dark energy accounts for 68 percent; therefore, we need the darkness of the universe would fall apart... Dark stuff holds us together. We need it." (meaning humans need the dark stuff too.
September 21, 2023
𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗚𝗘𝗠: 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
Thank you #partners @kayepublicity & @forgereads for the #gifted copy
𝗔 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝗺𝗲
𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗯𝗮𝗿
𝟵/𝟭𝟮/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📚 FOLLOW ME ON BOOKSTAGRAM
📖 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: In Carol Dunbar's sophomore novel, we meet Mallory Moe, a twenty-five-year-old Army veteran living in rural Wisconsin with her girlfriend. Mallory has synthesia - a hypersensitivity to sound that she can feel on her skin, in her mouth, and in her body. Though she's trained as a mechanic, Mallory works graveyard shift at a gas station. She's at a bit of a crossroads in life, just trying to figure out what's next for her. But before she can look to the future, she must confront the trauma of her childhood and teen years, and the ways in which it still lives in her.
💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Why isn't this book getting more hype? What a gem!
A Winter's Rime is a profoundly moving, character driven novel that explores themes of generational trauma, mental illness, friendship, family, healing, and hope. The characters really are the focus here, and Dunbar somehow creates these dynamic, authentic characters that I became wholly invested in. Though Mallory is the star of this show, the supporting characters are equally fleshed out. I especially loved her best friend with Asperger's, Noah, and her neighbor and friend, Landon.
What immediately drew me in was the writing; Dunbar has a gift, and the pages of this book are filled with such insight and wisdom. Though it's a work of fiction, there are life lessons aplenty.
"Sometimes we convince ourselves that the only way to help someone who is hurting is by hurting right along with them. But that doesn't work and it never will. Becoming less doesn't help anyone become more."
A Winter's Rime will not be for every reader, but those who connect with the story and characters will find it to be deeply affecting. These characters will stay with me for a long time. ❤️
📌 Out now!
Thank you #partners @kayepublicity & @forgereads for the #gifted copy
𝗔 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝗺𝗲
𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗯𝗮𝗿
𝟵/𝟭𝟮/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📚 FOLLOW ME ON BOOKSTAGRAM
📖 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: In Carol Dunbar's sophomore novel, we meet Mallory Moe, a twenty-five-year-old Army veteran living in rural Wisconsin with her girlfriend. Mallory has synthesia - a hypersensitivity to sound that she can feel on her skin, in her mouth, and in her body. Though she's trained as a mechanic, Mallory works graveyard shift at a gas station. She's at a bit of a crossroads in life, just trying to figure out what's next for her. But before she can look to the future, she must confront the trauma of her childhood and teen years, and the ways in which it still lives in her.
💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Why isn't this book getting more hype? What a gem!
A Winter's Rime is a profoundly moving, character driven novel that explores themes of generational trauma, mental illness, friendship, family, healing, and hope. The characters really are the focus here, and Dunbar somehow creates these dynamic, authentic characters that I became wholly invested in. Though Mallory is the star of this show, the supporting characters are equally fleshed out. I especially loved her best friend with Asperger's, Noah, and her neighbor and friend, Landon.
What immediately drew me in was the writing; Dunbar has a gift, and the pages of this book are filled with such insight and wisdom. Though it's a work of fiction, there are life lessons aplenty.
"Sometimes we convince ourselves that the only way to help someone who is hurting is by hurting right along with them. But that doesn't work and it never will. Becoming less doesn't help anyone become more."
A Winter's Rime will not be for every reader, but those who connect with the story and characters will find it to be deeply affecting. These characters will stay with me for a long time. ❤️
📌 Out now!
July 7, 2023
For readers of Dunbar's first novel, The Net Beneath Us, it will be no surprise to encounter in A Winter's Rime a strong female protagonist who is most at home in nature and who finds herself in a situation that is going to take all her personal strength - plus developing some new personal strength - to work her way out. But that's pretty much where the similarities between Elsa and Mallory, A Winter's Rime's hero, end. Mallory has survived a traumatic childhood and mostly held it together, but after completing her commitment to the military, in the civilian world, she finds herself unmoored - that is, until Shay, a terrified, abused, gravely injured young woman, stumbles out of the forest one evening. Mallory finds herself irresistibly drawn to help Shay, and that sets her on a path that is lined with the screaming demons of her own history of trauma.
Trauma often begets trauma, and Mallory was born into a family of that exact horrific tradition. Through much of her life, she has simply isolated herself in order to avoid passing her trauma on, but once she decides that she will help Shay, she has no choice but to confront her own past as well. It's a harrowing journey, but along the way, I couldn't help rooting for Mallorie, even as I was yelling at her, like the protagonist in a horror movie who goes down the dark stairwell to investigate a noise, "No, that's a terrible decision! What are you doing?" She's a kind and charming character, though, even when she's making choices that aren't her best, a situation that is beautifully and hilariously illustrated during my favorite parts of the book, Mallory's conversations with Noah, her colleague on her overnight shifts at a 24-hour station and convenience store. Noah has Asperger's, but more importantly, he has the willingness and clear-eyed candor to be the only person in Mallory's life to hold up the mirror she desperately needs. Also, he has the best lines and provides the perfect comic relief amidst the book's deeply serious and important search for the answer to the question, Is it possible to end your own cycle of trauma, and if so, how?
Trauma often begets trauma, and Mallory was born into a family of that exact horrific tradition. Through much of her life, she has simply isolated herself in order to avoid passing her trauma on, but once she decides that she will help Shay, she has no choice but to confront her own past as well. It's a harrowing journey, but along the way, I couldn't help rooting for Mallorie, even as I was yelling at her, like the protagonist in a horror movie who goes down the dark stairwell to investigate a noise, "No, that's a terrible decision! What are you doing?" She's a kind and charming character, though, even when she's making choices that aren't her best, a situation that is beautifully and hilariously illustrated during my favorite parts of the book, Mallory's conversations with Noah, her colleague on her overnight shifts at a 24-hour station and convenience store. Noah has Asperger's, but more importantly, he has the willingness and clear-eyed candor to be the only person in Mallory's life to hold up the mirror she desperately needs. Also, he has the best lines and provides the perfect comic relief amidst the book's deeply serious and important search for the answer to the question, Is it possible to end your own cycle of trauma, and if so, how?
December 7, 2023
Somehow, Carol Dunbar has written a novel that is quiet and nuanced, yet it speaks loudly about living with PTSD and unresolved issues from past trauma.
At only twenty-five years old, Mallory is an army veteran living in rural northern Wisconsin. She works the overnight shift at a gas station with her one friend, Noah, lives with her girlfriend in a cabin, and tries to stay off-grid as much as possible.
Mallory suffers from hypersensitivity to sounds that can trigger memories. And through her flashbacks, we learn of her bad home life and the trauma she experienced as a teen.
When she fights with her girlfriend, Mallory escapes the confines of the cabin into the frigid night. She and a neighbor stumble upon a girl, barely dressed and beaten up, in the woods.
This story is about survival, about healing. It moves slowly, and like I said, it has this quietness about it. Maybe it’s the setting. The cold, the snow, the frost, the woods - if you’ve ever been in the woods after a snowfall, it’s like the world has been muted. I felt like Mallory had been “muting” her pain - not addressing it until it explodes.
When Mallory saw the pain in the abused young girl, and saw the wreckage she was causing in her own relationships, it was as if the frost began to melt. But sometimes you can’t save everyone.
The plot may not be expansive enough for some, maybe not enough action for others, but if you enjoy the journey of healing, then take time to savor this one.
Thank you @forgereads for this gifted book.
October 29, 2023
I loved Dunbar's first novel, The Net Beneath Us, but I think A Winter's Rime is even better. The story grabbed me from the first page and kept me hooked all the way through.
Mallory Moe, a twenty-five-year-old Army vet, works overnights at Speed Stop, a gas station and convenience store in rural northern Wisconsin. She is estranged from her family, in an abusive relationship, and drifting through life. While out on a cold winter’s night, Mallory encounters Shay, a teenage girl, who is hurt and on the run from an abusive boyfriend who is trafficking her. As she tries to help Shay, Mallory realizes she must confront her own traumatic childhood.
Don’t expect this book to be a thriller about rescuing trafficked girls from the clutches of evildoers at the eleventh hour. Carol Dunbar‘s novel is so much better, deeper, and smarter. She researched the science of PTSD, the brain, and current counseling practices that help people recover from childhood traumas. Dunbar deftly weaves her research into A Winter’s Rime, keeping it in the background, so it’s Mallory’s riveting story that drives the novel. Dunbar’s supporting characters, even the ones who make short appearances are memorable and believable. Dunbar likes to say her novels are character driven, and they are. But she is also a master of settings that are beautiful and haunting, often metaphors for the struggles the characters face.
Mallory Moe, a twenty-five-year-old Army vet, works overnights at Speed Stop, a gas station and convenience store in rural northern Wisconsin. She is estranged from her family, in an abusive relationship, and drifting through life. While out on a cold winter’s night, Mallory encounters Shay, a teenage girl, who is hurt and on the run from an abusive boyfriend who is trafficking her. As she tries to help Shay, Mallory realizes she must confront her own traumatic childhood.
Don’t expect this book to be a thriller about rescuing trafficked girls from the clutches of evildoers at the eleventh hour. Carol Dunbar‘s novel is so much better, deeper, and smarter. She researched the science of PTSD, the brain, and current counseling practices that help people recover from childhood traumas. Dunbar deftly weaves her research into A Winter’s Rime, keeping it in the background, so it’s Mallory’s riveting story that drives the novel. Dunbar’s supporting characters, even the ones who make short appearances are memorable and believable. Dunbar likes to say her novels are character driven, and they are. But she is also a master of settings that are beautiful and haunting, often metaphors for the struggles the characters face.
September 3, 2023
A thoughtful and beautifully written novel that moves back and forth in time to tell the story of a woman struggling to overcome trauma and to find herself. Mallory is living in an unsatisfying and difficult way with Andrea in the Wisconsin woods and working as a guest services lead at a gas station/grocery store. She's got a talking relationship with a man who lives nearby- a relationship which enrages Andrea. One night, having come home from work and out walking the dog, she comes upon a teen girl wearing almost nothing but her beaten face and this changes everything. Mallory's back story comes out slowly (and if I have a quibble it's that her timeline is a tad confusing and doesn't seem to quite work in concert with her sister's). She's a terrific character (I liked her synesthesia) with a strong sense of right and wrong, as is Noah, her coworker (who sees her in ways others don't). And you'll root for Mallory, Shay, and Noah. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's an interesting read that will surprise you at several turns - highly recommend.
September 27, 2023
I wasn’t familiar with the term rime before reading this book. After consulting a dictionary, I found that rime is a type of frost that occurs from fog that cools on exposed objects. This title perfectly fits the story. The main character, Mallory, is frosty. She has a cold personality due to events in her life. She is ex-military and lives in a somewhat remote area of Wisconsin. The book centers around her interactions with the limited number of people in her life.
This is the second book I have read by this author. What I enjoy most about her writing is the way she describes nature. She is very skilled in making you feel a part of the Wisconsin cold and forest. What I did not enjoy about this book is that there were parts where there seemed to be no purpose in dialogue or actions of the characters which caused the book to drag.
I received an electronic copy of the book from Kaye Publicity via Netgalley.
This is the second book I have read by this author. What I enjoy most about her writing is the way she describes nature. She is very skilled in making you feel a part of the Wisconsin cold and forest. What I did not enjoy about this book is that there were parts where there seemed to be no purpose in dialogue or actions of the characters which caused the book to drag.
I received an electronic copy of the book from Kaye Publicity via Netgalley.
October 5, 2023
I read another review that said “I wanted to like this book more than I did” and that pretty much sums up how I felt about it. And if I’m being honest, I don’t even know why I didn’t really connect with it. The writing in the book is good, the details are good, the lines are good, but it was all good, not great. And then the characters who were very real and very flawed and we learned a lot about them, but still I didn’t feel like they were as vivid as I wanted them to be. Plus the trauma. I love me some trauma. And I will say I was incredibly impressed at how it was handled and depicted. I liked the way difficult scenes were shown to the reader, but the trauma itself just felt so textbook to me. And the conversations about trauma between Mallory and shay and Andrea and her mom felt the same way. Textbook and unnatural and a little too clean, maybe? Even so, I still did enjoy this book, I just didn’t love it as much as I wanted to.
December 9, 2023
This is indeed a very well written and beautifully descriptive book about a woman’s life in rural Wisconsin, military and other life experiences. It is well worth reading. The frequent flash backs are great in showing how and why she got the way she is and I enjoyed reading the way that memories were written. It’s a great book about life and coping with one’s self. I found the description of the title as well as descriptions of mental irregularities very interesting and educational. The particulars of working a graveyard ship were illuminating. People are very complex and there are so many experiences, as well as genetics, that are responsible for creating the total person. The story was also flavored with different lifestyles and natures unabashed beauty. For me, it was a slow read but there are places when I just couldn’t put it down. I really liked the ending. Carol Dunbar is my daughter and this is her second book. I am very proud of her.
October 9, 2024
This is a great novel by Carol Dunbar to follow up her first novel The Net Beneath Us. Mallory, the main character, is an Army veteran who faces challenges in her own personal life and meets another person who faces significant trauma. Mallory's story is complicated just like real life. The book is filled with many complications for many of the characters, but it's also got moments of beauty and kindness, just like real life. I like Dunbar's description of the North Woods, particularly her descriptions of winter and snow. I also appreciate that she depicts Mallory as a whole person, with "veteran" as just part of her whole character. Many times, veterans are depicted as somewhat one-dimensional and Dunbar avoids that. One of the characters, Noah, says something in the book which nicely summarizes the challenges that people in the book (and in real life) face: "All of us all the time are going through things."
October 2, 2024
One of the more depressing books I've read. Mallory is a military veteran attempting to get back to life. Her family has dispersed, she doesn't have many friends, she works at a convenience store/gas station and lives with an abusive girlfriend. A lot of unpleasant events have happened in Mallory's life and it gets even more out of control when she tries to help a teenager who she finds on the side of the road.
This story has really nothing uplifting except when the author gallops to the end. She tells us about Mallory's life as she gets older but doesn't show us. The copy editing of the book is some of the worst I've ever seen. The best part of the book, and why I will give the author another read, is the responsibility she took by providing excellent resources for people finding them in situations shown in the novel.
This story has really nothing uplifting except when the author gallops to the end. She tells us about Mallory's life as she gets older but doesn't show us. The copy editing of the book is some of the worst I've ever seen. The best part of the book, and why I will give the author another read, is the responsibility she took by providing excellent resources for people finding them in situations shown in the novel.
November 11, 2024
This is the story of Mallory Moe, a 25-year-old Army veteran, who lives in rural Wisconsin. She grew up in a home where her mother was physically abused by her father. It left deep and abiding scars that she is still dealing with. Now, she is in a relationship with her girlfriend, Andrea, who is becoming controlling and sometimes abusive. As the book progresses, Mallory learns that she has PTSD from the domestic violence that she grew up with as a child.
She works nights at a convenience store and one night after work, she comes across a teenage girl, Shay, who is alone and hurt. Seeing the signs of abuse, she and a neighbor seek help for the girl. Mallory can see glimpses of herself in this lost and damaged soul.
This is a heart-wrenching story, but Mallory learns that there are places to turn to for help.
She works nights at a convenience store and one night after work, she comes across a teenage girl, Shay, who is alone and hurt. Seeing the signs of abuse, she and a neighbor seek help for the girl. Mallory can see glimpses of herself in this lost and damaged soul.
This is a heart-wrenching story, but Mallory learns that there are places to turn to for help.
October 16, 2023
I could not put this book down. It truly was that simple. Dunbar did an incredible job capturing the complexities of PTSD. Her characters are complex - there is no hero and villain in this story. Her sense of place is exquisite and her connection to nature genuine. The only thing that would have made it better would have been waiting until winter to read it.
December 26, 2024
I'd give this 3.5 stars, but rounded down due to the story being a bit repetitive and slow at times. The novel follows Mallory as she deals with the lingering effects of childhood trama and manages to come to terms with the emotional rollercoaster that she lives on. It is interesting and encouraging to follow her progress toward healing.
September 24, 2023
i wanted to like this book more than i did— i struggled to get through this one
October 18, 2024
Great book!!
November 12, 2024
Many ideas are presented in this book.
December 1, 2024
Longer review to come but: fentanyl laced pot is not a thing
--
The longer review promised! This is a solid small town thriller that features the unique flavors of a lesbian in a domestic abuse situation, and a runaway girl. Worth a read, but also reads like a thriller your grandma might write after watching too much Fox News (fentanyl laced pot is not a thing).
--
The longer review promised! This is a solid small town thriller that features the unique flavors of a lesbian in a domestic abuse situation, and a runaway girl. Worth a read, but also reads like a thriller your grandma might write after watching too much Fox News (fentanyl laced pot is not a thing).
September 18, 2023
(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 #𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.) 𝗔 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘 is the second book I’ve read by Carol Dunbar in a little less than a year. The first was her debut, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘴, which I read last October and absolutely loved. In fact, it was one of my top debuts of 2022. That puts Dunbar’s sophomore novel in a difficult position. It has big shoes to fill. And did it? For me, not really.
It’s not fair to compare the two books, but it’s also almost impossible not to with them being released only a year apart. I think my bottom line is that I just found the characters, overall, more sympathetic and more compelling in her debut. This was especially true of the main characters. In 𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘦 25-year old Mallory is a vet with lots of issues relating to her childhood. She’s trying to figure out her future by coming to understand her past. While this is a setup that often works for me, here I couldn’t stop comparing Mallory’s situation to that of Elsa, a young mother trying to make it living off-the-grid in rural Wisconsin, in the debut. I just preferred Elsa’s story. It’s as simple as that. Would I have liked 𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘦 more if I hadn’t read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘴? Maybe, but I did read it and there’s no going back on that! ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
It’s not fair to compare the two books, but it’s also almost impossible not to with them being released only a year apart. I think my bottom line is that I just found the characters, overall, more sympathetic and more compelling in her debut. This was especially true of the main characters. In 𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘦 25-year old Mallory is a vet with lots of issues relating to her childhood. She’s trying to figure out her future by coming to understand her past. While this is a setup that often works for me, here I couldn’t stop comparing Mallory’s situation to that of Elsa, a young mother trying to make it living off-the-grid in rural Wisconsin, in the debut. I just preferred Elsa’s story. It’s as simple as that. Would I have liked 𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘦 more if I hadn’t read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘴? Maybe, but I did read it and there’s no going back on that! ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews