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Wintertide
(Shadow Isle Reformatory – Book 1)
by Everly Taylor & Melody Calder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Fantasy, Fast Burn RH
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited
Down & Dirty
Fast Burn Reverse Harem meets fate and reformatory in this homage to popular fairy tales. Free on Kindle Unlimited.
What is it about?
(Blurb from GoodReads)
Shadow Isle Reformatory where the good, the bad, and the worst are sent to be fixed. What no one tells you, is the teachers don’t give two shits, and its more of a prison than an actual reformatory. The only thing we learn here, is how to survive.
Being born of winter and ice, survival should have been no issue for me. There was one catch, I had no clue how to control it. I was a constant disappointment to my family, one they feared instead of loved. It didn’t help that my sister had it out for me and was determined to have me sent away.
My sister got her wish, and I was sent to hell on earth, needing to figure out who to trust, and who was my enemy. I find the most unlikely allies, or at least I thought I had until I learned that betrayal was right in our midst.
A druid, the son of Lucifer, a Lion shifter and the son of Jack Frost himself…. Who can I trust and who is ready to betray me, just as my family had?
My Thoughts on Wintertide
Alright
This was an ok reverse harem, though it didn’t blow me away. The fun storyline seemed to edge the ravine of well-known tales with quite a few references, both pop culture and fairytale oriented; Elsa, a bit of the Lion King, a dash of Cinderella, and a few other influences I noted. Nothing blatant (aside from a snowman and ‘the cold never bothered me anyway’), though honestly, that part made me laugh more than anything.
It lost some points because it felt a bit trite and mundane, the descriptions were on par but the dialogue was stilted and at times overly formal. Emotions were slammed into and just accepted, and one character, Jaxon, was all over the place. He went from wanting revenge on her to desiring to save and protect her in about three paragraphs…. several times.
Perspective:
First Person, Multiple POV
Ending Type:
Episodic (This novel is stand-alone)
Rating:
R to X – this is a Fast Burn.
Heat Level:
Fast….. virgin to bang to menage to foursome fast.
Character Age Range:
Adult
My Final verdict on Wintertide:
I am not quite sure if this is going to be a stand-alone, but the next book in the series features a girl that was left behind in the reformatory… so maybe? If that is your gig, then this fast burn RH would be perfect for you.

If you enjoyed this review of Wintertide, please consider checking out a few of my other articles.
- No Choice by Mel Todd – A Book Review
- Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron – A Book Review
- Shades of Hate by K.N. Banet – A Book Review

Your Turn
What are you reading today? Have you read this book yet? What about other books by Everly Taylor or Melody Calder? Leave a comment, I would love to talk!
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