Book Review: Ice Like Fire

Ice Like Fire

By: Sara Raasch

Published by: Balzer + Bray

Release date: October 13, 2015

Genre: YA fantasy

479 pages

Buy it at Amazon, IndieBound, Book Depository, or Barnes & Noble

Source: ARC kindly provided by publisher

I LOVE THIS SERIES.

This is my favorite series since I was forced against my will to leave Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy behind. These two are absolutely among the best of current YA fantasy, especially those with lead characters who are female. Their epic adventures, sweeping landscapes, and girls who become strong heroines are not to be missed.

Ice Like Fire picks up a few months after Meira and her people have returned to Winter, thanks to a lot of help from Cordell. Cordell expects repayment largely in the form of riches from Winter's mines, and therefore expects the Winterian soldiers to work either in the mines or on rebuilding, rather than in training. This puts Winter at a serious disadvantage that becomes dangerous.


Further complicating matters are Meira's relationships with Cordell's Prince Theron, and her own former King Mather. Though it isn't structured as a traditional love triangle, Meira is torn between what she needs and what her kingdom needs. She is torn between being herself and being the queen she believes she should be. For much of the book she struggles to find a balance that will lead to peace and prosperity for both herself and her people.

This book, the second in the series, fell just short of a full 5 rating for me. This is typical for me as a reader, though; the necessary re-build of plot after the opening book requires a lot of work, and I sometimes get a little impatient to get to the "good stuff". I have every confidence that the series conclusion will absolutely fulfill all of my expectations.

Summary:

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 to use 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 Januari—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 weaves 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.