Katie knows better than to believe in happy endings.She learned there was no such thing after her mother died. In the postindustrial town of Riverside, Katie struggles to care for her distant father and his failing hotel. Her only comfort lies in the arms of her true love, Shay.Yet one evening, he disappears without a trace.Devastated, Katie jumps off a bridge in winter, expecting to meet death … bridge in winter, expecting to meet death in the frozen water below. Instead, her fall transports her to a snowy netherworld, where trapped souls take on the form of animals and the only thing that matters is survival.
Then Katie discovers that Shay has been kidnapped by a deadly sorceress called the Winter Queen. She goes on a journey to find him, traveling through the realms of storybook fairies, princesses, thieves, and monsters to bring him home. But the path is harsh and dangerous. Will Shay and Katie be reunited? Or be forever trapped within an eternal winter?
A retelling of the classic fairytale The Snow Queen, WINTER FALLS is a young adult epic fantasy romance which examines the trials of depression and mental illness in a magical world of action and adventure.
Teen fans of C.S. Lewis and Shannon Hale will love this inspirational novel by author Jacque Stevens.
Clean romance. MILD+ Content rating on MyBookRatings for references to alcohol abuse, suicide, and other serious topics. Recommended for teen readers ages 14 and up.
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Here are the facts. Katie’s mother is dead. Her father lied and told her that her mother was off saving the world so Katie could have a hero, but that’s just not true. Then her father remarries and Katie gets a stepmother. Several more children are born to the family and her father’s new family takes all the attention Katie used to get. The boy Katie likes doesn’t follow through on his promises. And Katie, a teenager, practically runs the inn on her own. But what if Katie is only seeing the world through a jaded perspective and her perception isn’t true? What then?
Jacque Stevens does an incredible job writing from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. We can see how Katie’s life has been hard but there’s also a sense of a different story happening that is constantly inviting and compelling Katie to be a part of it. And so, she gets swept up into another world, where fairies are good and evil, where animals talk, where someone (or someones?) she loves must be rescued, where she learns to see the world differently. It’s a beautiful, fantastic, wonderful tale. There are moments that seem to have come straight out of Wonderland, and Katie herself noted that she expected to see a rabbit with a pocket watch running late. Other times feel more like Oz, and it’s unclear whether the fairies are the good or bad witches, although instead of compass points, they represent seasons. But regardless, it’s easy to get lost in the worlds that Katie visits and wish we could visit them too. And maybe some of Katie’s lessons and growth can be ours as we adventure with her. At least, that’s how it felt to me.
I received a copy of the audiobook from the author and have reviewed it willingly because it was wonderful and needed more wonderful words said about it.
*** I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.***
I love reading about retelling of fairy tales, but this one was a rough one for me. This was a good concept but the flow of the story was just hard to read through. It starts off slow for me which took me longer to read this book.
There are a lot of flash backs in the story that I am not crazy about, however you need them to fully understand the main character. The main character is Katie who doesn’t have a rough upbringing but as you read the story of feels as if she does. It only feels that way so to her perception of things. As the saying goes your perception is their reality and she does live up to that saying. It takes a some extreme measures for her to realize what she has caused and then sets off on a journey to discover herself. I did cry for her because of what she discovers about herself. She also learns to open up for love and family which finally gets her closet to her happy ending. It does have intense moments and can be heart wrenching. Overall it was a good book.