Winter's End by Clarissa Cartharn

Winter's End

Author: Clarissa Cartharn

Publisher: Amazon

Pages: 301

Release Date: November 13, 2013
Source: Received free from the author in exchange 
for an honest review

When young widow, Emma Winston leaves her life in London with her two children for the quieter Breakish in the Isle of Skye, all she wants is a simple life. And for a while, she thinks she has it.  That is until she meets the mysterious Mrs Kinnaird who suddenly feels that Emma might make the ideal bride for her wealthy playboy grandson, Chris Cameron- a man who holds his own dark secrets.  Further still, when Emma's brother-in-law, Richard Winston follows her to Skye to tell her he loves her, Mrs Kinnaird manipulates all her power to keep Richard away from Emma. 

Will Emma finally let go of her past and learn to follow her heart?

My Thoughts
Sometimes, a love story isn't just about the romance, and perhaps that is what appealed to me so much about Winter's End. Emma Winston moves to the Isle of Skye after being recently widowed, and the charming setting feels like something out of another time. This is the sort of book I would love to curl up in front of the fire with, and I enjoyed having the chance to read it.

There were a few things that knocked this down a star rating for me, however. The biggest was that I didn't really like the men Emma had relationships with. There seemed to be something forceful and controlling in their nature, and it was hard to want Emma to end up with anyone like that. Emma felt passive when it came to these situations, and while she occasionally seemed to stand up for herself, in the end it felt like it was just okay they had acted that way. Emma felt a bit like a possession from time to time, and that made me a little uncomfortable.

I did give a bit more leeway to Mrs. Kinnaird, because I felt the relationship between Emma and her was genuine. There was a little manipulation, but there was a love and a sense of family that stayed in those interactions. Mrs. Kinnaird was a very grandmotherly figure, and while she could be a little bossy, I really felt she meant well. Their interactions were perhaps my favorite ones, and I enjoyed seeing these elements in a 'romance' novel.

The other characters felt well thought out, and I liked the occasional shifts in narration where I could see things from another characters point of view. The flashbacks were a little awkward in places (I felt the first two were placed too close together), but they gradually revealed more about the characters, which I enjoyed. By the end, I felt like the story was balanced well enough, and the writing itself was refreshing. I would look for more work by Clarissa Cartharn in the future.