The Winter King by C.L. Wilson

The Winter King by C. L. Wilson
Series: Weathermages of Mystral #1
Published by Harper Collins on July 29, 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
Pages: 608
Format: eBook
ISBN: 0062018973
ASIN: B00GFZODB6
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After three long years of war, starkly handsome Wynter Atrialan will have his vengeance on Summerlea's king by taking one of the man's beautiful, beloved daughters as his bride. But though peace is finally at hand, Wynter's battle with the Ice Heart, the dread power he embraced to avenge his brother's death, rages on.

Khamsin Coruscate, Princess of Summerlea and summoner of Storms, has spent her life exiled to the shadows of her father's palace. Reviled by her father, marriage to Wintercraig's icy king was supposed to be a terrible punishment, but instead offers Kham her first taste of freedom—and her first taste of overwhelming passion.

As fierce, indomitable Wynter weathers even Khamsin's wildest storms, surprising her with a tenderness she never expected, Kham wants more than Wynter's passion—she yearns for his love. But the power of the Ice Heart is growing, dangerous forces are gathering, and a devastating betrayal puts Khamsin and Wynter to the ultimate test.

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In the prologue of the book The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral #1) by C.L. Wilson, the reader meets two pairs of devoted siblings Khamsin and Falcon of the Kingdom of Summerlea and Wynter and Garrick of Kingdom WinterCraig, both pairs of siblings are part of their respective ruling families. The two kingdoms and their people are opposite each other not only in temperature, but also the temperament of the people. Where Summerlea people are perceived to be light, bright and  frivolous, the people of WinterCraig are seen as dark, cold and stoic; but preconceived ideas are never a good way to live in a world.  The world that these kingdoms in habit is one of magic, epic heroes and weather magic, it is a world that the C.L. Wilson the author doesn’t tell the reader about, she immerses the reader into the realms that she has created.  The world maybe foreign to the reader, but in Wilson’s marvelous story telling, it is a place that is easy to understand; without being simple.  As Wilson uses the characters of Khamsin and Wynter as a backdrop to understand the cultures of both kingdoms and the world of the land of Mystral.   Wilson captivated my imagination with a very powerful prologue, that let me into the hearts and minds of both sets of siblings.  The epic fantasy tale that Wilson goes onto spin, is one of devotion, heartbreak, treachery, adventure, and love.  Where some authors in fantasy romance are too obsessed with instant love, they don’t tend to craft a complete story, in The Winter King, Wilson does not make that mistake;  the characters in this story don’t trust easily or love immediately, as life has left scars on their souls; that take time to repair.

This is a book of powerful emotions, wonderfully written flawed characters and a ton of danger and adventure, and it is a book I am so thrilled to have read.

One last note, I held off buying this book despite the intriguing synopsis; because of the cover.  Truly the cover does not represent the magical qualities of the book.  I really think that cover artist should be made to read the books that they make art for, as the ‘King Arthur’ 1980’s  type cover does nothing for this book.

 

Book Two The Sea King (Mystral Series, Book 2) is due out summer of 2016