This was absolutely one of the best books I've read in 2014. There's not a lot else to say except for that. It was simply incredible, and I am DYING to find what happens next.

The Kingdom of Winter fell sixteen years ago, and all but 25 of its people were killed or enslaved. The conduit that stored the Winter's magic was split in two by the King of Spring, Angra, the one who is responsible for Winter's destruction.

Meira is one of the lucky 25 who escaped as a baby, along with her best friend and heir of Winter, Mather. Trained by Sir, who used to be the leader of Winter's army, Meria has always fought to be included, to help Winter come back into power. And when the refugees uncover that half of the locket is in the city of Abril, Meira finally gets a chance to prove herself. But after she comes back with the locket, it becomes obvious that this object isn't her only part of getting Winter back. In fact, the key to saving her Kingdom, is within Meira herself.

I think only swearing consecutively for twenty minutes would really be able to dictate how I loved this book. It's so hard to put it into actual, comprehensible words. This book just had everything you could ever want in a YA fantasy novel. Awesome world building? Check. Subtle but bewitching romance? Check. Great writing? Check. Bad-ass heroine? CHECK. I loved everything about it. But what I really loved, was how little the description on the inside cover gave away. Everything that is described happens with the first 50 pages, so all that occurred after was a surprise and a gift. And because of that, I had zero expectations or predictions, which made it that more thrilling.

Meira was a truly inspirational character--and impeccable example of bad-ass heroines in YA fiction that don't need men, or anyone else, to tell them what to do. In fact, she hated being told what to do. She could make her own decisions. She was skilled and smart as a whip, and completely her own person.

I LOVED the little bit of romance. It wasn't overpowering, because this book didn't need to use romance as a crutch. It was the perfect amount. Some might call it a love triangle, but was only love triangle adjacent. She only acted on her affection with Theron, and it was obvious from the beginning of the novel that Mather would never be anything but a simple crush because of their destinies. I loved it, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I can't wait what is in store for the next book, but I'm excited to find out. If it is anything like this one, it will be a fast-paced, interesting adventure that will leave me squealing for days.