Winterfair Gifts

This is a cute novella about Taura coming back to Barrayar to see Miles and Ekaterin's wedding (and also having a fling with Roic).

It's a little bit of a weak story to me. There's a murder plot that is caught, but we've never heard of the perpetrators before and is mostly there as a plot device to make Taura and Roic heroes of the day.

I think the best part of this story is that we get to see Roic's perspective. Getting to see from the perspective of one of Miles' armsmen, particularly the newest one who deeply respects Miles but isn't privy to all of this escapades, is really fun. It also sets up Roic to be more of a character for when he shows up in the next book.

This turned out to be more of a short story than a book. Short and sweet. Very nice way to give us the story of such an important event without having us to go through the tedium of too many details of the event. And Tora is charming. As is the protagonist guardsman.

Aw, this was a really endearing, fun, and funny little romp from the PoV of armsman Roic.

Winterfair Gifts first debuted in a genre romance anthology called Irresistible Forces, but I'd only recommend it to those already familiar with the Vorkosigan stories, as it doesn't stand on its own very well. While not an indispensable entry in Bujold's long-running Vorkosigan series, this novella was a very satisfying read, one of those rare stories that left me with warm fuzzies after the story's conclusion.

Taking place between A Civil Affair and Diplomatic Immunity, plot is secondary in this story. This is a trait shared with some of the other recent Vorkosigan books, but this isn't a gripe. People read Bujold for her characters, which are second to none. With more than two dozen Vorkosigan stories available, Miles Vorkosigan, his family, and comrades have all become like friends to this reader. Every new Vorkosigan story is a welcome chance to visit with these longtime friends again.