Windsong

By: Stephanie E. Donohue

Narrated by: Jennifer Esterholdt

Life doesn’t wait for tears to finish.

Eighteen-year-old Roxana Welhaven has lived her life by this motto. When her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Roxana swallows her tears and vows to do whatever is necessary to save her. Even if it means making a deal with a talking polar bear.

The bear offers to cure her mother, but only if Roxana lives with him for one year. When she agrees, the bear whisks Roxana through a portal to another world and gives her lavish accommodations in an enchanted castle. Although she’s determined to serve her year and return home, the impatient and high-strung Roxana finds her heart drawn to the bear’s tranquil nature. He’s compassionate, clumsy, and utterly adorable. He's also a cursed man trapped inside a bear’s body. True love won’t be enough to break his enchantment.

To save him, Roxana must embark on a treacherous quest to find his captor, a journey that will lead her east of the sun and west of the moon. A retelling of the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

©2022 Stephanie E. Donohue (P)2023 Stephanie E. Donohue

Fun story- dragged a little

Overall, this was a fun little listen with some unexpected moments of horror and excitement. I hope that this author keeps up with their craft and continues writing and publishing. I feel that there was a ton of potential here, but a lot within it missed its mark. Most of what frustrated me while progressing through this was the redundancy and lack of ‘real danger’ portrayed with the situations presented in the novel. Of course, this is a fantasy and there is a lot of room of negotiation between reality and fiction due to its genre. I feel though, it makes for a larger impact when we still linger on the rules of real world survival. For me personally, so much more could have been done here to drive home the reality of the characters struggles. I found myself creating my own dialogue/situational bandaids in my head to balance out unrealistic scenes in order to want to continue forward with the story altogether. Overall, there was both enjoyment and disappointment with this novel- I am glad to have took the plunge with this book, regardless. I hope that this author continues to hone their craft, this piece has so much potential.