Traitor of Redwinter: The Redwinter Chronicles Book Two

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Nevertheless, I felt like this expanded Raine’s understanding of herself and showed us her flaws as she struggles to be fair and good to others. A main character with flaws, yes! I'm happy I've read it and I'll continue the series, hopefully the rest of it won't break my brain that much. 😅

Sanvaunt continued to shine as an exceptional supporting character, just as he did in the first book. The same can be said for Esher and Liara, who added depth and richness to the story. While I had reservations about Ovitus in Daughter of Redwinter, my dislike for him deepened exponentially in Traitor of Redwinter, leaving me with an intense loathing for his character. lol! I am itching to into details but alas spoilers…. The development of the relationship between Esher and Raine was both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, filled with tender moments that touched my soul. Similarly, the dynamic between Sanvaunt and Raine evoked bittersweet emotions, tugging at my heartstrings. Sanvaunt knew the truth about me, but he hadn’t turned me in for it. If our situations had been reversed, I hoped I would have been like him. I wasn’t sure I had his goodness, though. Especially in light of what I was about to attempt on these stinking bodies. Again, I don’t know if McDonald intended that or not. I could be reading way too deeply and putting my own thing on the text. However, the final quarter of the book when everything comes together is just phenomenal and I couldn’t put the book down. I also love the fact that the story ended at a pause point rather than a cliff hanger. For the first like 40% of the book, I feel like we've mainly been in the main character's head and while it was tiring and a bit anxiety inducing, I've realized that the reason I didn't love it might be because of the fact that I've been in a similar headspace a lot of times and it's always debilitating.I think that we will see great things coming in book 3 and from Ed McDonald in general in the future. A great fantasy read. Light Above, the stench of it,’ Castus said. He put a handkerchief up against his nose, but I doubted it would do much good. On the road he’d got into some kind of pissing contest with Sanvaunt about who could see the furthest. Both men were Draoihn of the First Gate. They’d mastered the trance of Eio, and proven their dedication to the Crown. As an apprentice, I could hold the trance steadily, but I was glad not to use it now. Eio could sharpen the trance holder’s vision enough to spot a field mouse at a thousand paces, let you sense the slight twitch of a muscle that was about to uncoil. But the First Gate was so much more than that. It expanded one’s consciousness out, out, into the whole misery and glory of the world around. The bodies had been ditch-dumped a half mile from the road, and with the First Gate drumming its rhythm, Castus had inhaled that stench like a fist to the nose. He and I had broken off from the rest of the group to investigate. There was a bet on whether it was just some dead cow, mouldering in a ditch. But it wasn’t, and it was horrible, and with only the First Gate to our names, there was little we could do to change it. Daughter of Redwinter is so good…I was hooked from the brilliant opening line.”—James Barclay, author of The Chronicles of the Raven series This was an engaging and often emotionally moving book 2. McDonald covered a lot of narrative ground here on both a sweeping plot front and character arc front and has me itching to continue the tale to see where things go from here in the finale.

It's hard being a Sarathi among the Draoihn, but it's even harder being young and not knowing what to do with all the feelings. First of all, the first book was absolutely amazing, I've loved it with my whole heart and the audiobook for it is the best thing that exists.Overall, I've decided to rate it 4⭐ as honestly there were times I thought it's a 3⭐ read and also some moments I'd give 5⭐. The first half of Traitor of Redwinter largely focused on character development and a bit of world-building. The narrative explored Raine's response to the horrors she experienced in the first book, and the impact of PTSD on her relationships. She understandably regressed as a character now that she felt the emotional weight of everything for the first time. She had nightmares and became addicted to drugs to numb herself, while also engaging in rash behavior. All of her new friendships fell apart, as she isolated herself from those she loved the most to avoid them seeing the parts of her that she considered rotten. Ed McDonald has followed up last year’s Daughter of Redwinter with a roller coaster of a second volume. This is a brilliant epic fantasy and has everything that a lover of fantasy novels could possibly need.

There were some pacing issues especially in the middle of the book when I began to get a bit bored. Sadly, the e book of the ARC is badly formatted with random numbers inserted into the text as well as a lot of very random line breaks which broke up the sense of the writing and made it hard to focus on what was happening.Now, almost a year after coming to stay with Ulovar LacNaithe, the Draoihn who saved her life, Raine has finally been permitted to train with the other apprentices. She’s being pushed through a crash course in armed combat and meditation techniques to control the Gates, limiters that determine which magical powers a Draoihn can wield. While most Draoihn only open the First Gate, entering an active trance that enhances their senses, others can gain further abilities with additional Gates. Only Grandmaster Robilar holds the Fifth Gate while the Sixth Gate, the Gate of Death, is forbidden due to its connections with the grave-sight. Speaking of Raine, she is the second piece that makes this book so good. Raine is the driving force of the narrative; sometimes it is her decisions and actions that pull it along, sometimes it is the actions of others. But even then things always revolve around Raine. She is the pawn being used but also sometimes the queen calling the shots and playing her own game of chess. And her journey is extremely emotional. I felt it constantly. I also like that she makes so many mistakes. As someone who also constantly makes mistakes, I can absolutely relate to her. Raine is so well-written, and that makes her story the highlight of the book. So go away. It’s a private thing. You’re too full of yourself to take it seriously. You make everything seem … juvenile.’ Raine’s PTSD plays a big role in this book. This was handled wonderfully. McDonald lets his other characters see her PTSD, and they all try to talk to her about it. However, she tries to be strong, which is a typical reaction. This was a sensitive portrayal of PTSD without being cliche.

I was a bit nervous that I might not like Traitor of Redwinter as much, but I needn't have worried. I loved it. I literally could not put this book down. Sometimes we act on instinct. Sometimes things can be forgiven when they happen automatically, a knee-jerk reaction to something out of the ordinary. Like when I’d fed my strength into a ghost to topple Kaldhoone LacShale. I hadn’t known what I’d been doing, not really, and I’d been desperate. We forgive those things. Or we should. This, what I was about to do, I should perhaps have feared more.One of the reasons that I like this series is the world-building. It’s interesting, and I like how McDonald explores it through his story. In Traitor of Redwinter, we get more world-building and lore. The world and its history are fascinating. McDonald opens this book with a dream sequence in which Raine and the Raven Queen are watching the Riven Queen. I’m now fascinated with these historical Queens. Daughter of Redwinter has it all: enigmatic characters, shady politics, secret cults, ancient evils, and a young woman grappling with her own shattered identity while navigating a world in which no one is quite what they seem.”—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld