Carole's Sunday Review: Mistress of the Wind - Michelle Diener

Author: Michelle Diener

Title: Mistress of the Wind 

Genre: Fantasy, YA, and Retellings

Pages: ebook

Published: December 2013

Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon freebie)

Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . . 

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . . 

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response. 

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . . 

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

I've heard so many good things about this and then it became an Amazon freebie. 

What an amazing and fun adventure this was. It was so magical and whimsical...I could hardly put this down. I finished this story after a couple of sittings. I for sure want more. 

The story follows Astrid and Bjorn. Astrid is a peasant girl who has a strange connection with the wind. Bjorn is a lord who is cursed by a troll and must find his true love in order to save himself and his people. 

The best part of this book was the fact that Bjorn saved Astrid, but Astrid saved him. No damsel in distress and that made it even better. In the end, they are equals. I do think that Astrid's journey was the best and her story was the best I think. 

I loved the world and characters. I want to learn more about this world and what it has to offer. I especially want to learn about the other Hags in more detail who helped Astrid master her gift. 

This was a good one and I do recommend this one. It is a very good retelling and it is written well. The characters and world was fun. Out of five stars, I'll give this 5 stars. 

Early review: Mistress of the Wind - Michelle Diener

Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . .The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . . She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response. 

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . . 

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

My thoughts:

I have always liked this fairy tale,  my earliest memory of it was the Psyche one, or the Swedish version (something prince hat under the mountain). They are both different but East of the Wind became my favorite of them. I guess when I heard it. I connected to the fairy tale better than any other.

And Diener sure made it her fairytale too, I do love remakes and this one stays very true and still not. It's the story about an enchanted prince named Bjorn, poor thing can't do much. Astrid, the poor woodcutter's daughter could be a savior, but as the story go, something happens. Maybe that is why I like the story, there is no damsel in distress. Instead it is Astrid who sets off on a journey to save her prince. It's not always easy but she does not stop before she is reunited with her love. So she is the hero of the story. Poor Björn is under his enchantment and even though he does get to fight a few fights, the stage is Astrid's.

The book is light and I read it fast. First, when I start a Diener book I always read 200 pages in a go, and then I have to do something else. Same thing this time, 200 pages and the rest later. The pages sure fly by fast.

Conclusion:

A delightful story with heartache and pain in it too. I'd love to read more.

Would I read more

Yes

Cover

Might be my fav cover of the year

Paperback, 342 pages
Expected publication: December 19th 2013 by Michelle Diener
Fairy tale
Own