A Bride for the Winter King

Curse of the Fae #2

by Anya J. Cosgrove

Can the Winter King truly love? Or am I doomed to follow his past queens to the grave?

I’m a shadow huntress in dire need of revenge. When a Fae prince asks me to participate in the Yule pageant and spy on the Winter King, I rise to the occasion.

He tells me I’m a ringer for the dead queen, and that I don’t have to win the pageant or get married in the end.

He forgot to mention I’d lose everything in the meantime—including my heart.

***

My kingdom needs a queen, and so I marry.

Every year I marry, and suffer.

Every year, I lose her all over again.

This endless curse is meant to punish me for what I’ve done, with no hope of release. As Winter King, death shall never come for me.

Until the ghost of my first love shows up on my doorstep.

This novel is book 2 in the Curse of the Fae series. It’s a full-length fantasy romance with a happy ending, and though it's part of an interconnected series, the romance stands alone.

A dangerous competition sets the stage for this enemies-to-lovers, fated mates romance. Steamy. 18+. Full list of triggers inside.



Fated Mates

Enemies-to-lovers

Arranged marriage (Reality Show)

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fae, Audiobook, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2024

About the author

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Reviews

[Nicola Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good Im in love with the characters and the plot the writing is good I can't wait to see how this story continues so much happens and you just can't put the book down it has so many twists and turns and the characters are divine I'm gushing over the main character elii what a series I'd highly recommend you to pick this up you won't be disappointed one if the best sequels I've read this year wow wow wow.

[Andreea · Rating 5 out of 5]

My comfort series
I can’t wait for Elizabeth’s story

[Thalia Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good continuation

I loved the world building in this and getting to experience a different fae court was fun and whilst the basis of the story was roughly the same the way it played out kept me entertained all the way through.

[gabs ❤️‍ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this author keeps me coming back for more. i cannot quit this series even if i tried. strong FMC, dark MMC, & the spicy scenes are everything. don't even get me started on the world building. it's so gradual & builds throughout every book.

[Weena Bernabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Spider

This was a wild ride but I’m happy that Elio and Lori got their story. Sara was one of my favorites.

[Gabriella C. ☽◯☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

disjointed and confusing

I didn’t like this one at all. It had a weird flow and I had to backtrack a lot to figure out what was going on. This is one of those E2L where the problem is unclear. There is also a trials trope that is stupid. And the chemistry between the characters don’t work.

There are spoiler in this review.

To me this is one of those stories where because it is “fantasy” the author didn’t think the story needed to be logical or plausible. Even tho you accept as a reader that there is magical powers, teleporting, flying, mythical creatures, other worlds and dimensions, all of those fantastic elements still have a conditions, limitations, and rules that make the story make senses.

This story just kind of throws things out there and as the reader you just have to go with it. For example, traveling thru the scaeware. They travel thru mirrors but there are things, nightmares, in it that will get you, but a mask will save you. Why? It doesn’t make sense, but fine I ignored it in book one. I can ignore it here. Lori is a Night seed with night seed powers, family traces back to Spring, but she is linked to winter??? This confused me but I ignored it. The fact that Lori is a dead ringer for Iris but there is no relation but Lori can relive Iris’s life. Doesn’t make sense. But then the story goes into this story of Lori’s grandmother being a maid that cleaned up Iris’s blood after she died and that altered her DNA but skipped a generation to link Lori to Iris. What?!? There is a good bit of killing in the series thus far. Wouldn’t everyone who had blood splattered on them be then linked to the owner of the blood regardless to if the killed them or not?!? And then some kind of way the soul of Iris that’s been missing from the person who snatches and manages souls, jumps into Lori’s body and now they are twins, two halves of a whole, forever linked and it’s impossible to separate them. What?!?!?!?! Elio supposedly took Lori’s dad’s soul but can’t take Iris’s soul??? He leads soul reapers, middle name is HADES but this one random soul of a regular person (not a fae, witch, vampire, or other imaginary creature) evades him for a century or so. There were so many moments that just didn’t make sense even for a fantasy that I couldn’t get into it.

The trials part falls flat cause Lori supposedly doesn’t want to marry Elio. She is there to blend into the background and find Morrigan. That whole plot line fell by the waste side cause I don’t think Lori or Seth ever tries to look for her. Seth seemed like he was creeping around the castle with no problem so I don’t understand the purpose of recruiting Lori in the first place.

On top of that the romance portion is cringey. Lori’s not likable. She seemed stronger in the first book but in this one she had to hide the huntress in her even tho she keeps acting like a huntress except when someone actually does something to her. She falls in love and yearns for this connection with a person she considers a killer too quick. Elio goes from hot to cold to quick. Their interactions don’t substantiate their deep feelings for each other and it ends up falling flat.

I struggled to finish this one. Almost DNF’d after the 50% mark. I was hoping there would be more of the story from book one that bled into this one and ultimately flow into the next but thats not really the case so book one ultimately feels incomplete. Book two makes no sense and does nothing to advance the series’ plot much. So that leaves me uninterested in the remaining books.

[LainieLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars

This was bad, but giving it 2 stars because I actually love the idea of the plot (this had a lot of promise) and because I did finish it. The biggest issue here is literally just the writing itself. My overarching complaint is that there is so much dialogue that entire passages are meaningless and make no sense to me. The scenes are so incredibly hard to visualize because the writing greatly lacks a natural flow/progression. Especially when one scene transitions to another, I constantly found myself lost and re-reading passages (which didn't even really help the issue). Even small things, if someone is sitting vs. standing, got muddled up. And then there were the bigger issues of just the dialogue and what was happening. It was so clunky, and there were so many random grammar/formatting errors, that this simply was not an enjoyable read.

The plot itself had promise, but then took a nosedive. I didn't mind The Selection x doppelganger x curse vibes, I was actually super excited to see how it played out. I'm trying to keep this a reasonable length so I'll just say that each element lacked depth so nothing really came together in and interesting and meaningful way. I stopped caring about this so quickly because of 1. the confusing writing and 2. the plot felt messily tossed together. The writing felt like there were all these details and plot points and solutions being made up on the spot and slapped in. There wasn't a cohesive and interesting story to be found here. And to touch on the romance, which is the whole point here, I so badly wanted to like Lori and Elios but I never "got to know" them. All of Lori's development was in book 1. Their relationship was so blah. Just insta-lust that morphed into love out of nowhere (and it made no sense). I didn't like them together because I couldn't understand why they were in love and had this connection. So much telling rather than showing.

There was a lot wrong with this - I found the 1st book to be significantly better. I will not be continuing this series, but I would give this author another try in the future. As I said, this had the bones to be good but the execution just wasn't there.

[Chinar Gandhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real rating: 3.75/5

GR rating: 4/5 (rounded up)

I loved the book, it had elements of Snow White, the selection, and 1001 Arabian nights with a unique twist. I also loved that Lori was a Desi character (even though it was mentioned like once), such representation is not that common in fantasy books.

My slight issues was how there were no true enemies to lovers in this book, like advertised. There were no slow burn, tension, banter and eventually feelings thawing to love. This book went from 0-100 from hatred to pure love to some funky fwb situationship to “love”. It felt like insta love or being infatuated bc how do you fall in love so deeply with someone in 7 days?

Also with how Lori was a doppelgänger or Iris, (and knowing how fucked up Iris was) I expected a lot more anger and resentment on Elio’s side. No he was immediately infatuated and lusting after Lori as if fucking your dead wife’s lookalike is the newest kink.

I loved the unique plotline, but I felt like their relationship was built on a lot of lies and deceit to be something that works in the long run. Also how can anyone look at a lookalike of a dead loved one and be like “that’s hot” after a brief stint of anger? That didn’t seem normal and the book quickly glossed over that.

I feel like there is nothing wrong with the standalone novels in these series being converted to their own interconnected duologies or trilogies - this gives time for depth and context for their characters rather than forcing them to kiss kiss and make up bc the book is coming to a close. With how rushed the books seem I’m not sure if I’ll continue reading the books.

[Ellie Sangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You got me. I bought A Bride to the Winter King fully expecting it to land on my “worst reads of all time” list.

The title is absurd. The blurb does it no favours. Everything about this book suggested it would be spectacularly terrible in an entertaining way. I went in prepared to hate it, but quietly hoping it would at least be a silly, unserious good time. Think reality-TV romance, but with crowns.

And then I read the first few sentences and had the deeply inconvenient realisation: oh. This person can actually write.

What unfolds is a familiar romantasy setup, complete with well-worn tropes and predictable beats, but it’s executed far better than expected. The writing is solid, the pacing works, and the chemistry between the two leads is genuinely fun. More importantly, you actually feel for the heroine. Her situation lands emotionally in ways I wasn’t prepared for, and I found myself rooting for her more often than not.

Is it perfect? No. Is it occasionally indulgent and a little ridiculous? Absolutely. But it knows exactly what it is, and it commits. I’m willing to overlook a handful of spelling and grammatical issues because I was, frankly, having too much fun to care.

This is not trying to be groundbreaking literary fiction. It will not change your life. But I couldn’t put it down and that counts for a lot.

My only real frustration is structural. The story isn’t finished, and each book in the wider series follows a different couple. Personally, I’d rather stay with these characters a little longer. I like continuity. But you can’t have everything.

I read this as a standalone and didn’t feel lost, even when characters from other books appeared. It didn’t detract from the experience. She’s a fun protagonist, the romance works, and honestly? I’ll take a sharp, charming heroine navigating an absurd situation any day.

Most importantly, this book showed me there is a corner of romance I can enjoy without wanting to eject my brain from my body. That alone makes it a win.

[Victoria Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book two in the Curse of the Fae series picks up right from where we ended things in book one. Lori is recovering from her near death experience and still dealing with a bit of residual trauma. Seth, a fae prince of the Spring court, comes to her with a deal that could be the only chance to save her brother's life.

Since she appears to be the doppelganger of the Winter King's deceased first wife, Seth wants to use that to shake things up in the Winter court. He convinces Lori to participate in the Yule pageant while also acting as a spy for him. The catch is that this pageant is to determine who will be the Winter King's next queen and those queens always end up dead shortly after the wedding.

Lori realizes there's more to the story of what happened all those years ago to King Elio's first wife and everything is shrouded in secrets and mystery. As she competes with other "brides" in the pageant she learns more about the cold-hearted winter king. She starts seeing sides to him that few get the chance to.

Then there's this whole mystery of why she looks exactly like Elio's first queen. What does that mean? And strange things seem to be happening in the Winter court, like freak storms and brides deaths. That also includes a series of new visions Lori has of Elio's deceased wife.

Elio and Lori have a connection whether they want to admit it or not. But if they give in to that, will Lori face the same fate of his previous queens? And if they don't will Elio remain doomed to continue the cycle

Their story is a fun mix of a reality tv style pageant, mystery and danger, with love and magic beyond their control. I love these two together. Their story doesn't exactly end in a cliffhanger but it's clear this is just the beginning for them. I can't wait to see how the interconnected stories in this series continue in the next book.

[Alex M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the story wasn’t difficult to read, it has some gaps. Overall, I really liked it. I liked Lori‘s character. I thought she was really interesting, but I did feel in the beginning. She could do a little bit more. She was just a bit passive and like took a while to like get into the action. The MMC is an interesting character and plays a very mysterious role for a lot of the book but then like a lot of these stories you know opens up. However, I felt like they even let him fall flat at times. Like these characters could’ve had a lot more depth maybe. I was really getting into the story and the last 2/3 of the book we’re getting really interesting and the plot was plotting and things were happening and then it just kind of ended in a sense. Like the story resolved but one of the major parts of the story that happens in the last 2/3 kind of isn’t resolved it’s just like OK for now. He just like makes a vow to resolve it but then they don’t really resolve it. That kind of annoyed me and I felt like there were so much more there. I’m not sure if they’re exploring in the next book. Probably likely a new set of characters, but yeah. Overall, I like the story it flowed well and it was a bit slow in the beginning that’s for sure. But I found the characters interesting and the concept was kind of casual and fun so overall, it was good. It definitely lacked some depths and they could’ve resolved the issues better. Just felt like a quick fix. I know my review sounds negative, but I did like the book. And I did find myself wanting to read it.

[Moonburst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lori is a shadow huntress who has been critically wounded in an attack on the Shadow Court. Prince Seth approaches her with a proposal: participate in the Yule Pageant and keep an eye out for the treacherous Morrigan and he will do all that he can to save Lori's brother. Lori agrees, even though the odds are against her, and winning the pageant will result in her marrying the Winter King and killed by him. Lori looks extremely similar to the Winter King's first wife, but as she complete the pageant's challenges it becomes clear that she may be even more similar to the first Winter Queen than expected.

Lori is a conflicted protagonist. She knows she will die from her wounds in the near future, but she doesn't give in to resignation or despair. She hates death and has a bitter history with Winter Court, but her attraction to Elio is almost all consuming. As she strives to do what it takes to protect those she loves and thwart Morrigan's plots she has to decide if love is truly worth dying for. Her striving against the odds make for a thrilling read.

A Bride for the Winter King has a despondent and cursed male love interest with a driven female protagonist. It is a perfect romantasy story that builds beautifully on the world building in A Deal with the Shadow King. A wonderful addition to the series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[K.J. Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that when I first picked up this book, I couldn't really remember what had happened in A Deal with the Shadow King. As soon as I got into A Bride for the Winter King though, it all came flooding back and I was hooked.
This is sort of a standalone romance, I say sort of because you could probably follow it without having read the previous book. However, if you have read A Deal with the Shadow King, I think that you'll get far more out of it. The events of the previous book are mentioned and characters return. There is also a much bigger overarching storyline that isn't resolved in either of these two books, but that will continue to the next (and beyond?)
Lori is a fantastic character. She's feisty and brave and doesn't let anyone push her around. Elio is a fantastic match for her, although it does take them quite a while to admit that to themselves. I love enemies to lovers and this one certainly is that.
I couldn't help but greedy read this book, it was that good. Once I started I didn't want to put it down. I had a feeling that might be the case, as it often is with Anya J. Cosgrove's books. I only hope that we don't have to wait too long for the next one.

[Angels · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love this series the characters in this series are fantastic. The next couple up happens to be Lori and Elio their chemistry is off the charts maybe for a bit Elio had that lust-hate thing going on but, that quickly vanished he could not keep his hands off the woman.

From the moment we started turning the pages we were once again hooked. We loved that pagent idea it was something fresh and different. The descriptions of the Winter Court lands were beautiful if deadly dangerous. The story is filled with intrigue, suspense, love, lust, revelations and so much more.

We loved Lori from the moment we met her and loved her sassiness, and sense of humor, and she was a strong female character who could be deadly when warranted but, caring and loving and an all-around girl who cares even for those who should be her enemies.

Elio is a complicated character, grumpy, aloof, sexy, and beautiful, and do anything to protect his people.

Awesome tales with secrets coming to life, bug revelations with the story took some twists and turns and we loved being on Lori and Elio's adventure it was a while one. We can't wait to see what happens next we are hoping we don't have to wait yet to see how it all plays out for this beautiful couple.

[Doxie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m genuinely baffled that the second book has this high of reviews… it is cheesy and lame. The tv show aspect added absolutely NOTHING to the story besides distracting us from the real story. The reapers had blue skin with snowflakes on them and wore ski pants… uhhhh what???? Like I said… Lame. The side characters had zero depth. There are so many eye-rolling quotes. It’s written like it should be YA, but there are a couple of steamy scenes that make it cross that threshold. I love strong FMC’s, but this book lacked the writing to make me invested in her story. I DNF’d with 20 pages left… yeah that’s how much I did not care about the twist at the end.

Oh, and suddenly the FMC from the first book has an American accent… how did that happen without anyone noticing? Or do they just not care enough? Consistency is KEY and while I do like the new female narrators voice, she should not have changed the accents at all. To me it’s disrespectful to the first narrator and confusing for the listeners.

PS. Anthony Palmini can do no wrong, he always delivers and his voice is perfect. I especially like that when he voices other characters he doesn’t use a cartoony foreign accent as if we need that much exaggeration to figure it out.

[Yugie Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a fairly enjoyable time reading this book. The magical system was unique, the plot interesting, and the characters engaging. I liked how the main characters, Lori and Elio, battled with themselves in whether they would accept or resist the pull they had toward each other. The romance was there, the steam sizzling enough, but for some reason I couldn't feel all excited about their pairing. Plot-wise, one was kept guessing as to who the true villain was and what their end game was meant to be, so that was a plus. But I guess what dulled my overall enthusiasm for the story was its weaving of a version of a reality tv show like The Bachelor into the storyline. Maybe it's just me, but I don't like it - or maybe I don't get it - when fae worlds are set in our own modern world. It just feels weird that a world with a Winter King and Shadow Huntresses have the internet and wifi and have reality tv shows. For me, fae worlds have to be a totally different world than ours for it to make sense. But of course, that's just me.

I received an ARC of this book via BookSirens and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Amzette · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I’d like to thank Anya for sending me an ARC for my honest opinion!
She sent me book 1 and then I went right into reading book 2 because I was so drawn in! I have to say that these books are very addicting! I love that it includes drama, mystery, intrigue, romance, passion and some pretty great action scenes. You have the hero/heroin and the villain/villians. There are definitely some likable characters in this book. I was happy to see characters from the 1st book make appearances. Obviously, Lori, from the 1st book is one of the main character’s in this book. I definitely recommend reading The Deal with the Shadow King before reading this one. They’re both great books and Anya has done a really great job. I’ve been reading her books for years now and they’ve just been getting better and better!
The storyline was gripping and I’m really looking forward to the next book!
As always, my fellow Goodreader’s, Happy Reading and/or Listening!📚🎧💜

[Katt Faëhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am kinda disappointed there wasn't more "bride trials". Like i would've liked if there was a bit more focus on that part and how it helped FMC and the king bond. But that's just because I'm a sucker for those books.

Otherwise it was good. I do think I should've read the first one first because i did feel quite lost. There is a lot of information that would've made sense i think if i read the first book.

One thing that just bothered me was her age. I just cannot for the life of me understand why authors feel the need to make the FMC so young. I mean 19??? Seriously?? She's basically still a teenager and then there's spice and i just can't fully enjoy it because her age is just stuck in my head. Just write a YA book then. The age of the FMC from the first book is what made me decide to not read it. But I like winter fae and bride trials so I really wanted to read this one. Just make them 20 at least. Minimum. If there's spice. Please

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meiner Meinung nach besser als der erste Teil, die Story war etwas komplexer und ich hatte nicht das Gefühl ein paar Seiten übersprungen zu haben. Den Charakteren wurde etwas mehr tiefe gegeben, was mir gut gefallen aber dennoch den Wunsch mehr zu erfahren in mir erweckt hat. Den Romantischen Part fand ich gut, allerdings bin ich ein größerer Fan von Slow-Burn bei Enemy's to Lovers Büchern. Trotzdem hat die Storyline mich nicht enttäuscht. Was die Buchreihe ausmacht aber mich dennoch ein wenig stört ist, dass im nächsten Buch andere Charaktere kommen und es trotzdem noch bestehende Dinge zu lösen/klären gibt. Diese werden vermutlich, wie bei diesem Teil auch, im nächsten Buch aufgelöst, stehen aber nicht im Vordergrund.

Alles in Allem:
Mir hat es gefallen würde es aber vermutlich nicht nochmal lesen. Den kommenden dritten Teil werde ich ebenfalls lesen, der Stil der Autorin gefällt mir sehr gut und ich sehe in den Ideen Potenzial noch richtig was raus zu hauen.

[Kimberly Gordon-Bercich · Rating 5 out of 5]

18+. XXX, adult content, reader discretion advised. Laurie is a shadow born from tragedy and Spring magic. The winter king had bad taste in his first wife. 50 years later she is still haunting him after her traumatic death. Every year the winter king has to marry a wife and by Spring they would be dead. Thanks to his first wife. To choose a new wife he would hold a special competition. Enter Laurie. In search of a salvation for her brother, she makes a deal with the Prince of Nothing. Enter the competition and find his brother or Morgan. Remember Morgan? Nasty woman who cursed the Shadow King. She is still running a muck. Since Laurie had a vested interest in finding Morgan and this deal would help her brother she couldn’t loose. Except she did. So now Laurie has the first queen trying to possess her in her head. CeCe is still bound to Morgan. Sebastian is chasing his brother who is the Grey man.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. This book was AMAZING! I was hooked from page one and I couldn't put it down (well, only when I had to work lol)
I loved Lori and Elio. I'm trying really hard to come up with a spoiler-free review and failing miserably 🤣 The unique magic system in this world was genius! And the pageant was so well written I wanted to grab the organisers by the neck and shake them for letting it happen at all.
From the moment a certain aspect is revealed (iykyk), I had a feeling we were heading towards what gets revealed towards the end of the book. I actually yelled "I knew it!" upon reading it.
While the book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it did make me eager to read the next one. I absolutely need to know what happens next!

Thank you so much to the author for the eARC of the book that I recieved!

[Avis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Each book features a new couple, with an interesting back story.
Well written, action from page one to a delicious HEA for Elio and Lori. Steam to the eventual romance.
Enemies to lovers.
POV of Lori and Elio which progressed the story instead of repeating the same ideas.
I loved how she was able to relive the first Queen's life. The secrets and surprises phenomenal . Why she looks just like her, why the previous wives died, all are revealed slowly through the story. Making you want to see the story to the end.
Loved the subtle humor, the teases, the mysteries.
I also liked that previous characters are in a small way involved in solving the mysteries.
Can't wait for the next story to unfold.
I received a free copy of the book via Bookfunnel and a voluntarily leaving a review.

[Adrianna Heaney-velu · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Bride for the Winter King,” by Anya J. Cosgrove

I really liked this book. I loved how the FMC was the “Shadow daddy” character and the secret identity aspect of the book. I love marriage selection fantasy book and how that being queen is essentially a death sentence even though we don’t quite know why during most of the book. I liked the enemies to lovers’ stuff and all the deception and lies throughout the entire book. I adored how the spider bite information from the first book in the series came into play more heavily in this one. The characters were perfect and loved how they interacted with each other. This is such a good series, and I cannot wait to read more books by Anya J. Cosgrove. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Fae
-Secret Identity
-Shadow FMC
-Marriage Selection
-Enemies To Lovers
-Chosen One

Thank you for the ARC, Booksprout.

[Kianna K · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's one thing I had to say about this series, it's that you can continually expect a big, unpredictable twist that is so. good.

This one felt a little less action packed than the last, but I was still hooked on the story throughout the whole book. However, it is pretty insta-love. While that's not my favorite trope ever, it works in fantasy.

This book had a mix of fantasy and new world with the reality show premise which felt a little off, but the story was good enough to look past those parts that didn’t fully make sense.

The world building of this series is easy to understand. There’s decent spice 🌶🌶 and amazing plot. And while it's not quite a cliffhanger ending, it is incomplete and ends without answers to a major plot point. I cannot wait for the next book which promises an HEA for Lori and Elio!

ARC Review 🤍 All opinions are my own.

[Karen Sorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprise ending!!!!!! I love this series. Elio is the Winter King, Lori is a shadow huntress, Nell is the queen of the shadows and her husband Damien is the king of the shadows. Lori works for the King of the Shadows, but Seth, prince of Spring is looking for his long lost brother, while Lori is trying to get her brother out of prison and death. She enters the Bride challenge for the Winter King. 50 brides were given for the challenge where brides are eliminated as the challenges go on. Lori only entered to help her brother. She did not realize she would fall in love. There is a catch, the brides all die within one year. So for 50 years, 50 brides have died. The challenges are ridiculous but Lori seems to always come out on top. What does love have to do with this? Read this it is great!

[Bia Faria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ it was better than the first, even with its flaws.
But I still have the same complaint: the author gives us this magical world and all these curses, and then barely resolves anything by the end. Everything just gets pushed to the next book again. It’s exhausting.

In this one, Lori enters a pageant contest to help save her brother who’s in prison. Elio, cursed to never love or be happy again, needs to complete a ritual every year to save his kingdom. He needs to marry every year because nobody knows his wife’s die within a year, he is forced to pick a new through these contests.

What did keep me hooked? Lori and Elio. Their chemistry is undeniable.

And guess what? The curse even if is broken has consequences, another person get the curse or is not fully herself. Looks like we’re getting dragged into another book.
I’m invested, but girl… give us some closure!

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! A Bride for the Winter King builds on the world created in A Deal with the Shadow King and we have Elio and Lori's tumultuous meeting, finagled by Seth, intrigue, secrets, jeopardy and passion. And it is so good! Anja J Cosgrove weaves a tale that pulled me in immediately as it wove its web around my imagination and held me there, anxious to see where the story would take me. The book is solidly structured, allowing fir shifts of narrative, voices and characters. The introduction of another enemy was intense as he presented so much new, strong danger. At its heart is the love story between Lori and Elio. Her strength and courage are definitely needed in this internal and external battle and it was great to see the gradual thawing of Elio's heart as he is finally allowed to feel without fear. Loved every word! 💖💖💖💖💖

[Paging_Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you believe in reincarnation, perhaps doppelgängers? When the the Winter Kings dead wife seems to come back and compete for his hand. Except it's not the Winter Mings dead wife. This is Lorisha (Lori) who knows she's already dying do to venom from Morrigans spider. There are motives to why she has entered the pageant but she can't help but feel a tug to the Winter King. This was a great adventure full of spice, fight and perseverance. There's even a dragon. Now I have to read the next because the story is just starting to take off.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Brianna Hausladen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Bride for the Winter King is part of an interconnected series by Anya Cosgrove. We see old characters from A Deal with the Shadow King and new characters as well! Anya’s ability to expand on the world and introduce the reader to a whole new cast of characters was mesmerizing to read through. FMC Lori, who’s a badass from Book 1 and MMC Elio, the deadly Winter King, brings us on quite the “reality TV” adventure of finding true love. The twists and turns that Anya created keeps the reader guessing on what’s actually happening and most importantly, keeps the overall World building and Arc rotating. All in all, it’s a great addition to the series and I cannot wait to see what happens next!