Author: Claire Legrand
Series: Winterspell #0.5
Publication: August 26th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult ~ Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 5/5
In this captivating novella, prequel to the upcoming Winterspell, Claire Legrand weaves a story of magic, political intrigue, and forbidden love.
Rinka is a faery, passionate and powerful, determined to maintain the tenuous peace between faeries and humans.
Alban Somerhart is a human, a reluctant king trapped in an arranged marriage, desperate to prevent war.
Their love could save the kingdom of Cane—or shatter it forever.
This entrancing tale sets the stage for the rise of a wicked queen, and the journey of a lifetime for a human girl named Clara...
Faeries, the stories said, must always keep moving, must always keep changing, just like the southern seas and their high, hot winds.
Okay... wow! Summerfall blew me away! I think I even liked it a bit more than Winterspell, which is saying a lot because that book is one of my top favorites. Not only did I adore Claire Legrand's amazingly gorgeous writing, she totally sucked me once again into the kingdom of Cane's world of intrigue at court, enthralling magic and power, the forbidden but passionate whirlwind romance of Rinka and Alban and it was all just so very intriguing and captivating and very tragic to read.
This novella sets the perfect setting for Winterspell. If you haven't read the book yet then I would absolutely recommend you to read Summerfall first to get a feel of the world and read about how Anise came into the world. In my case, I don't think it would've mattered if I had read this novella first because I've always felt somewhat... let's say... considerate to Anise and all the things she did. I even understand her more now. And maybe it was just me but I could kind of sense some small comparisons between today's world and this fantasy one because the humans and faeries were pretty distrustful of each other which only resulted in a lot of treachery, political as well as personal. Ah, the intrigue!
It was sad for Rinka but she came to court after leading a pretty sheltered life with so many hopes and dreams about humans and faeries being one front and not to be so weary about one another, thinking they would be so amazing. She was a bit naive in that, but I did love her enthusiasm in her beliefs. And of course there was no denying her attraction to Alban. Even though he's married and I knew only bad things would come of it, I was still shipping the hell out of them. Their chemistry was so intense! Yes, I was a fan of their love and rooted for them through the end. I'm a sucker for forbidden love.
Like I mentioned before Summerfall is tragic, and it truly is. I knew it wasn't going to end well but I still wasn't really prepared for the sadness I felt. However, this doesn't take away any of the brilliance that I thought this story had. I truly love stories about faeries, though there aren't that many good ones, in my opnion. So this is one is obviously ahead of that list. Really, the world of Cane is just so alluring and fabulous to me... I want, no I need, more!
About the Author:
Claire Legrand is the author of books for children and teens, including The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, The Year of Shadows, the upcoming Winterspell, and its prequel, Summerfall. She is also one of the four authors of The Cabinet of Curiosities.
When not writing books, she can be found obsessing over DVD commentaries, going on long walks (or trying to go on long runs), and speaking with a poor English accent to random passersby. She thinks musicians and librarians are the loveliest of folks (having been each of those herself) and, while she loves living in central New Jersey, she dearly misses her big, brash, beautiful home state of Texas.
Her work is represented by Diana Fox of Fox Literary, LLC.
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