Book Review: The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy

I received a PDF copy of The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy from Entangled publishing house for review. I had never read anything by Rebekah L. Purdy before and was very excited to try something new. (Thank you).

Salome Montgomery fears winter because she fell through her Grandma’s pond when she was young. Now, eleven years later, the fear festers inside Salome waiting to break out at any moment, the snow, the ice, winter terrifies her. To make matters worse, her Grandparents are forced to leave their home due to failing health, leaving Salome to tend to their estate in their absence – you guessed it – in the middle of winter. One day Salome meets someone who is strangely familiar and she begins to unlock the secrets of the centuries old curse that surrounds her family and realize that the voices in her head weren't voices at all. Someone or something wants Salome dead and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

As a character, Salome was great and it was interesting to be inside her head and experience the physiological trauma that she was going through and how she dealt with it. The book was written in a first person narrative and I felt that this was a good vice to capture the attention of the reader as it allowed us to discover things as Salome herself began to unlock the mystery. I enjoyed Salome’s interaction with her best friend Kadie too. At times Salome could be a little lacklustre but Purdy made up for this with her lovely writing style.

Initially, Salome had three love interests (a love square, a quadrangle?!). I was quick to label this as excessive, but as the story unfolds I found that Nevin, Colton and Gareth were all key characters, each with very different personalities. Nevin: the mysterious trespasser, bitter but with a sweet undercurrent, Colton: the school’s golden boy, outwardly charming but inwardly, bent by hate and revenge and Gareth: Salome’s unlikely saviour, protective and caring, but hiding secrets of his own. This made for some very interesting dialogue and confrontation and worked really well.

One issue I have with The Winter People, is the pacing. At the beginning of the book, it is very slow and towards the end it seems very squashed together. For example a pivotal scene towards the end of the book seemed very rushed. I also wish that there could have been some closure over certain issues like Salome’s father and the reasoning behind for her parents’ separation; I just felt that this was left very open ended and needed closure.

Overall I enjoyed The Winter People very much. The plot was so interesting; there were mysteries within mysteries within – dare I say it?! – mysteries and unexpected twists that kept me guessing until the final page. The story was an excellent mix of paranormal fantasy romance shot through with historical, physiological and mysterious themes, there’s something for everyone. I give The Winter People four and a half out of five stars, perfect for fans of Julie Kagawa and Maggie Stiefvater.