Winter's Fury by A.E. Rayne | Fantasy Review

Well, I finished.


Winter's Fury by A.E. Rayne

Released July 2017, 738 pgs

Source: Purchased from Audible

Goodreads | Amazon

IN A WORLD RULED BY MEN, ONE WOMAN WILL RISE

She was their greatest warrior; the daughter of the king. But her uncle stole the throne and sent her away to marry Eadmund, the drunken son of their worst enemy. Now she must pick up her sword again to restore her family’s honour and return to the home she loves.

Despite her skill with a sword, her prowess in battle, and her reputation as the greatest warrior in Brekka, without her father to protect her, Jael was merely a pawn, a woman to be married off so her uncle could forge an alliance to fulfil his own desperate ambitions.

Eadmund is broken hearted, tortured by the murder of his first wife, but his father had lost patience with him. He wanted heirs for his kingdom. He wanted his son back, restored to the fierce warrior he had once been. And when his daughter has a dream about Jael, the woman who would save him, he eagerly jumps at the opportunity to make an alliance with his worst enemy.

Jael and Eadmund will fight against their union, but the dreamers know that this marriage is meant to be; it must happen for the sake of all Osterland. For without them... without Jael and her sword, without Eadmund by her side, the five kingdoms will not survive the darkness that is coming to claim them all.

My 2 Cents for Free!

Medieval sword fantasies that are hundreds of pages too long aren't typically my thing. Throw in a loser of a slovenly baby man who spends his days drinking, puking, and peeing himself while sleeping with a messed up young beauty and who everyone has to treat like a child and I'm usually out. But I persevered for my book group.

Truly it was only saved by the heroine who was independent, smart, fair, kind and strong and in a forced marriage to the gross man mentioned above. It's quite the repulsive predicament.

But it was hard for me to get over the fact that Edmund was so useless especially when I discovered exactly how long he had been married to the love of his life (now deceased) that sent him spiraling. It was so ridiculous but seemed to fit his personality, to be honest. Sheesh what a sad sap.

Anyhow, I'll give it a three. It's not a terrible story but it's far too long and the constant POV switches sometimes made my head spin.

Content Warning: pedophilia (ew), rape and lots of dastardly doings!

⭐⭐⭐

Comments

  1. Mary KirklandTuesday, October 01, 2024

    Goodness, Edmund sounds awful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lark Tuesday, October 01, 2024

    The heroine does sound great, but this book is probably not for me. I know I would find Edmund frustrating and unlikable.

    ReplyDelete

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