The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral, #1)

by C. L. Wilson

[Ashley]

Holy shit. Quite possibly the best book I've ever read.

To be honest, I probably never would have chosen this book had I stumbled upon it on my own. The cover just doesn't look or feel like the kind of book I'd enjoy. (It looks like some sort of cheesy, soap opera historical romance?) But I decided to pick it up because someone recommended this book to fans of A Promise of Fire and I ADORED that book so I bought this one without question.

I think I loved this even more.

The Winter King was everything I wanted. It was a fantastic fantasy with an intense, all-consuming, earth-shattering romance. The romance had me reading the last half of the book with tears in my eyes (constantly alternating between happy and sad tears).

But what I loved even more was the length. At over 600 pages, I felt like I was reading an entire series in one sitting, but without the horrific cliffhangers and long waits. The epicness just kept coming and coming and I never wanted it to end. But the book felt so incredibly epic (and in no way too long). There was an incredible, detailed world; interesting history; a heart-throbbing romance; and so much more. There was a purpose to the length. I got sucked into this amazing universe, adventure, war, and romance.

On top of it all, every single character was perfect.

Perfect.
Perfect.
Perfect.

I seriously don't even have the words to convey how much I adored this book.

- It kept me up at night.
- It had me reading first thing in the morning.
- I had my book propped up while I ate so I could read during meals.
- It sent me twirling around my apartment in excitement (there was legit twirling and frolicking, I swear).

I so much wanted the universe to be real. I wanted to slip into it and live there myself (which is an odd thing given all the battles and devastation in the story).

I'm going to pounce on The Sea King as soon as that glorious book becomes available. ♥

My only criticism is that the book alternated points of view—which was totally fine (loved it), but the Kindle edition didn't really separate the POV switch very well. There were no chapter headings or clear dividers. Just a new paragraph with slightly more space between it. Sometimes I didn't fully realize the POV had switched and it jarred me. I'm not sure if this is also the case in the print edition.