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Pub date January 30, 2023

ASIN‎ B0B8DKXRHN

Price $5.99 (USD) Kindle edition

Author interview

Debut author Raztresen delivers her fantasy romance with the promise of originality, intriguing kingdoms, and a tantalizing romance. The four seasons on the continent of Ringlands are tied to each country’s traveling rulers. A Summer tragedy causes the Winter King to withhold his season from his neighbors’ bringing chaos in the people’s lives. The half-Summer, half-Winter pariah, Aveline has no place in her own country, owing to her wintry looks and magic. When she learns about her mother’s death, she vows to take revenge on the Winter king and arrives in the Winter as a contestant in the king’s bridal contest. Raztresen’s absorbing, appealing narrative in shifting perspectives is equal parts whimsey and absorbing. She excels at characterization, and her worldbuilding featuring seasonal realms is extensive: it’s woven so carefully into the plot that it never slows the pace of the absorbing story. The cliff-hanger ending promises there will be a follow up. Along the way, the novel explores some interesting ideas about identity, self-doubts, grief, pain, revenge, and redemption. Aveline’s personal tragedy provides for convincing emotional drama, but the central focus of the story remains on the romance, which will please fans of the genre. A lovely achievement for a first-time author.

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