A Winter’s Promise
by Christelle Dabos; trans. Hildegarde Serle (Europa Editions, 2018); from Les fiancés de l’hiver (2013); audiobook read by Emma Fenney (Dreamscape, 2019)
An impressive piece of world-building, albeit of a cheerless, unpleasant society. Ophelia is refreshingly different as a protagonist, embodying a non-traditional strength of character, yet the story itself is merely the beginning of a series; independently it offers neither closure nor catharsis.