Reviews

Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce

nanceoir's review

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5.0

You know that Tumblr silliness about someone being a precious cinnamon roll, too good and pure for this world? That's Daja. Oh, Daja, you are wonderful.

emeraldreverie's review against another edition

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4.0

Reread. A good one, though I like Daja, not my favorite tale. I love the twins but Ben gives me squicks.

meganelise's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mjfmjfmjf's review

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3.0

A re-read. So these books are less formulaic then I remember. That or I'm more forgiving. This book dragged some. Perhaps it was being in the head of the villain. Perhaps Daja just didn't have enough going on in her own life. As always seeing different magic in action was one of the best parts. I wonder what part meditation takes outside of ambient magic - it would seem with non ambient magic maybe it being the first thing wouldn't be as important.

peppermintbat's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

meghan21's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

hoosgracie's review

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4.0

Daja has been traveling with Frostpine and they are spending the winter in Namorn with his friends. When she discovers the twins in the family have magic, she must find them teachers and teach them meditation herself. Meanwhile, because the city is built of wood, fire is a problem. She meets Bennat Ladradun, a local businessman who lost his family in a fire and is now a firefighter. When someone starts setting fires, they work together to stop them.Excellent book in the series.

fish_reads's review against another edition

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5.0

Okay. This one was really good. I love Daja, and I loved getting to know Frostpine better. The antagonist of the book was SO CREEPY, and I LOVED it.

matttruss's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

One of Tammy's best, most realistic villains here.  Daja is maybe my favorite of the bunch and this book did not disappoint.  A fun setting, filled with ice skating travel and a fire scheme that is sick and twisted.  Also, Frostpine is simply the best.

alexblackreads's review

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4.0

I don't know what I expected going into this reread, but this book turned out to be my favorite of the whole series. This was a bit surprising since I don't have any particular memories about this book and Daja herself has never been my first choice (I'm a bit partial to Sandry's narration), but both of her books in the first two quartets were my favorites.

I think this book was just more well crafted than the other three. The friendships Daja made grew and developed throughout the story better than the new characters in any of the other three books. I really cared for her students and Ben, and I'm always partial to Frostpine. I also enjoyed the mystery/crime element. It exists to a degree in all these books, but I think it was explored best here. You know from the beginning who the arsonist is, but it doesn't affect the intrigue.

I liked the setting. The others have been set in different countries and cultures as well, but I felt like both Briar's and Tris's books were a little bit othering in regards to the natives of those countries. It felt like there was a fair amount of criticism from an outsider. In this book, there was none of that. Daja didn't necessarily agree with everything in the culture, but it seemed much better handled and explored. It didn't seem nearly as othering.

Just overall, I enjoyed this book so much more than any of the others and I'm very grateful to have a book in this series that I loved.