Winter Book Review Novels & Stories

{TW: Family violence} The balcony overlooked the sprawling woods, now blanketed in a thick layer of pristine snow. The winter scene was breathtakingly beautiful, with the snow-covered treetops stretching out as far as the eye could see. The silence was profound, broken only by the occasional rustle of a bird or the distant creak of a tree swaying gently in the wind.

Yet, why was little Mario so distant an detached from the world he excelled in? His mother was on a call and the other woman she was with, looked to where she had seen the little boy run off to earlier and was confused to see him standing there, in the middle of the sand field with his head lowered. Ella looked to his mother who was into the conversation she was having with whoever it was and sighed. She watched out for the kids running about and would caution or catch them from tripping and falling. It was amazing how ecstatic and active they were in the winter cold and it brought a fluffy smile to her face as she got onto the sand field that was now replaced over by a thick sheet of snow.

The winter night was cold and windy, but it was warm indoors. Adina sat on the carpet in the study and leaned her back against Duke’s chest. She typed on her laptop as he said, “Duke, if I remember correctly, Winters Corporation has a tourism-property type of project. What are the improvement areas you can find in Jones Corporation’s resort project?”

“You’ve always been such a dork. But I guess that’s why we survived all those summers and winters together. We made it fun, even when everything else was… messy.” Gavin’s gaze softened, lingering on me. His hand twitched slightly, and I felt the subtle pull of familiarity, the kind that made my chest feel both heavy and light at the same time. Even here, laughing about snow forts and sledding, there was that quiet gravity between us, the one that made the world shrink to just us again. [Gavin]

I slumped in the chair and stalked the movement of his hands with my half-mast gaze. "Destroying what should have been destroyed years ago." With those whispered words, he brought the dancing flame to the cover of the book. Flames licked around the edges, blackening the pages until they withered and became a pale white. The ashes trickled down like the beginning of snow on a blistering winter night. Snow. Such a pure element to think of under such circumstances. Snow resembled a blank slate, new beginnings. Maybe this could have been what this was if I had burned the damn book the moment it landed in my possession.

An older and experienced born omega was equal to a gamma so they became seen and referred to as that. I'd caught the bear's smell for the first time since he'd mentioned it, just when he stood up from the settee and announced its presence. Winter wouldn't have recognized and if she had she was sure to make a mental guess of what it was due to how horrible it was. It smelt like a complex mix of burning yet decomposing flesh. I rushed to the window to see, beside Poppa. *** "I'm guessing you don't have a wolf or do you?" I turned to Winter. Though I'd asked, my mind was already concluded on the subject. She didn't have a wolf. City-bred kids rarely did.

Then they went back to Snow and pricked his tiny finger; he whined instead of crying from pain. The blood from all three of us mixed together in the bowl, and the most amazing thing happened because the bowl actually changed color, shifting from silver to gold and glowing softly. A smile bloomed across the faces of the elders, and I saw Marcus and Elena both smiling too. The elders raised Snow up high above their heads so that everyone in the entire arena could see him clearly. "His name shall be Zane Snow Winter," the head elder announced in a voice that carried across the entire arena, "the son of Jude Winter and Rosie Elsa Winter, the fifty-fourth young alpha of Winter's pack!"

Just like what happened to me in my previous life. When I heard of their death, the weight on me was instantly relieved. Those who brought about my tragic end were gone at last. The winter of my life ended, and I was heading toward spring.

Moon sighed in frustration. "Winter chose to use the Blood Spell to keep Anatashi's wolf spirit in a permanent human state, it killed your father to have to see her go through phasing, which never came easy to her. He studied all the books in his library until he came across what he was looking for. A book that pointed him in the direction of obtaining what he needed to do complete the spell." Moon paused clearing his throat before getting into it. "Winter turned Anatashi?" Tristan said out loud, thinking so hard, and was so lost that his brain hurt.

“This is gorgeous.” “Please tell me you’ve seen snow before.” That rumble is so sexy, even when he’s insulting me. “Yes, I’ve seen snow, Ryker.” “I think I understand my wolf’s fascination with the way you say his name. I like the sound of your voice saying my name. We could listen to you talk about anything. Are you a fan of winter, mate?” “I like all the seasons. It’s just rare to see snow like this. It’s so pretty, clean and untouched like this. Does that last long around here? It never did back home.”