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burningupasun's review
5.0
Setting/World Building: 5/5
Main Character: 5/5
Other Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 5 out of 5!!!
WOW. Wow. Wow. WOW.
Did I say wow enough? Because wow. Alright, I think this is without a doubt my favorite McKillip book so far, although Changeling Sea is a close second. This was just beautifully written, as poetic and gorgeous as McKillip's books always are. The best part to me though, was that unlike previous books that I've read of hers, this book was all in one character's perspectives. THAT is what kicked it up from a 4 to a 5 for me. Without the jumps between perspectives, I was able to really just sink into the story and get lost in how beautiful and wonderful and haunting and amazing it was.
This is a very haunting sort of story, without a fully concrete ending. The fairy world sort of bleeds into the regular world, and you're always never fully sure whether the fairy things are actually happening or not. I really liked that, it added to how mystical the fairy world is. How much of it is real, and how much of it is just in their heads? I think in most regards it is real (at least, in the context of the sequel, which is much more straightforward than this book), but in the context of just this book it's more layered and complex. It's just as easy to read this and believe that all the fairies are real as it is to believe that Rois (and her sister, and their mother) all have some mental illness that they've inherited. Personally, I prefer the fairy magic version, but still!
Overall this was well written, gorgeous, poetic, romantic, and exciting as well. I loved all the characters, but I especially loved Rois and her tendency to wander, as well as her connection to the forest. I loved how she occasionally longed to be 'normal', but in the end was really happy to be who she was.
Favorite Quote: “Winds shook me apart piecemeal, flung a bone here, a bone there. My eyes became snow, my hair turned to ice; I heard it chime against my shoulders like wind-blown glass. If I spoke, words would fall from me like snow, pour out of me like black wind.”
Main Character: 5/5
Other Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 5 out of 5!!!
WOW. Wow. Wow. WOW.
Did I say wow enough? Because wow. Alright, I think this is without a doubt my favorite McKillip book so far, although Changeling Sea is a close second. This was just beautifully written, as poetic and gorgeous as McKillip's books always are. The best part to me though, was that unlike previous books that I've read of hers, this book was all in one character's perspectives. THAT is what kicked it up from a 4 to a 5 for me. Without the jumps between perspectives, I was able to really just sink into the story and get lost in how beautiful and wonderful and haunting and amazing it was.
This is a very haunting sort of story, without a fully concrete ending. The fairy world sort of bleeds into the regular world, and you're always never fully sure whether the fairy things are actually happening or not. I really liked that, it added to how mystical the fairy world is. How much of it is real, and how much of it is just in their heads? I think in most regards it is real (at least, in the context of the sequel, which is much more straightforward than this book), but in the context of just this book it's more layered and complex. It's just as easy to read this and believe that all the fairies are real as it is to believe that Rois (and her sister, and their mother) all have some mental illness that they've inherited. Personally, I prefer the fairy magic version, but still!
Overall this was well written, gorgeous, poetic, romantic, and exciting as well. I loved all the characters, but I especially loved Rois and her tendency to wander, as well as her connection to the forest. I loved how she occasionally longed to be 'normal', but in the end was really happy to be who she was.
Favorite Quote: “Winds shook me apart piecemeal, flung a bone here, a bone there. My eyes became snow, my hair turned to ice; I heard it chime against my shoulders like wind-blown glass. If I spoke, words would fall from me like snow, pour out of me like black wind.”
wyvernfriend's review
3.0
Weaving several stories that involve roses this is an interesting read. It seems to take it's primary inspiration from Snow White and Rose Red but there are aspects of Beauty and the Beast as well there. McKillip manages to evoke a very fairy tale aspect to the story. It does lag occasionally but the tension is kept up throughout the story, and even though it is a fairy tale you're never sure what the exact outcome is going to be.
I did enjoy it but it's not my favourite of the type.
I did enjoy it but it's not my favourite of the type.
sherrahb's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
scottjp's review against another edition
2.0
Winter Rose is a tale of two sisters. When Corbet Lynn returns to claim his ancestral home, rumors of a curse on his family start circulating. Conventional Laurel falls madly in love with Corbet, forsaking her fiancee, while "wild girl" Rois becomes obsessed with finding the truth about the curse. Trouble is, everyone seems to have heard something different - and no one was actually there when it supposedly happened.
The book is a romance where not a lot does happen, and if it hadn't been written so beautifully I might not have finished. Rois treads water through much of the book with her investigations that go nowhere, and then there is a series of confusing hallucinatory sequences (they are real, but feel dreamlike.) By the end, I didn't feel like I'd read much of a story. Patricia McKillip is one of our best fantasy authors, but this isn't one of her best books. (I recommend [b:The Changeling Sea|59|The Changeling Sea|Patricia A. McKillip|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1313430180s/59.jpg|2085180] or [b:The Book of Atrix Wolfe|77353|The Book of Atrix Wolfe|Patricia A. McKillip|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170900098s/77353.jpg|1105994].)
The book is a romance where not a lot does happen, and if it hadn't been written so beautifully I might not have finished. Rois treads water through much of the book with her investigations that go nowhere, and then there is a series of confusing hallucinatory sequences (they are real, but feel dreamlike.) By the end, I didn't feel like I'd read much of a story. Patricia McKillip is one of our best fantasy authors, but this isn't one of her best books. (I recommend [b:The Changeling Sea|59|The Changeling Sea|Patricia A. McKillip|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1313430180s/59.jpg|2085180] or [b:The Book of Atrix Wolfe|77353|The Book of Atrix Wolfe|Patricia A. McKillip|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170900098s/77353.jpg|1105994].)
laurasullivan's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
chelseaknits's review
5.0
And to think, I had this in the giveaway box.
Reminded me of the darker Robin McKinley (Deerskin, etc.), and that's certainly a compliment.
Dark and cold - I'm glad I didn't read this in January, when the weather was the worst. It's a good book to read in March, when you can already see signs of Spring.
Bitter, complex, evocative, transporting.
Reminded me of the darker Robin McKinley (Deerskin, etc.), and that's certainly a compliment.
Dark and cold - I'm glad I didn't read this in January, when the weather was the worst. It's a good book to read in March, when you can already see signs of Spring.
Bitter, complex, evocative, transporting.
schmutzley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
A standalone fairy tale for adults revolving around a fey teen who knows what she wants.
My Take
As ever, McKillip writes beautifully, if confusingly. Confusing because McKillip makes me think and try to figure out what she's saying behind her words in this dreamy story that floats oh, so slowly.
Combining fairy tales with a snatch of reality, McKillip uses first-person protagonist point-of-view from Rois' perspective, as she observes her sister's enthrallment, their father's ease, Perrin's concerns, and Corbet's struggles. Despite the lack of pounding tension, McKillip did keep me turning those pages to find out what happens, to find an explanation.
It's one that revolves around that age-old contention between child and parent, of the child not wanting the parent's dream. And the desperate measures each will take.
McKillip's warmth comes through in the love in the Melior family, Perrin's patience, the close-knit people within the village. And in those setting descriptions that make me covet the Melior cottage!
One of my niggles in this is how easily McKillip ignores man's natural reactions. It's an odd "competition" between Rois and Laurel as they vie for Corbet's attention. You'd think there'd be tension between them, but no. Perrin is too easy. The villagers are too accepting. Their father is too complacent.
On the other hand, there was a scene in which McKillip made me see how myths and legends arose. How a human in the woods, at night, could interpret the sights and sounds as a wild hunt, of beings swirling through the woods.
It was fifty-two winters ago that Nial Lynn was found murdered, and all the old rumors of his curse revive with the return of his grandson.
Determined to live the life he chooses, Corbet Lynn tackles his ancestral home, hiring men from the village to repair the walls, the roof, the door. That's not all Corbet intends to repair.
He wants a normal life…
The Characters
Rois Melior is a wild child, preferring to run barefoot through the woods, the world. Laurel is her responsible sister, stitching up her trousseau to marry Perrin, a neighboring farmer. Their father, Mathu Melior, is bemused and tolerant of his wildly varying daughters. Beda is their cook.
Corbet Lynn is a local son who has returned to claim his inheritance, Lynn Hall. Tearle Lynn had been Corbet's abused father. Nial Lynn had been his nasty grandfather.
Crispin is the blacksmith's lazy son who has an eye for the ladies. Salish is his more responsible brother. Halov is their grandfather. Furl and Ley Gett and Tamis Orley are more of the younger villagers.
Shave Turl cares for his old auntie, Great-aunt Anis Turl, who had been a contemporary of Tearle Lynn's with Marin. Aleria Turl of the gooseberry eyes has snagged the man of her dreams.
Leta Gett is old with older bones. Caryl is her grown daughter. Blane is the apothecary for whom Rois gathers materials. Mat Gris is one of his patients. Til Travers is the man who found the body; Nysa Turl liked to ride with him. Willom is Til's son.
The winter faerie queen is quite possessive.
The Cover and Title
The cover is muted in grayed-out colors yet vivid in detail. It's Rois with her deep golden hair crimped and styled with a deep gold tiara with a clear drop suspended from the center and wearing a short necklace of pearls, her shoulders encased in ermine that blends into the snowy landscape. A tree grows up from the bottom center, its two trunks separating to embrace Rois' neck, becoming one with her hair. Hair from which vines sprout and twine, merging with the rose vines clambering in a narrow border around the cover. Keeping her company is a snowy owl, perched on one of the branches while a full-blown red rose rises up from the lower right. The author's name and title are in white and span the top with a pale green informational blurb above it.
The title is the protagonist, the Winter Rose, who struggles through a winter of her own discontent.
My Take
As ever, McKillip writes beautifully, if confusingly. Confusing because McKillip makes me think and try to figure out what she's saying behind her words in this dreamy story that floats oh, so slowly.
Combining fairy tales with a snatch of reality, McKillip uses first-person protagonist point-of-view from Rois' perspective, as she observes her sister's enthrallment, their father's ease, Perrin's concerns, and Corbet's struggles. Despite the lack of pounding tension, McKillip did keep me turning those pages to find out what happens, to find an explanation.
It's one that revolves around that age-old contention between child and parent, of the child not wanting the parent's dream. And the desperate measures each will take.
McKillip's warmth comes through in the love in the Melior family, Perrin's patience, the close-knit people within the village. And in those setting descriptions that make me covet the Melior cottage!
One of my niggles in this is how easily McKillip ignores man's natural reactions. It's an odd "competition" between Rois and Laurel as they vie for Corbet's attention. You'd think there'd be tension between them, but no. Perrin is too easy. The villagers are too accepting. Their father is too complacent.
On the other hand, there was a scene in which McKillip made me see how myths and legends arose. How a human in the woods, at night, could interpret the sights and sounds as a wild hunt, of beings swirling through the woods.
"I want to do what I want to do."The Story
It was fifty-two winters ago that Nial Lynn was found murdered, and all the old rumors of his curse revive with the return of his grandson.
Determined to live the life he chooses, Corbet Lynn tackles his ancestral home, hiring men from the village to repair the walls, the roof, the door. That's not all Corbet intends to repair.
He wants a normal life…
The Characters
Rois Melior is a wild child, preferring to run barefoot through the woods, the world. Laurel is her responsible sister, stitching up her trousseau to marry Perrin, a neighboring farmer. Their father, Mathu Melior, is bemused and tolerant of his wildly varying daughters. Beda is their cook.
Corbet Lynn is a local son who has returned to claim his inheritance, Lynn Hall. Tearle Lynn had been Corbet's abused father. Nial Lynn had been his nasty grandfather.
Crispin is the blacksmith's lazy son who has an eye for the ladies. Salish is his more responsible brother. Halov is their grandfather. Furl and Ley Gett and Tamis Orley are more of the younger villagers.
Shave Turl cares for his old auntie, Great-aunt Anis Turl, who had been a contemporary of Tearle Lynn's with Marin. Aleria Turl of the gooseberry eyes has snagged the man of her dreams.
Leta Gett is old with older bones. Caryl is her grown daughter. Blane is the apothecary for whom Rois gathers materials. Mat Gris is one of his patients. Til Travers is the man who found the body; Nysa Turl liked to ride with him. Willom is Til's son.
The winter faerie queen is quite possessive.
The Cover and Title
The cover is muted in grayed-out colors yet vivid in detail. It's Rois with her deep golden hair crimped and styled with a deep gold tiara with a clear drop suspended from the center and wearing a short necklace of pearls, her shoulders encased in ermine that blends into the snowy landscape. A tree grows up from the bottom center, its two trunks separating to embrace Rois' neck, becoming one with her hair. Hair from which vines sprout and twine, merging with the rose vines clambering in a narrow border around the cover. Keeping her company is a snowy owl, perched on one of the branches while a full-blown red rose rises up from the lower right. The author's name and title are in white and span the top with a pale green informational blurb above it.
The title is the protagonist, the Winter Rose, who struggles through a winter of her own discontent.
jowithtwoiis's review
5.0
I always love Patricia McKillip's books and this is no exception. Loved every moment of it.