Book Review: Wintercraft

Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

UK Publication Date: 13 May 2010

I purchased this book from The Book Depository, as it has not been published in the US yet. Those who are interested in purchasing the book, can do so on The Book Depository website, with FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Please make sure that The Book Depository ships to your country before attempting to purchase. Click here to purchase.


Description
Ten years ago Kate Winters' parents were taken by the High Council's wardens to help with the country's war effort. Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane -- the High Council's most feared man -- recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council's experiments into the veil, and he's convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace. The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft -- a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft. To help Artemis, Edgar and herself, Kate must honour her pact with a murderer and come face to face with the true nature of death.


My Review Jenna Burtenshaw has penned a novel that pulls readers into a unique world where there are people, called the Skilled, who can see into the land of the dead. At the beginning of the book, the main character Kate, has no idea what kind of power she possesses. The discovery that she is one of the Skilled puts her in danger and leads her on a journey that ends with her facing a great evil. Ultimately, Kate has to believe in not only herself, but her power, in order to save her and those she cares about.

My favorite character in Wintercraft is Silas Dane. Silas is supposed to be the villain in this story. He has done some horrible things, including kill people. But as the story advances, I found myself sympathizing with his plight. Silas is bound by blood to serve an evil, manipulating woman named Da'ru who is only out to gain as much power as she can. While readers can see that Silas has committed terrible acts, they are ultimately overshadowed by the true cruelty that Da'ru possesses. I liked how though Silas never apologized for the things he did, he somewhat redeems himself in the end of the book.

Wintercraft was a great read that was a nice change from the usual paranormal teen storylines of vampires, werewolves and angels, which is not to say I don't like those books, just that I have been reading a lot of them lately and was happy to delve into a different type of story. Wintercraft is a wonderful debut novel, set in a fascinating world and I hope that Burtenshaw writes a sequel (or more).


My Rating: 3.5 stars

Picture and description courtesy of Goodreads.



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Wintercraft Book Trailer