Daughter of Redwinter

Daughter of Redwinter gripped me from the very first chapter. It’s a brilliant start to a new fantasy series and I loved the main character of the title.
Daughter of Redwinter is told in the first person by 17 year old Raine. We first meet her as part of a group who are trapped in a fortress by a powerful clan who want to kill them because of their beliefs. Raine has the ability to see the dead which is a power thought to be evil so she has to keep it secret or it will mean her death. However, right from the start we see that she has other powers although she has no idea what this means for her.
The fortress falls and Raine is taken to Redwinter to act as a witness for the events which took place. In Redwinter she begins to learn about her powers although she is forbidden to learn about how to use them. She also becomes involved with the rivalry between powerful clans and ends up having to choose which side she will support.
Raine is a fascinating character. She is a 17 year old girl who has made some questionable choices in her life so far and continues to make mistakes through the book. She feels completely alone and spends a lot of the book feeling very detached from those around her. As she and the reader find out more about Redwinter, she begins to make connections with the other characters although it is not until the very end that she decides which side she will support. For a 17 year old she comes across as quite ruthless but it is in keeping with the things that have happened to her.
There are many other characters all of whom are brilliantly portrayed by Ed Maconald. What I especially loved was that many of them are morally grey and like Raine, the reader isn’t quite sure until the end who actually are the good guys.
The setting is a fairly traditional medieval fantasy world with a strong Scottish flavour echoed by the clan names . The world building is amazing and has enough detail that you can picture things clearly without subjecting the reader to an overload of information. I enjoyed the magic system and the history behind it. The characters, setting and magic all combined to make a brilliant novel. I loved the fact that the book has a satisfying conclusion rather than ending on a cliff hanger as so many fantasy books seem to.
I'm really grateful to Net Galley and Orion Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest reiview.

This book had me gripped from the very first sentence - you know a book will have a hold on you when that first sentence has you shook! I can't fault any part of this book, it was fantastic from beginning to end.

The entire book was gripping, from the first few chapters which were thrilling and full of excitement - you are thrown into the action here and it doesn't drop the pace throughout. The high thrills pace is kept up throughout the entire book, making you want to read it in one sitting (alas, I needed sleep but I still sped through this one).

The magic system was really interesting and I loved finding out more about how it worked and the history behind it. The world was also engrossing for me and it was fascinating seeing more about the history there too - the different clans, the wars, the factions, etc.

The characters were brilliantly written, including the side-characters. There are times that Raine can be difficult to like, but that's what happens with morally grey characters and I found that to be really captivating. Plus, having the main character be bisexual is certainly a bonus! She had great interactions with other characters (Sanvaunt, Ulovar, Esher for example) which helped propel the plot forward.

What I loved most was that you didn't know who to trust throughout this book. You were never entirely sure who the "good guys" were, especially since most characters were morally grey (my favourite kind). There are many reveals at the end and, once you know what they are, you find there was definitely foreshadowing building up to it, but the reveals took me by surprise while still leaving many unanswered questions, setting up for the second instalment.

Overall I really enjoyed this one.