Review and Release of The Winter People and Summer Marked by Rebekah Purdy

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn't forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she'll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Review:
I'm actually speechless. I didn't know what to expect of this book. It's the first in a series by Rebekah Purdy. This young adult fantasy romance was fantastic.
The mystery weaved into this story kept me at the edge of my seat until the very end. Even as secrets were revealed, the author left just enough to have you guessing and intrigued.
This book is steeped in the supernatural and fantastical. Even though you figure out what the aspect is during the first chunk of the story, the description gives nothing away.
The whole concept of winter and Salome being terrified of it, was a new spin on an old subject. The author was highly creative with this book.
I am also a huge fan of love triangles. This one, though, had three boys vying for Salome's attention. She's so confused about what is going on. It took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to happen, but the ending was perfect.
Even though there is another installment, the author wrapped this book up in one neat package.This book deserves nothing less than five glittery stars. It was the perfect read for me.

Book 2: Summer Marked

The sequel to the chilling Winter People returns to the world of Faerie, and is a romantic and enchanting follow-up.

Salome left humankind behind to be with her boyfriend, Gareth, in the Kingdom of Summer. But now forces of darkness are rising. Her happily-ever-after is coming apart, and the Kingdom is on the brink of war.

Newly-single Kadie Byers is on her way home for Thanksgiving, imagining a visit filled with hot chocolate, a hot guy for a little rebound action, and some girl time with her bestie, Salome. Except she receives a message from Salome with two important words: PLEASE HURRY.

When Kadie rushes to help Salome, she’s ripped from the human world and pulled into the kingdoms of Faerie, where she's shocked to learn that Salome's monsters are real, and that she's now at the mercy of one extremely vengeful Winter Queen...

Now both Salome and Kadie must find a way to survive the deadly chaos...or lose themselves to Winter's deadly, icy grasp.


Review:
This series continues to blow me away! I purchased The Winter People on a whim and absolutely loved it. It was steeped in romance, mystery and the supernatural.
I wasn't sure about this book since it was dual POV from Salome and Kadie. Soon, it grew on me and I liked knowing what was going on in the two locations. It gave the audience insight about the other side.
It was hard to stop the tears in this sequel. It was so clear how in love Salome and Gareth were. Yet, they continued to overcome obstacles, each time the price was steeper.
I'm still on the fence about Gwenn and Nevin. We'll see what comes to pass in the next book. I did enjoy learning about Etienne and Salome's new best friend.
If you love fairies and haven't read this series, you MUST read it! So far, this is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It's a crossover from YA to NA, but tame, so there aren't any scenes to make an age requirement.
Overall, this installment from Rebekah Purdy gets five glittery stars for being just the read I needed. I can't wait for the next book!

About the Author: 

I was born and raised in Michigan (just look for the giant mitten on the map—it’ll likely throw a snowball at you). I spent most of my time in Michigan, but while in the army got to call KS, SC, MO, and CA home for awhile as well.

As a kid my family moved around a lot. Try spending both your freshman and senior years at new schools (yeah, loads of fun). I could’ve changed my name to “new girl”.

I love writing for teens because those are the years I remember falling in love with most of my favorite books. Some of the authors I couldn’t put down were L.J. Smith, Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine, Richie Tankersley Cusick, Joan Lowery Nixon, Lois Duncan, amongst several others.

My husband and I have a large family. There are six kids total! So we have LOTS of fun on vacations (although hours on the road, cooped up in the Expedition is kind of stressful—although we pass the time with MAD LIBS and hoping no one gets carsick).

Some fun facts about me:

My first real crush was on Luke Skywalker (LOL—hey, I was like 8 years old and it came out before I was born).

I’m obsessed with several TV shows/Movies: The Vampire Diaries, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Sean of the Dead, The Sing Off, Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth, True Blood, Being Human, Fact or Fake, and all the cake designing ones! Oh and all the spoof movies!

I still own all the books I bought as a kid/teen.

I have a hankering for chocolate (like all the time, seriously. If my arm was made of it I’d chew it off).

Celebrity crushes: Johnny Depp (woohoo), Taylor Lautner (okay, I know he’s kind of young for me), Ian Somerhalder (ooh, he’s just right. We’re the same age). Wow, this was like a Goldie Locks and the Three Bears moment. Johnny Depp too old, Taylor Lautner too young, Ian Somerhalder—JUST RIGHT.

In my spare time I like to write (obviously), read, sing, hang out with my kids, play with my animals, camp, play soccer, check my email (hehehe), watch football (go LIONS). I also love hanging out with my sister and hubby!

Look forward to chatting with everyone! And if you’re lucky, I’ll break out the opera voice and chase you around singing! 

https://www.goodreads.com/RebekahPurdy

website

http://www.rebekahlpurdy.com/

genre

Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Contemporary


Purchase both books here:

AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
GOOGLE PLAY
KOBO
ITUNES
AMAZON UK
BOOKS A MILLION
POWELL'S BOOKS
BOOK DEPOSITORY
IBOOKSTORE.COM