Wednesday, December 18, 2013

ARC Review: Mistress of the Wind by Michelle Diener

Title: Mistress of the Wind
Author: Michelle Diener

Publication: December 23rd 2013 
Genre: Fairytale Retelling ~ Adult
Purchase: To Come
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 3/5

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.


Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . .

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response.

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .

This novel is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.


My Thoughts:

Mistress of the Wind is a very special book to me. For one, it's a beautiful story and two, I was one of the beta readers and my name is in the acknowledgements. So I just want to thank Michelle again here for asking me. 

"She was not just Astrid. She was something more."

Though I didn't give this book as high a rating as I did in the past for the other books written by this author I did like it. It was an amazing retelling but I didn't enjoy it as much as her other books. But I must say that when a read the completed story I enjoyed it more. I really loved the characters and Michelle's writing was gorgeous.

"She didn't care if there was no hope in Norga's palace. She was bringing hope with her."

Astrid is definitely one of my favorite female character. I love all female characters Michelle creates actually, but Astrid had really something special. I love how slowly she finds who she really is. It was a joy reading about her. 
Bjorn was another amazing character. Though I wasn't so sure of him the first time I read this book I fell in love with him slowly and even more so the second time I read it. 
But my favorite character was Jorgen. I loved him right from the start and his dry humor made me laugh several times. 

"Because no matter how small the chance, she was willing to risk everything."

Also this is an adult fairytale retelling and I just love that because most fairytale retellings are young adult so it's nice to see that adult ones can just be as enjoyable to read. 

Gorgeous writing and spunky characters, Mistress of the Wind was a great retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Though not my favorite book by this author, I'm so glad I got to chance to read it and am once again awed by the way Michelle Diener can hook me with her words.






About The Author:

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction and fantasy. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series, set in the court of Henry VIII, includes In a Treacherous Court, Keeper of the King’s Secrets and In Defense of the Queen.
Michelle’s other historical novels include Daughter of the Sky, The Emperor’s Conspiracy and Banquet of Lies (loosely connected to The Emperor’s Conspiracy).

Michelle’s first fantasy novel, Mistress of the Wind, is set for a December 23, 2013, release.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter and Facebook.




2 comments:

  1. I agree with everything you said! Astrid is great, Bjorn now really grew on me and I loved the fact that it's an adult retelling :) Plus, I was also a beta reader, so this book is special to me too.

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  2. I just finished writing my review for this one, LOL! I liked the fairytale element... but I didn't really love Bjorn and Astrid. I'm glad that you liked this one, though! (And I saw your name in the acknowledgements! *high five*) Awesome review, Steph!

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