"ORIGINAL dark-ish fantasy with a great romantic subplot"
It is a dark and different world for Mina Cole. A slave in
an industrial mill, she holds a secret that even she
doesn't quite understand. But when brutality is unleashed
on her fellow mill workers and friends, what Mina really is
can no longer be hidden. Mina is a half-breed, a woman with fae powers that are
damned by the society in which she lives. She recognizes
that prejudice, not only among her friends, but also within
herself. She realizes the only way to face her own inner
demons is to better understand them. She seeks out Duncan,
an older man, crippled in an accident long ago, who is an
underground mentor for the fae. Under Duncan's tutelage she
grows, not only in her powers, but also as a person, and as
a woman. Duncan knows that the brash, cocky Mina may be not only his
greatest student, but also his greatest fear. Not only in
that he could lose his heart to her; but that the fae and
half-fae world may well change because of the powers he has
helped Mina hone. In trying to save her, Duncan may have
given her the ability to destroy not only herself, but also
all those like her. Including Duncan, himself. WINTER'S ORPHANS is a superb ORIGINAL dark-ish fantasy with
a great romantic subplot. Mina, the heroine, is gutsy,
flawed, cocky and sincere. Duncan, the hero, is intense,
dedicated and torn. It's a May-December situation but it's
much much more than that. It's a tale of dark magic, of age-
old revenge and totally original world-building in
Corvidae's setting of Niune. It's fantasy - and superb
fantasy - first, and romance second. Keep that in mind.
This is not a romance novel where the characters
coincidentally wear pointed ears. This is REAL, flawlessly
written fantasy with a grabber romance subplot. I loved
the book.
Linnea Sinclair, author
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 18, 2002
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At the dawn of the Industrial Age, the kingdom of Niune is ruled by the Seelie Court half human faelings descended from seelie fae. Sworn to the forces of light, the Seelie Court is dedicated to the destruction of all who bear the taint of unseelie fae blood. Mina Cole is an indentured worker a factory slave. She has lived her entire life ignorant of her fae heritage, until at last a moment of terror reveals the winter magic that has lain dormant within. Now that her power is awakened, the hunters of the Seelie Court will not rest until they have slain Mina and all who stand with her. Her only hope of survival lies in the hands of man crippled in both body and spirit. One terrible night thirty five years ago, Duncan RiDahn lost both his lover and the use of his legs to the Seelie Court. Into Duncan's web of regret comes Mina, whose dark power both alarms and attracts him. For Mina wields a terrible magic that may ultimately prove a greater threat to the faelings of Niune than all the hunters of the Seelie Court combined.
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