Woman Reading

I don’t actually remember where I discovered Winter. I think it was highly rated on a trusted friends Goodreads page and the first line of their review was to tell everyone that the book was free on Amazon. I clicked into the book’s Goodreads page and read the first part of the synopsis, how the story was about a girl who’s father was a serial killer and how she changed her name in an effort to start a new life, and thought the cover looked intriguing so I downloaded it.

I never finished reading the synopsis. I had no idea that this was considered NA. I didn’t realize it was actually Callie Hart. I’ve never read Callie Hart before. I usually try to steer clear of the genre that she writes unless I get really pressured into reading one, or I get tricked… Kinda like what happened here with Winter. I was definitely tricked. I put this read on our Badass calendar without really knowing what I was getting into. It was an impulse review in the very literal sense of the word.

It wasn’t until after I began reading that I went back to Goodreads and actually read the whole synopsis. I was thisclose to quitting. I had my finger on the computer ready to remove this from the schedule and chalk it up to me not thinking things through. It was in that moment that I realized that deleting the book and removing it’s existence from my reading-sphere was just perpetuating the rash decisions I make. I rashly decided to read it, then I rashly decided I wasn’t. At least my impulse download had a rationale behind it. Choosing not to read was just me being spiteful.

In the end, I read it, and I liked it.

Despite a few author choices about how everything played out, and where the characters were in the end, I thought that the premise of the story was decently thought out and developed. The main character Avery/Iris was a bit volatile and awful but I think that it actually made sense with the history of her father and the way she was treated by the town afterwards. It’s not a surprise that she would lock her soul away from everyone and not fully trust many people. What usually makes me angry was understandable this time around.

Luke was really gentle and patient. Probably more gentle and patient than most people would have been in his shoes. The amount of times he was pushed away, or lashed out at, would have tried anyone’s tolerance level. He never gave up on Avery/Iris, and it really made him an endearing character. Not to mention, he was so level headed despite the horror of his own childhood which in my opinion actually outweighed Avery/Iris’s slightly.

There were a few plot-lines that felt like they were unnecessary but I can’t tell if the second book in the series will follow Avery/Iris and Luke again or not. Hopefully they storylines actually have a purpose, because lose threads in a plot really drive me insane.

Still, considering Winter is completely free, it more than measured up. It exceeded my expectations. Not saying that it wouldn’t be worth it if it had a 4.99 price tag. It would be worth it. I’m just saying, extra bonus, this good book doesn’t cost you a cent!

For this and other reviews, please visit us over at Badass Book Reviews!