Winter Rising: Coldharbour Chronicles Book 1, Richard Amos

Grief and revenge go hand-in-hand for Jake Winter.  His world has gone from good chaos to bad chaos with no rest between.  When he has his moment of revenge so close to him it's quickly turned on its head and he follows a strange white-eyed man toward a destiny he never could have imagined.  As a weapon of the supernatural world meant to break a curse he's thrown head first, ass over tea-kettle into a world he never knew existed.  He finds allies and enemies in his new world and a mystery where he's the center and the turning-point, but there are more pieces to the puzzle to find before he can carry out his role.

Well.  I certainly wasn't expecting what we got.  I was so confused from the first page and that feeling never really went away.  While that was pretty annoying, I also found that I kind of grew to like it.  As if I were just as flummoxed as Jake at every step.  Despite that, I do wish that there were more given to the thinking things through, getting everything out in the open, making connections, and actually attempting to figure things out rather than reacting to everything thrown at them and being forced to find answers.

Jake was an interesting character with his very complicated past and personal motivations.  His reactions were a bit heavy on the "act first, think later" and it caused quite a few situations that should have been handled differently, but it added to his jumbled mess of a life which I found believable.  That the gift he was given didn't automatically make him a different person, fully in control of his emotions and reactions.

His guardians were compelling in different ways.  I really loved Naomi.  She was fierce, fun, smart, and loyal.  Greg was a comfortable presence as well as a strong ally.  Dean, though, has me on the fence, much like Jake.  Sure, he's hot and makes Jake's pulse race with his moody, broody ways and randomly affectionate moments, but it doesn't change the whole scene with the detective, the split-personality, and the fact that nothing moves beyond the weird moments for the two men.  I'm not really rooting for that non-relationship, to be honest.  Let's hope the rest of the series gives me something more there.

Overall the story was confusing as freak, interesting, and it drew me in despite my reluctance.  By the end I was totally won over with all the crazy.  I really, really want to read more...and soon!

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