Author: Vicki L. Weavil
Publisher: Month 9 Books
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Synopsis:
Thyra Winther’s seventeen, the Snow Queen, and immortal, but if she can’t reassemble a shattered enchanted mirror by her eighteenth birthday she’s doomed to spend eternity as a wraith.
Armed with magic granted by a ruthless wizard, Thyra schemes to survive with her mind and body intact. Unencumbered by kindness, she kidnaps local boy Kai Thorsen, whose mathematical skills rival her own. Two logical minds, Thyra calculates, are better than one. With time rapidly melting away she needs all the help she can steal.
A cruel lie ensnares Kai in her plan, but three missing mirror shards and Kai’s childhood friend, Gerda, present more formidable obstacles. Thyra’s willing to do anything – venture into uncharted lands, outwit sorcerers, or battle enchanted beasts — to reconstruct the mirror, yet her most dangerous adversary lies within her breast. Touched by the warmth of a wolf pup’s devotion and the fire of a young man’s desire, the thawing of Thyra’s frozen heart could be her ultimate undoing.
CROWN OF ICE is a YA Fantasy that reinvents Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” from the perspective of a young woman who discovers that the greatest threat to her survival may be her own humanity.
ReviewCrown of Ice is a retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Snow Queen. I’d never read, or even heard of The Snow Queen, until I began this novel. Crown of Ice follows the frosty and calculating Thyra Winther who is tasked with assembling a broken mirror before her eighteenth birthday. If she fails Thrya will become a wraith, doomed to wander the castle.
What I really enjoyed about Crown of Ice was watching the Snow Queen thaw. Thyra is presented as a rather cold character, willing to do anything to complete the mirror and escape a terrible fate. As the novel progressed though we began to see other sides of Thyra and by the end she was nearly unrecognizable from her former self.
The catalyst for this change was Kai Thorsen. Kai is a boy that Thyra met before she became Snow Queen. Thyra remembers Kai as being good at math and calculations and believed he could help her assemble the mirror. She recruits Kai through lies but her feelings for him are real.
Another reason for Thyra’s change was Kai’s childhood friend Gerda. I didn’t care for Gerda. She was kind and loyal almost to a fault. I honestly should have liked her but I felt like she kept getting in the way and hindered rather than helped the story. Gerda was a part of the original story though and I can see why she was included in Crown of Ice even if she wasn’t a favorite of mine.
Overall, Crown of Ice was a fun re-telling with a lot of character development. I was rooting for Thyra and Kai to both finish the mirror and realize their feelings for each other the entire novel. Crown of Ice is a perfect novel to curl up with on a snowy night with a cup of tea!
Vicki Lemp Weavil was raised in a farming community in Virginia, where her life was shaped by a wonderful family, the culture of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and an obsession with reading. Since obtaining her undergraduate degree in Theatre from the University of Virginia, she’s gone on to acquire two masters degrees, living in places as diverse as New York City and rural North Carolina. She’s currently the library director for a performing an visual arts university. Vicki loves good writing in any genre, and has been known to read seven books in as many days. She enjoys travel, gardening, and the arts. Vicki lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and some very spoiled cats.About The Author
Thanks so much for the review and for hosting this portion of the CROWN OF ICE blog tour!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by the synopsis. Thanks for the giveaway!
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