Review: Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole

Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole

5 out of 5 Stars

I swear I am falling more and more in love with this series with every book that comes out. I don't really have anything that I would want to change about it. There were a few small details that irked me, but other than that, I was IN LOVE WITH THE BOOK. Note: if you don't like love triangles, you may be annoyed with this book. But I would still read it if I were you because there was still so much going on outside of the romantic interests that you'd probably enjoy the book. Personally, I love love triangles, so this was like the best kind of book I could have asked for.


SPOILERS AHEAD

Before I go into my usual areas of reviewing- the title confuses the hell out of me. Um, I think we had two snowflakes, with the promise of more in the future? The setting just didn't really seem winter-y to me, which makes me wonder why it's called "Dead of Winter". Death is in the story, but I'm pretty sure that is irrelevant to the title of the book. I was expecting like a freaking blizzard or something, and it only snows at the end of the book, so is the next one really in winter? Why is this the title? I am so confused...

CHARACTERS:
Evie:
Damn girl, finally taking action and managing her own sh** at the same time. Bravo. What I'm really interested in with her character is her powers, because Aric kept saying that she is so much more powerful than what she is using. And in this book, her powers extend even more, but he still says that they are only a fraction of what Evie can really do. The one thorn in my side (haha book humor) about her character is that she chose Jack?? Erm, excuse me, Miss Greene? That needs to change- pronto.

Jack:
Clear statement: I don't hate Jack, I just don't want him to be with Evie. Jack is an admirable character in this story, but I feel like there is still so much about him that we don't know yet. I would not be surprised in the slightest if he is the un-awakened Arcana. Even if he isn't Arcana, he is still quite a fore to be reckoned with. General of the army now, kills baggers like they're no problem, provides for and leads hundreds of people..... yeah he's kinda awesome. His biggest issues are his deceit and rashness (aka the main reasons he can never really be with Evie). Gotta love his accent though.

Aric:
I really love this character- he has some major issues in modernity and how to behave, but that's because he's centuries old and that's how he was raised and how he lived. BUT- he knows and acknowledges this AND he's willing to work on it. Scratch that, he is working on it. I love how fiercely loyal he is to Evie and how much he believes in her strength and capabilities, but still has her back if she needs it. His bluntness can be pretty funny at times too. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in this next book, because Evie technically chose Jack (**hisses**), but he's possibly dead? And Aric saved Evie. Plus he has her grandmother. I don't know, there are so many aspects that are set up for the next book that there are too many wild variables to predict anything.


PLOT:
I liked this book more than Endless Knight I think partially because there was a more defined plot line in this one. We had this whole ordeal in the beginning, trying to save Jack from the Lovers, and then Aric just rolls in and is like, "Lol, those were clones", and the journey continues. Another thing that was slightly introduced in this book was the presence/ lack of presence of the gods. Since my biggest question remains, how are they going to end the game, I think they might meet the gods? Face them head-on? Something- I think that the gods are going to be flushed out with a bit more detail and possible incorporated more corporeally into the story. I hope so at least- that'd be pretty cool.

WORLD:
I love how the team is like exploring and taking charge of this world After the Flash. They keep learning new things along with the reader and we all get to experience this strange variation or echo of what the old Earth was Before the Flash. Like I mentioned earlier, I would really like to see this world expand to include more information about the gods that created the game, if not actually include the gods themselves. I still have no idea how on earth the team's gonna end the game, because eventually only one Arcana will remain right? Even if the others die of old age, there will still be one that is the last to die, and then it begins again, no? So what's the loophole? Are they gonna kick the asses of the gods? Cause that'd be kinda awesome


I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW! I will probably jump straight into Arcana Rising after I finish writing this review. Or maybe Day Zero, I haven't decided yet. Either way, I'm really hoping that the books are all going to be amazing after this one, cause it would suck if they tapered off or devolved from here.

Thanks for reading!