The Winter Trilogy: A Witch in Winter : Book 1

Cover: Oooh, I so much love the cover. It was the first thing that caught my eyes, and just seeing it, makes me say, this is definitely YA Paranormal. My copy comes with the cover of the second book- A Witch in Love at the inner side of the front cover. And oh my, it was even more beautiful. Although, I don't think they have the same model as the first one, on that issue, I prefer the girl on the first book. The plot of the story was cute and interesting, especially the whole witch clan war. Hmmph, that's pretty scary! The witch thing was well-researched, especially the use of old English in spells. Even if the book talks about magic, everything else in it was genuine. I love how the author deals with teenage issues or should I say, teens usually do, like drinking for example. Warburton really stated it as if she was a teen herself,..lol Although this is the first book I read from Ms. Warburton, her writing style was easy to understand. It was fast-paced, spiced with humor and there was suspense lurking in every corner. I can't believe this is her debut novel , the book was really good. I myself, was hoping magic exist, like witches, spells, potions. And I love the way the author reveals Anna's true identity. It's a situation where you really say, "that's possible and unique"! Anna is a character I instantly like. She was real. I mean, she acts, says, thinks what any normal teen would do. It's easy to instantly love and relate to her. Her character developed a lot throughout the book. The other characters were also strong in different ways, friends or fiends, each of them has his own predefined role. Although of course not everyone are in the limelight, I hope to see more of them in the next book. As for the love story, just like the synopsis said it wasn't anything like vampire/werewolves or girls who willingly submit to boys' charms, in this one, Anna has the charm. Their love story was different in every way. It made me think that how could you really be sure that a boy loves you when you unintentionally and unbelievingly put a love spell on him? As for Seth, he was such a good guy even though he was tag as the bad boy, so I'm not that a big fan, I prefer the bad boys maybe in love stories..lol.. I like Abe even better..;D A Witch in Winter comes with high school dramas, love spells gone awry, spells, witches' wars, near-death experiences, and of course lot of action. What more could you want? Highly Recommended! I can't wait for the next in the series A Witch in Love and know what happens to Anna and Seth!show more

Firstly, let me say I absolutely love this cover. The colour is striking and makes it stand out on the shelf. The model is beautiful and I just love the way the whole thing comes together. But whilst it was the cover that drew me in, it was the stunning story within that kept my attention. A WITCH IN WINTER was simply sublime. It was a fast-paced, well-written, wonderful story. Very fluid in it's motion. I picked it up at 12 noon yesterday and was finished within the day. I was just so hooked I found it impossible to put down. In all honesty, I have that many books to read that I actually asked my 5 year old son to pick one for me. When he picked this, I had been wanting to read it for a while anyway, so I was only too pleased to sit down and settle in. What I didn't expect was to get so carried away by it that I would lose track of time. Suddenly 3 hours had passed in the blink of an eye. It felt like the writing was almost hypnotic. Ruth Warburton is definitely an author to look out for in the future. She knows just how to press all my buttons and pack a punch into her story. This is a line from the blurb that I just loved so much - "Although a perfect fit for the paranormal romance genre, A WITCH IN WINTER avoids fangs, excessive body hair and submissive female leads, and tells the heart-wrenching story of a couple meant to be together, but being forced apart" It really sums things up and I couldn't have said it any better! This was the story of Anna Winterson. A sweet girl who never believed in magic. Until now. When Anna's father is made redundant, they are left with no choice but to move. The bills are adding up, the pressure on her father to get a job and pay those bills is mounting. So they move to a house in the small town of Winter. Wicker House. Or as some of the locals call it 'Witch's House'. Forced to move school mid-year, to live in a house she thinks is dilapidated, to go to a school where she knows no-one, Anna's life couldn't get any more complicated. Or could it? When Anna has a couple of girls from school round one night, they look through a book that her dad uncovered whilst doing up the house. This book is full of odd words and weird writing. It's mostly burnt. Yet something the girls discover inside makes things get a whole lot more complicated for Anna. Unbeknownst to her at the time, she has 'bewitched' Seth - the gorgeous boy at school who is dating Caroline. At this point, I can't tell you more. That's for you to find out. But I can tell you, this story is quirky, fast-paced and full of intrigue. There's so much packed into such a short space. So many things happen to Anna that you wonder if the girl is cursed. Poor Anna goes through so much. It's a roller coaster ride for her and her emotions. If I could live inside any book and be friends with any characters, I would chose A WITCH IN WINTER. I totally heart me some Seth. But I also found I have a mini girl-crush on Anna. She is so sweet and so good. I just love her! I was after reading something different. This book was it. It was a truly magical, marvellous journey. There were ups and downs, twists and turns. Things that I wouldn't have thought would happen, but they did. I am so eager to read A WITCH IN LOVE when it comes out in July and then A WITCH ALONE (I'm not sure when that one comes out). This was the start to what I am sure will be a really beautiful trilogy. I just really hope things work out well for all concerned in the end. I know there will be more ups and downs ahead. I really wouldn't want it to be an easy journey. If it was, it would feel like it was missing something. But though there's bound to be rubber waters and they're bound to take some falls, I know that with Ruth Warburton at the tiller, it'll all work out right in the end. (even if we have to suffer a little along the way) I will admit that there were moments of pure joy during this book, but there were also tears too. I didn't even realise I was crying until I felt hot wet tears run in rivulets down my cheeks. But in the end, I was left smiling. All that's left to say, I guess, is thanks to Ruth for creating some amazing characters. I can honestly say I loved them all. Even the baddies. because they were all written so well. I wish I had my very own Emmaline. Though she starts out as someone I would gladly slap, she ends up someone I would want in my life come hell or high water. She isn't a fair-weather friend, she's got the makings of the best kind of friend a girl could have. Thanks also for the kind of story that sticks with you. A story that leaves you feeling at once sated yet crying out for more.show more

Also reviewed on my blog, The Vintage Bookworm. (www.vintagebookworm.blogspot.com) I can tell you right now that I will most likely have trouble writing this review. I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It took me a while to get into this book, which then made it to where it took seven days to finish it. When I was reading it, it aggravated me so much because I'm not very used to this much UK English. But when I put it down to do something else, I kept thinking about it. The story line. What would happen next with Anna. Witches are one of my top favorite supernatural beings. I've loved witches for as long as I can remember. I was obsessed with the TV show Charmed when I was in middle and high school and still kind of am. So when I first found out about this book, I knew I'd love it. Anna is pretty easy to relate to. She just moved to a new part of England that seems a lot different than London where she grew up. She starts a new school and there is this guy there that she thinks she may like. In the beginning I got really curious of how the witches would come in. She doesn't know she's a witch in the beginning and I'm going to leave it at that so I won't throw out any spoilers. Anna is pretty down to earth and nice and is fine not having a boyfriend. She doesn't need one. I really like how she grew more confident by the end of the book. She grows a lot from the beginning. I like some of the other characters, but not all. The ones that felt more real to me were Seth, Emmaline, Maya and Anna's dad. I really hope they grow stronger in the second book. I loved the story line! I was a bit scared when I read the summary despite my love for witches because I thought it would be a regular over done story, but it wasn't. It was unique.I had a little trouble with the language, but I could kind of hear the accents in my head when I read it. (I LOVE English accents. <3 *le sigh*)I think I might of gotten used to it by the end because it didn't bug me as much. I was more into the action in the end. LOVE the action scenes. Overall, despite me not loving this book to death like I thought I would, I do want to read the next book. I'm really curious about what happens next with Anna and Seth and, of course, the Ealdwitan.show more