I wasn't sure what to rate this one, but I did stay up until 1:30 am to finish, so it must have been good! I think my hesitation is because Tam Lin has never been one of my favorite fairy tales. But this one was really well done and I was so drawn into the story. I loved Rois and her unconventional ways. ( )

I guess this book was ok not great just ok.Was a little confusing in spots.I've liked her other books but this one just didn't do it for me.3 stars ( )

This was the first book by Patricia McKillip I've ever read, and the first fantasy novel I've read in quite a long time. I was impressed by how evocative McKillip's writing was; there was a sense of "place" that was both dream-like and tangible. I identified with her protagonists' sense of never quite belonging as well as her inexplicable yearning for something she couldn't quite name. The intricacy of the family relationships, particularly between Rose and her sister, were also well done. Somehow, she manages to create a narrative that gets away with weaving between the "real world" and something like a waking dream without coming across as too hallucinatory. This was a novel that made me remember why I love fantasy so much. ( )

an eerie fairy tale that mixes dreams, magic, and different worlds into something haunting and mysterious. at times, i wasn't quite sure what was going on - but the story has some elements of the folktale tam lin that oriented me somewhat, in that the main character, rois, falls in love with a man, corbet, who seems caught between two worlds, the human and the fairy (or something like fairy). her efforts to save him, herself, and her sister, who falls in love with corbet, follow a tangled, tortured path back to humanity which at one point includes rois trying to "hold onto" corbet no matter what form he takes. some of the language and images were striking and beautiful, but i couldn't really engage with the characters. i don't know if it was the strangeness of the story, or its rather open ended aspect and conclusion, but i felt distanced from its events and people - except for the relationship between rose and her sister, the only thing relatively solid and clear amidst a landscape of shifting dreams and realities. not that i don't appreciate a book that leaves much to speculation and questions, but unfotunately the questions i had after reading winter rose left too conspicuous gaps that got in the way of understanding the characters at least on same basic level of connection. ( )

In this beautifully written short novel, Rois, a young woman known for her unconventional ways (she wanders the woods barefoot, seeking healing herbs for her potions), falls in love with the strange young man who suddenly appears in the village. Is he a ghost, returned from the distant past? Or a true heir to the estate bordering Rois' home? To complicate matters, he falls in love with Rois' staid sister, and she with him. The story is developed through an odd mix of fantasy and realism--a dream world or visions (caused by wine? drugs?) cross over into reality, and it's difficult to know which is which. Beautiful writing, but the story isn't always easy to follow. ( )