Ice

by Sarah Beth Durst

[Stephanie]

I read this book around the same time last year and fell in love with it. I'm writing this review after reading it for the second time. And I must say that I loved it the second time just as much as the first time.

After going through a week of humid 90 degree weather, I was in the mood to read about a colder climate. And what better to do than pick up one of my favorite books.

Cassie lives with her father at a research station in the arctic, where they track polar bears. Cassie's grandmother always told her a fairy tale, when she was younger, about a Polar Bear King and her mother, who got swept away to the troll castle after defying her father's wishes. Cassie always figured it was just her Grandmothers way of telling Cassie that her mother died. But then Cassie meets the Polar Bear King and realizes that the fairy tale her Grandmother always told was true. Now Cassie has the chance to bring her mother back, and finally meet her. She just has to marry the Polar Bear King first, and live with him in his ice castle.

This is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I didn't know what I was going into when I first picked up this book, but I loved every moment of it. This book was the reason why I picked up two other books that were a retelling of the same fairy tale. (East by Edith Pattou and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George)

Sarah Beth Durst takes an old tale and works it into modern times, which I thought worked out nicely and made the story much more interesting and enjoyable for me. The Munasqri part was a wonderful twist to the story. That was what really made me love the book. I won't go into detail of what a Munasqri is though because I don't want to spoil too much.

I was attached to this book as I read Cassie's magical travels through the ice, tundra, bogs, and forests and all the creatures and people she met along the way. I even stayed up till 5am to finish it.

The book does move Bear and Cassie's relationship quickly. Three months jump by with a few sentences. Cassie goes from being afraid of Bear to being his best friend, which might bother some people, but didn't phase me one bit. I fell in love with Bear as soon as we meet him. He was such a loyal character and always had the best intentions.

Overall, I really love this story and is one of my favorites. It will be one of the books I revisit often.