Reviews

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

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gothkiwi's review

2.0

Meh it's fine, the world was interesting enough and the romantic interest good enough that the lack of personality of the protagonist didn't annoy me too much.
Ikor is the best part of the book and I want her to marry me, aside from that, didn't really get excited about anything else.
It's a nice read if you want something easy to read or a Sapphic relationship that isn't based solely on them having to come out or the alike. I would have probably liked this more if I was younger. Also, there's not that much romance, which honestly kind of disappointed me, but that could also be because I was expecting more.

laurenreadsandstuff's review

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funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this. It was very refreshing to read something that I just really enjoyed. There’s not really a lot I can fault for it except that I can’t bring myself to give it five stars since I don’t think about it much. But yes very fun, quite funny and just a lovely reread. Great reread for the winter.

jennifermreads's review

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A reluctant young, middle daughter, heiress thrust into the role of Grand Duke of her frozen kingdom? Yes, please! I loved Claire Eliza Bartlett’s We Rule the Night and was excited to read another one of her feminist fantasy novels. Toss in the political intrigue and risk of death by magical curse plus the simply divine hardback cover design and I was ready to be on the edge of my seat because of all the drama.

While I enjoyed it overall, each evening as I set the book aside, I kept hesitating, thinking “What is missing? Why am I not reading until my eyes droop and racing to grab it first thing each morning? Why am I not on the edge of my seat?” By the end, I decided that what I was missing was more development. I needed a little more background on the frozen world that is Kylma Above and the watery underworld of Kylma Below. I needed some elaboration on the Grand Duke’s ministers, their backgrounds, roles, and relationship with Ekata’s father, the previous grand duke. Other than Prime Minister Eirhan, I had a difficult time keeping the who-is-who of the ministers straight in my head.

During the first quarter (at least) of 2025, I am reading from-my-shelf with the goal of unhauling the books that I do not see myself ever re-reading. While I do not hesitate in keeping We Rule the Night, I will probably move The Winter Duke into the hands of another reader. I just do not have the shelf space to keep a book because the cover is beautiful, I loved the author’s other work(s), and/or I have a “liked it but” review at the end.

Content Warnings

acapriciousgurl's review

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Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

☆ not even worth the star ☆

the main character is so insufferable that it makes the book practically unreadable. most of the characters felt flat to me and there wasn’t anything that kept me interested in the story at all. and if i had to hear “a grand duke” does or acts or whatever one more time…don’t waste your time with this one

natcatsbookishcafe's review

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I feel like this could have been a book that I would have enjoyed if I were like 5-10 years younger. I went into this book thinking the protagonist was around 18 or 19, but she is only 16!! I felt like I wasn't overly interested in the plot or attached to our character. I think if I finished this book it would be a low 3 star, very meh. I don't feel like wasting time on meh this year.

I have to admit that I didn't know the character was so young until like 100 pages into the book and I feel like the way people were treating her made no sense. She explained how none of the ministers every showed any interest in her because she never showed interest in politics and spent all her time doing science stuff, but all of a sudden everyone is so annoyed that she doesn't know what the hell she is doing...like you guys are made a 16 year old girl who isn't interested in politics doesn't know how politics work, be so for real. I felt their behavior, especially as adults towards a child was ridiculous. I will say watching a 16 year old girl get married was weird as well. I also thought the villain character was very flat, like how to write a bad guy 101 vibes.