Morgana's world changes the day her mother finds a suitor for her. She is used to running free in the countryside of early nineteenth-century Wales, but now she finds herself moving to a new town with a new husband. Cai Jenkins is aware that Morgana hasn't spoken a word since she was young but he needs a wife to achieve his goal of becoming the head drover. Morgana falls in love with her new home, Ffynnon Las, but dark supernatural forces are determined to see Morgana fail in her new hometown. Will Morgana lose everyone and everything she cares about or will she embrace her heritage?

Paula Brackston expertly combines several genres in THE WINTER WITCH to craft a sweeping tale of love, dark fantasy, and magic. THE WINTER WITCH alternates between Morgana's first person perspective and a third person perspective. This is particularly helpful at letting the reader have some insight into Morgana's mind as she doesn't otherwise speak.

Cai is an easy hero to love as he is gentle, kind, and sees beneath Morgana's wild façade. Morgana, however, is a bit harder to embrace initially because she fights against everything. However, as her story unfolds and she begins to mature, Morgana becomes a stunning portrait of a woman who will do anything to protect those she loves.

The world of THE WINTER WITCH is exquisitely depicted. Paula Brackston does such a marvelous job with her vivid descriptions of the landscapes and the towns that I had a hard time pulling myself back into modern day reality. THE WINTER WITCH is the sort of novel you want to give yourself plenty of time to read as it's a hard book to put down. Paula Brackston excels with THE WINTER WITCH as this is definitely a book you don't want to miss out on reading!

Book Summary

In her small early nineteenth century Welsh town, there is no one quite like Morgana, who has not spoken since she was a young girl. Her silence is a mystery, as well as her magic. Concerned for her safety, her mother is anxious to see her married, and Cai Jenkins, a widower from the far hills, seems the best choice.

After her wedding, Morgana is heartbroken at leaving her mother, and wary of this man, whom she does not know, and who will take her away to begin a new life. But she soon falls in love with Cai's farm and the wild mountains that surround it. Cai works to understand the beautiful, half-tamed creature he has chosen for a bride, and slowly, he begins to win Morgana's affections.

It's not long, however, before her strangeness begins to be remarked upon in her new village. A dark force is at work there-a person who will stop at nothing to turn the townspeople against Morgana. Forced to defend her home, her man, and herself, Morgana must learn to harness her power, or she will lose everything.