A Winter’s Promise (The Mirror Visitor #1) – Christelle Dabos (2018 English Version)
Long ago, following a cataclysm called ‘The Rupture’, the world was shattered into floating celestial islands, known now as Arks. Ophelia lives on Anima, an Ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, Ophelia hides two powers: the ability to read the past of objects and their human owners, and the ability to travel through mirrors. When she is promised in marriage to Thorn, the young girl must leave her family and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the floating capital of a distant Ark. Why has she been chosen? Why must she hide her true identity?
With a feisty, unforgettable heroine, a rich universe, romance and thrilling intrigue, A Winter’s Promise will appeal equally to readers of Cornelia Funke, Scott Westerfeld and Margaret Rogerson. Discover the first instalment in a grand saga, and a talented new fantasy author.
Translated by Hildegarde Serle
My Review of A Winter’s Promise
(4.3 / 5)
I really enjoyed this YA debut novel by French author Christelle Dabos. It has won numerous awards in Europe so it was no surprise that it has recently finally been translated into English. I don’t read many translated books and was excited to give this one a go! There are some wonderful reviews of the French version. I wanted to see what sort of atmosphere it had. It did not disappoint!
In a unique universe, the world has been smashed up into different “arks”. Ophelia is a young woman living on Anima. She has the ability to travel short distances through mirrors and can also read objects histories by touch. When against her wishes she is betrothed to a man on another Ark, Ophelia has to leave her secure and loving home and travel to a cold and desolate ark to marry him. Thorn is a powerful man, and has many enemies who will stop at nothing to see his and his future wife’s demise.
I have read a few reviews commenting on the misogyny of A Winter’s Promise and its characters. While I agree, yes there is a lot of it, I must say I took it differently than a lot of those reviewers. I believe it is a story of a young woman finding her power in such a landscape and navigating her way through it. I feel like the storyline has a purpose. And I feel it will take much more than one book to get there. The scene is set, and yes it’s depressing to be a woman in this book, especially Ophelia. But there are three more books coming, and I am really excited to see how strong she becomes, and how she can change her world for the better.
Honestly I didn’t find it any more misogynistic than 99.9% of the other YA books I have read. The most popular YA franchises generally have the mistreatment of women as a theme. If a YA book can bring this to light I am all for it, provided there is an adequate resolution of the storyline and at least permits young readers to recognise the issues and feel inspired to change their own world.
It reminded me a lot of The Selection, and The Red Queen series in certain ways, but I really disliked those series, I don’t really like books that deal with competing for a man’s love. I found The Mirror Visitor to be much more encouraging. She doesn’t even want to be with the ‘hero’ of the book, and has so many other strengths going for her than the love of a man, and I think that is made perfectly clear.
The author has created such a unique and expansive world for her characters. I absolutely loved reading about the scenery and what on earth she was going to get herself into next! It had so many twists and turns! Getting through this book extremely easy, I completed it in just three sittings.
I liked the characters even more than I was expecting, even Thorn I gradually warmed to slightly by the end, even though he was a grump of a character. Really can’t wait to find out more about him in subsequent books!
It ends in a MAJOR cliffhanger, but I really want to read what happens next!
Would I Recommend A Winter’s Promise?
It was fun. Pure YA entertainment. Because it was translated from French it had a very unique vibe to it which I can only imagine is due to the authors background and talent. It was eerie and imaginative, detailed and the universe was so expansive! I thoroughly enjoyed it and imagine most fans of YA will feel the same way.
Many thanks to Text Publishing for a copy of A Winter’s Promise.
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