Reviews
Sometimes a book doesn't capture you even if you were pumped for it, but that's all right. Still a good read, but the plot is pretty typical. I feel like I've read this before, despite the unique plot elements. I love the fact that Elli is bisexual but not that her female love interest is killed, which .... okay I hate love triangles but how great would a bi love triangle be okay? Anyways - good, but nothing really special.
I read this in one sitting! This was an A-grade story about what happens when the future you've been groomed for your entire life is supposed to arrive and...it doesn't. Your entire identity becomes a lie, everything you knew to be true was wrong, and you're chucked into the frozen wilderness to die. Elli's story was a great read, & her character felt honest in a way that many YA heroines don't. It was also refreshing to have a lead character that was bisexual, but that aspect wasn't given much of a chance to be explored. :< I also haven't read many books that include such an obvious Finnish influence; a lot of the words & titles used are derived from Finnish words, not to mention the landscape could easily be anywhere in Finland. I went into this thinking the book was a standalone, but I'm glad to find out that it's not! With the way it ended, things will only get more hectic for Elli & friends.
A hard-fought happy ending. Ansa is legit dumbass on main for 98% of this book lol but she makes it through. The final few chapters are def the best and my overall gauge for this trilogy has been alright! Not bad, but I wish the world wasn't so claustrophobic.
A buddy read with my dear friend Brittney ~ Her Bookish Things! Love that girl. So this book... EHHHH. I would say that I did not get into this book until maybe the last third. I was interested enough to keep going and curious enough to know what was going to happen next, but did I really care a lot about Elli? Not really, sadly. ICE and FIRE. This magic is super cool. That is the power in this land. Everyone has a little of both and some can heal with it or control things with it. Like I said, it's magic. There is one person who has a lot of BOTH, which is unusual, and that is the queen, or the Valtia. One girl carries the world on her shoulder with this power to keep the people safe. They usually die super young, but with the help of their long-lived priest they will do what they can in the time they are given. Elli is () and she is next in line to be the Valtia. When the unexpected happens, she is thrown into the role she has been training for her whole life. She was taken from her family and had the mark to be just this. So when it doesn't happen... The most interesting character in my opinion doesn't really get into the story until about a fourth through. Oskar was your typical tormented guy doing the right thing by everyone he loves. Elli was your typical thrown-into-it girl who comes out swinging. Both not people that I found with any interesting and unique traits or voice. And then the next book's description doesn't even have the characters introduced in this book in them? I'm not sure about this. I would say I am happy I read this book and I will probably read the next one. But would I read this series over again? Probably not. It was Fine. It was such an awesome idea of a book. But the deliverance of it was kind of... meh. It was enough to keep me interested but not enough for me to fan girl over.
