Pages:
478
Publisher:
Balzar + Bray
Release
Date: 19th
November 2015
Edition:
US hardcover,
purchased
It's
been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra,
disappeared – thanks largely to the help of Cordell.
Meira
just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to
dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly
dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an
opportunity – with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats
like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses – the last time the
world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of
Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover
the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans on using the trip to garner support to keep
the chasm shut and Winter safe – even if it means clashing with Theron. But can
she do so without endangering the people she loves?
Mather
just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and
raw in Jannuari – leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression.
When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security
into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken Kingdom and protect them from new
threats?
As
the web of power and deception is woven tighter, Theron fights for magic,
Mather fights for freedom – and Meira starts to wonder if she should be
fighting not just for Winter but for the world.
I completely loved Snow Like Ashes when I devoured it last
winter so I was beside myself with excitement about Ice Like Fire. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations though.
I struggled with Ice Like Fire. And the most annoying
thing? I’m not even quite sure why. I also ended up skimming a fair bit of the
novel. I mean, I got a little annoyed with the characters and how frequently
Meira was thwarted in hers attempts to protect Winter, and then how convenient and
easy finding the keys was, but I still loved the world and the characters. It was
really cool to see more of Primoria and experience how different the kingdoms
are to each other, especially the divides between the Rhythm and Season
kingdoms. I enjoyed all the politics and meeting the monarchs and conduit-wearers
as well; it’s a very well-drawn out world.
Around halfway through Ice Like Fire when my frustration was at
a high, I decided that I no longer ship Meira with either Theron or Mather. I'd
love to see her take on the events to come without the torment of loving the
boys and all of the drama that that causes. It would be brilliant to see her succeed
without them and it became clear in this book that Meira really hasn’t come to
terms with her magic and new role of power, responsibility and pawn in the
politics of Primoria – I want to see her come to terms with this first.
I did actually end up enjoy the
last 80/90 pages of the novel, thankfully. The finale was dramatic and
surprising and it pulled me back on side. There were lots of revelations and
events that completely changed everything for Meria and Winter and I’m
intrigued enough to pick up the final book in the series next year and see how
Meira’s adventure ends.
Sophie
I have yet to read the first book in the series and I'm really excited bout it having heard nothing but good things. But I'm really wary about then going on to this book, particularly after reading your review. I think I need to try and keep my expectations lower for the second book, but I'm so glad that it picked up and swept you back in at the end!
ReplyDelete