B

Winterwood

Winterwood is an alternate-history Regency fantasy novel with magic, elves, a werewolf, a ghost, and a heroine who is the captain of a privateer vessel (essentially a state-sanctioned pirate). The book is not a romance, although it has romance in it, and it’s the first book in a new series (thankfully, it does not end on a cliffhanger).

Rossalinde ran away from her abusive mother to marry privateer Will Tremayne. When he died, she adopted men’s clothing and the name Ross Tremayne and took Will’s place as captain. It’s been three years since Will’s death, and she’s still haunted by his ghost. When Ross visits her dying mother, her mom gives her a small wooden box. This box leads Ross on a quest that involves trying to save her estranged brother, getting to know a newly discovered half-brother, wrestling with difficult ethical decisions about the fate of her world, and finding a new romance with a werewolf.

There’s an awful lot happening in Winterwood and yet the book feels fairly slow. There are a lot of side trips and digressions and supporting characters whose lives need sorting out. Most of the book takes place on land, which is a pity because I very much enjoyed the parts that happened on Ross’s ship. The actions sequences are glorious but very spread out.

The romance is perfunctory. While the theme of having to move on from loss is powerful, there’s nothing about Ross and Corwen that really suggests that they are a couple for the ages. Ross’s relationship with her half-brother, David, is much more interesting. David is Rowankind, a race of people that are rumored to be part-elven and that live enslaved by humans. Ross has the opportunity to free the Rowankind from human domination, but in doing so she will unleash Fae magic on the world, with completely unpredictable consequences. While there are some unfortunate “white savior” implications in Ross being the Chosen One who can free everybody, the theme does give the book a real moral dilemma (the Fae aren’t particularly nice, so it’s an actual problem).

Unfortunately that dilemma doesn’t arise until pretty late in the book, so most of the time it’s just Ross and David wandering around and trying to figure out what to do with this box. The world building is fascinating and the characters compelling, but I do hope the sequel will have more even pacing.

– Carrie S

Set in 1800 in Britain, Mad King George is on the throne with Napoleon Bonaparte knocking on the door. Unregistered magic users are pursued to the death, while in every genteel home resides uncomplaining rowankind bondservants who have become so commonplace that no one can recall where they came from.
Meanwhile, Rossalinde Tremayne is satisfied with her life as a cross-dressing privateer captain on the high seas. But a bitter deathbed visit to her estranged mother changes her life completely when she inherits a magical winterwood box. Now, not only is she confronted with a newly-discovered brother, and an annoyingly handsome wolf shapeshifter, Rossalinde has to decide whether or not to open the box to free rowankind and right an ancient wrong—even if it brings the downfall of Britain.
This brand-new series is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Bear, D.B. Jackson, and Marie Brennan, as well as readers of historical fiction who are looking for an accessible gateway to fantasy.