Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Edwin has always looked forward to the winter solstice. He has wonderful family memories of the special holiday, but this year his family is in the city while Edwin has moved back to the mountains. He loves his work as a botanist, but he’s becoming despondent over spending the holiday alone. The one bright spot in his days is the mountain nymph, Sinoe, that Edwin meets in the forest. Another bright spot is the solstice gift that appears on Edwin’s doorstep. Edwin wants to believe that the gifts are from Sinoe, but Edwin’s self confidence is at an all-time low and he can’t believe that Sinoe would want to be with him. But the winter solstice is a magical time and things might finally be looking up for Edwin.
A Winter Admirer is the second book in Gigi Rivers’ A Nymph Solstice Romance series. The books are shorter and take place in a small mountain village that nymphs share with humans. Edwin is introduced briefly in the first book, but his story does stand on its own. However, for full continuity, you could start with A Winter Romance.
Edwin is sad most of the time. He grew up in the village, but his family wanted to move to the city. They all took to city life, but Edwin longed to return to the mountains and his beloved forest, so he did. His family barely keeps in contact with him and Edwin is alone all of the time. He doesn’t even feel comfortable walking around sometimes, as he continually runs into a former crush and his partner who constantly bully Edwin. The forest is Edwin’s second home and once he meets Sinoe, Edwin can’t wait to get back to the forest every day.
The flow of this book is much like the first in the series with a human and nymph sparking together, but then not knowing how to move further along. The village feels fairly primitive, as does Edwin’s job as a botanist, as he sends samples to a mentor in the city. The nymphs remain the highlight of the book for me, but this story is from Edwin’s POV and I would have liked more from Sinoe. There is a bullying storyline here that seemed almost out of place for how juvenile it was, and some of the dialogue reads as juvenile and stiff as well. The setting of these books is great, the overall idea is intriguing, and while I would like a little more polish to the heart of the story, I do look forward to returning to the village for at least one more winter solstice love story.
