When Cassie was little her grandmother would tell her stories about the Arctic...stories about snow and ice, about a beautiful castle made of ice, and about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth to become a prisoner of the trolls. Cassie is older now and has no time for fairytales and talking animals, or lies about her dead mother. Living with her father at the Arctic research centre, she is determined to become a leading scientist and researcher. But when Cassie comes face to face with a mysterious polar bear, one that defies all scientific fact or knowledge, she begins realise that the fairytales could actually be true. Armed with the knowledge that her mother might be alive, Cassie makes a deal with the Polar Bear King, and embarks on a dangerous journey against time to save her. But her agreement with the Polar Bear King comes with consequences she never bargained for, and before her journey's end Cassie will discover the true meaning of love and family, and loss. A compelling romantic fantasy set in the beautiful frozen Arctic.
I did read this in a sitting and it kept my interest, however it did leave me feeling that that there wasn't enough there for me to recommend it. Normally this sort of thing would make me very happy but the romance wasn't there. It just didn't come across as real, it came across as if she was almost doing the quest out of some sort of token-filling, and while she was in peril during it, and the being pregnant situation does reflect earlier myths and a lot of her travails are hard work they don't seem to really affect her in a serious way, or in a way that made me feel she was in real peril or under real stress.
I didn't think I'd say this about many books, but it needed more romance. For an example of how a romance slowly unfolds I suggest Beauty by Robin McKinley which also has some of the same themes built in.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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26 March, 2013:
Finished reading
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26 March, 2013:
Reviewed