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A review by hiveretcafe
Winterspell by Claire Legrand
4.0
This review was originally posted on my blog, Hiver et Cafe
I received an e-ARC from Simon and Schuster for Young Readers. This does not affect my opinion in any way. This is my honest review and I did not receive compensation in any shape or form in exchange for this review.
This book was certainly not what I expected. I've never actually seen The Nutcracker, but it's a classic Christmas story, so I didn't expect WINTERSPELL to be so dark. (I wiki'd the story of the Nutcracker after reading)
Anyways, like I said, this book is darker than I'd expected. It's not gritty or anything, but there's a war in the other world, Cane, between the faeries and the humans. There has always been a hatred between the faeries and the humans. The humans hated them for being mysterious about their magic, while the faeries hated the humans for cutting them open for experiments and to see how their magic worked. Anise, the faery queen, rules the land of Cane through fear and magic and Prince Nicholas attempts to regain his throne.
I actually quite liked Anise. As Clara met Anise and the confrontations happened, I could understand and see the reasoning behind her actions. I don't like what she resorted to, but I couldn't outright hate her. I like how Anise was written in a way that the reader could see past the fact that she's supposed to be the villain and also just see her as a person.
Let me just say, while I did enjoy, kind of, the steamy bits between Clara and Nicholas, I don't like him. I liked him in the beginning, and then he did the thing and I couldn't understand how Clara could forgive him. Seriously. I don't know what she sees in him. By the end, the only redeeming things about him for me were that he was a good kisser, it seemed like, and that he was hot. Also, it was pretty much stated that Nicholas is much older than eighteen years old and I think Clara is seventeen or eighteen? I'm a bit wary about that age difference.
And Clara. I have some words to say about you, young lady. In the beginning, when she first goes to Cane, it's so clear that she's full of rage over her mother's death, her father's kidnapping and the responsibilities that were thrust upon her because of her father's dealings with Concordia. It also doesn't help that some truths are revealed and she learns that she's been lied to for a very long time. She's eager to just put the blame on somebody, anybody, just to have someone to hate. She's pretty much loyal to a fault and she's very good at manipulation.
I love how even after the book is finished, I don't know which side of the war to root for. Both of them have done terrible things and I just rooted for Clara the entire way. I just wanted her to get in, get her father and get out. Leave the war to those who are involved in it. But of course, she's the protagonist and nothing is ever as simple as that. Also, there's a steampunk sort of feel to Cane since faeries use metal gloves to concentrate their magic as weapons and there's a lot of metal machinery that is woven into beings because of Anise's magic.
I really enjoyed this book, particularly Anise. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy retellings and those who are into this kind of "idk-what-side-to-pick" book. And I guess those who enjoy hot book boys as well. Nicholas. *glares*
I received an e-ARC from Simon and Schuster for Young Readers. This does not affect my opinion in any way. This is my honest review and I did not receive compensation in any shape or form in exchange for this review.
This book was certainly not what I expected. I've never actually seen The Nutcracker, but it's a classic Christmas story, so I didn't expect WINTERSPELL to be so dark. (I wiki'd the story of the Nutcracker after reading)
Anyways, like I said, this book is darker than I'd expected. It's not gritty or anything, but there's a war in the other world, Cane, between the faeries and the humans. There has always been a hatred between the faeries and the humans. The humans hated them for being mysterious about their magic, while the faeries hated the humans for cutting them open for experiments and to see how their magic worked. Anise, the faery queen, rules the land of Cane through fear and magic and Prince Nicholas attempts to regain his throne.
I actually quite liked Anise. As Clara met Anise and the confrontations happened, I could understand and see the reasoning behind her actions. I don't like what she resorted to, but I couldn't outright hate her. I like how Anise was written in a way that the reader could see past the fact that she's supposed to be the villain and also just see her as a person.
Let me just say, while I did enjoy, kind of, the steamy bits between Clara and Nicholas, I don't like him. I liked him in the beginning, and then he did the thing and I couldn't understand how Clara could forgive him. Seriously. I don't know what she sees in him. By the end, the only redeeming things about him for me were that he was a good kisser, it seemed like, and that he was hot. Also, it was pretty much stated that Nicholas is much older than eighteen years old and I think Clara is seventeen or eighteen? I'm a bit wary about that age difference.
And Clara. I have some words to say about you, young lady. In the beginning, when she first goes to Cane, it's so clear that she's full of rage over her mother's death, her father's kidnapping and the responsibilities that were thrust upon her because of her father's dealings with Concordia. It also doesn't help that some truths are revealed and she learns that she's been lied to for a very long time. She's eager to just put the blame on somebody, anybody, just to have someone to hate. She's pretty much loyal to a fault and she's very good at manipulation.
I love how even after the book is finished, I don't know which side of the war to root for. Both of them have done terrible things and I just rooted for Clara the entire way. I just wanted her to get in, get her father and get out. Leave the war to those who are involved in it. But of course, she's the protagonist and nothing is ever as simple as that. Also, there's a steampunk sort of feel to Cane since faeries use metal gloves to concentrate their magic as weapons and there's a lot of metal machinery that is woven into beings because of Anise's magic.
I really enjoyed this book, particularly Anise. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy retellings and those who are into this kind of "idk-what-side-to-pick" book. And I guess those who enjoy hot book boys as well. Nicholas. *glares*