Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Embracing Winter

SERIES:  Lords of Discord #4

AUTHOR:  Jocelynn Drake

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

RELEASE DATE:  August 28, 2020

LENGTH:  431 pages

BLURB:

Winter Varik believes in only one thing—protecting his family.

Even from himself.

For nearly 200 years, he’s kept a dangerous secret from his brothers.

But Winter might have found his salvation in the form of a sexy witch named Fox.

Too bad this same witch was named in a prophecy foretelling the destruction of the Variks.

In a race to uncover the truth behind the prophecy and take down a vampire determined to kill all the Variks, Winter may have to choose between finally having his heart’s desire and the family he loves.

REVIEW:

If you have been following this series, this is its fourth book. The first book is Claiming Marcus. The second book is Saving Rafe. The third book is Waking Bel. This series focuses on brothers Marcus, Rafe, Bel and Winter, who are all vampires. They made a unanimous decision to become vampires in order to take care of their mother who was already sick even before she was turned in order to cure her illness. But it didn’t turn out as they were hoping so they had to turn themselves into vampires too so that they can care for their mother. This book is about Winter, the youngest of the brothers. When he wasn’t turned into a vampire with his three brothers, he thought that he would never be turned but it turned out that they wanted him to reach the age of twenty-three before they turned him so he can be an adult when he gets turned. I guess his brothers and their father, Aiden, wanted him to live his life normally for as long as possible. And maybe along the way save Winter from heartache and pain.

Winter Varik has a secret. A big secret he has kept from his brothers, only his father knows about it! And on the night he and his father walked the streets of London after he was turned, he was afraid of what he might find out about himself. He wants his family safe from him. Just like his mother who turned insane after she was turned, he was afraid that he would turned out the same, because he has been hearing voices as well, just like his mother, since he was a young boy and looked how she turned out when she became a vampire?

There is a particular conversation between Aiden and Winter in the early part of the book that made me cry. You can’t deny the love they have for each other, between the children and their father. But I think Aiden is particularly close to Winter in that Aiden knows a lot more about Winter’s ability and his brothers do not! Aiden has always been there for all of them, no matter the heartache he experienced because of his love for Julianna, their mother.

A prophecy was foretold that a witch would be the downfall of the Varik clan. And that after the brothers will find their happiness, there will be divine silence. Winter took this prophecy to heart, and that divine silence means his death as now his brothers have found their mates and are as happy as they can be. He never thought that there could another interpretation to it. He was willing to sacrifice himself for his family, always did. But fate has something unexpected in store for him. When they heard that Damon, the only living member of what used to be the Ministry, is holding a particular witch (supposedly the witch mentioned in the prophecy) in captivity, the Variks have to get their hands on that particular witch to find out if the prophecy is really true. But what Winter found out would change his life forever, in ways that he never expected!

A race to stop the massacre that Damon is planning for his family, finding the reliability of the said prophecy, (not really) wrestling against the attraction towards the witch, Fox, that is now crowding everything in his mind, Winter and his family have to gear up for the fight of their lives.

The Variks are a one-of-a-kind Vampire Clan. They are respectful, loving, accepting and they do not crave power that everyone else seem to be aiming for. They just want a peaceful way to live their lives, with their father, mates and the rest of the clan. They never sought out eliminating other clans in order to come out superior. This series has shown us what we are willing to do for family, the sacrifices and the love we have for each member, even though if at times we get hurt again and again. The brothers’ love for each other and for their father is something that we can truly relate to.

I have heard that there is one more book from this series and I think we have all been looking forward to that. Aiden has found peace in this book, “his love” has expressed her undying love for him. Ms. Jocelynn Drake, once again I am starstruck and in awe of how this series has turn out, Congratulations! I am so in love with this family!

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

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