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A review by missbookiverse
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
4.0
This book is a fantastic read for the cold months. Most of it takes place in the Arctic, snow and ice and white wherever you're looking. That's Cassie's home and she couldn't feel more comfortable anywhere else.
So, Cassie the main character is a very likable, smart girl. She's strong from the beginning, she grew up without a mother and without any friends her own age. Throughout the book she grows even stronger and keeps pushing herself far beyond her own limits. I was reading in awe when she stubbornly kept going and going despite the baby growing inside her, when she actually gave birth to her child in front of the troll castle, when she never gave up. It was close to not believable anymore but I liked Cassie a lot and I believed in her love to Bear, so I never doubted her strength.
The book is separated into 3 units. The first one deals with getting to know Cassie and the Polar Bear King. They bargain and she has to marry him. Over time she actually falls in love with him but her curiosity takes him away from her. The love part was sweet, Bear was likable right from the beginning, all cute and innocent while he was eating a bloody seal at the same time. It was easy to fall for the two of them. Part 2 is about Cassie's journey to the troll castle where she wants to free Bear, she is forced to stay with Father Forest for a long time which might have been just a little bit too long for the reader but maybe I just should've read more quickly ;)
In the last part she finally reaches the troll castle and manages to get herself (and basically everyone else) a happy ending.
I was impressed when I had only a few pages left and Cassie had only just reached the troll castle. This book is filled with action until the very last page. The last few sentences are cheesy but there was no blah-blah chapter at the end that described how life went on after Cassie's great adventure.
I enjoyed all the fairytale elements, including the bargains and promises that were made in the past and present. The way the trolls were described was unexpected but I really liked them as colourful spirits, much better than the usual ugly goblins. Also the final solution was a good one, I didn't see it coming and wouldn't consider it 100% plausible but it was satisfying and I was really glad Cassie got to free her Bear and keep their child.
The only thing I had problems with was the humour. It only came up from time to time and was always coming from Cassie herself. She liked to say "cute" a lot when it didn't really fit but it was one of her traits and I could accept this one. What I couldn't accept was when she called the polar fox munaqsri "Fluffy", that was just weird and out of place. I guess the author tried to mix arctic-fairytale and modern-Cassie together but it just didn't work and it wouldn't have done the book any bad if it had been left out.
So, Cassie the main character is a very likable, smart girl. She's strong from the beginning, she grew up without a mother and without any friends her own age. Throughout the book she grows even stronger and keeps pushing herself far beyond her own limits. I was reading in awe when she stubbornly kept going and going despite the baby growing inside her, when she actually gave birth to her child in front of the troll castle, when she never gave up. It was close to not believable anymore but I liked Cassie a lot and I believed in her love to Bear, so I never doubted her strength.
The book is separated into 3 units. The first one deals with getting to know Cassie and the Polar Bear King. They bargain and she has to marry him. Over time she actually falls in love with him but her curiosity takes him away from her. The love part was sweet, Bear was likable right from the beginning, all cute and innocent while he was eating a bloody seal at the same time. It was easy to fall for the two of them. Part 2 is about Cassie's journey to the troll castle where she wants to free Bear, she is forced to stay with Father Forest for a long time which might have been just a little bit too long for the reader but maybe I just should've read more quickly ;)
In the last part she finally reaches the troll castle and manages to get herself (and basically everyone else) a happy ending.
I was impressed when I had only a few pages left and Cassie had only just reached the troll castle. This book is filled with action until the very last page. The last few sentences are cheesy but there was no blah-blah chapter at the end that described how life went on after Cassie's great adventure.
I enjoyed all the fairytale elements, including the bargains and promises that were made in the past and present. The way the trolls were described was unexpected but I really liked them as colourful spirits, much better than the usual ugly goblins. Also the final solution was a good one, I didn't see it coming and wouldn't consider it 100% plausible but it was satisfying and I was really glad Cassie got to free her Bear and keep their child.
The only thing I had problems with was the humour. It only came up from time to time and was always coming from Cassie herself. She liked to say "cute" a lot when it didn't really fit but it was one of her traits and I could accept this one. What I couldn't accept was when she called the polar fox munaqsri "Fluffy", that was just weird and out of place. I guess the author tried to mix arctic-fairytale and modern-Cassie together but it just didn't work and it wouldn't have done the book any bad if it had been left out.