helen corcoran - Paper Lanterns

Daughter of Winter and Twilight

Daughter of Winter and Twilight
Helen Corcoran
O’Brien Press, September 2023
Paperback, €14.99
ISBN 9781788493703

Daughter of Winter and Twilight takes place 14 years after the end of Queen and Coin of Whispers and follows Emri, the daughter of Queens Lia and Xania of Edar.

Emri finds herself discovering family secrets while also trying to battle against Lady Winter, whom everyone thought was just a myth. It is a story for lovers of fantasy but also for those who love a book that features characters who are LGBTQ. Emri’s journey may be intended to be the highlight of the plot, however the characters we meet along the way really add a new and exciting dynamic to the world which the author has created.

Queen of Coin and Whispers

The O’Brien Press, June 2020

Paperback, pp. 447, €12.99

ISBN 9781788491181

Lia is a newly made queen, determined to be a better ruler for her people than her corrupt late uncle.

Xania is focused on avenging her father’s untimely death, which means she needs access to secrets and power.

When Xania becomes spymaster for the queen, both young women think they’ve struck a good bargain; driven by ambition, vengeance and duty, they are not prepared for the tenderness and attraction that starts to simmer between them. But the court is a quagmire of intrigue and treachery, where one false step could bring all they’ve hoped for to ruin; must they juggle the demands of family, country and legacy before listening to their hearts?

Atmospheric and packed with details that bring the vividly realised world of Edar to life, even the secondary characters in Queen of Coin and Whispers are fully formed. The primary focus, though, is on the slow burn romance between Lia and Xania as they struggle to survive the deadly undercurrents of court life and forge their own destinies. One of the joys of this book is that being queer in this world is not a big issue. Also, women can and do hold powerful positions in Edar and are just as likely to be adversaries as allies.

A tautly paced, yet lushly written, book that heralds Helen Corcoran as a great new voice in Irish writing.

Karina Clifford