A Girl of White Winter is a book of choices and decisions. Kara is a reclusive ingenue, brought up by her guardian on a remote estate, which she has never left. She is an innocent, yet she is also a femme-fatale and every man who claps eyes on her wants her for his own. This leads to predatory behaviour from men and jealous activity from women. Kara is bewildered by it and undeserving of all such treatment.
When the lord of the estate betrays her trust and sells her off to a neighbouring lord in exchange for a pocket of land, she thinks that her situation couldn't get much worse.
Carried off by her new young lord, they are attacked by a band of gypsy thieves and Kara is once again abducted and taken to the gypsy camp. There she is thrust into a barn, where a magic mirror materializes, offering to give her an insight into each of the three choices that lay before her...try to escape back home, stay at the camp, or leave with one of the travelling gypsies.
As Kara gazes into each wing of the triple mirror in turn, she is shown the life she will live with that suitor, helping her to make her ultimate decision. Well, couldn't we all use a mirror like that? This book explores the dramatic outcomes that come from a single choice and how one's life-path twists and turns, depending on the decisions we make along the way. It also builds on the idea that some people are always going to turn up in one's life and that such strong romantic connections are made by Fate and cannot really be avoided or argued with.
Which life will Kara choose; the passionate connection with a soul mate, the affluent life of a mistress, or the steady man she respects? Each life offers something different - love, security or safety - but she can only have one.
Personally, I would have given her a fourth choice, in which she tells all the men to get stuffed and goes her own way - but that's just me. The wrong choice made for the right reasons is still the wrong choice, and it can lead to a lifetime of regret and heartache.
This book does make you reflect on your own life choices and decisions and where they have, or might take you so it certainly makes you think.
It's a lovely fantasy novel and I enjoyed reading it. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series too. With it's ice maiden connotations A Girl of White Winter is perfect for this time of year as the first snows fall and winter endures. Enjoy.
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