Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the publisher, Patchwork Press, via NetGalley for an honest review.

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/Young Adult/Adventure

Plot:

Megan Walker’s touch has turned to ice. She can’t stop the frost, and the consequences of her first kiss are horrifying.

When her new powers attract attention, Megan finds herself caught up in an ancient war between Norse giants. One side fueled by a mad queen’s obsession and an ancient prophecy about Ranorak, the other by an age-old grudge. Both sides believe Megan to be something she’s not. Both sides will stop at nothing to have her.

Fire or frost. It’s an impossible decision, but she’ll have to act soon, because the storm is coming.

Opinion: This is one of those books that I read in one day after work, and stayed up until about 1:00 AM finishing. Immediately after I finished this book (at 1:00 AM) I went straight to my computer to check if there was a sequel, because I was willing to stay for the rest of the night reading that one as well. Unfortunately, there is not yet a sequel considering this book was just released (silly me). So, here we are. First off, if you weren’t sure if you would like this book due to its description then I suggest you give it a read anyways. I personally wasn’t very sure about it either, but trust me, you get sucked in.

Megan Walker was forced to move from her home in California, with her aunt and uncle, after she accidentally froze the lips of the boy she was kissing. Now residing in a small town in Canada, Megan has to start over at a new school. Soon Megan and her new friend Charlotte are approached by a group of five girls that look strangely similar, and stranger yet, similar to Megan as well. After the girls discuss that there must be a connection between them, each one is suddenly kidnapped from each of their homes by tall men with striking blonde hair. But while Megan is being transported by the strange men, she is suddenly rescued (or so she thinks) by another man named Loki. Loki tells her that he is a fire giant, and that the men that tried to kidnap her were frost giants known as jotun. Loki explains that Megan and the other girls were all part of an experiment that the Queen devised to help make the frost giant population grow, and that she is half jotun…which means that the Queen now wants her back. As Megan decides who to trust and which direction to take, she becomes entangled in a life that she never knew existed.

I really REALLY liked this book! The main character having the ability to freeze things with her touch definitely reminded me of the Disney movie Frozen, but with a much darker and elaborated storyline. I have to start out by bringing attention to the fact that the jotun are all tall (hence the fire/frost giant thing) which means that these are TALL FEMALE CHARACTERS. It is probably weird that I am making a point of this, but it seems that most female characters are impossibly short. As being a taller female, I love reading about female characters that are either tall or simply put…just kick ass. Though the character of Charlotte is short, because she does not have enough jotun blood in her, she is still a crazy little ball of fire!

Of course, there is a small love triangle in this story. As Megan (sometimes known as Amora) struggles to figure out who she is supposed to trust, the reader follows her as she has conflicting feelings for Loki the fire giant and Erik the frost giant. Loki is definitely my favorite character, he is very sure of himself, witty, and a quick thinker. Compared to Erik, who seems to be calculated and sterner, he is the more exciting and spontaneous one out of the two. I enjoyed how the author didn’t make the story ALL about a romance, and that she even left the romance hanging in the air a bit at the end. It definitely makes me crave for the next book because I know how much bigger it will be, romantically and in the action/adventure sense.

I wish there could have been more description and detail when reading about the palace and how extravagant it was. I got the idea that it was marvelous, but I had a hard time envisioning it because there wasn’t a lot of detail. I also would have liked to have read more about the Queen. She was in multiple “scenes” and dialogue, but I don’t feel like I really got to know who her character was. So in short, more detail for the characters and the setting.

I CANNOT wait for there to be a sequel to this story, and I hope it comes soon! If you love YA fantasy books, you need to buy this now! I am now addicted 🙂