I liked this book! The relationships between the characters were nicely complex and nuanced, which helped hook me in a story whose worldbuilding fell a bit short. I think the bones of the world were there, but I wanted more from it, especially on the political front.

Unfortunately, this book is not for me. I'm not impressed by the world building, as I still don't know much about the different countries. What I disliked most, though, is that the characters lack agency. They don't act, they don't make things happen. Things happen to them. This is particularly annoying when the characters are female. If you don't mind this, you'll probably find the book an interesting read!

Thank you to O'Brien Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review!

I had read the first book, but it has been some time by now. My memory was fuzzy, but I don't think this hurt my enjoyment at all. I enjoyed Daughter of Winter and Twilight far more than I had the previous book. Emri, though a princess who is aware and accepting of her responsibilities, is hurting under the mantle that is relatable to so many children today: we will never be able to achieve what our parents did.

In our case, it might be stability in jobs or an adult life. In Emri's case, it's a grand love story that's the stuff of legends. The story of her mothers' love for each other is near-myth-- and Emri is only a girl compared to that; and close kin to one mother's usurping, traitorous cousin at that. Emri's accepted she's not the myth material her mothers are, and she accepts her arranged marriage, and tries to make nice with her cousin-heir from her abusive childhood before her mothers.

There's only one problem with that: the gods exist, and they want belief back. Emri must work together with her cousin she cannot trust, her betrothed she knows little about, and his ferociously protective younger cousin who trusts Emri and her cousin not at all. If they cannot escape together, Emri's heart and will are forfeit and her cousin (heir both to her own kingdom and Emri's), her betrothed, and his cousin (heir to another kingdom) die.

This is not a romance, but it is a growing of relationships. And I truly enjoyed it.

Queen of Coin and Whispers was one of my standout books of 2020, so when Helen announced Daughter of Winter and Twilight and the]at it would be focusing on the daughter of Lia and Xania I was understandably very excited.

I jumped into the story knowing exactly that much about what to expect and maybe it having some link to the midwinter festivities from the first book. I was immediately transported, Emri is as angry and brittle as her parents were at her age as she struggles with her feelings, her heart, her friends and expectations. The story really takes off however when her cousin arrives.

Dragging up trauma from her childhood as she has to navigate the visit of a foreign heir on top of everything else before she is unwilling dragged off on a quest by gods long thought dead with her potential fiancé, her cousin, and the heir to neighbouring Eshvon.

Their band of unwilling allies makes for gripping reading as they are slowly forced to confront the very worst of themselves. I love the gentle, and tentative way the four bond with each other as they bond through their past and current traumas.

I was also delighted to see how Lia and Xania have grown and evolved since the end of Coin and Whispers, they are 20 years older and have grown and Corcoran brilliantly and realistically crafts how they deal with their own past even as this new event ruptures their lives. She beautifully blends traditional quest fantasy with political fantasy in a touching and personal story that I found myself dreaming about - especially the “map”- my brain got stuck on that one one night.

I would love to see more stories in this world and I’m so excited for my copy of this to arrive!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

Daughter of Winter and Twilight is a young adult fantasy novel occurring about twenty years after the events of its preceding companion novel, Queen of Coin and Whispers. It involves the young daughter of the two leads discovering that magic and the gods are not dead after all, and facing a harrowing trial to escape from the Lady Winter's temple.

Months ago I read Queen of Coin and Whispers and didn't care for it. I like to try to give authors a second try before I write them off completely, so here I am; however, in this case, I did not find anything in this book to redeem the poor impression that the first left on me. In fact, this novel was - in some ways - worse than its predecessor. Hard fantasy as a genre is new and exciting, and Queen of Coin and Whispers was the first YA novel I've ever read that fell into that genre, which was a point in its favor despite the myriad complaints I had regarding the characters, worldbuilding, and prose. Winter and Twilight throws that genre out in favor of implementing a watered-down magic system. The worldbuilding from the first book, sparse as it was, provided little incentive to come back to this world; it's cookie-cutter fantasy, like a template that isn't filled in, where different cultures are alluded to but never actually shown. We spent sixty percent of the book with the heirs of each nation and learned precisely nothing about the cultures which they came from - except that some of them borrow names from Spanish and French, and that some are religious. They do not seem to differ in any way that matters. Where is their clothing, their food, their familial structure, their landscape of subculture, their history?

The worldbuilding was the worst part of this novel. There was so little to become immersed in. Everything was standard. Sometimes the author would faintly signal differences; Edar is "northern", Farezi is associated with pomegranates, et cetera; but these never amounted to tangible differences. This vagueness and lack of innovation was a consistent problem across all aspects of the book. The magic was weakly introduced. The characters had no quirks or real personalities (well, Melisande had one, at least; I enjoyed her) and their relationships had no good dynamics. Emri and Melisande were interesting enough as reflections of the way abuse changes the relationship between people raised in it - I just wish they had been more of a focus.

Meanwhile, the plot was unfocused and difficult to read. None of the characters had any agency whatsoever. Events did not happen because of their actions - events happened TO them, and they rarely had any meaningful choices at all. The entire plot of the novel consisted of the characters learning new things about gods that have not been active for years. The twists (the infodump by La Dame des Fleurs & the reveal of Selene) had no bearing on the situations of the characters. I did not care about anything that happened. The narrative structure feels as though the first 35% was a companion novel to Coin and Whispers - and the first 35% was all right, really - and the last 65% was a completely different premise in a completely different world that Corcoran also wanted to explore. But the two did not mesh. To be completely honest, I might have liked this book if the premise of "evil god kidnaps the heirs of each country" were isolated and made its own story - given the room to breathe it needed.

Last point: the writing. Corcoran's prose has slightly improved from Coin and Whispers. The main advancement is that Winter and Twilight is no longer dual-POV, which was a major issue for its predecessor, since the characters blended together. However, a slight improvement does not make this book worth reading. Clumsy wording, poor diction, and a painfully obvious lack of proofreading makes getting through this a chore; there were constant line breaks and sentence fragments that provided no necessary dramatics. It lacked depth and was, at times, outright juvenile - beyond what I would expect from the young adult genre. And to seal its fate it had no ideas that have not already been played out to death.

A low two stars, generously evaluated because of Melisande and the clever title.

Let me just preface this by saying that I absolutely love Queen of Coin and Whispers, so naturally, Daughter of Winter and Twilight was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023, and it did not disappoint. I was hooked from the first page, I thoroughly enjoyed returning to this intricately built world, seeing the familiar places in a different light and discovering so many new details about the world.
Helen Corcoran created wonderfully layered characters—the main cast stole my heart and I loved seeing them develop throughout the course of the book. I cannot talk about the characters without mentioning Lia and Xania, who were one of the many highlights of the book for me. Seeing them again fourteen years after the events of Queen of Coin and Whispers, watching them navigate queenship, motherhood and their relationship was delightful. This brings me to another highlight: the relationships between the characters. This book explored many relationships—between mothers and their daughters, estranged cousins or among a group of young royals, and each one was touching and beautifully written.
With intricate worldbuilding, layered characters and a gripping plot, Daughter of Winter and Twilight is a very enjoyable and moving read that I would recommend to all YA Fantasy readers.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and The O'Brien Press for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to O'Brien Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review!

I had read the first book, but it has been some time by now. My memory was fuzzy, but I don't think this hurt my enjoyment at all. I enjoyed Daughter of Winter and Twilight far more than I had the previous book. Emri, though a princess who is aware and accepting of her responsibilities, is hurting under the mantle that is relatable to so many children today: we will never be able to achieve what our parents did.

In our case, it might be stability in jobs or an adult life. In Emri's case, it's a grand love story that's the stuff of legends. The story of her mothers' love for each other is near-myth-- and Emri is only a girl compared to that; and close kin to one mother's usurping, traitorous cousin at that. Emri's accepted she's not the myth material her mothers are, and she accepts her arranged marriage, and tries to make nice with her cousin-heir from her abusive childhood before her mothers.

There's only one problem with that: the gods exist, and they want belief back. Emri must work together with her cousin she cannot trust, her betrothed she knows little about, and his ferociously protective younger cousin who trusts Emri and her cousin not at all. If they cannot escape together, Emri's heart and will are forfeit and her cousin (heir both to her own kingdom and Emri's), her betrothed, and his cousin (heir to another kingdom) die.

This is not a romance, but it is a growing of relationships. And I truly enjoyed it.

Daughter of Winter and Twilight by Helen Corcoran is a gripping YA fantasy novel that is sure to keep readers engaged from beginning to end. Set in a world where magic is dormant but not dead, the story follows Emri, an adopted daughter of two queens who are about to come of age and face changes beyond her control.

The plot takes a surprising turn when Emri and her estranged cousin Melisande are attacked by a magical force and transported to a mountain temple, where they are held captive along with other young royals. There, they must complete Lady Winter's trials or face certain death. The story is full of twists and turns, and the characters are well-developed and relatable.

One of the most striking aspects of the book is the world-building. Corcoran has created a rich and detailed world that is both familiar and unique. The way magic is integrated into the story is particularly interesting, as it is not the all-powerful force we often see in fantasy novels, but rather a dormant energy that must be awakened and harnessed.

Overall, Daughter of Winter and Twilight is a well-written, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable read. It is a must-read for fans of YA fantasy, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating and immersive reading experience.

A big thank you to O'Brien Press and Helen Corcoran for sending me an ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

I was a big fan of Queen of Coin and Whispers from the moment I read it first back during the first lockdown of 2020. What's not to love? Determined queens, even more determined soy masters, intrigue, love, murder plots... It hit all the right spots for me. Which is why I was both super excited for this book and super worried. I mean, how could Corcoran follow up the absolute perfection of the first book?

Reader, I needn't have feared.

Daughter of Winter and Twilight can be read as a standalone - though I urge you to pick up the first book because it's fantastic. It features a world where queerness is a simple fact of life, not something to be an angsty plot point where the main character has to overcome stigma and intolerance, which was just so satisfyingly refreshing to read. Emri is queer, and so are her parents - Lia and Xania, the Queens of Edar - and her friends. We get introduced to non-binary characters and it's never something to be gawked at, just a simple fact of life.

It took me a little while to warm up to Emri, as it usually does with new characters, but once I did I rooted for her through the whole book. She faces her challenges with grace - and yes, fear and anger and heartbreak and self-pity at times which is absolutely wonderful to read because it makes her human! - and always strives to be the best heir to the throne she can be.

The character who I really fell in love with, however, was Melisande. At first she seems like a typical Cool Girl but I adored her relationship with Emri, how she fought to stand by her cousin and never let her hand go during the moments that really mattered. Gabi and Theo, the other heirs to the thrones who get roped into Emri's quest, are fully fleshed and I'm not going to lie, I would love to read a whole book about an older Gabi who rules her queendom.

Magic was dormant, never dead - that tag line really sets you up for this novel. Goddesses are real and they are inhuman, merciless and they want the recognition they (think) they deserve. Lady Winter is one hell of a scary chatacter, gives me major Lady Dimitrescu vibes.

Big, big fan of this book, make sure to preorder a copy!

Daughter of Winter and Twilight is coming out on September 4, 2023.

The blurb gave me fantasy hunger games/throne of glass vibes!
Going into this I didn’t realise it was second in a series and if I’d known prior to having already read a chunk of the book I probably would have gone and read that one first! As this one takes past 14 years after the original I think I would have understood more about the characters going in if I’d read book 1 first.
All in all it was an interesting read, it had great LGBT rep and I loved Lady Winter as our formidable foe!

ARC from Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great sequel and I really enjoyed this novel. The storytelling was wonderful and I look forward to more books from Helen Corcoran.