Jennifer Waitte

Aptly titled, this was an interesting, albeit unsettling, story to read. The writing is lyrical, dreamlike in quality and who can argue that Aspen, Colorado in December is not a great setting for a story? While it was the premise that attracted me (and yes, the cover art is gorgeous!), I found the delivery and plot development to be slow, and even a little underwhelming and confusing at times. Against the backdrop of snow covered mountains and holiday festivities, this story really portrays darker aspects of a high-flying world of entertainment and fashion - drug addiction, abuse, manipulation, jealousy and greed. If you are looking for a festive romance/love story.... this isn't it.

As far as characters go, I found Michelle to be fascinating. I like to get into the psychology/inner workings of a troubled character and the author really delivers with Michelle. Enigmatic on the outside, struggling/shattering on the inside, Michelle is a very conflicted persona, portraying externally as young, fragile and waif-like while providing glimpses into wisdom and worldly understanding beyond her mere 22-years. It is only towards the end that we really discover the person behind the facade and learn the reasons for her downward-spiraling self-destructive behaviour. I found the other characters serve their purpose in propelling the story forward, but for me, that is all they did. They lack the more fulsome character development I would have loved to see with this story.

I received an unedited proof copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.… (altro)