A.E. Rayne

Winter’s fury is classified as EPIC Fantasy. However, while I think the Furyck Saga SERIES might be epic fantasy, this book only hints at that.



Winter’s Fury is less EPIC and more of a HEROINE’S JOURNEY.
I’ll be talking about The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger in a later video and blog post, but there are many aspects of Winter’s Fury that align with the narrative design of the HEROINE’s JOURNEY.

This is the tale of one woman in a man’s world who is thrown into an unwilling show more marriage in order to unite two countries with the goal of taking over a third. However, the main plot of Winter’s Fury focuses more on Jael’s coming into her own.

My thoughts on the present reviews/ratings
It’s a 4-star story for sure, but I’ve seen a number of reviews that offer the critique, “It’s like riding a stationary bike.” With all due respect to those reviewers, I believe they simply felt they would be getting a more epic story in book 1—maybe one that was broader in scope rather than focusing so intently on the characters. Honestly, I wondered if that was the case when I picked up this book, and felt like my hunch was justified in the end.

For me, the characters’ inner and outer journeys combined with solid worldbuilding are the most rewarding parts about reading fantasy.

My rating of Wynter’s Fury & my rating scale
When I rate a book (and I can be fairly harsh on occasion), I have to take an average.

For Winter’s Fury, here are my scores:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Character development: This is a 100% character-driven story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot. The plot was good. But because there were promises made but not fulfilled, I subtracted one star. I don’t mind this, because I expect some of that in series, but it rarely lets me give a 5-star to a single book in the series.

⭐⭐⭐ Writing style for the following reasons.
It’s simple and mostly easy to read.
There was a good deal of emotional telling.
Lots of head-hopping under the guise of omniscient point of view. Yes, that’s a choice. Yes, the author admits the choice. Unfortunately, I found it jarring.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worldbuilding, or maybe slightly lower.
Caveat: I LOVE good, original, and thorough worldbuilding – even if it’s steeped in some real historical lore. Worldbuilding is absolutely my jam!
⚔️ I felt this book’s worldbuilding was light. Okay, that’s another choice, but it relied on common reader knowledge of Norse Mythology, which makes it not super original.
⚔️ I’d have liked a better map. Maybe it’s my old eyes, but I can’t read a lot of what’s on there. Hopefully, that’s improved in subsequent books.
⚔️ All this being said, the world was consistent, and I always had the feeling I was right there with the characters. And cold. I was usually feeling cold.

The Bottom Line
⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you like immersive fantasy, this will do the trick. However, be aware that the bulk of the story is one person’s journey. show less

DNF

A kick ass grown woman is forced to marry a dude who wakes up in pools of his own piss & shit daily because it’s predestined that “she will make him better”.
Excuse me? This woman deserves more than to have a “crappy project” for a husband. She’s a warrior, but she’s been reduced to “fixing hopeless men.”
Also, this book jumped POVs each paragraph, with no warning. I’ve never seen that done before, it’s not fun.

Interesting characters and a low-key fantasy element that never pushes out the human focus of the story. I found it an absorbing and suspenseful introduction to the saga and think it's a good place to start for anyone interested in the series.

the start of a great series... here, we learn the different dimensions of all the characters, and this first novel lays the groundwork for what is clearly one of the most inspired Viking sagas ever told.