I’m looking at a busy week of book reviews and interviews! If you’ve followed my blog at all, you’ll recognize this author and book from previous posts. I adore Claire M. Banschbach’s writing and her sweet characters in the Faeries of Myrnius series. And Winter Spell, the third book of the triology, does not disappoint.

Each book in the series is a standalone story, but they do build upon each other in the ethos of the world of Myrnius, so I definitely recommend reading them in order. BUT I would say while Adela’s Curse and The Wolf Prince are both more middle grade level (MG), Winter Spell has moved into the young adult (YA) realm as far as content.

They are all sweet, adventurous stories full of family, friendships, and themes of struggle and redemption. Perfect for young people discovering who they are in the world and that they matter regardless of who they are or where they are from. The books all carry a theme of love and forgiveness, and I appreciate how Ms. Banschbach weaves the dynamics of sibling relationships into each book.

Review of Winter Spell

Winter Spell is about a faery girl named Tonya Freyr-dottir who is the daughter of a water faery and an ice faery, something uncommon in Myrnius or any other part of the world. Because of Tonya’s parentage, she’s shunned by her water faery peers, but what makes it worse is that her magic is tangled up inside her, and she can’t use it…not like the others.

When a mysterious attack on her temporarily wakes her magic–in the worst possible way–winter snow and ice covers everything, far beyond what the eye can see. Of course, Tonya is blamed, and she knows it’s her fault, but there’s nothing she can do to fix it. Winter in summer is detrimental to everyone across the kingdoms of land and sea, so an agreement is made to send Tonya and a small group of contentious humans and faeries to find a way to melt the snow before lives are lost and winter sets in forever.

Their adventure ensues, and probably my favorite thing in this book is the dynamics between the travelers who all come from different kingdoms. There is immediate tension due to past wars and misunderstandings that the author does a beautiful job of melting throughout the book in a picture of how distrust and hatred can be diffused through common struggle and when we put others before ourselves. It’s really good, and I love the characters, each with their own struggle and need.

There is danger, amazing and strange creatures, deceit, battles, and a little romance too! Everything you could want in a fantasy book!

I would recommend the first two books in the Faeries of Myrnius series to readers as young as ten, and Winter Spell for those probably twelve and older. Of course, they’re all enjoyable for any age and would be great to read together between parents and kids!

Special Extras

Now, if you’re on Instagram, I’d head over to Claire M. Banschbach and join in this fun challenge:

And if you decide to get this book, there’s also some goodies to grab!

Pre-order goodies include a character art postcard of four characters from Winter Spell done by @h.s.j._williams, and a series bookmark! Submit receipt to campitorpress@gmail.com by 5/7/2020 to collect your swag!

Add to Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52914656-winter-spell