Snow & Ink, Vol. 1

Gr 9 Up–After ruining the economy and being disowned by her family, Freya decides to further dishonor her name by purchasing Neneo, a disputable criminal who murdered over 50 of his fellow villagers. With no hope and little care about the danger this puts her in, she hires him as her porter and bodyguard, and the two retire to a secluded cabin in the snowy northern country. After a rocky feeling-out period, they find an affinity for one another as society’s outcasts, and they find solace to heal through their trauma. There are beautiful landscapes, period-inspired clothing, and touching emotional exchanges among the illustrative highlights throughout this volume. The main characters jump right into the romance, which might satisfy some readers who are often frustrated by volumes-long romantic pining or misunderstandings between lead characters, but this might read as too fast for others who may see it as disingenuous.