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A review by shaec29
Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
1.0
There are so many things wrong with this book. I actually made an account to review it. This took at least 2.5 hours to write because I was so angry and confused.
The whole book is a sham. Absolutely NONE of the characters act the way they did in the first book. There are exceptions to this rule in the end, of course, but none that make it a pleasant, believable book. You can't sacrifice your characters' personalities, abilities, and attitudes for plot!! You are better off stopping after SLA and imagining how the rest of the story goes. Or go read fanfiction because I'm sure only other fans understand what was expected of this book.
Meira
In SLA, Meira was a badass who jumped out of windows, took no shit from Noam and kicked so much ass. In ILF, she seems to have suffered from a lobotomy before the book even starts. I don't understand how Meira, who had so much fire in SLA, became this bland, ineffective queen. She was full of doubt and never spoke her mind like she would have in SLA. When she FINALLY has her moment of clarity and realizes what a twit she has been (far too late in the book to make it really redeemable), she becomes the "warrior princess" she should have been from the beginning. However, better late is not better than never where this book is concerned. The majority of this book is Meira brooding like an insolent child instead of queening-up and taking charge of the people and kingdom (should be queendom since the conduit is ruled by women for Winter) she has spent her whole life trying to free.
Mather
I grew to like Mather a small bit, but only because he says the things I'm fuming about. I did like the Thaw interactions as well. While I didn't actually care about Mather's POV (I find him dull and a lackluster love interest), I appreciated his 3rd person POV vs. Meira's 1st. It was a new way of reading multiple POVs. All the emotions Sara writes for Mather seem forced. I understand she's trying to make him endearing to us, but it rubs me the wrong way.
Theron
*Le sigh.* I hate what Sara did to him. The whole book might have been salvageable had she not sacrificed an interesting and developing romance in the hopes that readers might root for the boring, wishy-washy Once-King, and plot. Theron and Meira is a lot of what made love SLA so much. He potentially sacrificed his life and the future of his kingdom for a girl, who was only important to him (or so he thought), when he allowed himself to be captured by Spring.
I guess it really all boils down into this: Theron was a good, respected, thoughtful man despite a shite king for his father. I refuse to believe he was capabled of being led down the path that he was written.
Magic
I thought I understood the magic in SLA, but it was an absolute shitshow in ILF. The Decay and with whom it interacts now is so convoluted, that I begin to wonder if Sara has ever read a sci-fi series before. Either she does a p*sspoor job of explaining all the Decay despite all the ramblings of the book, she makes it up as she writes, or she changes the rules entirely. The Decay ruined this book, although I'm sure that's not the way Sara intended the Decay to ruin things.
World-building
I normally can't get enough of world-building. I want to know everything about a world that I can when I find a series that I love. It was an instrument of torture in this book. I do want to know what the other kingdoms are like, but I can't believe a new queen would leave her refound kingdom for a grail quest around the continent or whatever.
Alas, I need sleep. This book should never have been written. Everything was forced or fabricated to suit the whims of the author. Book two could have been a spectacular finale for the story instead of this heartbreaking, anguishing travesty.
The whole book is a sham. Absolutely NONE of the characters act the way they did in the first book. There are exceptions to this rule in the end, of course, but none that make it a pleasant, believable book. You can't sacrifice your characters' personalities, abilities, and attitudes for plot!! You are better off stopping after SLA and imagining how the rest of the story goes. Or go read fanfiction because I'm sure only other fans understand what was expected of this book.
Meira
In SLA, Meira was a badass who jumped out of windows, took no shit from Noam and kicked so much ass. In ILF, she seems to have suffered from a lobotomy before the book even starts. I don't understand how Meira, who had so much fire in SLA, became this bland, ineffective queen. She was full of doubt and never spoke her mind like she would have in SLA. When she FINALLY has her moment of clarity and realizes what a twit she has been (far too late in the book to make it really redeemable), she becomes the "warrior princess" she should have been from the beginning. However, better late is not better than never where this book is concerned. The majority of this book is Meira brooding like an insolent child instead of queening-up and taking charge of the people and kingdom (should be queendom since the conduit is ruled by women for Winter) she has spent her whole life trying to free.
Mather
I grew to like Mather a small bit, but only because he says the things I'm fuming about. I did like the Thaw interactions as well. While I didn't actually care about Mather's POV (I find him dull and a lackluster love interest), I appreciated his 3rd person POV vs. Meira's 1st. It was a new way of reading multiple POVs. All the emotions Sara writes for Mather seem forced. I understand she's trying to make him endearing to us, but it rubs me the wrong way.
Theron
*Le sigh.* I hate what Sara did to him. The whole book might have been salvageable had she not sacrificed an interesting and developing romance in the hopes that readers might root for the boring, wishy-washy Once-King, and plot.
Spoiler
I don't understand how the Decay could have taken root in Theron. There was no hint of it in him in SLA, which begs me to believe that she added it for plot. (See rant about magic and Decay) Theron in SLA was interested in art and books, nothing political whatsoever, so I am genuinely confused about his sudden urge to the great equalizer. In SLA, Theron understands Angra's hatred of Winter (even though I'm still unsure why after two books) and can't fathom why his father thought Angra could be reasoned with. His whole plotline is so utterly outlandish and ridiculous that I regret reading this book. The only time we see the real Theron is in the last page or two of the book when he clearly cares for Meira.I guess it really all boils down into this: Theron was a good, respected, thoughtful man despite a shite king for his father. I refuse to believe he was capabled of being led down the path that he was written.
Magic
I thought I understood the magic in SLA, but it was an absolute shitshow in ILF. The Decay and with whom it interacts now is so convoluted, that I begin to wonder if Sara has ever read a sci-fi series before. Either she does a p*sspoor job of explaining all the Decay despite all the ramblings of the book, she makes it up as she writes, or she changes the rules entirely. The Decay ruined this book, although I'm sure that's not the way Sara intended the Decay to ruin things.
World-building
I normally can't get enough of world-building. I want to know everything about a world that I can when I find a series that I love. It was an instrument of torture in this book. I do want to know what the other kingdoms are like, but I can't believe a new queen would leave her refound kingdom for a grail quest around the continent or whatever.
Alas, I need sleep. This book should never have been written. Everything was forced or fabricated to suit the whims of the author. Book two could have been a spectacular finale for the story instead of this heartbreaking, anguishing travesty.