Ice

Sarah Beth Durst

Summary:

When Cassie was little, her grandmother told her stories about the Arctic...about frost and snow, and a beautiful castle made of ice, and about her mother, the made a deal with the Polar Bear King. But Cassie is older now and has no time for fairy tales and talking animals, or lies about her dead mother.

But when Cassie comes face to face with a mysterious polar bear, one that defies all scientific fact or knowledge, she begins to realise that the fairy tales could actually be true. Discovering that her mother might still be alive, Cassie makes her own deal with the Polar Bear King, embarking on a dangerous journey to save her. But the deal comes with consequences she never bargained for, and before her journey’s end, Cassie will discover the true meaning of family and of loss and love.

Plot:

I am not familiar with the fairy tale that this book is allegedly a retelling of, so I do not know how that affected this story. I do know that I absolutely loved the magic of this story. The writing is beautiful, yet simple and easy to read. There are some action scenes that can get quite tense as well as quiet romantic scenes that help you connect with the characters. The story is very well balanced as far as content goes and it never gets too sappy or too suspenseful.

Characters:

I liked the characters in this book, especially the fact that none of them are perfect, not even the heroes, and the other fact that there isn’t really a villain, only people/things that go a little too far to get what they want. I also liked how the author made Cassie’s relationship with Bear a parallel to a normal human relationship, many of the issues they have are relatable even though they’re completely different that our normal situations. I also liked all the other strange and magical creatures Cassie comes across.

Who should read this:

13+, mainly for violence and frightening scenes. There is this idea in this book about ‘souls’ that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a fantasy and I feel like in this genre a lot can be excused. If you want a stand-alone fantasy book that doesn’t take too long to read this is definitely one I would recommend for you.

My rating:

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the descriptive writing and the story as well as all the strange characters. 4/5

Quote:

I would go east of the sun and west of the moon for you.