The Winter Duke
by Claire Eliza Bartlett
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Pub Date 13 Oct 2020 | Archive Date 13 Oct 2020
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Description
SHE SURVIVED THE CURSE. NOW SHE MUST SURVIVE THE THRONE.
All Ekata wants is to stay alive—and the chance to prove herself as a scholar. Once Ekata’s brother is finally named heir to the dukedom of Kylma Above, there will be nothing to keep her at home with her murderous family. Not her books or her experiments, not her family’s icy castle atop a frozen lake, not even the tantalizingly close Kylma Below, a mesmerizing underwater kingdom that provides her family with magic. But just as escape is within reach, her parents and twelve siblings fall under a strange sleeping sickness, and no one can find a cure.
In the space of a single night, Ekata inherits the title of duke, her brother’s captivating warrior bride, and ever-encroaching challengers from without—and within—her ministry. Nothing has prepared Ekata for diplomacy, for war, for love. . .or for a crown she has never wanted. If Kylma Above is to survive, Ekata must seize her family’s magic and power. And if Ekata is to survive, she must quickly decide how she will wield them both.
A Note From the Publisher
Open to UK, ROI, and Commonwealth requests. Please hold reviews until publication.
Advance Praise
"Twisty politics, strange magic, a tender love story - what more could you want? Ekata's wry humour and determination in the face of murderous siblings, ministers and mer-people make her a Grand Duke to remember." ―AK Larkwood
"The intrigue begins unfolding immediately and draws readers through to the last page.... Fresh and filled with magic and personality. An enchanting queer fairy tale." ―Kirkus Reviews
"A feminist fantasy fraught with tension and political intrigue.... Escalating stakes and an adrenaline-fueled pace keep the pages turning, while sharply drawn characters illustrate that there's more than one way to lead."―Publishers Weekly
Featured Reviews
Sifa P, Reviewer
This political fantasy is utterly stunning. I was swept away into a world where an unprepared woman is thrust into power, with only her father's bad example to follow and the knowledge that everyone is using her.
Pretty much everyone is an antagonist, from the outright villain Sigis (who's awful), to the ministers who want power but it's hard to work out who is actively planning Ekata's death. It's so twisty, and I loved how awful the choices Ekata made were. Somehow, the fact that she was clearly making terrible choices (from bad options) didn't irritate me, but I was rooting for her to get what she wanted so she could turn her situation around. That I was eager for her to win despite everything shows really impressive characterisation as I don't have much patience for characters who make consistently awful choices from bad morals.
The world is so much fun - a city built of ice on a frozen lake with an ethereal water-living race below who control magic. The setting made me cold and I love the power balance between the two Duchies - Above and Below. This book just reinforces my belief that a political fantasy fails if the world isn't there to back it up, as so much relies on the resources and relationships between nations.
This book also involves a push from some factions for a parliament, which I really like to see in fantasy. We tend to default to monarchies and yes, I LOVE the politics that can come from absolute, dynastic rulership, but also there's a lot of politics that can grabbled with when a parliament is brought in. Given that people are trying to start a parliament, this is a book that focuses on autocracy politics, but the way this plot thread plays out makes me hope there will be more parliaments in books.
A tiny, eeny little complaint I has was the sheer length of the chapters. There's only something like 18 chapters in this book, which means they are rather long. There were quite a few scene breaks that felt like they should be chapter breaks. It's a personal preference for sure, but I find shorter chapters not only give me the space to put a book down so I can run and do chores, but also give me a momentary breather to digest what has just happened.
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