Ashley Marie 's Reviews > Ice Like Fire

As you can see from my updates, I got sucked into this book in spite of myself. I still don't like the Meira/Mather pairing, I mean we spent the entirety of SLA showing how much Meira and Theron had in common and setting them up as a couple, and Mather has been a whiny ass since the beginning, so I've never liked him. But somewhere in the middle of this, my brain totally changed tack and decided to appreciate this book despite it MURDERING MY SHIP and SHOVING THE SHIP I HATE IN MY FACE. Props for crafting an excellent plot, that's all I can think of. Massive props.

I loved Ceridwen from the moment she showed up; she almost reminded me of Nehemia, my favorite part of Throne of Glass, but... better. Because that whole book was a blahfest and this one grew on me. But I digress. ANYWAY. Ceri was the standout here, for me. I love this world and the season-kingdoms, did I mention that last time? LOVE IT. It attracts my elemental self :) And the rulers of each place they visited were different, not necessarily cookie-cutter people. Oh, and I suppose I could mention Mather's Thaw crew (nice name choice btw), because they're cool too (no pun intended). Mather spent this book being emo and angsty AF, but past that I actually think I saw character growth. Solidarity with Meira in wanting to defend their kingdom, TOGETHER, from outside forces, where in the first book he was just like LOL CYA when it came to a marriage alliance with Theron. That counts as growth to me.

As for Meira herself, she's still a cool heroine and we see her bogged down by having to choose between doing what she wants and what she knows is best for the kingdom as a whole -- a more mature, far-reaching decision than she had to make in the first book. There was one instance somewhere around 60% where Theron was doing all the talking for her and I got irritated, like, WHY DO YOU LET HIM TALK FOR YOU?? IF YOU DON'T AGREE THEN SPEAK UP AND SHUT HIM DOWN FFS. That was irritating. And then in all the hullabaloo in Ventrali, Theron just kind of disappeared. It made for killer dramatics in the end, but that was weird because it was noticeable. I actually found myself wondering at one point "....where did Theron go? What's he doing right now?"

So in spite of me wanting to hate this book purely because I dislike Mather... it didn't happen. I'm positive we haven't seen the last of Theron, though, so I haven't given up all hope yet not until she has to kill him and break both our hearts but I really liked this book for the story. Meira wasn't useless, she made new friends, and she's growing up and taking on more responsibility. Good things.

....Andddd I just bought Snow Like Ashes. Because I'm invested in this series. And the covers are pretty.