A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos Series: The Mirror Visitor #1
Published by Europa Editions on September 25, 2018
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Action & Adventure / General, Young Adult Fiction / Coming of Age, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Young Adult Fiction / Girls & Women, Young Adult Fiction / Steampunk
Pages: 441
Format: Paperback
Lose yourself in the fantastic world of the arks and in the company of unforgettable characters in this French runaway hit, Christelle Dabos’ The Mirror Visitor quartet.
Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world.
The World of the Arks
Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, now known as arks. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. The inhabitants of these arks each possess a unique power. Ophelia, with her ability to read the pasts of objects, must navigate this fantastic, disjointed, perilous world using her trademark tenacity and quiet strength.
Wow! I’m shocked I hadn’t heard of this or read it before today because it’s right up my alley. I was pulled into all of this as soon as I read the “Fragment” prologue about god writing when he was happy and furious and then when he was really in a bad mood, he smashed everything to pieces. If I didn’t have work throughout the week, I would’ve just kept reading this book.
I love the world-building created. The story takes place in an alternative or future timeline where the Earth has exploded and chunks of land are called “arks.” These arks are cities, or countries, and are kept aloft by the guardian spirit. There is also a magic system where each family/clan/arc has a certain power. With Ophelia, she’s an animist, someone who can “read” objects or materials and give an explanation of everyone who’s touched the object and their intentions. Thorn and his family, the Dragons, are able to create pain through thought. All very steampunk Victorian, which I love!!
The characters all well written and fascinating, but they did disappear into the world-building at times. I completely related to Ophelia, and my teenage self would’ve connected to Ophelia so much! I was surprised by how much I loved Aunt Rosaline by the end of the book. She was so annoying and mean but by the end, she became this ornery aunt that you can’t help but love. It’s easy to realize that each characters has their own agendas except for Ophelia and Rosaline. Most everyone from Thorn’s aunt, Berenilde, to Archibald to other nobility were two-faced, manipulative, and cruel. Berenilde could go from sweet and pleasant to cruel and mean at the drop of a hat. As for Ophelia’s fiance, Thorn is difficult to pierce. He seems genuine at time while at others, he doesn’t give a damn, so it’s difficult to figure out what he’s thinking or planning. I’m curious to see what will happen with his and Ophelia’s relationship. Even with all the lying, backstabbing, and two-faced aspects, I love it all! But I’m totally into political dramas and intrigue!
I’m definitely interested in Ophelia’s feelings and emotions surrounding marriage and children. As I’ve only read the first one, this could all change, but the fact that there is such strong feelings from Ophelia about not wanting love, marriage, children, it does read very much like aromantic and asexual, or at least demisexual. Knowing when this is published, it’s probably unintentional on the part of the author, and more of the fact that this is a teenage girl who doesn’t want to be married yet. Any of these views are valid and worthy of respect and love. It would be great representation if she was aromantic, asexual, or demisexual. We’ll see with the next book(s).
I already have plans to buy the rest of the series as a birthday gift to myself!
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