A Witch in Winter: Book 1 (Winter Trilogy)

by Ruth Warburton

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her - but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

When love is tangled up in magic, how can you be sure what's real?

• ISBN10: 1444904698
• ISBN13: 9781444904697
• Publish Date: 5 January 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 April 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Hodder Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

Review at Miss Book Reviews

----------------------------------------


Anna has just moved to Winter from London with her father. Her father bought a house that hasn't been lived in in years and could do with a great clean up much to Anna's annoyance. She loves her father but is sad that they had to move.

Anna finds a weird book in a closed off bread oven, she thinks it's an old recipe book at first but some friends she makes discover it's actually a book of spells. They decide to try a love spell for a joke. Anna doesn't feel very comfortable about it but what could happen? It's not like it's actually going to work. The next Monday at school, sure enough the guys her friends tried to enchant still ignored them. Weirdly, Seth, a boy Anna thinks is cute, suddenly has an interest in Anna. he even broke up with his girlfriend.

Magic couldn't be real could it?

Anna was actually rather likeable, she wasn't too whiny, she was maybe a little too stubborn but that was alright I was able to forgive her for that. She wasn't perfect and she didn't have too many flaws, she was easily relate-able.

Seth was an interesting character, I felt like he was two different characters, one at the beginning then a completely different person after Anna enchants him.

The first thing I noticed with the writing was that I felt like I was being told everything rather than being drawn into the story. It felt like some of the sentences were the wrong way round, I couldn't live the story myself inside these words I could only see the events happening in front of me as if I were not apart of them. It was such a shame because I wanted to really enjoy this book more!

This book didn't meet my expectations. When I read the blurb I had envisioned more than just a romance. I felt like the romance played too much of a part, the plot was revolved around it, it was driven by it. Those books are sometimes pretty fun to read but for some reason this one wasn't, I think I felt like that because the characters were too young, the love was too easy and too fast, it wasn't as much fun as I felt like it could have been. There was barely anything else that was driving the book until around half way and that got boring to read.

I had wanted more! I came away from that book feeling unsatisfied.

Overall this book was alright. I don't think it lived up to the potential but it wasn't awful. It was readable and there was some sort of entertainment. Give this book a go if the summary intrigues you.

Miss J
x 

[celinenyx]

With the arrival of vampires, shifters and angels, witches have taken the background. Luckily, 2012 brings us some very interesting young-adult debuts featuring witches, including Witch in Winter.

When at a slumber party Anna by accident bewitches her crush Seth to fall in love with her, she doesn't know what to do. She has found an old spell-book and she tries everything to undo the spell. But her powers are attracting unwanted notice, and some people might do anything to make her stop...

What I liked about Witch in Winter is the main character Anna. She is believable and a nice girl. She isn't the popular kind of girl, but not the lonely emo kid either. It was nice to have a main character that has a nice group of friends. Her love interest Seth is kind of standard at the begin of the story, the typical popular bad boy. He does change over the course of the novel, and getting to know him was enjoyable.

Watching their romance was a bit of a rocky road for me. At times I liked it, at times I didn't. At the end I wasn't that sure if Seth is the right guy for Anna. I met a character that I think might be a better match for her as she matures throughout the story. I'm looking forward to see how their romance continues in the next book.

Another thing I liked in Witch in Winter is the old-school magic system. There are spells and rituals, different powers, clans and everything. And their magic isn't just for little stuff, but they can do some pretty impressive stuff with it. Witch in Winter contains an epic magic battle that I enjoyed a lot. I'm looking forward to read more about the different kinds of power, and what makes Anna so special.

Witch in Winter is a very enjoyable paranormal read featuring witches, but it left me wanting more. I want more details, more magic, more background. Even though some things in the book are a little bit off, it is a great debut book and I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel, Witch in Love.