Synopsis:
A Queen of Ice is the fifth and final book in A Trial of Sorcerers, a young adult, epic fantasy series intended for readers who love stories sorcerer competitions, slow-burn romance, adventures to distant lands, good triumphing over evil, and elemental magic.
A pirate doesn’t ask…they take.
Ravaged by grief and driven to the brink, Eira and her crew are caught at the heart of a … Five kingdoms on the verge of war… An empire poised to crush them all… A pirate queen terrorizing the seas… And a madman, the architect of every shattered dream, broken heart, and spilled blood. He is on the verge of achieving is dream of ushering in a new era—one ruled by his iron fist and fueled by blind, unwavering loyalty. His only mistake? He made it personal for the one woman powerful enough to stop him.
Eira is done playing by the rules. Done holding back her magic, her heart, and her fury. She’s ready to crush her enemies, their vision, and anyone who dares to stand in her way.
With everything on the line, Eira will show the world they were right when they called her “dangerous” all those years ago. She’s going to claim victory for herself, or die trying.
Review:
Let’s just say the review you’re about to read is not the one I was expecting to write for A Queen of Ice. I’ve made it very obvious by now how much I love Elise Kova’s books, but this one really didn’t do it for me. This is 100% my least favourite instalment of this series, and possibly my least favourite Elise Kova release to date (that I’ve read).
My review of the previous book talked about how much I hated the love triangle, and guess what? I still do! If anything, it was even worse in this book. It really felt like the romance between Eira and Olivin was being forced. Every time Eira wouldn’t choose between him and Cullen drove me mad. Their interactions aren’t at all comparable when it comes to connection and emotion. I’ve been a Cullen girl from day one, so I’m a little biased, but he feels so much more genuine. Part of me thinks Olivin just likes her power. He spent most of the book either disregarding her thoughts on plans or telling her he thinks she’s making the wrong choice. I just don’t get at what point we’re supposed to root for him.
Cullen spent the entire book worshipping Eira and telling her how much he loves her and yet she still can’t decide. Honestly, she didn’t deserve him. Also, his character became so one-sided. In my review of the first book I talked about how he’s such a complex, layered character that has so much potential. Well, that potential was wasted.
Anyway here are basically all of my highlights for A Queen of Ice, all related to Cullen:
- “Something about the look filled her with confidence, a rush that went straight to her head. There wasn’t a trace of doubt in his eyes.”
- “Eira interrupted him by pressing her mouth firmly against his. Cullen’s hand was in her hair, nails scraping against her scalp. It was seconds long. Nothing much. Brief enough that it could’ve been forgotten in a breath. Yet, if it was nothing more than a breath, it was the first breath of spring. The first breath of air after being under too long.”
- “In his eyes was a promise: He’d tear down the town, if that’s what it took to save her.”
- “How long did you fall out of love with me?” The opposite corner of his mouth drew up into a coy smirk. “And when did you fall again?”
If you’re bored of morally grey men (I doubt it but hear me out), can I introduce you to Eira Landan? She’s probably one of the most morally grey women we’ve seen in recent times. In A Queen of Ice she’s basically unidentifiable from the girl she started A Trial of Sorcerers as. No longer the scared, naive girl we once knew, Eira is truly a Queen of ice. I personally didn’t enjoy this arc very much but I have a feeling some people will love it.
Her need for revenge is understandable, but as I just said, she’s unidentifiable from the girl we once knew. I think a lot of the choices she made go against her core beliefs, and while it is great to see such a powerful woman, she felt more like a lost little girl in this instalment than she did at the start of book two.
There’s not a lot of humour in this book, but this part did make me laugh “Damn the Pillars for being such good moles.” “Indeed. Being a good mole is my responsibility,” Ducot said under his breath.” After the events of the previous book it was so nice to see Ducot making jokes again.
I wish I had more positives to talk about for A Queen of Ice but it genuinely did not provide the ‘epic conclusion’ it promised. The final showdown was lacklustre and far too much time was spent on Eira whining about how she was supposed to choose between Cullen and Olivin – which was also a large part of the previous instalment. The Pillars and Ulvarth didn’t feel like the huge threat they were built up to be and I think this series would have been much better as a trilogy with a faster pace. It felt like not a lot happened in the final two instalments and the pacing was far too slow.
A Queen of Ice will not deter me completely from Elise Kova’s books. I have adored pretty much everything else I’ve read from her and I really want to re-read the Air Awakens series at some point.
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