Emi is the kamigakari. In a few short months, her life as a mortal will end and her new existence as the human host of a goddess will begin. Carefully hidden from those who would destroy her, she has prepared her mind, body, and soul to unite with the goddess—and not once has she doubted her chosen fate.
Shiro is a yokai, a spirit of the earth, an enemy of the goddess Emi will soon host. Mystery … host. Mystery shrouds his every move and his ruby eyes shine with cunning she can’t match and dares not trust. But she saved his life, and until his debt is paid, he is hers to command—whether she wants him or not.
On the day they meet, everything Emi believes comes undone, swept away like snow upon the winter wind. For the first time, she wants to change her fate—but how can she erase a destiny already wrought in stone? Against the power of the gods, Shiro is her only hope … and hope is all she has left.
RED WINTER includes 10 full-page illustrations by artist Brittany Jackson.
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After reading every one of Annette Marie’s books, I can accurately say she is my favorite indie author I’ve yet come across. She writes consistently entertaining, engrossing, and moving series with wonderful characters, touching romance, and awesome world-building.
I don’t read a lot of Japanese/Asian-related fantasy, but I’ve always liked the idea of it, so I was excited to start this Japanese folklore inspired urban fantasy series. It starts out slowly (like the soft fall of snowflakes that proceed the blizzard), but within a few chapters I was engrossed in the scandal and drama, not to mention one extremely hot and irreverent kitsune.
I highly recommend ALL of Annette’s books, but for those who like things a bit more on the thoughtful and dramatic side, and love Japanese culture, you’ve got to check out this series, you won’t regret it!
What an adorably entertaining read of Japanese mythology, I devoured the book. The whole concept of yokai’s and kami’s with their prejudice against one another and those of the mortal realm with the shrines guarded by sohei’s and miko’s was epic. I was obsessed as the story started with a young Miko dedicating her life to her kami, Amaterasu, by living with strict rigorous rules to keep a healthy body, mind and spirit only to learn a life shattering secret that has changed everything and launches a gratifying adventure. With unlikely allies joining forces to stop an unstoppable force from destroying the world, and beautifully drawn illustrations to express emotions of drastic encounters that are so appreciated.
Emi is the sweet chosen miko to share her vessel with her beloved kami, and with only two months left until the fateful joining of their souls on the solstice, Emi learns a harrowing secret that propels Emi to find answers and in doing so gains more than expected. I adored Emi’s character growth, and determination to fight after seemingly drifting by in life so listlessly, lashing out and beginning to live and experience life in as little time that’s left.
Shiro is an adorable and handsome kitsune, with an innocence and vulnerability that don’t diminish his brute strength or sense of justice even with a determination to find the truth and protecting his companion at all cost.
Yumei is an intense Tengu with no quarrel about defending his own, shrouded in his own secrets and mysteries as to his involvement in the adventure ahead.
Please!! If you’re about to read this book, PUSH THROUGH the first half of the book
The start is really slow and there’s a lot of world building/understanding of how the world works. Also the main character develop so slow, from devoted brainwash girl to something more real and relatable and likable.
Really the first half is like this. And then the fun, heart stopping, funny and addictive adventure begins. I knew it would come, since I’ve read a lot of books by this author. But the 3 stars I gave it is because I probably wouldn’t have reach the end of the book if I didn’t know before hand how this author writes.
Here’s some of what I’ve highlighted while reading, that left me smiling
“Actually,” she said cheerfully, “you can’t stop me from going wherever I want. You’re not allowed to touch me.”
His mouth fell open.
“So, really, you have to come with me if you intend to protect me. Kannushi Fujimoto will understand, don’t worry.”
He spluttered wordlessly.
“You have the manners of a dog.”
“Well … same family, you know. Foxes, dogs.” He shrugged.
She’d seen shirtless men before … on magazine covers … or from a distance
“Are you going to move?” she demanded.
“Are you going to eat her?” a voice croaked. She and Shiro jumped like they’d been shocked.
You know when you find a book that makes you fall in love with reading all over again? I haven’t read a series this voraciously since Twilight. (BTW, fans of Twilight will like these books. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.) I was telling my writerly friends just yesterday, on the Yukon Writers’ Society podcast, that I saw a Facebook advertisement for Red Winter while scrolling, and it immediately caught my eye. The author, Annette Marie, knows her market! As y’all know, I am a japanophile. I’ve read manga since I was a little girl and watched anime even before that. Well, this ad claimed the book was a mashup of Inuyasha and Kamisama Kiss. (Those titles mean nothing to you if you don’t like Japanese pop culture.) That hooked me! Inuyasha and Kamisama Kiss are two of my absolute favorite shojos. (Shojo = manga with a focus on characters’ relationships for the non-weebs). Sounds like it’s only geared for girls?? Heck-to-the-no! Plenty of action drives shojo stories, and Red Winter is no exception.
Emi is the main character of the story, and she’s a shrine maiden who’s supposed to become a god’s human vessel on the solstice of her 18th birthday. But! She finds out she’s sacrificing her life in the process and becomes desperate to change her destiny. A fox demon, whose life she saves (irony being kamis and yokai are basically enemies) is indebted to her, and he might be her only way to survive.
***The storyline is fraught with Japanese vocabulary and Shinto spirituality/traditions. So if you’re unfamiliar with the terms, you’ll be flipping to the back glossary quite often. Didn’t bother me one iota!
Augh. I could go on and on, and reveal myself to being an even BIGGER nerd, but I don’t want to give out any spoilers. Because I want you to read the book! Maybe you’ll catch the fever like I did for YA Fantasy!
I IMMEDIATELY purchased the second book after finishing. Wow, what phenomenal world-building and action scenes. Immersing yourself into new mythology can be a little intimidating, but Annette made the experience so wonderful. I never felt confused or overwhelmed by the information, and happily devoted this entire series in 3 days much to the semi-annoyance of my husband.
I love all of Annette Marie’s books but this series is my absolute favorite series of all times, and I’ve read a lot of good books.
Annette Marie is the proverbial pot of gold: an author who consistently delivers high quality well written, well edited, grammatically correct, original, entertaining stories. She invites you into her worlds and you never want to leave.
Every time I finish one of her books, my first thought is to read it again, to savor the characters, their development, and their relationships. The relationships developed in her books, both friendships and romantic, develop gradually, revealing layers and connections that strengthen over time. She creates people, not tropes.
Her plots are strong, complex, and keep you riveted. The worlds she creates are internally consistent and vividly imagined.
I realize this is a generic sort of review, but I plan to leave it for all her books. From the Red Winter series (mythic Japan); to the Steel & Stones series, including Piper and Ash, and the Lyre and Clio books; and the Guild Codex series, now including the Robin Piper demon-training: I have yet to find anything less than pure enjoyment, and great respect for her talent.
This book left me with a serious book hang over! I will give a book a good rating (4-5 stars) if it delivers what I expect and is well edited. For instance, if a book is billed as a cozy mystery or a light paranormal romance and is exactly that with a decent story, I’ll give it a good rating. That said, there are some series that need to be rated on an entirely different scale, and this trilogy is one of them. In my mind, it ranks up there with Debra Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy and Sarah J. Maas’ Court of Thorns and Roses series. The Red Winter Trilogy should be a 10 on a scale of 10 for the amazing complex story, characters, and world building. Simply a wonderful, enthralling fantasy story with a slow burn romance. This story is not at all what I expected when I first picked it up but I loved it. And oh, by the way, very well edited. I couldn’t find a mistake or obvious inconsistency in any of the three books (and those bug me). I’m also reading the Guild Codex by this same author. It’s a lighter read, but just as well written. Annette Marie knocked this trilogy out of the park! Bonus that it’s on KU.
I am utterly speechless! It has been ages since I have gotten this excited about a book series (I think the last one was A Court of Thorns and Roses), and I was not anticipating it when I randomly stumbled onto this free Kindle book.
SO glad I downloaded this one.
I’ll admit, I had a few reservations at the start. When I first noticed that the book included a glossary for all of the Japanese terms that would be used, I almost stopped reading. Had it been a paperback—no problem. But the thought of having to flip back and forth on a Kindle book was not my idea of a fun read. THANKFULLY, Annette Marie does an excellent job providing enough context that you don’t even need the glossary! I found her world very accessible, despite my utter lack of familiarity with Japanese culture and folklore/beliefs.
I was also a little put off at first by the slow build-up. Put off isn’t the right choice of words… bored. I was a little bored.
In the first fifth of the story, Emi fell a little flat for me. Or maybe it’s just that I didn’t like her much. True to Japanese culture, Emi was modest, demure, and soft-spoken, which was great for authenticity, but kind of made for a boring main character. Her “flaws” were her guilt and fear, which became a little old to hear about over and over again. But I kept trekking because I was 99% sure the first 20% of the book was crucial to familiarize the reader with the life of the kamigakari, AND crucial for an awesome character development arc. By chapter 7, I learned I was right!
I try to limit the amount of spoilers I include in my reviews, in the hopes that maybe my review will help convince someone to either read or not read a book, but this is necessary to say (and isn’t hugely spoilery): Emi becomes so much more interesting and dynamic, so if you’re struggling at the beginning, keep going!
Marie did such a good job with Emi’s growth, I’m still a little stunned by where we first met Emi and where she ended.
Once we got through the first fifth of the book, I. Could. Not. Stop. Reading. Literally, I was up at 4am eager to see what happened next!
I just think Marie executed the story really well. I imagine it was a challenge to write in such detail about Japanese folklore and to maintain authenticity. I think for that reason alone, she did an amazing job.
I will say that I could’ve done without the random pictures throughout. It just seems like an outdated thing to do anymore, but whatever. Stumbling onto Red Winter, in my humble opinion, was like striking gold!
This is the start of one of my favourite series ever! Emi and Shiro…you need to read their story!
I have been waiting for this book all year! Annette Marie’s Steel & Stone series is one of my all-time favorite series! Once I finished the series I was in serious book hangover for the longest time. I have been counting down the days for her new release, and it was well worth the wait!
One of the things that I have come to expect and love from Annette Marie is phenomenal world building. She weaves an intricate world with layers upon layers of details. Her worlds are masterfully envisioned, and she has a magic touch that brings them to life in indescribable ways. The amount of time that goes into her planning must be immense.
I am going to be honest and say that my initial feeling about the first thirty percent of the book was that it was rather boring. I think that at first I was a bad reader because I fell into a nasty habit of comparing this book to another. Annette Marie’s Steel & Stone series starts off with immediate action that just keeps on going, and this one not so much. It doesn’t make it bad, but it is what it is. I definitely need to clear my mind and not immediately judge a book by something else the author has written. The last half of the book is full of action. While there isn’t much action in the beginning of the book, there is an enormous amount of character development.
On that note, we really get to know the main character, Emi, and her inner workings. I really liked experiencing her struggle with her. She was a greatly admirable character. She felt bound to her duty as an Amagakari, but she also felt a great loss for the childhood she sacrificed and the experiences that she missed out on. She was quite sheltered most of her life, so she wasn’t very timid and delicate. Even though she couldn’t match the strength of others, she was bold enough to speak her mind. I very much enjoyed Shiro’s character. He was mischievous and flat out adorable. I loved his development as well. Yumei is a character that I was unsure of at first, but he definitely grew on me. I am still unclear what his intentions are, but I am hoping that they are for the best.
One of the things that I like most about Annette Marie’s books is her writing. The writing is so smooth and the words flow together flawlessly. The author has the writing gods on her side, because her writing is beyond compare. I cannot applaud her enough.
I loved the romance in this book. It was a little bit angsty, and a little bit sweet. The coming together of the two main characters was a pleasure to see unfold. I couldn’t get enough.
Overall, another spectacular novel from Annette Marie! I just want to shout from the rooftops to all of you that you should read her books! I cannot contain my excitement for the next book in this series! I am so eager to find out what happens to Emi and Shiro, and to uncover all the mysteries from Red Winter. Pick this one up and give it a try! You will not regret that you did.