Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman

PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Book Description:

Emmeline knows she’s not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters. Living with the shame of her grandmother’s insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent.

When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, it’s an opportunity for Emmeline to wash the family slate clean—even if she has eyes for another. But before she’s forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her into the woods, where she uncovers a path she can’t help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the village will kill to protect. Her grandmother followed the same path and paid the price. If Emmeline isn’t careful, she will be next.

My Thoughts:

Um...WOW! Read this in one sitting. It was THAT GOOD. I didn't know what to really expect from this book and as I started reading it I thought it was going to be a remake of the movie The Village by M. Night Shyamalan but I was wrong! I was completely hooked by the end of paige one. Then I thought please don't let it be like the book The Forest of Hands and Teeth because I hated that book but I read on intrigued and wondering where this author might take this story.

This book is dark, creepy, romantic, thrilling, mysterious and adventurous everything you need to enjoy a well written story.

It's the story of Emmeline who lives in a settlement isolated from anything beyond their compound. Here those who live in this settlement barely have enough to survive. Where curiosity is good as long as it doesn't out stretch the boundaries set by the Council, men who watch over this settlement and keep the peace by pounding in everybody head virtues that are smiled upon, and those evil thoughts, feelings, and doings that could lead you to your own death. Emmeline keeps herself apart from everybody around her as she is "stained" and crippled. She is the granddaughter of a woman who became "wayward" and went beyond the boundaries of their settlement which lead to the Council taking her to a place called "The crossroads" where she was put to death. Because of that the decadents of those "wayward" people are always thought of by others to be tainted and not worthy of certain virtues. However Emmiline feels like she is "wayward" because she can't help her curiosity for the unknown and can't help herself when she finds a path beyond the boundaries where she's allowed to go. You can't help but sit at the edge of your seat gripping this book and cheering Emmeline on! When Emmeline turns 16 she has now come of age to be "bonded" AKA married. She catches the eye of the settlement leader who asks for her hand in marriage. This is a great opportunity to wash away the stain of previous actions of her grandmother as she has been found worth to be the wife of the settlement leader.

However she can't help but explore that path that she knows is forbidden to her and which could result in her death. And when she does she finds the very thing her grandmother found which someone killed to keep secret.

I completely loved everything about this story from each of the characters, to the twist at the end that I didn't see coming. The undecided feelings I had for two of the male characters. The excitement and thrill I felt for each part of Emmeline's story and how it all unfolded. This was WAY better than I imagined.

Sexual Content: mild (some kissing)
Langauge: none
Violence: mild
Drugs/Alcohol: mild

*Thank you to Amulet & Abrams for the book, which I got in exchange for an honest review*

Meet the Author:

Kate Boorman is an independent artist and write from the Canadian prairies. She has a Mast of Arts in Dramatic Critical Theory, and a work resume full of the usual, whacky assortment of jobs.

Kate spent much of her childhood reading books instead of being useful around the house, and now she writes the, which means she is still not vey useful. She is fond of beautiful-creepy things, good chocolate, and cozy slippers (all three are an essential part of her writing process).

She also loves to dig in the dirt, and sit under starry skies with her friends, and travel to far off lands with her husband and two children.

The Winterkill trilogy is her YA fiction debut.

You can find Kate on Twitter at: @KateBoorman

Check out her Website: http://www.kateaboorman.com/kb/

a Rafflecopter giveaway