WINTERWOOD by Jacey Bedford

"Cross-Dressing Privateer and the Mystery of the Winterwood Box"

Winterwood

Posted: March 11, 2016

WINTERWOOD, the first book in Jacey Bedford's new series Rowankind, combines all sorts of delicious elements into a delectable whole. Urban fantasy, historical fiction, magic, shapeshifters, a strong female lead and top it all off with pirates. I certainly couldn't resist the temptation, and the result was thoroughly satisfying.

The tale opens with Rossalinde Tremayne, the aforementioned cross-dressing privateer saying goodbye to her estranged mother on her deathbed. Her mother has the last word in their tumultuous relationship when she gives Ross a winterwood box along with the task of opening it and righting an ancient wrong. Ross liked her life as captain of the Heart with her swashbuckling pirate crew and the ghost of her dead husband, Will, but the box with its mysterious history puts a wrench in her plans. The only good thing that arose from visiting her childhood home was discovering David, an unknown half brother.

Ross sets out to track down members of her family to find out the details of what's in the box and what she's supposed to do with it, but this road is fraught with shadowy agents intent on her not completing her task, a shapeshifter named Corwen whose trustworthiness is suspect and the Fae among other travails and choices. She also must avoid the Mysterium, an organization that requires witches to register and then monitors their work. Ross's magic is more wild and natural and doesn't fit into their rules, and they'd likely hang her.

Bedford does a nice job of blending the real world of England during the time of King George with magic and otherworldly creatures. She draws the reader into her world with vivid descriptions and entices us to care about her characters. The story has a nix mix of detail and dialog, especially the banter between Ross and Corwen. Bedford touches on some ethical questions as Ross decides whether or not to open the box given the result. Fans of D.B. Jackson, although is series takes place in Boston, will likely enjoy Bedford's WINTERWOOD, a nice start to the Rowankind series.

Book Summary

It's 1800. Mad King George is on the British throne, and Bonaparte is hammering at the door. Magic is strictly controlled by the Mysterium, but despite severe penalties, not all magic users have registered. Integral to many genteel households is an uncomplaining army of rowankind bondservants, so commonplace that no one recalls where they came from.

Ross Tremayne, widowed, cross-dressing privateer captain and unregistered witch, likes her life on the high seas, accompanied by a boatload of swashbuckling pirates and the possessive ghost of her late husband, Will. When she pays a bitter deathbed visit to her long-estranged mother she inherits a half brother she didn't know about and a task she doesn't want: open the magical winterwood box and right an ancient wrong—if she can.

Enter Corwen. He's handsome, sexy, clever, and capable, and Ross doesn't really like him; neither does Will's ghost. Can he be trusted? Whose side is he on?

Unable to chart a course to her future until she's unraveled the mysteries of the past, she has to evade a ruthless government agent who fights magic with darker magic, torture, and murder; and brave the hitherto hidden Fae. Only then can she hope to open the magical winterwood box and right her ancestor's wrongdoing. Unfortunately, success may prove fatal to both Ross and her new brother, and desastrous for the country. By righting a wrong, is Ross going to unleash a terrible evil? Is her enemy the real hero and Ross the villain?