Ice Magic, Fire Magic

I won Ice Magic, Fire Magic by Shauna Roberts in a Goodreads Firstreads Giveaway.

I was surprised by my reaction to Ice Magic, Fire Magic. The more I read the book, the more I liked it.! When I first received it, I thought it was going to be a story aimed at women. Wrong! It is a complex story of political intrigue, action, magic, and romance.

I suppose the argument could be made that it is a book for women (I dislike the moniker "Chick-Lit"). The story does focus more on the female characters than the male, but given the plot, it makes sense. Magic has been clearly divided between male and female, and of course the female magic is the nurturing variety where male magic is destructive. But the book does a good job of pointing out the necessity of both types of magic, in fact, the female "ruler"(not really the right word, but you'll have to read the book to understand) needs a male "Consort" in order to be complete. It's not a "women are good, men suck" book.

As I said, the more time I spent with Ice Magic, Fire Magic, the more I got pulled into the story. I'm not sure if the book really did start slow, or the fact that I was ill when I began to read it was the cause, but it did take me a while to get into the story. There were plenty of twists and turns which I didn't expect in a "magic" story. There is a hard edge to the story that both surprised me and pleased me. Although suitable for younger readers to be sure, I really felt Shauna Roberts wrote this story for mature readers. It is not a warm and fuzzy fairy tale, it is a story of hard choices and heartbreaking consequences.

If you like your Fantasy stories to be more adult oriented (not because of sexual content) rather than watered down pablum, Ice Magic, Fire Magic by Shauna Roberts fills the bill. Enjoy!


Mike