A Winter's Promise (The Mirror Visitor Quartet #1)

by Christelle Dabos, Hildegarde Serle (Translator)

Overview

Amazon Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book of 2018

One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best YA Books of 2018

One of Publishers Weekly's Best YA Book of the Year

A National Indie Bestseller

Longlisted for Irish YA prize Great Reads Award

Lose yourself in the fantastic world of the arks and in the company of unforgettable characters in this French runaway hit, Christelle Dabos’ The Mirror Visitor quartet.

Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world.

The World of the Arks

Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, now known as arks. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. The inhabitants of these arks each possess a unique power. Ophelia, with her ability to read the pasts of objects, must navigate this fantastic, disjointed, perilous world using her trademark tenacity and quiet strength.

An unforgettable heroine, a rich and bountiful universe, intrigue and suspense: A Winter’s Promise is perfect for readers of Margaret Rogerson’s An Enchantment of Ravens, Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood, V.E. Schwab’s “Shades of Magic” series, Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, Kenneth Oppel’s “Airborne” series, and N.K. Jemisin “Broken Earth” series.

Extract:

I think we could have all lived happily, in a way, God, me and the others, if it weren’t for that accursed book. It disgusted me. I knew what bound me to it in the most sickening of ways, but the horror of that particular knowledge came later, much later. I didn’t understand straight away, I was too ignorant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609456078
Publisher:	Europa Editions, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/12/2020
Series:	Mirror Visitor Series , #1
Pages:	492
Sales rank:	8,223
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

About the Author

Christelle Dabos was born on the Côte d’Azur in 1980 and grew up in a home filled with classical music and historical games. She now lives in Belgium. The Mirror Visitor, her debut series, won the Gallimard Jeunesse-RTL-Télérama First Novel Competition.

Since graduating in French from Oxford University, Hildegarde Serle has worked in London as a newspaper subeditor, mainly on The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph. In 2011, she decided to combine her love of both English and French by doing the Chartered Institute of Linguists Diploma in Translation. Although she still lives in London, her heart still lives on the Quai aux Fleurs in Paris.

Table of Contents

Fragment 11

The Promise 13

The Archivist 15

The Rupture 29

The Journal 39

The Bear 57

The Observatory 67

The Kitchen 79

The Medal 91

The Warning 105

The Gamekeeper 113

The Citaceleste 123

The Dragon 131

The Bedroom 143

The Getaway 157

The Garden 171

The Sister 185

The Claws 199

The Ear 217

Mime 231

At Clairdelune 243

The Key 245

Fox 261

The Child 277

The Library 291

The Visit 305

The Treasury 317

The Orange 333

The Dungeons 345

The Nihilist 355

The Trust 365

The Threat 377

The Opera 395

The Station 409

The Illusions 421

The Maid 439

The Dice 451

The Angel 467

The Mirror Visitor 485

Fragment, postscript 491

Editorial Reviews

Praise for A Winter's Promise

“A best seller in France, Dabos’s debut novel evokes both the whimsy and the deep-seated sense of justice of the Harry Potter series.”—Jen Doll, The New York Times Book Review

“The unusual settings, original characters, dark intrigue, originality, and fast-moving plot result in a book that leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next volume.” —School Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Dabos’s darkly enchanting debut, a French bestseller, employs vibrant characters, inventive worldbuilding, and a sophisticated plot that will dazzle readers.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“A captivating fantasy thriller rife with magic and intrigue.” —Foreword Reviews (Starred Review)

"This French import is a stunningly atmospheric fantasy that doubles as an exceptional character study. There’s more in this series and we can’t wait to see where Dabos takes it next."—Entertainment Weekly

"This French best-seller, the first in Dabos’ immersive Mirror Visitor quartet, holds as much appeal for adult fantasy readers as for teens.”—Booklist

"Imagine the poisonous politics of Versailles in a glittering, steampunk world of quill pens, airships, masks, illusions and murderous courtiers and you will have an idea of the conceit...will leave readers with plenty of appetite for the next installment." —The Wall Street Journal

“If you haven't yet heard of what many have dubbed the ‘Harry Potter of France,’ now’s your chance. […] Ophelia is dedicated to finding out the motivations behind her betrothal in this dark, magical adventure.”

—Bustle

"Adult readers who gravitated toward the intricate world-building of Harry Potter or reveled in the dark trickeries of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass will find themselves ensnared by A Winter's Promise...This graceful but strong novel is perfect for those seeking a new fantasy series to capture their imaginations."—The Amazon Book Review

“Dabos has managed the rarely seen triad of complex worldbuilding, nuanced character development, and enthralling plot, even making it look easy. […] Not a drop of mastery is lost in translation.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A Winter’s Promise is a beautifully structured system of mirrors, reflecting in its glittering facets many other books.” —TLS

“This new novel had me glued to the couch as I flipped pages like mad. A debut novel by a French author, A Winter’s Promise begins a four-book fantasy series that vibrates with the wonder of Harry Potter’s magical world and has all the dark, opaque shadows of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. [...] Ophelia is a hero for the ages, and I hope this series becomes the next big one that grabs the imaginations of young adults and adults alike.” —Omnivoracious: Amazon Book Review

”As mesmerizing as a waking dream, A Winter‘s Promise is certain to ensnare you in its unique, dizzyingly magical world of treachery, illusion, and intrigue.” —Margaret Rogerson, author of An Enchantment of Ravens

“Christelle Dabos plunges us into a fabulous, fragmented world of danger and treachery. I loved her reclusive, mirror-walking heroine Ophelia, whose grit and integrity will surely win through!” —Katherine Langrish, author of Troll Fell

“A Winter’s Promise is an elaborate hall of mirrors, a hallucinatory marriage of Pride and Prejudice and Game of Thrones.” —Matthew Sketon, author of the Endymion Spring books

“A fantastic epic, definitely, but also a coming-of-age novel, this first volume makes a strong impression. A novelist is born.” —Le Figaro

“Today, The Mirror Visitor stands on the same shelf as Harry Potter.” —Elle

“Christelle Dabos impresses in this first novel with the power of her imagination. The architect of a bewitching and complex world, she sustains it with a subtle sense of wonder and elegant, flowing language. From metaphor to metaphor, this addictive and charming novel is also a great coming-of-age story.” —Télérama

“From the very first page, you are thrown into this universe, launched through one of Anima’s mirrors, never to return.” —20 Minutes

“Readers’ passion for this series comes from the pleasure of walking up and down the world of the Arks, weightless floating islands that are ruled by family spirits and humans gifted with special powers.” —Le Monde

“With surgical precision, Christelle Dabos has created a hybrid world between fantasy and the Belle Époque.” —MadmoiZelle

From the Publisher

…Dabos's debut novel evokes both the whimsy and the deep-seated sense of justice of the Harry Potter series…[Ophelia's] got a firm grasp on her morals, and a devoted scarf that acts, marvelously, like a pet snake. She's the tiny-voiced powerhouse you can't take your eyes off, the any-of-us among more powerful sorts who wish to use her for their gain. By the end of the novel, the first of a quartet, there are still more questions than answers, but you're happily along for the ride.

The New York Times Book Review - Jen Doll

★ 07/09/2018
Ophelia’s entire family inhabits Anima, one of 207 planetary shards (or “arks”) that orbit Earth’s remains. Her clan traditionally intermarries, so it’s shocking when Anima’s ruling matriarchs order the awkward young woman, a museum curator who can read objects’ histories via touch, to wed Thorn, the chief treasurer of a distant ark dubbed the Pole. Banishment is the punishment for refusal, so Ophelia moves in with Thorn’s Aunt Berenilde and hopes to become acquainted with her fiancé. The hostile Thorn rarely visits, however, and Berenilde forbids Ophelia from leaving the estate, allegedly to protect her from assassination. Ophelia can’t fathom what either ark stands to gain from the betrothal, but she intends to find out—provided she can survive the Pole’s cutthroat politics and Thorn’s poisonous family tree. Author Dabos’s darkly enchanting debut, a French bestseller, employs vibrant characters, inventive worldbuilding, and a sophisticated plot that will dazzle readers despite its methodical pace. Ophelia’s galvanizing journey toward self-determination culminates in a dramatic cliffhanger that teases book two. Ages 15–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 09/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—This series opener introduces the floating celestial islands known as arks, the result of a cataclysmic event called the Rupture. The residents of each of these arks possess unique and magical powers, and over each ark an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides, helping to direct the fate of the inhabitants. Ophelia lives on Anima and runs the Museum of Primitive History. Her skill, greater than those of other residents of Anima, allows her to read an object's history by touching it. Despite her talent, she is also awkward, unkempt, stubborn, headstrong, and often in trouble because of her tendency to speak her mind. Now unhappily engaged to a stranger from the Pole who also has no enthusiasm for the union, she and her aunt travel to her fiancé Thorne's ark in secret. As Thorne is the illegitimate son of one of the leaders of a major faction fighting for control of the ark and to keep her safe, her true identity must be hidden. Left in the care of Thorne's aunt and told not to trust anyone besides her, Ophelia must learn to curtail her faults—but even more challenging, try to determine whom she can trust, and why she was chosen as Thorne's fiancée. Translated from French, this international best-seller is world-building at its best. The unusual settings, original characters, dark intrigue, originality, and fast-moving plot result in a book that leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next volume. It has great adult crossover as the characters and situations cross age levels. VERDICT A worthwhile purchase for all fantasy collections.—Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton

School Library Journal

2018-06-24
A reserved young woman's betrothal throws her into a world of intrigue and treachery in the first volume of Dabos' (La mémoire de Babel, 2017, etc.) fantasy quartet.When the world shattered, floating splinters of land called arks came under the control of powerful immortals—the family spirits for each ark. Small, quiet Ophelia wants nothing more than to look after the family museum on the Anima ark, where her power to "read" the pasts of objects and to travel through mirrors is unsurpassed. Ophelia's life is flipped suddenly upside down when she is thrust into a diplomatic arranged marriage, and the unassuming but willful Animist must travel to the snow-covered Pole ark with an equally frigid and foreboding fianceé, Thorn. No sooner does she arrive than Ophelia finds herself in the middle of a treacherous game of politics and power in which the stakes are the very highest—her life. Dabos has managed the rarely seen triad of complex worldbuilding, nuanced character development, and enthralling plot, even making it look easy. Not a seam shows in this intricate narrative weave that centers on and empowers an endearingly bookish and clumsy antiheroine without insisting she change. Racial diversity is absent; Ophelia more than once comments that she has never had romantic or sexual feelings for a man.Not a drop of mastery is lost in translation. (Fantasy. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews