I enjoyed this book! I do admit that I had a couple of false starts with this one. Once I really sat down to read this book, it took a while to grab me but once it did, I was all in. I wish I could tell you how this book compares to the first in the series, The Winter King, but most of that book has escaped my memory. As a result, I feel pretty safe saying that this book could be read as a stand-alone if necessary. There were parts of this book that were rather difficult to read but I felt that it told a good story in the end.

Dilys Merimydian is ready to find a mate. He leaves his homeland to court a potential mate along with some of the other single men from his land. He is set to court the three Seasons of Summerlea and of course, is immediately smitten with the one that he didn’t think would be a good match. Summer (Gabriella) is thought to be the least powerful of the sisters. She is known to have a weather gift but she has also been hiding stronger gifts.

The romance was rather slow to get started. Summer and Dilys are drawn to each other and have an instant spark. Gabriella feels that it is everyone’s best interest for Dilys to find someone else so she fights her feelings. Dilys is persistent though. When Gabriella and her sisters find themselves in trouble, Dilys is determined to do whatever it takes to save them. The three sisters experience some truly horrible things while being held captive which broke my heart.

This book was quite the journey. It was a big story and I really enjoyed the fantasy aspects of it. It was great to learn about both Dilys and Summer’s abilities and about the lands that they came from. I thought that the characters were very well done and I couldn’t help but want to see Dilys and Summer find their happiness together. I read most of the book but did alternate with the audiobook for the last half of the story. I thought that Heather Wilds did a great job with the narration and was able to add a lot to the story. I would recommend this book to fans of fantasy romance and look forward to reading more from this author soon.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Avon via Edelweiss and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library. ( )

I don't know. I have lots of thoughts about this novel. Not all of them are kind. There should be HUGE CW about more sexual trauma. I kind of hoped Wilson had done away with that nonsense after the first book, but nope. Also another abusive father makes an appearance. And people constantly losing their shit and being underhanded and shady. I'm not sure I would read more novels in this series or by this author at this point. ( )

Ignore the cover. This is a wonderful romantic fantasy novel, the second book in the Weathermage series.
Gabriella, or Summer as she's known, is one of the princess Seasons who wield weather magic. Her's is the weakest of the three, which means that Dilys, prince of Calberna, shouldn't choose her as his mate. Calberna is a sea-going country that needs a strong weather mage to help their ships navigate the seas. However, Gabriella has been hiding her powers which are much stronger than anyone realizes.
This author is one of the best at fantasy world-building that I've read. She makes every detail realistic to the setting and characters. This book was a bit different from the usual fantasy as the Calbernans are a combination of characters from Atlantis, the Oddessey, and Aquaman, imbued with sea powers far beyond the magic of those on land. Dilys is such a great character. His people worship their women, and he can't help charming Gabrielle who's determined not to fall in love.
I debated about 4 or 5 stars only because the first part of the book was a little slow, focused on the courtship and romance. That's not necessarily bad but the action parts are so good. The second half of the book was a page-turner, with all sorts of twists. I decided that more than made up for any lags in the first part, especially once the characters reached Calberna. While Gabrielle and Dilys' story ends satisfactorily, the book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next book in the series. ( )

I was really looking forward to this book after The Winter King, book 1, but I really wasn't fussed and struggled to keep reading.
Dilys is a dream, he has strong family bonds, he is loyal, sweet and has a strong feeling of duty to his people.
Summer, I struggled to understand, she was annoying. She was mean to him so much of the time and the lies, who can trust someone who lies so much.
There was lots about Wyn and the first sister from book 1 and Spring and Autumn too.
Around 50% it starts to get better as we understand through his discoveries why Summer is rejecting him but it is a slow process. The reasons are valid ones but I think for me it just took too long for her to stop being so horrible to him.
They spend such a lot of time apart at the beginning, as Dilys is a seaman, there is a whole background to learn about but I would have preferred to get their interactions sooner. ( )

Update:
I really loved the beginning of this book, it was everything that I was hoping it would be. The second half of it though....that I had a hard time with. I understand that it was "needed" as the set up for the remaining books, but it was still pretty darn hard to get through. Also, would have like a disclosure about the rape scenes, cause that was an unexpected slap in the face.

( )