3 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I looked out over the darkening wood, and wished I were something wild that prowled at night. I would run through moonlight until I reached the hall, where the wild roses grew among the tame in the old rose garden. And then, from some secret place, I would see what he became when moonlight touched him.

Winter Rose is loosely inspired by the ballad of Tamlin and the Snow Queen tale. Patricia's lyrical writing is breathtaking and I desperately wanted to love this as it had a promising beginning but...

The story itself felt like it was running around in circles with not much happening and I could not tell whether some events happened in the real world or in a dreamscape.

Rois was an interesting character with a free spirit drawn to the mysterious woods and a ruined hall haunted by a winter curse.

The romance is pretty minimal as well.

On the outside it seems to be a spellbinding story, but on the inside and to my disappointment—it's quite hollow.