As punishment for plotting with his brothers to steal immortality, Garreth is suffering a freezing torment until the end of time. Again and again, his fierce fighter’s physique is frozen into a chiseled ice sculpture, his heart hardening like a diamond in his chest—only to thaw and resume the chilling torture. Until, like his older brother Dethan, he is offered a reprieve from a goddess—in exchange for his allegiance in a celestial civil war.
Garreth lives to fight and fights to live. But while laying siege to an embattled city, he finds another reason to go on—a beautiful warrior woman named Sarielle, who commands a mythic beast through a mysterious and powerful bond. Terrified of her strength, the city rulers have kept her captive, and now she refuses to submit to a new master. As Garreth seeks to unleash her passion and melt the icy resistance of her heart, will he become her ultimate salvation—or lead them both to greater destruction?
Mea culpa ... I had forgotten how Jacquelyn Frank sometimes likes to "surprise" her readers, not always in a positive way. I admit I had lowered my guard.
In fact I just finished to decant the praises on Dethan, in the previous book review and here he falls from the pedestal, but let's go with order.
"Cursed by Ice" is the book on Garreth, Dethan's little brother, while the female protagonist is Sarielle, a woman who has an extraordinary power: she's a wrena, a woman tied up body and soul to a wyvern, a dragon.
I liked the book enough, although it doesn't convinced me in everything.
Garreth is a great fighter, but also an idealist and this often makes him wrong while he approaches towards the reality of things and different cultures. I really liked the way he tries to earn the trust of Sarielle, his protective instinct toward her, but also to her dragon. His honesty and lack of ulterior motive in wanting to help, unfortunately sometimes his way of thinking and some choices that are a bit tortuous.
Sarielle and her dragon are the characters in the book that fascinated me the most, their bond and their story, a unique relationship almost "mother-child", even for the way she has managed to create the bond with this creature, stealing an egg, and then waiting for the birth of the little one and becoming its only reference as a real mother. A scary Dragon, which is actually still a big baby who needs pampering, but it becomes extremely dangerous and protective with Sarielle.
She chose this life to be precious and indispensable and so protect her sisters, although it proved to be a double-edged sword, since the girls then become the easiest way to put her under blackmail and make her a slave to those who govern the city until the arrival of Garreth.
Garreth must pass several tests to win Sarielle's trust and love, almost always exceeds these tests, sometimes not, thanks to the "help" of his brother and a female figure and a bit disturbing, Davine, who to maintain her privileges does everything to lure away Garreth from Sarielle. And here are the painful note between me and this book: Dethan and his totally unacceptable behavior, and he's even a little coward, leaving all the dirty work to Davine. Maybe the distance from his wife made him really bad ... but where is the brave warrior, who speaks his mind freely that had so fascinated me in "Cursed by Fire"? I'm perplexed to say the least.
Apart from this little, very personal problem with Dethan character, I still think it's an interesting series to follow, full of magic, passion, intrigue and action, with a touch of unpredictability, because of the intervention of the gods in the lives of these four brothers, their mood and changes to plans that they will reserve them in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the book.
RATING: 3 stars
TITLE: Cursed by Ice
AUTHOR: Jacquelyn Frank
SERIES: Immortal Brothers #2
PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
Mea culpa ... I had forgotten how Jacquelyn Frank sometimes likes to "surprise" her readers, not always in a positive way. I admit I had lowered my guard.In fact I just finished to decant the praises on Dethan, in the previous book review and here he falls from the pedestal, but let's go with order.
"Cursed by Ice" is the book on Garreth, Dethan's little brother, while the female protagonist is Sarielle, a woman who has an extraordinary power: she's a wrena, a woman tied up body and soul to a wyvern, a dragon.
I liked the book enough, although it doesn't convinced me in everything.
Garreth is a great fighter, but also an idealist and this often makes him wrong while he approaches towards the reality of things and different cultures. I really liked the way he tries to earn the trust of Sarielle, his protective instinct toward her, but also to her dragon. His honesty and lack of ulterior motive in wanting to help, unfortunately sometimes his way of thinking and some choices that are a bit tortuous.
Sarielle and her dragon are the characters in the book that fascinated me the most, their bond and their story, a unique relationship almost "mother-child", even for the way she has managed to create the bond with this creature, stealing an egg, and then waiting for the birth of the little one and becoming its only reference as a real mother. A scary Dragon, which is actually still a big baby who needs pampering, but it becomes extremely dangerous and protective with Sarielle.
She chose this life to be precious and indispensable and so protect her sisters, although it proved to be a double-edged sword, since the girls then become the easiest way to put her under blackmail and make her a slave to those who govern the city until the arrival of Garreth.
Garreth must pass several tests to win Sarielle's trust and love, almost always exceeds these tests, sometimes not, thanks to the "help" of his brother and a female figure and a bit disturbing, Davine, who to maintain her privileges does everything to lure away Garreth from Sarielle. And here are the painful note between me and this book: Dethan and his totally unacceptable behavior, and he's even a little coward, leaving all the dirty work to Davine. Maybe the distance from his wife made him really bad ... but where is the brave warrior, who speaks his mind freely that had so fascinated me in "Cursed by Fire"? I'm perplexed to say the least.
Apart from this little, very personal problem with Dethan character, I still think it's an interesting series to follow, full of magic, passion, intrigue and action, with a touch of unpredictability, because of the intervention of the gods in the lives of these four brothers, their mood and changes to plans that they will reserve them in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the book.
RATING: 3 stars
TITLE: Cursed by Ice
AUTHOR: Jacquelyn Frank
SERIES: Immortal Brothers #2
PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
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