WINTER'S STING - SARA T BOND
REVIEW WRITTEN BY JOE COMPTON
BOOK 2 IN THE IRON AND EARTH SERIES
RELEASED: OCTOBER 1, 2025
PUBLISHER: FALSTAFF BOOKS
LENGTH: 322 PAGES
GENRE: LGBTQ FANTASY
SYNOPSIS: To stop a killer, bartender and Gate Keeper Siobhan sacrificed herself to the Gate between the human and fairy realms, only to emerge with a powerful magic she can’t control. Now it seems everyone wants a piece of her. To the Summer Court, she’s a challenger. To the Winter Court, she’s a threat. And to the Fair Folk, a growing political movement of solitary fae, she’s a potential savior.
When several members of the Winter royal families are killed, all signs point to the Fair Folk trying to start a revolution against the Courts, setting Siobhan up as their new Queen. That’s news to her, as she wants nothing to do with the political fights of the fae. Still, several Winter Courts name her enemy number one and threaten the Greenwood Knoll as a hub for political unrest.
Siobhan may not be able to control her new magic, but she’ll have to master it as she travels across through the Gate to Fairy to defend herself and her community. Solitary by nature, she will be forced to call on every connection she has, from her sister Bryony who is poised to take the Atlanta Summer throne, to Thierry Kellan, the powerful solitary fae who seems to be everywhere he’s not wanted.
Siobhan may not be able to control her new magic, but she’ll have to master it as she travels across through the Gate to Fairy to defend herself and her community. Solitary by nature, she will be forced to call on every connection she has, from her sister Bryony who is poised to take the Atlanta Summer throne, to Thierry Kellan, the powerful solitary fae who seems to be everywhere he’s not wanted.
She has already shown she’ll sacrifice herself to save her found family. But when the smoke clears in Atlanta, will Siobhan know who to trust?
Writing in 1st person POV can be tricky in Fantasy, even in a pseudo Urban Fantasy, but what it does for us as readers and what Author Sara Bond does with it is provide us with this fascinating inner connection that puts you right in the moment with lead character Siobhan. One that not only makes us feel everything but feel everything in real time as it unfolds. That can be tricky because we know a lot of her secrets, we know a lot of her fears and doubts, and it is a journey Siobhan is not asking us to share, not confiding in us to share. Essentially we would be a lousy diary because of what is being shared directly by Siobhan is what we tend to get because she tends to give what we get the same way she gives it to everyone else she interacts with here. Even when she intimately works within herself we tend to get her whole pros and cons list, and not always the decision. Partially that is due to her not being able to explain or remember what it is going on sometimes, but also her guarded nature flows internally as much as it does externally and that makes her very intriguing to this reader. As it goes, and as we get a little more, as she figures more out and lets us in, almost as if she is starting to trust us because she is trusting herself more.
It is masterful writing because we are shook into the moments that are meant to shake us, we are intrigued and as motivated to solve the fill in the blanks that these moments create, and we share in the triumphs of lust, love, and innocent blasts of dopamine that makes the Knoll this sacred place, and the people she protects just as sacred to us. Sure I have my favorites, as any reader would develop, and I don't see some of the relationships the way she sees them in real time but my trust in Sara's writing and Siobhan's growth and intelligence holds me at bay. Using this method also builds a mystery within a journey of discovery and when it pays off, it pays off with a flood of emotions and not all of those have a happy or conclusive ending. A lot of those force us as readers to be her leaning post or inner monologue. Which is an interesting place to be as a reader. We don't often get that as a reward or get it as a responsibility either.
I love that the decisions here are made whether we agree or not, whether we came to the same conclusions or not, but because Siobhan is there, we are there. We have to be there for her. This leads not only to conclusive, stark realities, it leads us to feel what is being felt in the moment, at the time, and in the place we have set our feet in this story and thus creating a temporary black out of our own. A lot of first person POV's decide all this for us, and we are often left with the residuals. How Sara writes as Siobhan, is we'd better keep up and figure it out or else.
Sara developed this impeccable rhythm in Summer's Blood , which is Book 1 in the series, I loved as a reader that carries over in this one but does so with a tad more maturity. There is an innocence that gets taken from us in Book 1 and what I think again is incredibly smart writing is that Book 2 doesn't chastise us, it doesn't, even in moments of recap, ignore not only is Siobhan not the same person but everyone who knows her, who became indifferent or fell more in love with her, are not the same either. Neither are we and that doesn't get ignored by Sara. She doesn't hide what is there, trying to fool us, or trying to help us hold on like a lot of Urban Fantasies with a romantic element do. No she is honest with us and that holds so much power here for the reader. It gives us a mission too. I love that in reading this.
It is masterful writing because we are shook into the moments that are meant to shake us, we are intrigued and as motivated to solve the fill in the blanks that these moments create, and we share in the triumphs of lust, love, and innocent blasts of dopamine that makes the Knoll this sacred place, and the people she protects just as sacred to us. Sure I have my favorites, as any reader would develop, and I don't see some of the relationships the way she sees them in real time but my trust in Sara's writing and Siobhan's growth and intelligence holds me at bay. Using this method also builds a mystery within a journey of discovery and when it pays off, it pays off with a flood of emotions and not all of those have a happy or conclusive ending. A lot of those force us as readers to be her leaning post or inner monologue. Which is an interesting place to be as a reader. We don't often get that as a reward or get it as a responsibility either.
I love that the decisions here are made whether we agree or not, whether we came to the same conclusions or not, but because Siobhan is there, we are there. We have to be there for her. This leads not only to conclusive, stark realities, it leads us to feel what is being felt in the moment, at the time, and in the place we have set our feet in this story and thus creating a temporary black out of our own. A lot of first person POV's decide all this for us, and we are often left with the residuals. How Sara writes as Siobhan, is we'd better keep up and figure it out or else.
Sara developed this impeccable rhythm in Summer's Blood , which is Book 1 in the series, I loved as a reader that carries over in this one but does so with a tad more maturity. There is an innocence that gets taken from us in Book 1 and what I think again is incredibly smart writing is that Book 2 doesn't chastise us, it doesn't, even in moments of recap, ignore not only is Siobhan not the same person but everyone who knows her, who became indifferent or fell more in love with her, are not the same either. Neither are we and that doesn't get ignored by Sara. She doesn't hide what is there, trying to fool us, or trying to help us hold on like a lot of Urban Fantasies with a romantic element do. No she is honest with us and that holds so much power here for the reader. It gives us a mission too. I love that in reading this.
We also get a lot more relative, not just information, but deep richness to the characters more outside of the Knoll and within the Gate. Especially when it comes to Siobhan's family and one Bryony, the sister. This leads to maybe one of the best written chapters I can remember reading in a long, long time, Chapter 8. I personally think one of the greatest moments in Cinema is in the movie Heat when Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro meet at a dinner to discuss anything but what is needing to be discussed and they do so with a feeling out process that is one of the most unique dialogues I have ever heard. That's what this Chapter 8 does and moreover it creates a defining aspect to how we feel about the 3 women here in this scene. I should mention the rival heir to the other side of the Fae world Lada is here with them.
Lada and Bryony become polarizing for so many reasons and again in the amazing way this is all written you form how you feel not literally but through the layered subtext. A very different tone and shift then any other part of the book because it changes the dynamic in so many ways, including a lover's perspective. I know that sounds odd, being this is about family but trust me there is more revealed here then any other place in the book and it has cause and effect that extends beyond these 3 women's complicated relationships and that's all I am going to say.
Ultimately, one of the very nice things I think Sara does as a writer that I always love when writers due is solves what's immediately in front of us but also leaves us with the residuals of that moment and the many moments it creates and that is what sharpens and prepares us to take on Book 3. Not that I don't like or mind a good cliff hanger but having closure that lingers can sometimes be so much more powerful for me as reader than anything else.
There is a nice political bend here and both perspectives of that bend are represented and does so in a manner that is relatable beyond maybe this reader wants it to be honestly, lol. I think it is one aspect though that I am excited most about learning more from, because I think that's where this is heading and that again just shows much of a maturity that Sara as a writer has exhibited here.
Sara and Siobhan invest you into their processes and I love that fine line here. I love that there is a richness, even in the dark spots, that is well defined, well written, and allows us to feel with getting in the way of the natural order of progression. Of course we don't like everything that is happening here but I challenge anyone to tell me it doesn't make sense and that's the power of how Sara Bond writes. She writes with a truth and stays within the manner of where her characters are in the moment.
I am so blow away by how powerful this all is, and how much it stayed with me, even now. That is a testament to the writing, to the characters, to the situations we are put in as readers and the choices we get to make. We are trusted with information, we are punched in the face with emotions, and that provides a reading experience that is hard to beat.
This was my favorite book, Indie or otherwise, of 2025 for those reasons. I am so excited for Book 3 but also I am cool to let Book 2 simmer for a bit.
You can get both Summer's Blood, Book 1 of this series and Winter's Sting, Book 2 of this series HERE .
Lada and Bryony become polarizing for so many reasons and again in the amazing way this is all written you form how you feel not literally but through the layered subtext. A very different tone and shift then any other part of the book because it changes the dynamic in so many ways, including a lover's perspective. I know that sounds odd, being this is about family but trust me there is more revealed here then any other place in the book and it has cause and effect that extends beyond these 3 women's complicated relationships and that's all I am going to say.
Ultimately, one of the very nice things I think Sara does as a writer that I always love when writers due is solves what's immediately in front of us but also leaves us with the residuals of that moment and the many moments it creates and that is what sharpens and prepares us to take on Book 3. Not that I don't like or mind a good cliff hanger but having closure that lingers can sometimes be so much more powerful for me as reader than anything else.
There is a nice political bend here and both perspectives of that bend are represented and does so in a manner that is relatable beyond maybe this reader wants it to be honestly, lol. I think it is one aspect though that I am excited most about learning more from, because I think that's where this is heading and that again just shows much of a maturity that Sara as a writer has exhibited here.
Sara and Siobhan invest you into their processes and I love that fine line here. I love that there is a richness, even in the dark spots, that is well defined, well written, and allows us to feel with getting in the way of the natural order of progression. Of course we don't like everything that is happening here but I challenge anyone to tell me it doesn't make sense and that's the power of how Sara Bond writes. She writes with a truth and stays within the manner of where her characters are in the moment.
I am so blow away by how powerful this all is, and how much it stayed with me, even now. That is a testament to the writing, to the characters, to the situations we are put in as readers and the choices we get to make. We are trusted with information, we are punched in the face with emotions, and that provides a reading experience that is hard to beat.
This was my favorite book, Indie or otherwise, of 2025 for those reasons. I am so excited for Book 3 but also I am cool to let Book 2 simmer for a bit.
You can get both Summer's Blood, Book 1 of this series and Winter's Sting, Book 2 of this series HERE .
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