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Book: “Winterveil” by Ava Reid
Publishing Info: HarperCollins, September 2026
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: There is no application process for Valeran Academy, but it boasts the brightest – and precociously criminal – students in the nation.
A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.
A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.
A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.
A prodigious female soldier with an enigmatic past – and a dangerous secret.
With eerie war simulations, cutthroat competitions and foreboding new technology, Valeran trains its students to be elite assets in a Cold War that has dragged on for nearly a century. But as a sinister conspiracy takes shape and these four are drawn together for a mysterious mission, their loyalties are tested, their convictions shaken and they all begin to are they ushering in a new era of freedom, or tyranny?
Review: I don’t know if there’s another author who I have a more complicated relationship with as a reader than Ava Reid. On one hand, when I enjoy her books, they are absolute favorites, of the sort that I will rave about to whomever gives me an opportunity. But on the other hand, when her books don’t work, I find myself not only struggling to finish them but sometimes actively repulsed by some of the story beats. Part of this last point is on me, as I should just expect certain themes to always show up in her work. And yet, I do think it’s also a mark against some of these titles, as it begs belief that every single story needs some of the sexual darkness that pervades Reid’s work.
Let’s start with what I did like, which was the bare-bones concept of the story. Reid often writes straight fantasy, and this was more of a sci-fi/dystopian-type thriller. There were some interesting concepts introduced with AI and virtual reality and the ways these tools would be used to train teens. At the very least, it was fun to follow students in a school where their training was focused on more than simply bashing each other with swords, as much as I do love a good battle school fantasy novel.
But, as the story continued, I kept having to actively refocus myself on the action, because if I ever stopped and thought too hard about how any of this worked or whether it even made sense for the stated purpose, my brain would start hurting. At one point, a character describes something as “like magic,” and this unwittingly pointed to the entire problem. This wasn’t a fantasy story, and things should be understandable beyond some woo-woo, handwaving “like magic” explanation when things get complicated.
Things really fell apart, however, when it came to the characters and the sexualization explored here. Look, I’m not a prude or anything, but this book is marketed as YA. That doesn’t mean that there can be no sexual content, but I do think it puts a greater onus on the author to handle these topics responsibly. And what we had here was the exact opposite of that.
Firstly, the main female love interest was repeatedly being described as ugly throughout the book. It’s totally fine to not have a hottie as the main character, and there are ways to represent an average girl in this situation in a healthy way. But over and over, this girl’s looks were harped upon in a way that seemed to emphasize the fact that she was the love interest despite her looks.
Secondly, Julian’s inner thoughts were so off-putting that I really struggled to enjoy him. Again, there is a way to represent teenage boys and the different ways they can think about sexuality from girls, but Julian’s inner thoughts were so gross that it was so far and away from this as to be laughable. The use of sexual assault paired with his inner thoughts was really upsetting at times.
There were also several interactions between adults and students that were incredibly creepy and icky. And look, none of these things on their own would necessarily be deal breakers, but it did add up to feeling like quite a lot of darker sexual themes throughout the book. And unfortunately, this does seem to be a trend with Reid’s books. I don’t know what is going on in the background, but there seems to be some inability to resist using sexual assault or darker sexual themes/thoughts in a way that feels exploitative, like it’s all there for shock value and nothing else. When every book I pick up by her includes these themes, it starts to feel a bit weird.
So yes, I struggled to enjoy this book. The general concept was interesting, but there wasn’t enough structure for how things worked to not leave me with constant questions. Beyond that, I was increasingly uncomfortable with the incredibly unhealthy depictions of sexuality and physical appearances, and the use of sexual assault throughout the book. With an adult novel, I may have given some of this more of a pass. But as a YA book, I think this presents these themes in incredibly poor ways, which is a disservice to the teen readers who could pick it up. I guess I would recommend this to Reid fanatics who enjoy all of her books. But if you’re like me and have found yourself bouncing off some of her titles, this might be another one in the “pass” column.
Rating 5: I just don’t think this book did enough to justify its use of dark sexual themes, and instead set up some truly unhealthy dynamics between characters.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Winterveil” can be found on these Goodreads lists: September 2026 Most Anticipated Romance Releases
