A Winter's Promise is originally translated from French, and the author's writing style carried over well. The story is about a girl named Ophelia who lives in a dystopian world where people can have special powers, hers being the ability to travel through mirrors. When Ophelia is engegaed to a man she's never met, she must discover what's most important: her freedom or her family's reputation. It's not so easy, however, with the fear that the family of her betrothed has malicious intentions. With that interesting premise, it was easy for me to finish the book. However, a lot of the dialogue was muddled for me because the characters weren't easily diferentiated. Though Ophelia was a headstrong main character, I was concerned by her dangerous choices and it felt like there wasn't any character development. If I put a bit more effort into understanding the world-building, this book would likely have a higher rating. Complex fantasy worlds aren't really my thing because it may take away from the characters, and it did in this case.
Grade: 12