Review: A Winter’s Promise (The Mirror Visitor Book 1) by Christelle Dabos
About the Book:
Long ago, following a cataclysm called “The Rupture,” the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands. Known now as Arks, each has developed in distinct ways; each seems to possess its own unique relationship to time, such that nowadays vastly different worlds exist, together but apart. And over all of the Arks the spirit of an omnipotent ancestor abides.
Ophelia lives on Anima, an ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, the young girl hides the ability to read and communicate with the souls of objects, and the power to travel through mirrors. Her peaceful existence on the Ark of Anima is disrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, from the powerful Dragon clan. Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancée to the floating capital on the distant Ark of the Pole. Why has she been chosen? Why must she hide her true identity? Though she doesn’t know it yet, she has become a pawn in a deadly plot.
My Thoughts:
This is a fantastic read. If you are looking for a new fantasy series to read over the holiday period I definitely recommend this one. The world building is unique and oh so clever. The world is made of Arks -magical celestial islands – the only places that survived The Rupture. Ophelia is a thorn in her family’s side. She lives on Anima and communicates with the souls of objects. She enjoys the peace of her family archives and cataloguing the objects within the archive. She also has the ability to travel through mirrors and possesses a rather judgey scarf. The mirror trick is a handy power to have when you are avoiding your mother and her machinations to get you married. Ophelia has already rejected two, and her mother is at her wits end. Can Ophelia help it if she prefers her own company? Her mother settles the matter by promising Ophelia to a man of another Ark. Ophelia is devastated. Her little world has been upended. Still, she must make the best of it. Her fiancé Thorn is a surprise. He’s certainly not what she imagined. Now Ophelia is stuck on a distance unforgiving Ark where she is the pawn in a dangerous game of power and politics. Ophelia is not cut out for this. How will she survive?
This is a brilliant book one of a captivating series. If you enjoyed Harry Potter or Nevermoor, you must read this – it will become your next obsessive read. The voice in this text is charming. The worldbuilding is spectacular and highly original, and the story delightful. The magic is strangely believable and Ophelia is the perfect lead character – a small, mousey, introvert who can travel through mirrors and read the soul of inanimate objects. She is exactly the kind of character you would underestimate, and thus makes for an unexpected heroine of a political intrigue and mystery. I think that is Ophelia’s biggest power – she is exceedingly clever and can remain unseen in a sea of people. The Mirror Visitor Series is a world you’ll wish never to leave. If Harry Potter was crossed with Game of Thrones this would be that story. Read it now.
Rambles, writing and amusing musings 