Cora has never loved the Winter King. Ever since her father disappeared and her family was cursed, she has resented the tyrannical god who demands the village’s service and offerings. Working her fingers to the bone for the High Aldorman, she schemes and scavenges to keep her mother and siblings alive amidst cold, famine, and plague. Her best friend Peder offers all the food and fuel he can spare, but his blind faith in the Winter King enrages Cora. Can she stay alive long enough to unmask the Winter King for who he truly is, or will she discover that she has been wrong about everything from the very beginning?
The beautiful cover drew me initially, and the story did not disappoint. With echoes from both Greek mythology and Christian theology, the story builds a chillingly beautiful world of ice, snow, the undead, the unscrupulous, and the undaunted. Recommended.
Rosanne E. Lortz 