Review: The Hawk In Winter

The Hawk In Winter by Bekah Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You know how sometimes you get a book you’re really excited to read, and then life decides to kick you in the nether regions as a means to prevent you from reading said book? Well, such is what happened with The Hawk In Winter. I was super excited to read it, and then life became all kinds of crazy. I kept trying to start, only have something get in my way. Then, when I finally had some free time to read, I was a silly individual who forgot about the book and read some other things. Finally, life saw fit to remind me of the book. I was angry with myself, and quickly worked to amend the issue. The only problem was that I went in having completely forgotten why I was so excited about this book. I knew I was excited for it, yet I went in with zero ideas and no expectations regarding the story.

Whether you go in, as I did, with zero expectations or whether you go in with high hopes, I can assure you that this read is very much worth it. In fact, I’m extremely annoyed with myself for taking so long to read it. I had so much fun, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the series brings – I’m positive my love for the series is going to grow the more I read.

The Hawk In Winter reminded me of a number of other fantasy novels. I do not mean this in a bad way – very far from it, in fact. I had Game of Throne vibes with some of the events, I had First Law vibes from some of the characters, and other series I have loved were whispering in the back of my mind. Do not mistake such a statement as my way of saying this book is a carbon copy of other books out there – it could not be further from the truth. What I’m trying to say is that this book hits hard in the way some of the big fantasy writers hit hard. It has all you can hope for from such a series: intrigue, revenge, war, deceit, and all the other goodies that leave you well and truly pulled into the story.

I’ll be honest by saying you’re not pulled in straight away. It takes a while for the world building and setting to reach a point where the story is moving forward, but once everything has been set up the story really does move. Whilst there is a lot of action in this one, it also has a lot of the political side to it. You know, all the behind the fighting goodness that leaves us screaming at the characters. You’re never quite sure how things are going to play out, with your feelings towards characters constantly developing (and believe me when I say the constant shifting of emotions is not always positive, such is the effect characters will have on you).

Seriously, though, I was so in love with this one. It quickly became a single sitting read, something that doesn’t always happen with fantasy novels. Often these types of novels require you to take regular breaks, to process what you’re reading, yet I found myself unable to put it down – I was reading page after page, chapter after chapter, needing to know what happens next.

Speaking of what happens next, I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here. There are so many elements I cannot wait to find out more about. I need more of certain characters, I need to know more about the romantic undertones, I need to know more about the world as a whole, and I just need answers in general. I’m addicted; there is no other way to explain it. There is no doubt that I will be reading the next book, and soon. There is no way I will let the next book slip down my to-read list in the way this one did.

Of course, there are certain things I want more of from the next book – I want to know more about the Second House and I want more about the history of the world – but as it stands I’ll be pleased wherever the story goes.

Without a doubt, this book needs a lot more attention. It’s a brilliant start to what promises to be a wonderful series, and I would love to see the book receive the attention it so clearly deserves.

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