Charlie N. Holmberg
254 pages
kindle edition
From the Publisher:
Seventeen-year-old Smitha’s wealth, status, and beauty make her the envy of her town—until she rejects a strange man’s marriage proposal and disastrous consequences follow. Smitha becomes cursed, and frost begins to encompass everything she touches. Banished to the hills, hunted by villagers, and chilled to the very core of her soul, she finds companionship with Death, who longs to coax her into his isolated world. But Smitha’s desire for life proves stronger than despair, and a newfound purpose gives her hope. Will regrets over the past and an unexpected desire for a man she cannot touch be enough to warm Smitha’s heart, or will Death forever still it?
Review:
I was pretty excited when I found out that Charlie Holmberg had a new book being released. I enjoyed The Paper Magician series and really wanted to see more of her writing. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book -I was a little worried it might be a little bit like the story of Frozen, but it wasn’t! (thank goodness! Frozen is a fun movie, I wanted a different book.) I really enjoy this story.
It took me longer than I wanted to read it, only because I had a super busy week. Every time I picked it up I wanted to sit and read, but I always got interrupted with different kids and life. The first half of the book wasn’t as hard to pick up and set down (it wasn’t boring or slow, just not as packed if that makes any sense) but after I got going on the second half I decided I was really just going to have to give this book my full attention. It was worth it – waiting till a day I could sit down and read it. It was so fascinating and I loved the ending.
I thought Smitha was such an interesting character. I was able to really picture her and see her grow and change throughout the story. I loved the culture and descriptions. Death was certainly an interesting character that I was not expecting, and at the end he completely surprised me. It is a clean book, there is one mild kissing (make out?) scene – and one that really kinda threw me for a loop because of who it was…. but other than that, it is really well done. This book is geared for young adults/teens but I think adults would love it too.
I loved the moral of the story. LOVED.
I think if you enjoy The Paper Magician series, Shannon Hale, you would enjoy this book. Another read-a-like that really sticks out in my mind is The Great and Terrible Beauty series. If you have enjoyed those then you would like this book – and if you haven’t read those, they are some of my favorites. This book makes me want to re-read them!
Final Score:
