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After the mega battle in the palace grounds, when Ina unleashed her Chaos Magic, and somehow turned Mar into a giant Dragon, our heroes are in disarray. All Ina knows is that she has to find Mar, which means she’ll end up having to trek across a wintery landscape with Ren, her trusted friend. But Ren is still harbouring amorous feelings for Ina after she performed the forbidden spell to save his life, while he knows Ina is deeply in love with Mar, his commander and his friend. As for Mar, well. He’s flown to his ancestral home, hoping to find some answers for why his Dragon has sprung forth – but somehow, he inadvertently finds himself the subject of a Dragoness’s desires. After she tricks him into performing the Dragon Mating Ritual, he finds himself with an unwanted wife – and doesn’t know how to make Ina believe that it’s only her he loves.
Although the main theme of Winter Dragon appears to be a tangled love quadrangle. Ina, Mar, Ren and the beautiful Dragoness, Ayni. But, it is much more than that. It is about friendships, about dealing with jealousy, about making difficult decisions. There’s also epic battles and fights, political and courtly intrigue, kindness, and cruelty. It’s an epic fantasy, set against a backdrop of frozen mountains, misty forests and ice-cold lakes.
Within the complicated love quadrangle, there are times when I found myself wanting to scream at Ina. She stubbornly refuses to accept Mar’s explanations and tends to head towards angry outbursts and irrationally lashes out. As much as I understand that this is imperative to the plot, and needed to ensure the book is of length, I did find it infuriating. It made me Ina slightly less likeable; making her seem more like an angsty teenager rather than a mature woman.
Ren was also less likeable than he was in Autumn Chaos. He pines after Ina in a way that becomes almost creepy, always being so close that he can hear her every word. Seeming to refuse to acknowledge where her heart lies, waiting for her to change her mind and reminding her that he’s always going to be there. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I found it slightly oily and wanted him to, just, back off.
That said, these are tiny little criticisms, and much more my own personal preference.
Although at times, Nikitin’s writing seems almost as chaotic as Ina’s magic, there’s a charm to their style. Their wry humour is evident within their prose, bringing smiles more often than not. Occasionally, the conversations may seem stinted, but remembering that the characters are based in regal surroundings – often talking to kings and lords, then the formal speech makes much more sense.
S. A.
I was lucky enough to receive Winter Dragon directly from Olena Nikitin in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Winter Dragon is available from to buy from Amazon by clicking the name of the book. It is also available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited.