Ice

by Sarah Beth Durst

[Angie]

Ice is an enchanting story and is a mish-mash of genres and combines a ton of elements that I love (and some I hate). It all starts with Cassie, an eighteen year old girl who lives in the Arctic at a research station with her father. She grew up believing that her mother was dead, but it turns out that the fairytale her grandmother told her about her mother being held captive by trolls was true. Cassie is reluctant to believe this until she meets the Polar Bear King who is meant to be her husband after a deal her mother made with him before she was born. What follows is a journey of finding yourself and pushing your self to the limit for those you love. There's plenty of adventure, magic and romance, which makes Ice a great read.

I loved how Cassie's very scientific view of the world is challenged once she learns that her grandmother's fairytale is actually true. Everything that she believes was up to science and has a definitely explanation, might actually be magic. The aurora borealis is no longer just an amazing light show, it could be thousands of lost souls. I also loved how the possible extinction of polar bears played a large role in the story. Bear (the Polar Bear King aka Cassie's husband) is a munaqsri, which is a kind of soul keeper. He's in charge of collecting the souls of dying bears and giving them to new borns in order to keep the population going. It's a stressful job and he can't always make every birth in time. Cassie who wants to be an equal in their relationship, takes the initiative to take her scientific knowledge of the birthing dens and makes it possible for Bear to reach more of them. I think this was my favorite part of Ice, actually. Science paired with magic is always a winning combination.

The romance was...interesting. It was a little strange at first, since Bear is a polar bear and Cassie is human, but it was very Beauty and the Beast. She learns to love the man inside, and he loves her enough that he'll let her go if she wasn't happy with him. This doesn't happen overnight of course. She spends weeks, then months at the castle with him and eventually she can't imagine her life without him or his magic. It was all very sweet. Cassie's love for him was also the driving force for the second half of the book where she must come to his rescue, since the same trolls who had her mother, now have her husband.

There are a few things about Ice that bothered me. A big one was something that Bear does to Cassie. I can't say what without spoiling a big part of the book, but he manipulates her in a really creepy and bizarre way, and I was not okay with it. He was well meaning, but he still should have talked to her about it first. Cassie's journey to rescue him was also a bit repetitive. Every munaqsri that she comes across says they won't help her, then they offer to help her, then take it back, she puts in life in danger, and finally gets help. Some variation in her interactions with them would have nice.

Ice was a surprisingly fast read. The plot is pretty straightforward without being juvenile, which I liked. There are also some interesting twists on some well known creatures, like what trolls really are. With a sweet romance, danger, and polar bears, Ice was a delight to read. Fans of fairytales should definitely check it out!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.