A review by wintersorbit
Winter's Dawn by Arden Powell
4.0
Most of this novella takes place within a single prison cell while the main character is in isolation, which I was somewhat skeptical about. It ended up working well for me, though. Professor Thomas Brighton has been locked up because some of his research into magic and its properties has been deemed too radical. He meets Winter, the person occupying the cell beside his, and strikes up a conversation and a tentative companionship, all the while Thomas is waiting for his impending trial.
I really liked the way Winter gradually challenged and deconstructed Thomas’s worldview. They’re an Irish anti-monarchist who may have killed a few politicians and leaves Thomas questioning everything he has ever known. What they said about gender and the way it stops mattering for many people when they’re in isolation without having to consider the gazes of other people observing them really resonated with me. Winter and Thomas’s relationship does not have a lot of on-page development, but I enjoyed what was present and the promise of their future together.
If you like shorter works with unique magic, queer romance, and atypical settings that both implicitly and explicitly question systems like academia, monarchy, and the justice system, this is a good novella to pick up.
Content Warnings: animal death, brief suicidal ideation, malnourishment, intrusive thoughts, themes of severe isolation and loneliness, mentions of murder
Please note that I received a free eARC from the author in exchange for a review. This has not influenced my opinion in any way.
I really liked the way Winter gradually challenged and deconstructed Thomas’s worldview. They’re an Irish anti-monarchist who may have killed a few politicians and leaves Thomas questioning everything he has ever known. What they said about gender and the way it stops mattering for many people when they’re in isolation without having to consider the gazes of other people observing them really resonated with me. Winter and Thomas’s relationship does not have a lot of on-page development, but I enjoyed what was present and the promise of their future together.
If you like shorter works with unique magic, queer romance, and atypical settings that both implicitly and explicitly question systems like academia, monarchy, and the justice system, this is a good novella to pick up.
Content Warnings: animal death, brief suicidal ideation, malnourishment, intrusive thoughts, themes of severe isolation and loneliness, mentions of murder
Please note that I received a free eARC from the author in exchange for a review. This has not influenced my opinion in any way.