Wintercraft: Legacy by Jenna Burtenshaw

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1 & 2!

Synopsis

The veil which marks the division between life and death is falling. Lost souls are seeping though to roam Albion's graveyard city of Fume.

Kate Winters' recent memory is lost. Relieved to be heading home to Albion, Kate can't shake the feeling that Dalliah Grey, the woman she's supposed to be working for, is not to be trusted. Disgraced warrior Silas Dane plans to rescue Kate and save Albion from the advancing armies seeking to profit from the confusion. But the veil will not be easy to repair and Silas knows sacrifices have to be made.

Kate must return to the dark secrets detailed by her ancestors in the ancient book of WINTERCRAFT and learn from their mistakes to save herself.

I can't believe that we've reached the third book in this trilogy. It really doesn't feel like that long ago that the arc for Wintercraft was given to me by Liz. In actual fact Wintercraft came out in June of 2010 - wow, that time has flown. Nostalgia aside, I have great love for this series and Silas, Kate and Edgar are now firmly part of me. We left the trio, as ever, in trouble at the close of Wintercraft: Blackwatch. Kate was in the grips of Dalliah and robbed of her memory. Silas had come to the rescue of Edgar but unable to be of any help to Kate. Dalliah's greatest desire is to bring down the veil between the lands of the living and the dead in the city of Fume and Kate is the perfect person to do that. So powerful that even the Skilled want nothing to do with her - Kate really is more alone than ever. Until this point Kate's abilities haven't been tested to their full but the promise has always been there, lurking. It's this, the mysterious possibilities of Kate Winters, that intrigues me and propels the plot along. I was turning the pages faster and faster as her power unfolds.

Once back in Fume the plot takes off at a hurtling pace. Seriously, I barely drew breath for two-thirds of the book. What I love about Fume is that it's a city of layers. There's the land dwellers and those who live in the land below unbeknownst to anyone else. Then there are the souls of the dead, trapped within the walls and spirit wheels of the city like a forgotten tribe. The High Council have created an atmosphere of fear that keeps everyone in their place and the outlying settlements of Albion live in fear of warden visits that steal their people to take to Fume. It's obvious that something drastic must take place to disrupt the current regime.

After the events of Blackwatch, Silas is an outcast but he and Edgar return to the city with a plan. As the book progresses it becomes obvious that near-silent Silas knows exactly what Kate is capable of and, with the aid of his wonderful crow, he is determined to put a stop to what might happen next. A word about Silas. He's such a brilliant creation and a memorable character who I totally fell in love with. On the one hand he's deadly and ruthless but on the other ridiculously loyal with a hint of compassion.

There are a lot of threads to tie off and the author has skilfully woven them together to bring a satisfying ending to Wintercraft. Just when I thought things couldn't get more tense and exciting - they do! I adore the mysterious world that the author has created both the living and the one beyond the veil. I really hope and wish that someone decides to turn these books into a film. I can see the city below, the land beyond the veil, the craggy rocks and the terrified villages and just know they would be wonderful on the big screen. Well, I shall cross my fingers and hope that it might happen.

Competition Time! Wintercraft - Legacy by Jenna Burtenshaw

Today is the publication day for the final book in Jenna's Wintercraft legacy and Headline is offering one lucky (UK only) reader a chance to win the trilogy via MFB.

Here are the books, with links to our reviews (you can tell Sarah is a big fan!).

Read Sarah's review of the book that started off the trilogy

Read Sarah's review of the second book in the trilogy

Read Sarah's review of the final book in the trilogy:

A DARKPOWER RISES. A DEADLY JOURNEY BEGINS.

Ten years ago Kate Winters' parents were takenby the High Council's wardens to help with the country's war effort.
Now the wardens are back...and prisoners,including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train.Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane- the High Council's most feared man - recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; arare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and thedead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council's experiments into the veil,and he's convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace. The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft- a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night ofSouls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just daysaway and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate andWintercraft.

These books are so gorgeous and look so pretty - I want the covers as posters!


The rules are very simple: comment here on the blog for a chance to win (make sure we know how to find you at the end of the day) or find me on Twitter as @LizUK and ask to be added to the #WeekOfWintercraft competition. I'll get home late tonight and choose a winner - I'll announce it on the blog and via twitter. Headline will be the ones sending you the trilogy so make sure that if you're chosen to let me have the correct address details! I hasten to add that your address won't be added to any kind of dull mailing list of any sort.

If you do NOT win today's trilogy batch, be sure to check out who will tweeting about #WeekOfWintercraft tomorrow as this competition will be running for a week with a different blog / site running the competition for the duration.


Go on! Comment and tweet at me with that hashtag! Let's get winning.

Wintercraft: Blackwatch by Jenna Burtenshaw

Synopsis

Kate has escaped the clutches of the High Council and Silas has left Albion for the continent. But their lives are forever linked and as the veil weakens, causing Albion's skilled to fear for everyone's safety, Silas and Kate find themselves drawn together by the mysterious and corrupt Dalliah Grey.

I enjoyed Wintercraft and was keen to read the sequel. At the close of the previous book everything was left up in the air. The breadth of Kate's powers was beginning to emerge and the town of Fume has been left in panic. We join Kate as she is awaiting trial in the City Below. The Skilled are blaming Kate for the death of their leader, Mina, and it begins to look as if she has nowhere to turn. Faithful Edgar is by her side but it doesn't look as if this will be enough to help her. I really felt for Kate in Blackwatch - it becomes obvious that her powers (and her family name) are such that no-one trusts her. In Wintercraft she hoped to find a place to belong in the City Below but the Skilled are so fearful that they suggest locking her away for her own good. Edgar becomes a vital companion to Kate and I enjoyed watching their bond strengthen. Edgar also gives a lighter edge to the proceedings as he's a very grounded and practical character which is a good foil for Kate who spends much of her time in-between two worlds.

Silas, on the other hand, has left, managing to dodge the guard searching for him. On a tip-off he heads for the continent looking for Dalliah Grey eager to know if she can help. His journey is anything but calm and he soon finds that it was more than chance that drew him across the water. We're introduced to the lethal Blackwatch and they provide some edge of seat moments throughout. I loved watching Silas struggle with his conscience in this book, something that doesn't usually trouble him. These new fears that he's experiencing for another person are genuinely touching although I found myself viewing him as the resident bad boy. Any gesture, however tiny had me going, "Aw, bless him - he really does care!" In all seriousness though, Silas has to face a whole range of new emotions including coming to terms with his own vulnerability which is fascinating reading.

Blackwatch is brilliantly fast paced and tightly plotted. I loved the way that although Kate and Silas's journeys are separate they are united by their use of the veil and their story arcs. As one of them gets further into trouble so does the other and this mirroring really ramps up the tension. As before I loved the excepts involving the veil - I could read about it for days. As frost creeps over Kate's body she falls deeper and deeper into the otherworld putting herself in great danger. The City Below grows in Blackwatch and as I was reading my mind was scrambling to map it out. It's all huge caverns with tiny walkways, mysterious doors and wrong turnings aplenty. If you've not read Wintercraft then do! Get hold of Blackwatch while you're at it so you can go straight on to the next one. For great background information and extras do check out the website. I'm putting this review up a day earlier than the release date as I've seen that copies are already in stock on Amazon. If you're looking for a new fantasy world to dive into I really recommend these books.

Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

Synopsis


Ten years ago Kate Winters' parents were taken by the High Council's wardens to help with the country's war efforts.


Now the wardens are back ... and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane - the High Council's most feared man - recognises Kate as one of the skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Councils experiments into the veil, and he's convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace.


The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft - a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the night of Souls , when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.


I've wanted to read this book since I first heard the title which is haunting. For some reason I've read nothing but urban fantasy for months (apart from Fever Crumb) and was curious to see what kind of world Burtenshaw had created. I was drawn in by the prologue; a man digging up a grave and a woman keen to get her hands on the Wintercraft book it contains. The initial pages contain a dire warning of abusing its contents. I was hooked on the idea of a book so dangerous it had been buried.


In the following pages we're introduced to Kate who lives with her uncle, Artemis, and Edgar in Morvane. When wardens come to the town to collect the skilled they are captured. It's at this point that the story started to drag a little for me. I understand that there has to be world building but I wanted more about the veil between life and death! We get a glimpse of Kate's growing powers when Silas stops at an inn to meet the thoroughly scary Da'ru. Kate is able to sense her arrival, sees things through Da'ru's eyes that hint at Kate's enormous power. However, I felt for the next few chapters that Kate and Edgar were always being caught and then escaping from Silas or the wardens.

Just when I was losing faith Kate is finally captured by Da'ru and her powers are put to the test. To prove to the High Council that Kate is worth keeping, Da'ru puts her through a series of gruelling tests. When Kate has to bring a dead man back to life we get our first glimpse of the veil. Jenna Burtenshaw has created a magical land; a shadowy, silvery place of peace, pools of water and whispering voices. I found this part of the story so enchanting and fascinating that I couldn't wait to read more. Prior to Wintercraft my ultimate version of the Land of the Dead is in Garth Nix's Sabriel trilogy but I was entranced with her description. I felt as if I were standing at Kate's shoulder looking around for the soul she's been sent to collect.

From this point onward the book flew past with fast paced action in both worlds. I also loved the Graveyard City and the underground world that seemed to accept Kate as one of its own. Edgar's story also gripped me and I wanted to know more about him and his brother. The character of Silas is initially repellant but as I learned more of his story the more I sympathised with him. When he shares his secret with Kate there are changes in the power balance between them which left me eager to know how it could possibly be resolved. As the story develops I became as concerned about him as I was about Kate and by the time I'd finished he was my favourite character.

Wintercraft left me wanting more and excited about the sequel. I'm keen to see how Kate develops her powers, what happens with Edgar and of course whether the wonderful Silas will appear.