Review: Winter's Child - Cameron Dokey

Synopsis: Free-spirited Grace and serious Kai are the best of friends. They grew up together listening to magical tales spun by Grace's grandmother and sharing each other's secrets. But when they turn sixteen and Kai declares his love for Grace, everything changes. Grace yearns for freedom and slowly begins to push Kai - and their friendship - away. Dejected, Kai dreams of a dazzling Snow Queen, who entices him to leave home and wander to faraway lands. When Grace discovers Kai is gone, she learns how much she has lost and sets out on a mystical journey to find Kai . . . and discover herself.

Review: I am a huge fan of fairy-tale retellings, and I am especially fond of this series, which retells so many different stories in so many unique and classic ways, making the tales feel new and fresh - and making a whole lot more sense than the original stories! One of my all-time favorite fairy-tales is The Snow Queen, and while I do not believe it ever needs to be rewritten, I thoroughly enjoyed this particular version. It gave new insight into the Snow Queen herself, which was wonderful to see for someone who always liked the Snow Queen as a character (oddly enough, I never thought of her as the villain).

The writing was of that beautiful and whimsical quality which is so characteristic of this series, conjuring up clear pictures of a snowy world, the coziness of Kai and Grace's childhood homes, and the misery of Grace's hard journey. I loved how she played upon the elements of the story - the mirror shards which caused people to see things in a distorted fashion, the bandits, the raven (which happens to be a falcon in this version), and even the important role the flowers play in bringing back Grace's memory when she stays with the old woman. I admit that I missed the reindeer and the lady from Lapland, but overall I thought it a brilliant piece of work. The ending is somewhat unexpected and rather eclectic in the fact that lots of things suddenly happen and the Reader is completely not expecting, and yet it worked well enough.

Winter's Child can be enjoyed by anyone - be they acquainted with The Snow Queen or are just looking for a whimsical, fairy-tale like love story.

Overall Rating: {{{{

Others in the Once Upon A Time Series:
The Storyteller's Daughter (Cameron Dokey)
Beauty Sleep (Cameron Dokey)
Snow (Tracy Lynn)
Midnight Pearls (Debbie Viguie)
Scarlet Moon (Debbie Viguie)
Sunlight and Shadow (Cameron Dokey)
Spirited (Nancy Holder)
The Night Dance (Suzanne Weyn)
Golden (Cameron Dokey)
Water Song (Suzanne Weyn
Before Midnight (Cameron Dokey)
The Rose Bride (Nancy Holder)
The Crimson Thread (Suzanne Weyn)
Belle (Cameron Dokey)
Wild Orchid (Cameron Dokey)
The Diamond Secret (Suzanne Weyn)
Winter's Child (Cameron Dokey)
Violet Eyes (Debbie Viguie)
The World Above (Cameron Dokey)