By: Amanda Hocking
Published: January 6, 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin
336 pages
Source: Personal Kindle Library
(Goodreads / Amazon)
Summary:
Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes. Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royalty. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden. But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero who she once loved – appears to be up to something dangerous, kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?MY REVIEW:
Trolls. This was a new one for me. Second to the beautiful snowy cover and the image of a strong female warrior, a story about trolls was the main reason for my interest in reading this book. I've mentioned before that a major driving factor for all of the books I enjoy reading is that there has to be some aspect of a love story. The whole story doesn't have to be romance (even though I'm a major fan of those books) but it definitely needs to have some sort of love interest taking semi-center stage. The synopsis above mentions forbidden romance but to my disappointment, this story doesn't really have much focus on a love story or love interest. 60% of the way through the book there's a hint at the forbidden romance but it seems to be a more unrequited love. 75% of the way through and I was about ready to give up...but who gives up on a book 3/4 of the way through? No, if I stick it out that long I'll read it all.
A slight dislike for me was the similarities to aspects of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Specifically the Hogdragen, which are the royal guard who are set with the task of protecting the royalty, being similar in roles to the Dhampirs from Vampire Academy. Both are protectors of their race's royalty from danger. In one scene at a party the Hogdragen are mentioned standing around the perimeter of the room keeping watch...and change the name of the characters, is a replica of a scene in VA. That could be total coincidence but for me, the similarities between the two series was the first thing to come into my mind and it irked me.
There's definitely a mystery going on involving Konstantin, who was once the best of the Hogdragen, not to mention a major crush that Bryn had, but unfortunately tried to murder her Dad. 65% of the way through you just begin to get glimpses into the fact that perhaps maybe all isn't as it seems among the Kanin troll tribe.
I felt this story had too much of a slow build and too many down moments with not enough action taking place to keep me real invested in the story. I'm not ready to give up on it yet as I have book 2 to read too and am hopeful the pace will pick up....but I will say with 100% certainty that if the pace is as slow in Ice Kissed as it was in Frostfire it'll end up a DNF for me.
If you're a regular reader of mine you'll know that I'm a cover snob. And this cover is amazing. It drew me in first with the synopsis second. But in order for me to love a book the inside of it is what counts. This for me wasn't a strong enough story or plot. Here's hoping for more in Ice Kissed!
Favorite Quotes:
"Sorry, we're not superheroes. But being Kanin can still be awesome."
Just because something has been done for a long time doesn't make it right.
Language Rating: 1 (light)
Mature Content: 1-2 (light - medium)
Final Rating: 3 stars
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