Cover Image: Daughter of Redwinter

Daughter of Redwinter

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Member Reviews

I enjoyed this series debut. There's a lot of good character and world development, and I look forward to the next book!

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In this universe seeing the dead is punishable by death. Raine has been able to see the dead her entire life and she also knows to hide that fact. One day she finds a women dying in the woods and attempts to save her, but shes being hunted by a group of warrior wizards from Redwinter trying to take back what shes stolen. Helping this women changes the entire pace of Raine's life and her seeing the dead can get her killed at any moment.

This is a high 2 almost a 3 because I liked the story but the author made some "universe" choices I felt weren't necessary and potentially harmful to some readers. Our main character is 17 years old and, at the start of the book, she's in an abusive "relationship" with a 30 year old man. The author makes it pretty clear that she was groomed and there is nothing good about the relationship BUT there isn't really a plot reason that she needed to be in this relationship at all. (other than general life trauma) I almost DNFed the book because I'm very uncomfortable reading about grooming and child abuse, no matter what the context. Additionally there are queer characters in the book but the universe is "religious" and "anti queer". I understand fully that both of these things happen in real life but this is fantasy, this author created his own world and could make any choice at all about how the people of this world treat each other in the background. Yet he still chose to highlight trauma instead of creating an escape.

I also have a lot of problem with a clearly incel character in the book. He was constantly described as a "nice guy" and "great guy", "so sweet and harmless". This character literally fictionalized sexual relationships with multiple female characters and spread harmful rumors about their supposed sexual actions. If they publicly turned him down he would say they were having sex with someone "inappropriate" It is also mentioned multiple times that he didn't see some women as people, they were just idealized caricatures. In addition, he would stalk and harass these women. Nothing about his behavior was okay but everyone just excused it in a "boys will be boys" kind of way.

Additionally, there were little things about the writing that I could tell this 17 year old girl was written by a man, someone with not experience as a young girl. Ed just doesn't quite seem to see young girls as fully formed people.

The actual plot of the story was good but not great. The plot of many fantasy stories are good, why should readers waste their time with some much harmful content when they could just read a different story. I recommend this for people who are interested in the plot but aren't bothered by any of the content I've spoken about.

I have no plans to continue this series.

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Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Here be me honest musings . . .

This is me first book by the author and a fun start to a new series.  I wanted to read this book because the main character, Raine, can see the dead and that ability comes with a death sentence should anyone find out.  She also has horrible luck.  I went into this book not really knowing more than that and I actually am glad to have made that choice.

What I can say about the book, is that for a lot of it, I had no idea where it was headed. Raine was a wonderful character to follow and I certainly was cheering for her and trying to figure out the world along with her.  Her life is rough and she really doesn't ever seem to have good choices.  The world building here is rather mysterious (purposefully so) and so there are still questions to be answered.  I really want to know more about the magic system and the warrior monks.

I rather enjoyed both the beginning and the ending especially.  Minor quibbles include the slow pacing of the middle of the book and how some of the obvious facts to me were not obvious to Raine.  Looking forward to the next one.  Arrrrr!

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Daughter of Redwinter is an exceptional start to this new series by Ed McDonald. The main character, Raine is easy to get behind. She's intelligent, likable, and observant. Through the book we are privy to her self discovery. She is desperate to learn and gain power so she can have true freedom. She leaves her mother, a scribe with a mouth that consistently gets her in trouble, joins a cult that follows soothsayers, and encounters the Draoihn, magic warriors, who take her in. There is one big hitch in her plan, she can see the dead. If the Draoihn find out, they could put her to death. Those who see the dead are thought to consort with the night and embrace darkness. Ultimately, Raine is confronted with her own interests, her desires, and what she truly wants.

One of the best part of this book is the fact that Raine develops throughout the story. She meets people which changes her outlook, she is introspective and questions her own desires, and she actually grows through her experiences. Along with Raine are a whole cast of interesting and dynamic characters. Each is clearly an individual with their own personalities, faults, and motives. In addition, McDonald creates some truly amazing action scenes. The beginning of the book starts off strong and the end just the same. The story does drag a bit in the middle as the author establishes the world, magic construct, and character connections. There is also a lot of introspection on Raine's part which slows down the plot. Regardless, it is worth the change in pace and really establishes a lot in regards to the world and characters. It helps to set the foundation for the rest of the series.

Overall, I really loved this book and I am eager to read the next in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ed McDonald and the publisher for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review Daughter of Redwinter.

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A fantasy with a complex magic system and interesting plot. I liked the story and the world building but I wasn’t able to connect with the protagonist, there was something lacking in her character. I’m glad I followed through and finished the book the ending pulled the story together and made up for the meandering pace.

ARC was provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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"What a thing it would be, I thought, to just be alone. To step back from everyone and everything and simply live."

I finished this bloody little number right before I got my rear handed to me by covid in June. I can still recall the enjoyment I had getting to know McDonald's writing style and plot building.

Daughter of Redwinter is the first book in the Redwinter Chronicles. Its a novel that takes it's time building the backstory of the characters, world and plot giving readers the setup needed to prepare for the rest of the series. I was impressed with the way McDonald manages to keep the narrative flowing without bogging things down with too much over-telling. Though I admittedly would've liked to see more action through the middle of the book. I'm a sucker for it.

The characters have a unique depth with intricately woven histories. Raine is the MC who is molded by the abusive mother she left and cult-like group she ended up with. In what seems like a luck of fate, her opportunity to start new and leave the abuse behind arises. But not all opportunities are golden and the fact she can see and speak to the dead can still get her killed.

I loved her almost naive persona that is chiseled away to reveal an inner badass. Her character growth was very well done in my opinion. Even though this is epic fantasy, she lends a coming of age feel to things in her development. I gotta admit that I spent more time focused on her than the other characters. There are a multitude, but she's also fascinating as hell.

The magic aspects tie deeply to the world building and the sinister foreshadowing of a demon filled realm trying to break through. This is absolutely my favorite part and I am praying the next book is just slammed with this. If I asked for anything else I'd ask for more horror to reach the level of dark fantasy I'm used too. Yes, I like my darkness dark, I can't help it.

All things considered, I cannot freaking wait for the next book. I already have my eyes out for the Raven's Mark trilogy while I try to patiently wait for more Raine to fall my way. 😉 Dark/epic fantasy lovers, don't hesitate on this one.

Huge thank you to Tor Books for the gifted copy (huge cover art fan). All thoughts are my own. True rating 4.5/5.

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Finished Ed McDonald's "Daughter of Redwinter" book over the weekend. I think I'd call it a fantasy mystery novel.

The story follows Raine, a young woman who we meet having a crappy day. Her group is pinned down by folks wanting to kill them and she is carrying a dying woman away from armored warriors. So that's great. We follow her exploits to the hold of warriors learning to use the Gates to effect different facets of existence and the drama that comes from people. We start to piece together a chain of events as she uncovers a secret that messes with society at a fundamental level.

Reasons to read:
-When the protagonist does something morally grey there is a plot reason for it
-People trust their friends when they say "trust me and don't ask"
-Series has a lot of room to go fun directions
-People aren't instantly insanely good fighters
-Characters are shamed for their deserved bs
-The cringe at some characters actions

Cons:
-Society is a bit prejudice about something folks really don't have a choice in, like a quick conversation could probably clear that up

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Daughter of Redwinter is a complex high fantasy that follows Raine, who can speak to dead people. Her power is fluctuating and dangerous, having never been trained in how to use it properly. Raine finds herself guided by a mysterious spirit, who aids her in concealing her power. To survive, Raine must trust in the dangerous company of warriors from Redwinter. Allies and enemies wear similar faces and she must choose whose side she will be on.

I enjoyed Daughter of Redwinter, though it took me some time to feel fully invested in the story. Raine initially starts out in a toxic relationship that was painful to watch. As Raine learns more about her own magic, an intricate system of magic is revealed. This was one of my favorite aspects of the worldbuilding. The middle did get a bit murky and meandering, but the writing was very atmospheric. In future books, I’m looking forward to seeing Raine form alliances and come into a better understanding of her power. Daughter of Redwinter is available now. Thank you to Ed McDonald, Tor Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Raven's Mark series is one of my all time favorites. I was so excited to see a new series by Ed McDonald. He is definitely an auto-buy author for me.

Raine is cursed. She can see the dead. She must tell no one or she will be killed for it. So she just goes meekly along, doing what she's told.
Now her home is under siege. She must find a way out to save everyone. She needs to be brave.

She goes out to look for a way to safety, and instead finds a girl running for her life. Saving her might come to be the worst decision she's ever made.

This book is fantastic! I loved following Raine's journey to find out who she wants to be. I actually loved all of the characters. I questioned all of their loyalty and motives at one point or another and didn't know who to trust until the end.

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I sadly ended up not finishing this book. It's always a bummer when a book you were excited about doesn't work out, but it happens.

I didn't get too far into this one. Right from the beginning, I was not hooked. There was so much going on in that first chapter and almost nothing was really explained. Which is fine in most cases, but was really jarring and not really intriguing in this case.

I also was not a fan of the main character's relationship. She tells us that she's seventeen now, but she met her partner when she was thirteen...and he was twice her age. I know that fiction novels aren't here to teach you morals and ethics or whatever, but this still felt icky and unnecessary.

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This was a pleasantly surprising read for me. I went into Daughter of Redwinter expected the magic to be mostly necromancy based and for the plot to follow Raine as she learned said magic, and while my assumption wasn't really on the spot, I found myself enjoying the story all the more for it. In this world we follow Raine, a seventeen year old girl who within the first dozen pages of the book experiences a great tragedy and is whisked away to Redwinter by the sorcerer-knight Ulovar in order to train in the strange magic of controlling the gates of the world. Unknown to Ulovar though, Raine possesses another ability, one she must hide from the world or else it would mean her death- she can see ghosts.
I'll start with what I liked, the magic here is really interesting and I found it pretty easy to follow. There are six gates, each with a unique power that they offer to those they could open and the last one is taboo, naturally it is the one of death. I also really liked Raine as a main character, she learns fairly quickly and adapts to her situations. I also enjoyed the fact that the MC we are following appears to be bisexual and the relationship that develops between her and the female love interest was very sweet. I won't comment on the world too much since this is only the first book in a series, but the build up we have for now left me looking forward to what we might learn in further installments.
The only issue I really had with this book was the pacing. For the first hundred or so pages it was fairly slow and because of the state of mind that Raine was in, a lot of the events were very vauge and kind of boring to read about. Fortunately the story does pick up quite a bit once they reach Redwinter, but up until then it was pretty hard for me to pick this book up because it felt like the story was dragging a bit. Aside from that I really enjoyed the story and am grateful for the ARC sent to me by the publisher, I look forward to reading book 2.

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This book was good. Raine is one of those protagonists that is more human than most. Pulled into bigger schemes than expected, she does what most of us would do, break down. But with help, she sees what her part in stopping a nefarious plot, even if her allies might not have all her best interests in mind. Read this if you want a slow build of a plot with grey characters with a dash of magic.

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When I discovered the synopsis and saw the reference to ghosts, I was eager to discover the story. It had been a while since I had read a fantasy novel and I gladly jumped in.

Raine knows she shouldn’t get involved in other people’s problems, but when she meets a woman who is hurt, she can’t give up on her, even though she learns that the woman is being pursued by men who want her back at any cost. A big mistake. Because of course, these men manage to find them.

When she is offered a new life, Raine embarks on this adventure to save her skin, but the situation will be far from restful and she will have to face a world she does not know.

I had a good time with this novel, Raine was a very intriguing and complex character. Her life hasn’t been easy so far and it’s not going to get any easier. I really liked the characters and was curious to find out what would happen.

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The plot and pace meanders after a sharp introductory sequence as we follow our purposefully-subdued-and-therefore-uninteresting main character Raine. The middle portion was muddled as the explanatory world-building has to catch up to weave together the multiple character motivations along with a random love triangle. Once the wheels were on track again with our understanding of the world and characters more clear, the final third ramps up and is satisfactory enough that might justify to some how slow it felt to get there.

The magic teeters between hard and soft, with clear division of different skill levels, but enough grey area to add perceived depth and surprise for what to expect.

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The following 3.5-star review was posted to Every Day Should Be Tuesday, Amazon, and Goodreads on 6/30/22:

Another week, another new series from one of my favorite new writers of the last decade. Last week it was Brian McClellan with In the Shadow of Lightning, this week it is Ed McDonald with Daughter of Redwinter. McDonald’s Raven’s Mark trilogy is one of my favorite fantasy series period. Sadly, Daughter of Redwinter doesn’t begin to live up to that series, although I don’t have much in the way of actual complaints.

"Raine can see―and speak―to the dead, a gift that comes with a death sentence. All her life she has hidden, lied, and run to save her skin, and she’s made some spectacularly bad choices along the way.

"But it is a rare act of kindness―rescuing an injured woman in the snow―that becomes the most dangerous decision Raine has ever made.

"Because the woman is fleeing from Redwinter, the fortress-monastery of the Draoihn, warrior magicians who answer to no king, and who will stop at nothing to reclaim what she’s stolen. A battle, a betrayal, and a horrific revelation force Raine to enter the citadel and live among the Draoihn. She soon finds that her secret ability could be the key to saving an entire nation."

The Raven’s Mark trilogy was a breath of fresh air. Or fetid air, maybe, off the Misery. Ed McDonald was working in well-trodden sub-genres—epic fantasy, flintlock fantasy, grimdark—but he makes it all feel fresh and includes enormous depth and heart.

Daughter of Redwinter isn’t exactly stale, but it isn’t fresh either. The geopolitics of his secondary world should feel familiar—a clear Scottish analogue with politics dominated by clans is dominated by its wealthier, stronger neighbor to the south, a clear English analogue. The Draoihn and the magic they practice are fairly generic, to the extent they are explored. I do very much appreciate incorporating ghosts (I would love to see more ghosts in fantasy novels!), but it is an old trope.

Raine is the highlight of the book. I’m sure McDonald put a lot of work in here. Daughter of Redwinter is as much her personal story as it is a bigger story of larger forces coming into conflict. She is 17 and unsure of herself as she is thrust out into a larger world that is dangerous to anyone, yet alone a young woman. For readers who love this book, I suspect it will mostly be because they identify with and enjoy Raine’s character. I like her as a character, it just isn’t enough to get the book over the hump from good to great for me.

I did very much enjoy the way McDonald brings the conspiracy in and/or against Raine’s adopted clan to a resolution that is both unexpected and easily reconciled with the set up.

3.5 of 5 Stars.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Daughter of Redwinter from the publisher.

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Unfortunately, I did not particularly like this book. I enjoyed it to an extent, but overall did not like it. While I thought the story had promise, the characters felt very dull and unlikable. It was a very easy and quick read, which was probably the reason I didn’t DNF it.

Do not go into this book thinking there will be a lot of action, that is definitely not the case. This book focuses a lot more on the political aspects, than action or battles. I don’t typically like books that are politics heavy, so that could be why I didn’t really like this book. However, if you are into books like this, Daughter of Redwinter may be the book for you!

Don’t let bad reviews steer you away from this book. The writing was great. It featured a really interesting magic system that I really enjoyed. Hopefully book 2 will be better, I will be giving it a try.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for a honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

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*3.5

Thank you to Tor for a copy of this book!

Daughter of Redwinter is the first book in a new high fantasy series. Raine can see the dead in a world where it is illegal to.

This book starts off strong and ends stronger, but the middle felt very… dull. A lot of things were happening that felt unnecessary. The plot felt hidden, so I never knew what the point of the book was.

It has an extensive cast of characters, but none of them felt very fleshed out except for Raine.

The writing is strong, and I found some beautiful quotes and passages I had to reread.

A scene made me laugh, so I always give a book extra points for that!

This very much felt like a long prologue to the series. I want to continue reading because the ending was intriguing, most of the magic was showcased in the last 15%.

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Daughter of the Redwinter is an adult fantasy about a young woman who can see ghosts and is trying to protect her home.

A few different things kept me from really getting into this story and loving it.

First the world is so different from ours, but he story starts out in high action. I felt so lost and confused for the first 10%. Because of this setup, you don't learn important things about our characters or world that would help you understand the storyline.

Second, the story was described as an adult grimdark fantasy. Even with our MC being 17, I still agree that this is an adult book. Many of the themes and the way the story is told are in an adult manner. But the story was not grimdark. I wouldn't even say it was necessarily a dark fantasy.

My third issue was the characters. I hated how our MC's relationship was done. This can really come down to personal preference but she felt like a woman who was written by a man, who was in love with an abusive prick.

It wasn't a horrible story, but it lacked too much for me to recommend it.

I talked about a lot of my thoughts here: https://www.tiktok.com/@manda.lyn_reads/video/7112129740105895214?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7065728198948128262

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit books for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. I'm new to Mr. McDonald's work but as a huge fantasy fan, I'm always ready to discover a new author.

The beginning was gripping: Raine, an illegitimate, clanless outcast with the questionable (read: heretical) ability to see ghosts, discovers a dying woman in the snow. Things move quickly for the first several chapters and I found myself totally enthralled to the story. I hated Braithe, as I'm sure I was meant to; a seventeen year old girl doesn't recognize nor understand domestic abuse the way a woman of my, ahem, age does. I wasn't sad that he was taken away for punishment either. (I would have liked to see Thail LacCulloch get the dressing-down from the King promised by Van LacNaithe for his slaughter of so many innocents, but I guess I'm just too vengeance-minded for my own good.)

However, unfortunately, I thought the middle sagged a bit. Perhaps if the action at the beginning hadn't been quite so dramatic or frenetic, the middle - Raine living in Redwinter as a First Retainer, absorbing knowledge (and food) like a sponge - wouldn't have seemed so domestic and slow. I'm happy to say the book did crescendo into an ending to match the beginning. As a series opener, there was a lot of world-building required by Mr. McDonald, which I assume will make subsequent books flow a little more evenly. A return by the "Queen of Feathers" is all but guaranteed, and of course, Raine has a new role to learn. However, if the author never continues the series (I'm looking at YOU, MARTIN/LYNCH/ROTHFUSS/etc; this seems to be sort of an epidemic amongst high fantasy authors), the story does finish in a reasonable enough spot. Looking forward to Raine's continued adventures!

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ARC acquired by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Ed McDonald and I’m sad that it let me down a bit. The premise seemed interesting and the book held my attention pretty well for the first 80 or so pages. The author made some choices regarding the main characters emotions and I felt like that didn’t come across the way he intended it too. I felt just as disconnected from the world as Raine did. She was very one-dimensional, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about her or what she was going through. The magic system was the best part about this book, but unfortunately it just wasn’t explored enough for me to like the book. There was way too much traveling with nothing happening for me, and I usually like travel stories. Something would happen to pique my interest and then nothing for pages and pages making the pacing seem super slow. There was also a romance subplot introduced between Raine and two other characters but neither one of them seemed to go anywhere and could have been removed without affecting the story. Even though this was first Ed McDonald book, I have heard such good things about his other work, I will continue to read from this author.

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