When I first started writing for The Nerd Daily, I was approached to review this book called Beasts of the Frozen Sun and despite knowing very little about it, I knew right away that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. It was mindblowingly good and it marked my very first Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) as a book reviewer! These books are incredibly well-written with vicious and lively characters that balance a fine line between serious and humorous. It’s a series perfect for any history buff, especially those intrigued with tales of savage vikings. The writing is incredible, the story is thorough, and the characters have a wide range of skill and personality that allow females in this time to really shine. This isn’t a ‘boys only’ club, instead there are fierce and vicious female warriors that step up and steal the show. Yet again, Jill Criswell has left me stranded with a terrible and cruel cliffhanger, so here I am once more waiting impatiently for the third and final book in the Frozen Sun Saga.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
I was so excited to see Reyker’s homeland and I loved how much it differed from Glasnith. It seemed more magical and the living snake barrier was as cool as it was scary! It fit the entire mood perfectly for this mysterious frozen land. I also understood the beauty that Reyker described to Lira. There’s always this fear of expanding fantasy worlds too much or falling prey to too much description, but that never happened here because Criswell was smart. She used a boy missing his home, interacting with a girl from another place to describe in his words what it feels like, so reader can already picture it somewhat. She used dialogue and emotion to convey a place not yet shown and it worked extremely well and to me, that’s thinking outside of the box. I liked that use of describing somewhere because it shows how much you can care about a place and because it’s his home, you can feel his emotion as he talks about it, which is something you can’t get when simply laying out the new area with description. I also enjoyed it mixing with the actual lore of the gods and the differences between the lands and their gods. It was intriguing and new and entirely captivating!
“I let go of the bracelet and nearly laughed. Iseneld? The jarl was going to take me right where I needed to go. I had experience being a captive. It was easy to play the frightened damsel, to stumble and tremble and let Solvei drag me past the battling warriors, to let her think she’d won. To let her underestimate what I was capable of.
This is some serious character development for Lira. She’s now thinking strategically. Once more, she’s allowing herself to be confident and not overthink things. And she’s not alone for this voyage because it honestly wouldn’t be the same if it was just Lira. Quinlan adds a great dynamic that complements her character.
The separation of Lira and Reyker at the end of book one had me reeling. I wanted them back together and fast. When I started Kingdom of Ice and Bone and saw that they both thought the other was dead, I was devastated. For so long I thought that they wouldn’t actually meet up in this sequel and I didn’t know if I could take it, but thankfully they do somewhat reunite and the small, brief moments they do share are teasingly delicious.
“I put my hand over my ears. ‘Stop talking to me. You’re nothing but a lie.’ He crawled to me on hands and knees, stopping right in front of me, pulling open his wool coat and the top of his tunic beneath. ‘Touch my soul and tell me I’m a lie.”
I’m not going to lie, when I read this, it left me breathless. It might not look like much here, but when you mix it with where the story is going and the context and situation Lira and Reyker are in, you feel all of the emotion coming from Reyker and his confidence in them as a couple. This shows how much he loves her and allowing people in isn’t exactly his strong suit so this right here was a powerful, emotionally charged scene driven by our brooding, complicated warrior male lead.
‘Not every story is worth keeping.’
‘Yes. Every story.’ He bent to kiss one of the scars left across my back by the thorntree knot. He’d kissed them all many times as we’d lay tangled together in the fur blankets, telling me they were a part of me, they were beautiful. ‘These scars tell the story of our love. What we fought through and sacrificed to be together. If you erase them, you erase us.”
Reyker knows what he wants and despite the obvious romance in the scene above, what stood out for me was his wisdom. His character grows so much in this instalment and you see it in multiple scenes with several different characters. He’s learning to trust and share and along the way, he’s growing into the leader that many already believe he can be. I loved it!
“Dragons and serpents are Ildja’s creatures, but wolves belong to no gods. They rule themselves, and each leader is sworn to protect his pack. That’s what you were to us when you raised your father’s sword against the warlord. A wolf fighting a dragon. A boy fighting a god.”
Reyker has what it takes to defeat Draki and this is the book that shows his past. Going to his homeland leads him to people he knew as a boy before this Dragonmen’s business started and this really spurs him into a role he’s destined to embrace. This was one of my favourite quotes because it’s inspiring and uses the lore and relation to animals to characters really well. It’s epic and simple that ties in to the story seamlessly.
“Paint me pink and call me a horse’s ass. It is you.”
Enter Brokk. Brokk is a boy from Reyker’s past that knew him before he was the Dragon’s sword. He added a huge dose of humour every time he interacts with characters. He has great one liners like this that elevate the book to a new level. There’s only so much war you can take and this humour was scattered perfectly throughout which balanced the story as you read.
As much as I love Lira and Reyker, the new bond formed between Lira and Draki might have some people (especially those who love the villains turned love interests) shipping them instead. Their scenes were shockingly passionate and brimming with an undeniable chemistry. I’m still not swayed by this new pairing and I don’t find it likely to actually happen, but it was fun to read and see another layer of this story coming together. The added fact that him and Reyker are brothers provides another romantic trope that only deepens the stakes and opens up the story to loads of betrayal, drama, and fiery scenes that you hate to love!
There’s some juicy stuff in here and it provides a dash of romance that is missing between Lira and Reyker because of the direction of the plot, which definitely works to strengthen the whole story. Like I said it’s the romance you hate to ship, but find it hard to resist!
But let’s forget the men now. Let’s talk about Lira. She’s grown as much as, if not more, than Reyker in this sequel. She knows what she doesn’t want to be, and that’s anything like Draki and his Dragonmen. She constantly insists that she will not stoop to his level no matter the ease at which it would take. She’s determined and persistent to fight it. She never wavered and that’s showing a true, strong female lead. She’s seen countless times fighting to be different and I loved how much Criswell let her decisions shine despite multiple characters with way more war experience insisting she do otherwise and calling her a fool when she doesn’t. She shines even brighter in this book and I cannot wait to see what’s next for her in the conclusion. This book also showcases her strong ability to touch one’s soul and this time she uses it as a weapon. She only gets more badass.
“Inside me, something quickened. A beast cracked open its eyes, took its first breath. It was me, and yet not. It was a girl made of rage, dark and sinister and lovely, stirring beneath my skin—my war gift, awakening. Reminding me of the strongest weapon in my possession. Spinning in the Dragonman’s grasp, my palm slid inside his tunic, slapping his chest. I dropped into his soul, light as a petal, steady as a root. His essence was a mosaic: loves and losses, victories and sins, memories, thoughts—everything that made him who he was. I drew it toward me, calling his soul as if it was a creature, and it bowed to me, its mistress. His soul was mine to control. I commanded it to shatter.”
This is also a prime example of Criswell’s ability to leave me in awe because of her incredible writing. This is another book written perfectly with a complete plot that leaves you wanting more. Twists everywhere and awesome new characters adding more personality in every scene they grace. I need the third book in my hands straight away!
Kingdom of Ice and Bone is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 22nd 2020.
Will you be picking up Kingdom of Ice and Bone? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Lira and Reyker have lost everything. Including each other.
Lira of Stone watched her home burn and her clan fall beneath the sword of the warlord known as the Dragon. She believes the man she loves, a warrior who defected from the Dragon s army, is dead. Alongside her exiled brother and his band of refugees, she will fight the forces that conquered her island. But the greatest danger may come from Lira herself with the blood of banished gods running through her veins, she s become a weapon, and no one is safe from the power of her wrath.
Reyker Lagorsson thought he was done being a Dragonman. That was before he saw Lira leap from a cliff and vanish into the sea. Determined to honor her memory by protecting her people, Reyker must feign loyalty to the warlord, undermine him at every turn, and seek alliances with renegade soldiers without succumbing to the battle-madness that threatens to possess him once more.
When the Fallen Ones offer Lira a chance to defeat the Dragon, her quest leads her to a place she never expected Iseneld, the warlord s homeland. Her journey into the heart of the Frozen Sun will put her on a collision course with Reyker, costing both of them more than they ever imagined, and leaving her with a terrible choice: to save their countries, she must forsake everything she loves.
