Jacey Bedford's Journal

Seventeen year old Raine can see ghosts and speak to them, a talent she doesn’t want since it could get her killed if anyone found out. When the story opens she’s hiding out in a cult-like monastery with a lover who certainly doesn’t appreciate her. When she rescues an injured young woman from the snow, her actions bring destruction and all the inhabitants of the isolated monastery are killed by a neighbouring lord with the help of the Draoihn, powerful warrior magicians. Raine ends up with the Draoihn in Redwinter, where she is taken on as a senior servant, and begins to learn. She’s an interesting and sympathetic character. I enjoyed the book, but I do wish I could pronounce Draoihn. Though this is the first in a new series, it reads well as a standalone.