Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Reprise Review: Cloak of Snow by Christine Rains


 Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Mystery/Adventure

Description:

“No one messes with Saskia Dorn’s family and gets away with it.

The same murderous shifters who had hunted her sister have attempted to steal a magical totem pole. Since the pieces are scattered across Alaska, Saskia, a polar bear shifter, takes her search to the tundra for any signs of the lost totems.

Instead she finds Sedge, the latest reincarnation of the old Inuit Bear god, who just happens to be the man who broke her heart.

They come across a small native village tormented by the Jinxioc, evil gnomes with an appetite for human flesh. Sedge declares he will rid the people of the menace, believing a totem token is nearby affecting the devils’ behavior. At his side, Saskia battles to save the tribesmen, but it could mean sacrificing herself.”

Author:

“Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of S.C.I.F.I. and Untethered Realms. She has one novel and several novellas and short stories published.”

Please check out her Amazon author page for all of her books or stalk her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Cloak of Snow follows Saskia to the northern tundra of Alaska in search for the fox totem token. Time-wise this novella takes place at the same time as book two, Silent Whispers. Saskia is the oldest of the Dorn sisters and the most hard-headed. She almost makes the youngest sister, Ametta, seem meek by comparison.

This story moves at a good pace. The characters are well defined and we get some insight into Saskia and Sedge’s past relationship which started when she was accepted to train as a Black Shaman. It’s been seven years since she walked away from Sedge and fully becoming a Black Shaman. Sedge, being the latest reincarnation of the old Inuit Bear god, is a typical Alpha male but seems to be able to exercise an extreme amount of patience with Saskia. He is definitely biding his time with her. However, she remains steadfast and refuses to give any sway for him to work with, despite the passion she still carries for him.

When they both come across a small remote village and learn of the tribes recent troubles with the Jinxioc, evil flesh-eating gnomes, Sedge pledges to help his people. The problem is they have no idea how horrifically evil and strong these little devils have become. The twists are clever and surprising. Sedge and Saskia are both faced with challenges that affect them both in a personal way.

Totem is turning into an enthralling series, the odds of recovering the totem tokens are beginning to look insurmountable. The stakes are getting higher and more deadly for all concerned. I can’t wait to see what the Dorn sisters have to face next to secure the sacred totem pole for the sake of all shifters.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Cloak of Snow is book three in the Totem series. I believe this is supposed to be a six book series. Book four, Shattered Spirit, has been released, books five and six are set as pre-orders at the time of writing this review.

Contains adult language with several F-bombs and some graphic violence.

Original review posted February 10, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

I came across no proofing or formatting issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ? wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

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