If you are a lover of powerful women, mythology, and Gaelic culture, you are in for a ride. I LOVE THIS BOOK! This will take you through the ups and downs of a princess who brings thoughtless distruction to the winter season. This is pure chaos and passion!

The Winter Goddess by Megan Barnard is a beautifully reimagined tale of Gaelic mythology that follows Cailleach, the goddess of winter, cursed to live and die as a mortal after causing countless deaths. Stripped of her powers, she is forced to experience humanity's fragility and learn the value of life. Barnard’s writing is both lyrical and immersive, bringing the cold, harsh beauty of winter to life as Cailleach’s journey unfolds. The goddess’s emotional transformation, from scornful detachment to loving vulnerability, is compelling and poignant. With rich world-building and a captivating plot, this novel explores redemption, empathy, and the true meaning of divinity. A must-read for fans of myth-inspired fantasy!

The premise of this book seemed really promising, and I love anything with mythology, lore, and gods, but I was disappointed with this one. It wasn't a bad book; I finished it, but it was so repetitive. A goddess is being punished and has to live with mortals until she "learns a lesson," but she doesn't seem to really learn it, the "bad thing" she did isn't really discussed much, and the ending didn't make a lot of sense.

This book is definitely successful in what it promises; it has an ephemeral yet infinite quality that’s very reminiscent of Circe. I was “nervous” that the book’s messaging would be too saccharine in its *humanity is good* and *life is worth living* themes but Barnard strikes a really impressive balance of being touching while still pragmatic.

I love Celtic mythology, and this book reminded me of some of my other favorites, like Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, as well as following the same tropes as other "goddess autobiographies" like Circe by Madeline Miller. Cailleach was a great main character, and I loved seeing her grow and change from a cold, remote goddess who dislikes humans, to gaining her own humanity.

I read this in less than a day because I was physically unable to put it down. I enjoyed the author's first novel, JEZEBEL, but it didn't have the same compulsive readability as this one. "One more chapter" became "one more life" became "oh my god I just read this whole book in one sitting." Granted - I know next to nothing about Irish mythology so I can't speak to how "accurate" the portrayals of the Tuatha Dé Danann are, but a novel also has to work on its own apart from the source material, and I think this one does. Megan Barnard is an auto-read author for me from here on out.

Holy shit, I could not put this down. I read it in like three hours, it was so freaking great.

I sobbed way too much while reading this but this is a beautiful, heartbreakingly good story and I need this to be on my shelf pronto.