This novel picks up fifteen years after the events in A Shadow in Summer. The only characters that hold over, I believe, are Otah and Maati. And the location has changed, we are now in the northern, snowy city of Machi. The political maneuverings from book one are cranked up to eleven in A Betrayal in Winter. I suppose that goes with the title of book two. Back stabbings and betrayals galore are found in Machi as there is a succession war. The most intriguing part this time around was Idaan and her part in said succession war. She is in the same struggle for power as many other players but as a woman in this society she has no hope for the power herself but rather works to secure it for her husband. As familiar as that story sounds, I found the nuances of her character and situation to be handled remarkably well. They seemed like the main focus of the narrative to me and were certainly the main draw in what kept me interested.

The time leap and change in setting threw me off, this is clearly not a linear story so far. I have no real idea where the next books are going to go but enough set up for book three occurs that I'm fairly confident in what to expect and am excited for it. Now at the half way point of the series I’m getting the sense that some elements won’t quite click until the end.