Winter's Light by M.J. Hearle

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Pages: 432pgs

The Story

Blake is gone.

He sacrificed himself to save Winter, leaving her along, unprotected . . . hunted.

An ancient enemy is rising, but Winter is no longer the innocent girl who was fated to die at Pilgrim's Lament. She will not wait to be saved. She will do what she must to survive, even accept an unsavoury alliance with those who destroyed her love.

In the gathering darkness, the enemy of an enemy is not always a friend, and Winter must find the strength to stand alone and fight for the one she loves. For she is the key to unlocking the secrets beyond the veil of shadows.

And she is Blake's only hope.

The Review

A big thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!

WINTER'S LIGHT is the much anticipated sequel to M.J. Hearle's debut YA paranormal novel Winter's Shadow, a book that I loved wholeheartedly last year. In this new sequel, this time around Winter is mourning over the loss of Blake, a Demori whom had sacrificed his life in order to save hers. But then something strange occurs after Blake's suppose destruction . . . Winter begins having visions of Blake and she's soon convinced that he is still alive, and out there somewhere in the Deadlands and in order to retrieve him, she must use her newfound abilities to track him down and get some answers about her destiny. But when two Demori attack her in her own territory, Winter finds the unlikely alliance and companionship in Sam, a boy who is one of the Bane and one who is partially responsible for Blake's demise, and together they seek out a complicated journey of the impossible and may possibly be able to bring back Blake once and for all. Or is he truly gone forever?

Winter, the main character, still shines as the main heroine and her strength only ignites throughout this novel. She has really grew into her own this girl. After all, she's determined more than ever before in this sequel to get her one true love back to her and I admire all of the difficult decisions she has to make in order to get Blake. Trust me here, there's plenty of difficulties that she has to experience. Sam on the other hand, was a great supporting character to aid Winter in her quest, and I appreciated that Hearle developed his character a little bit more than I expected him to because I well . . . I kind of adored him. Sam. More so in this book than the first, since I learned about that unknown compassionate side to him. But the only disappointing factor in regards to the characters was the missing part of my heart - that being our boy Blake. There was nothing of him. It was like that bush that runs across that dusty old lane with the wind whispering in the distance. Where was Blake in this novel? I surely deserved some Blake after reading pages upon pages . . . surely I deserved an appearance by him? Hmph. I guess not.

In regards to the storyline, I really enjoyed it. It may have been slowly-paced for most of the time in the book but I still enjoyed it. Although, as much as I hate to say it and as much as I hate to write these words down in this book review, but personally for me I found this sequel didn't live up to the hype I was hoping for since I adored the first book and everything in it. Maybe it was due to the lack of Blake or maybe it was because of the storyline itself where I was often confused by certain events that occured half-way through the book, but when it comes down to it . . . I'm still looking forward to the third installment in the series because the end of the novel made me long for more of this story and I can't wait to see if Blake will finally come back to me as he's rightfully made to come back to Winter . . . I just miss him. A lot.

Overall, with the stakes much higher than ever before and with many sacrifices awaiting Winter, WINTER'S LIGHT will certainly take you on a journey of self-discovery, mystery, and what it means to fight for what you love most in the world. Both well-written, entertaining, and fascinating, if you loved the first book Winter's Shadow then there's no doubt in my mind whatsoever that you're going to love this sequel too!

The Rating

3/5 stars