Although I wasn’t fully blown away, The Winter Duke is one entertaining read filled to the brim with political intrigue.

The Winter Duke is a great read for those who yearn for political intrigue. From start to finish, it was all about politics and who’s trying to kill who, or who’s betraying who, or trying to discern who exactly is the enemy and the ally. It was a game of secrets and betrayals and trying to find the right decision.

As for me, although I did like the book, I wasn’t too keen on how the story was told. I felt like it dragged on and not many exciting events or action happened (which I would have liked). The story did have some plot twists near the end, but I guess I wanted something grander especially because the synopsis excited me a lot.

I liked the characters enough, but I wasn’t too invested in them. Ekata was an okay main character. I could feel her frustration and her fear as she took on the role of the grand duke. I wish she could have done more, but I feel like that’s not her personality. Inkar is probably my favorite character in The Winter Duke. She was fierce and brave, and definitely what Ekata needs in her life. If Ekata is ice, Inkar is the fire—they complemented each other really well and I loved that.

I also loved the queer representation in this book and how sexuality is a normal thing in their fictional world. It didn’t bring any complication to the plot nor is it a problem in their society. That was a nice thing to see in a YA fantasy novel like this.

(This review was first published on Enthralled Bookworm.)