Winter Glass by Lexa Hillyer Blog Tour
Summary
Aurora, torn from the dream world and Heath, plots to assassinate the faerie queen Malfleur, only to confront temptations she never expected. Isabelle, meanwhile, opens her heart to Prince William as they attempt to unite their kingdoms and wage a winning war against Malfleur’s army of Vultures.
But when the appearance of an unbreakable glass slipper prompts Isabelle to discover more about her lineage, her true identity begins to take shape and her legacy becomes as clear as ice. Devoted half sisters Isabelle and Aurora will grapple with their understanding of love and loyalty as they face a threat even greater than that of the evil queen—the threat of losing each other forever.
Book Details
Winter Glass by Lexa Hillyer
Series: Spindle Fire
Published April 10th 2018 by HarperTeen
Young Adult Fiction, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Adaptations
Hardcover, 352 pages
Source: Publisher
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Books in Series
About the Author
Lexa Hillyer is the author of the young adult novels Spindle Fire, Winter Glass, and Proof of Forever, as well as the poetry collection, Acquainted with the Cold (Bona Fide Books), the 2012 gold prize winner of the Foreword Book of the Year Award for Poetry, and a recipient of the Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize. Her work has been featured in Best New Poets 2012, and she has received various other prizes and honors for poetry. Lexa earned her BA in English from Vassar College and her MFA in Poetry from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine. She worked as an editor at both Harper Collins and Penguin, before founding the production company Glasstown Entertainment along with bestselling author Lauren Oliver. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, their daughter, and a very skinny orange tree.
My Review
Inspired by Cinderella, WINTER GLASS, the second book in Spindle Fire series, is filled with dark and twisted magic, kingdoms in ruins, curses, romance, and two unforgettable sisters.
In Spindle Fire readers are introduced to Lexa Hillyer's fascinating world of faeries and dark "tithes" in her inspired tale which reinvents the classic Sleeping Beauty. It asks: "What happened to Sleeping Beauty while she was asleep?"
This time, WINTER GLASS shakes things up with unconventional twists as Aurora and Isabelle make their own story.
Sistership and Queens—Subverting Tropes.
One of the strongest themes running through this series, and my personal favorite here, is the theme of sistership. Half sisters Isabelle and Aurora remain just as devoted to each other, yet Hillyer places upon them hardships that will truly test their love and loyalty. This bond, one not usually seen in fairy tales, makes it all that more poignant to read about. Can both sisters remain true now that both are queens in their own right?
Also, strangely reflected, is the sisterly love shared between the faerie queen Malfleur and her sister Belcoeur, which translates into something sad and twisted, ultimately affecting the lives of the two half-sisters and the kingdoms caught, like tangled threads, in the midst of these two faeries jealousy and dark magic.
When paths don't lead to where we want—Or finding one's own story.
One of the hardest things about reading this story, despite the fact this sequel continues in its lush writing style while weaving intricate strands of fairy tale together and spinning them on their head, was the fact that nothing was happening as I had originally hoped for or expected.
In fact, there were times I was frustrated about this. But, in retrospect, I understand now that in order for both Aurora and Isabelle to find themselves, they had to find their own story and not one of someone else's own making.
I loved how resilient they both had become in their quests, and both face dark moments of doubt. The battle they faced in trying to defeat the Fae Queen Malfleur is really just a catalyst for their own story.
Yes, there are plenty of battles featuring dark, twisted magic, and plenty of romance, both conventional and unconventional, but it was just letting myself go and accepting the path these two heroines choose, letting the story "claim me" which made it enjoyable.
In the End
Twisty and filled with terrific sistership, WINTER GLASS is a unique and surprising fairy tale adaption. It concludes the Spindle Fire series but leaves some open-endedness to contemplate.
Recommended for:
Fairy Tale enthusiasts looking for an unconventional take on the classic stories and readers who enjoy themes of sistership.
