Title: Ice
Author: Ashley Taylor
Genre: Fantasy, Coming-of-Age, Romance
Graphic Novel / Novel
Rating: 3/5 stars
This is a book about a girl who received magical powers. Unable to control them, she decides to track down a dragon in hopes he can help her learn. Tapas didn't list this as a coming-of-age but I would sort of consider it one because of the journeys and adventures Ravenna goes through figuring out who she is.
I actually started the graphic novel version of this book first, but Tapas discontinued it, so I finished it by reading the novel. I am a little conflicted about this story because it does draw you in, and I did enjoy it in a lot of ways, but it is darker than I normally prefer, and it also felt a little unfinished.
I believe the author was putting this on the platform more as a work in progress than a completed version, so if it's edited, then becomes published down the line, it may be more firmed up and could be a worthwhile read. However, as it stands, some of it felt a little unrealistic to me. Also, I wouldn't mind a little more life in the side characters. You have the protagonist, her mentor, and the antagonist, but there isn't a lot of personality in the other characters. Lyth is there a lot, but doesn't have a lot of personality for reasons explained in the book.
However, I didn't overly connect with any of the main characters. In which case, I like to grab on to a side character I like, but I didn't feel there were any with enough depth to do that. Also, I wanted to detail a bit as to why I thought the story could use some polish and felt unrealistic at certain points.
---SPOILER ALERT---- (numbered list contains spoilers!)
She got married to the prince way too easily. He just meets some random girl, they go on a few dates and bam. Not to mention there isn't pushback from the nobles. No one cares that a commoner is about to be queen? No one digs into her history or is like... 'hey, this chick will be given lots of power, WHO THE HECK IS YOU?' That doesn't feel valid to me.
I didn't like the story with the prince. It felt a little cheap to me the way he started abusing her. He didn't seem to give indicators that he had that personality while they were dating, and I didn't understand what the catalyst was to push him over the edge into an abusive drunk. Sure, his dad was that way, but from what I understood he was basically in charge of the kingdom when they met. Plus, he was already the head of the military, but that wasn't stressing him out?? Somehow, when they get engaged he just decides he is now stressed, and that means he's an abusive drunk... I don't know, it just felt like there needed to be a convenient excuse for her to kill him, but the way it happened didn't feel authentic.
I didn't like that the issue of the ghost girl didn't feel fully addressed. Like, I guess she's just stuck in that town? Not sure what's going on there, is she stuck forever now? No ending for her/rest for her soul?
When Ravenna and Caelean went back and used Tylat's old house as their fort, that felt way too easy to me. Wasn't that where the previous king had found Vyses and killed all the ice soldiers? How did the non-magic soldiers get in to defeat Vyses? And they didn't do anything to stop it from being used again? They are just like, 'Waahhh, captured! Now we will leave it here, unpatrolled, for the next villain to use at will.'
I felt the timing of her hair was off, but maybe that was just me. It seemed to take longer than 3 days to turn back to white, and why wouldn't she have learned the spell from Vyses in case of separation?
I also was confused on the legality of magic. It seemed sort of outlawed, but not? Like, if she was named a witch, she'd be hunted, but yet... the royal family had a wizard on staff? So, I got fairly confused on if it's legal or not and thought that should be clarified.
I didn't mind the epilogue, but I did feel it left a bit out. Maybe the story could have elaborated more? How was democracy implemented, did any nobles resist? How did Wai accept the couple after Ravenna had left the ice soldiers, or was it just that she was in disguise and now they didn't recognize her? Were the wary of magic-users? But maybe the author was just done at that point and was doing a quick wrap-up, which I understand. The main story was fully completed by that point.
This ended up being a lot longer than normal for a review of mine, but I hope you all enjoyed reading more in depth. I just had a lot to say this time! I will say it is a smooth read, and I read it quickly because it draws you in and keeps you reading.
Clean?
This book was fairly clean, but not Christian. It was pretty much void of swear words, which I give the author props for. And the sexual content was pretty null. However, it is full of witchcraft, ghosts, murder, etc.
Enjoy your next adventure!
~G.G. Marshall
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