Title: White Winter
Author: Roxana Vella
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Pages: 116
ISBN: 6781546287094
Genre: Fiction/ Christian / Fantasy
Reviewed by: Jennifer Weiss

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Amy had passed away, the circumstances around her death still seem a little mysterious; murder? Maybe even sacrifice, but who would do such a thing? Simon was tasked by Lucifer himself to form a gang known as the “Chain of Five,” and in order to do so he needed to kill Amy to get to her sister Faye. But things got a little more complicated than Simon expected. A flaw in his plans developed that could ultimately change things for the forces of evil and threaten his position with Lucifer.

The novella opens on a funeral and strives to make readers care and feel for Amy and her family. At the beginning it takes a little while to build up to the plot of the story, so it’s difficult to know what is happening and why readers are given seemingly mundane information they are getting early on such as an essay Amy wrote. But that information is important to understand the characters and how they shift from who they were to who they become throughout the story. As the story progresses, readers get invested in what is happening, trying to figure out why is Simon doing what he’s doing. Readers’wonder what the end goal is, what is his purpose for the novel. They get captivated into the story as it builds up and they are taken through the characters’ lives. Ultimately, readers see why the characters make the choices they make and how Amy ended up dead.

Vella writes in a way by pulling the reader to the tale being told and makes them forget about the world around them for a few hours or so. Vella provides readers with a story that will keep them wondering and guessing at what will happen to Sam and Faye.

The story has some loose ends with the characters which remain untied at the end, making it seem as if they have more to tell. This leaves the readers hoping there will be sequels to devour, so they can find out in the future what happens to some of the players. The novella leaves the reader wanting to know happens next, and coming back for more. The supernatural is a subject that evokes interest and mysticism all around, as there will always be an audience for it. White Winter is an interesting idea and plot, as readers are left wondering what more Roxana Vella has up her sleeves.