hilsaa's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
decafplease's review against another edition
5.0
Didn't feel like doing any work today so managed to finish this novel of more than 500 pages. Loved it. The little scientist in me couldn't help but note, "cold really is the lack of heat...are they going to mention something about it?" Grr. Oh the failing suspense of disbelief. Apart from that one quick as lightening moment of doubt I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. Will definitely pick up the rest of the trilogy. I did, however, stumble over the alternative names for European places and cultures. I guess that couldn't be helped when reading a fantasy/alernate history novel.
saoki's review against another edition
3.0
I had never read anything by Kate Elliott before this book, which I chose (faced with all those options) because of the steampunk vibe. And what an interesting take in steampunk it is. Here we have a industrial society in a world much like our own, but in which Rome fell, taking Christianity with it. Then, the "barbarians" kept civilization and plumbing and ditched all other Roman habits (like democracy). Also, there's magic and a spiritual world that is actually a very solid, very real place. It's a great setting and well blended into the story, even if the author felt the need to explain some details that weren't really needed.
The author dedicates the same effort to her characters, giving the reader several chances to understand their motivations and ethics, with clear narrative arcs and very human changing of minds. Usually, this level of character writing is fantastic, but, in a novel that is basically about travelling, in which the main character spends most of her time without answers and has little time for planning, said motivations got a bit repetitive, which led me to drop the book for something else quite frequently. When Cat finally finished her running around, about 75% into the book, I almost cried in relief.
Then she started running again.
So, I'm not really sure if I want to read the rest of the series, even if the answers in that last 10 or 15% of the book raised some really interesting questions. I might, however, pick some other book by Kate Elliott. She's quite an interesting author.
The author dedicates the same effort to her characters, giving the reader several chances to understand their motivations and ethics, with clear narrative arcs and very human changing of minds. Usually, this level of character writing is fantastic, but, in a novel that is basically about travelling, in which the main character spends most of her time without answers and has little time for planning, said motivations got a bit repetitive, which led me to drop the book for something else quite frequently. When Cat finally finished her running around, about 75% into the book, I almost cried in relief.
Then she started running again.
So, I'm not really sure if I want to read the rest of the series, even if the answers in that last 10 or 15% of the book raised some really interesting questions. I might, however, pick some other book by Kate Elliott. She's quite an interesting author.
bookhaulin's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, I went into this book with my fingers tightly crossed because of some of the reviews I read, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I didn't have any trouble with the pacing or info-dumps at all. They probably could have been better incorporated, but it never bothered me enough to jog me out of the book (I also have a knack for quickly skimming some of the denser sections). The traveling and the inns didn't take up too much time, and most of the time things were always --happening--. One reviewer complained about the repetitiveness of the hair brushing and the red haired maids, but honestly that only happened once (and I was on a lookout for it too), and with all the explosions and fighting taking place every time they stopped I wasn't bored at all.
With that said, the world-building really is very rich (I'm writing this review after having read the entire trilogy, so), and I do love the characters. Despite some mary-sue qualities of Bee and Cat (not with the way they were written, but the who they actually are), the girls are written exceedingly well. They're both special, yes, but so are a lot of other characters, and I never felt overwhelmed by the sense that either of them are "special-snowflakes". The love-interest, Andevai, is also realistically portrayed and have a distinguishing personality beyond brooding, dark, and hot, and there was no insta-love or anything either. In addition, I really appreciate how the trilogy at least tries to tackle issues like women's rights and the rights of the oppressed. Overall, I was just really pleased with the depth of the novel and the scope of its world and politics.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a heftier YA fantasy fix. I really hope Kate Elliot does more with this world.
With that said, the world-building really is very rich (I'm writing this review after having read the entire trilogy, so), and I do love the characters. Despite some mary-sue qualities of Bee and Cat (not with the way they were written, but the who they actually are), the girls are written exceedingly well. They're both special, yes, but so are a lot of other characters, and I never felt overwhelmed by the sense that either of them are "special-snowflakes". The love-interest, Andevai, is also realistically portrayed and have a distinguishing personality beyond brooding, dark, and hot, and there was no insta-love or anything either. In addition, I really appreciate how the trilogy at least tries to tackle issues like women's rights and the rights of the oppressed. Overall, I was just really pleased with the depth of the novel and the scope of its world and politics.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a heftier YA fantasy fix. I really hope Kate Elliot does more with this world.
hopeylope's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a while to get into Cold Magic; I was confused at first because there was so much history mixed in to the story that keeping track of it all was impossible. Plus the plot wasn't all to interesting to start out with. It wasn't until about 200 pages in that it did finally get interesting; but once that happened I found it difficult to stop reading the book. The characters were all extremely interesting and fun to read about; and the plot that had finally developed into something that caught my attention was engaging and surprising. As the story continued on the plot kept thickening and getting more and more interesting, and soon I barely noticed how much I was reading when I sat down with it. When I did finally finish the book(it was quite a length tome, about 500 pages), I thought it ended at a perfect place enough answered questions, enough unanswered ones, and the perfect amount of incentive to read the next book, which I am adding to my to read list immediately. Overall the book wasn't the best ever, mostly due to the extremely slow beginning, but it was still very entertaining once it began to get good and I am eager to read the next book.
Premise - 4/5
Characters - 4/5
Writing Style - 3/5
Story - 3/5
Realistic(the plot made sense) - 4/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
Average Rating - 3.5
My Rating - 3
Recommend? Yep!
Cover - It is mediocre. I like the swirls and the gears and the font the title was written in, but the girl on the cover doesn't work for me. She doesn't look how I imagined Cat; in fact I think she looks kind of strange looking. I don't know what it is about her but she seems off to me.
Premise - 4/5
Characters - 4/5
Writing Style - 3/5
Story - 3/5
Realistic(the plot made sense) - 4/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
Average Rating - 3.5
My Rating - 3
Recommend? Yep!
Cover - It is mediocre. I like the swirls and the gears and the font the title was written in, but the girl on the cover doesn't work for me. She doesn't look how I imagined Cat; in fact I think she looks kind of strange looking. I don't know what it is about her but she seems off to me.
elusivity's review against another edition
4.0
Bee and Cat are a pair of well-bred but impoverished young women on the cusp of their 20th birthday, with Cat 2 months older. They go to school, study, banter like normal girls, until a coldly handsome, arrogant young man strolled into their house one day, demanding to be wed to the eldest daughter of the house to fulfill a long-standing contract.
So Elizabeth meets Darcy, so pride meets prejudice, and as with the original story, it is unclear who is which.
My main nitpick is that the villain is weakly realized, one-dimensional, posing merely very abstract danger.
For 600 pages, not much time passes, and we are treated to detailed descriptions of the world, its history, surrounding environments, style and fashion, not to mention vivid descriptions of completely throw-away random characters like inn keeper maids. The effect, though occasionally tedious, is of a well-realized world populated with real people.
Cold magic, sword fights, independent young women of intellect and autonomy, world-changing politics, burgeoning love. Highly recommended!
So Elizabeth meets Darcy, so pride meets prejudice, and as with the original story, it is unclear who is which.
Spoiler
She is forthwith dragged off to Four Moons House, chased by hordes of enemies, where we learn (without warning) she has training in fighting and spycraft. There she learned she was the wrong daughter, not even a member of Hassi Barahal at all but an altogether strange creature with kin in the spirit world. She runs, he chases, ordered to kill her so as to break the marriage in order to wed Bee before she turns 20. Adventures ensue. She learns inadvertently his slave background, being taken from the fields into the House, with the safety of his entire village held over his head. Ultimately, she arrives home in time to warn Bee.My main nitpick is that the villain is weakly realized, one-dimensional, posing merely very abstract danger.
For 600 pages, not much time passes, and we are treated to detailed descriptions of the world, its history, surrounding environments, style and fashion, not to mention vivid descriptions of completely throw-away random characters like inn keeper maids. The effect, though occasionally tedious, is of a well-realized world populated with real people.
Cold magic, sword fights, independent young women of intellect and autonomy, world-changing politics, burgeoning love. Highly recommended!
brokenrecord's review against another edition
3.0
This book sounded so relevant to my interests, but unfortunately I just couldn't connect with it at all. It felt like a bit of a chore to get through at points. The story picked up a bit when Cat gets married (I feel like the first 50 pages could've been cut completely), but it still never managed to be as great as I wanted it to be. I was never able to get a good handle on what this world was like, despite the great amount of info-dumping. And while I was super into the idea of the romance based on what I read from reviews (arranged marriage!!! One of my favorite tropes!!!), it didn't completely work for me either (although it was by far my favorite element of the book). I also didn't really buy what Andevai says at the end about I was really looking forward to this trilogy, but now I don't know if I care enough to read the remaining two books. I might still try the next book in the series solely for the romantic arc, because even if it didn't work for me as well as I would've liked, I was still mostly pretty into it, and I'd like to see how things develop further. But I'm definitely not going to be picking up the next book immediately, unfortunately. This review is probably more negative than it should be, since it's not like I hated it. But it was just so much more mediocre than what I was expecting.
Spoiler
realizing she was the other half of his soul the second he first saw her.ginnikin's review against another edition
It was actively putting me off instead of pulling me in.