Autumn (The Fire and Ice Trilogy, Book Two 2)

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like something was That things dragged on more than they should have had? Like the story could've been tighter, could've had the same essential elements and plot points, AND still give a sense of completeness, as if this small story arc of a bigger story arc has been reached? I flailed over it, ga Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like something was I flailed over it, gave it 5-fantastic-stars, and shoved the book and its pretty cover!

It was a Young Adult fantasy with the Seasons as the theme for the four primary kingdoms out of eight, something I thought was pretty cool and wished I had thought of before ; it had a pretty kick-ass heroine who I thought was better than Celaena Sardothien; it had a premise that was, okay, unoriginal, but was written and executed in a way that made it a breath of fresh air.

So, as for the second book? Only for me to end up as There are so many things in this book that simply didn't click with me. I'll just put them in list form, lest I go on a dragging rant and I know for sure I've had enough of that today 1. Two POVS, two different perspectives and tenses? I really didn't understand the need to do this. Meira is in 1st person present tense, and Mather is in 3rd person past tense and that not only confused the heck out of me, but bugged me so much that there were times I had to take a break because it was frustrating me.

I get the use of this if both characters were in different timelines - like Meira was talking about things in the present, and Mather's POVs were flashbacks, but that wasn't the case at all. They were all in the same timeline so why use past tense in one POV? Maybe this is some sort of literary trick that I am not aware of, and that there is actually a need for it that only writers are aware of, but I just couldn't get it What happened to the kick-ass Meira?

She wanted to help in every way she can in order to retrieve their kingdom back.

Fire and Ice Trilogy by K.F. Breene

Meira here is very, very different - she is overly-cautious and is very conflicted by what she wants to do and what she feels she must do. Even though she is 'careful' with the paths she chooses, she keeps making foolish decisions that bite her in the ass, and after these, gets conflicted again and we're treated to her internal narrations that seem to repeat themselves over and over and over.

I was just over it, really. I'm all for character development and such, but hers took its bloody damn time that by the last third of the book, I was just rolling my eyes at her inefficiency. It felt like this development of hers stalled for a long time in the middle of the book, and it just lost its magic on me. Gone were the intricate world-building that I loved in the next book, and it was filled with almost-monotonous self-loathing and self-pitying that I wanted to just bang my head onto a wall.

I even skipped pages of this self-wallowing of hers and even went back to reading when the story finally moved from its periodical hibernation. Her "redemption" at the end happened far too late and at that point, I just wanted the story to get a move on already. Such a long book, but nothing was achieved, merely becoming a build-up to the third book.

This is what I hate the most in this book - the fact that we were given a short-term goal in order to fulfill a long-term one, and the book ends in the middle of finishing short-term goal. This specific point is the number one reason why I feel so damn disappointed in this story, the fact that there this book is so long, and yet, it feels like it doesn't achieve anything.

Did they achieve the goal they set out to do in the beginning of the second book? No, they did not. In fact, it could be said they were about to just start it at end of the book, so now I'm raging. Am I still going to read the third book? Yes, but I wouldn't be anticipating it as much. Take my opinion as one of many, though.

If the things above don't bother you, then I'm sure you'd end up liking this. View all 14 comments. Jul 16, Neil or bleed rated it really liked it Shelves: I want to find a way to save everyone and LIVE. I know I've read this for several days but I think it has been alright since I've gotten enough time to absorb its complex story and appreciate its beauty. Ice Like Fire is less action and more politics. If you've read the Snow Like Ashes, you know the details. Now, Meira isn't comfortable to their alliance with Cordell. She knows Noam, the king of Cordell, and his evil p "I want to live.

She knows Noam, the king of Cordell, and his evil plan. So Meira is trying to form an alliance with the other kingdoms that has something to do with the magic chasm. And that's why the story revolved around more on politics and the role of Meira as the queen of Winter.

I admit, at first, I found the book boring. There's nothing to excite me. I can't get into it. I thought it was slow. But when I've realized the problem is me, I stopped reading the book and started a new one. Maybe, I'm stressed or something. Okay, I know I'm being exaggerated there haha but I am really compelled and intrigued with the political drama of this book.

I never get to read a lot of high fantasy novels so the political dynamics fascinated me and learned alot about it. I, actually, can't describe well the politics in this book but I know that it did impress me in one way or another. I like Meira more and Mather and Theron and every character in this book, even the new ones. They've grown a lot especially Meira who matured, not just as a warrior girl but as the Winter queen, too.

She knows she needs to save Winter and her people but she isn't the kind who wants to die saving her people. She wants to save Winter and live and I love her about it. In fact, Meira is one of the female protagonists I truly admire now. Mather has been great, too. He got emo and angsty but it is understandable. And along the way, he became the person he needs to be. And he got friends and comrades that was phenomenal or should I say the kind worth watching for. I have four words to describe Theron. He will surprise you. Among these main characters, every minor character were so interesting to read on, too.

They have their own depths and fleshed out in a subtle way. I know there are more to come for them in the third book and I'm excited about it. The description of every kingdom, I must say, has been very good. It is evident the major difference between kingdoms-- the lifestyle of people, the dresses, customs and values, jobs and works and people itself. Lets go to the major twist that I didn't expect at all. The whole book is hinting about it but I didn't see it. But I swear this twist is the best thing ever, for me. Because wow the shit just got realer and the intensity has gotten stronger.

I couldn't ask for more. View all 31 comments. The next book is going to be so good.

Fire and Ice Trilogy by K.F. Breene

I've seen some people who have a problem with the slower pace of this book, but I liked being able to get a stronger sense of the world and characters when the plot spent more time in each area. I loved having Mather's POV thrown in to strengthen his character, too! He's definitely one of my favorites right now. And I also appreciated that the romance wasn't the central part of this book. One of my favorite parts of this story was watching Meira deal with questions like "don't the good people deserve to be powerful" and whether everyone deserves the same thing.

And I LOVE the idea that Meria's very existence kept her people from safety and what she might have to do in the next book. It just gave the story a lot more depth to have those kind of debates woven into an already strong fantasy world. So I thought everything worked pretty well here and am excited for the final book! View all 13 comments.

Apr 09, Lara rated it liked it. Meira may not be the greatest protogonist and love triangle that occurs in this book may make you roll your eyes more than times, BUT I just love the world that's written in this book! I really don't know why Primoria fascinates me this much but mate, isn't it amazing? Seasons,rhytms,conduits and more and more! We see Meira as queen in this book, well she was better when she was just stubborn Meira who wanted to save her kingdom.

She had a huge character development and I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. Her dedication to her kingdom was applaudable though. Mather was much more better in this book then in Snow Like Ashes! I didn't like him at all in the first book but both his actions and his POV's made me love him, he was flawed and imperfect but who isn't? I adored his choices and actions! He was my favorite I'm out of words about Theron so for the sake of my heart I'll just pass this one. There were new characters! She was so cool! I knew I was going to love her right from the page one! I just need to read Frost Like Night to know what happens next!

This book tend to be boring and annoying at times, it did not have action and dynamism as much as Snow Like Ashes. However last two-three chapters were like an episode of Game of Thrones, after one certain point I lost the count of deaths lol And now the wait begins for the third and last book View all 8 comments. Fans don't seem to like you as much as Theron, but that means more of you for me, right?

View all 20 comments. Apr 26, Andreea Pop rated it liked it Shelves: Unavoidable spoilers from the first book. Dear book, You started on the wrong foot from the very beginning when you chose to go with the magic chasm route. You see, as Meira herself pointed out countless times, the possibility of finding it when for centuries no one did is truly laughable.

But somehow it was found during your first pages. From there on, your entire plot was centered on this back-and-forth idea that the magic chasm needs to stay shut, yet it should open. The only good Unavoidable spoilers from the first book. The only good thing that came out of that Order and keys mess was that we got to visit the rest of the kingdoms.

Summer was a waste of pages, besides the introduction with Ceridwen, who was a bit too superior even for my tastes. Yakim was intriguing, but stuck-up nonetheless. And Ventralli was magical, but a touch too many of craziness, though I loved the romantic drama kudos for the juiciness. In terms of pace, you truly lack equilibrium. The first three quarters were filled with boredom-inducing blabbering and the continuous tiring dynamic between Meira and Theron.

Gods, they don't know the meaning of the word "communication". And then when the shit hit the fan, it was all kinds of awesome but it was too late to make up for the previous dull atmosphere. At least you tried.

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I have to say that I do not like your Queen Meira. The spunk, fierceness and snark of the heroine we were sold in your prequel pretty much disintegrated and left us with an indecisive and overwhelmed teenager set on the goal to save everyone. Well, next time you see her, please tell her to wake up from dreaming with her eyes wide open and focus for now on the fate of her fellow Winterians, because they're basically screwed. And I almost forgot: I mean, when you pretty much implement a personality-swap for Theron and have chapters from Mather's POV, one can see where you're standing in this whole love triangle.

I'll grant that you might have changed my opinion about Mather for the better, but Theron proved to me in the end that his only flaws are naivety, idealism and a very good heart. I'm not going to be a Mather supporter all of a sudden just because Theron is too kind. However, I realized that I won't be biting my nails over Meira's final romantic choice, because honestly? I don't particularly care about these characters anymore.

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Congratulations on this achievement. The rest of your characters barely managed to keep me awake. William transformed into this petulant little thing, so at odds with the strong figure he'd been I almost wept. I did enjoy Conall and Garrigan though, but Nessa was so underdeveloped I shouldn't even mention her. Mather's Thaw reminded me of those cartoons called Titans and actually got some pity out of me because they think they're important. But Allyson, for what it's worth, made me teary-eyed with one single appearance.

I really don't know what will happen next with your story, because this train-wreck is heading straight to an Allegiant -like finish line, a direction which I haven't yet made up my mind if I approve of or not. What's for sure is that your continuation will definitely have its own share of surprises but I'm not so eager to get my hands on it as I did for you because I've been burnt one too many times.

So here we are. I'm sorry to say that you are deeply flawed and only your last quarter or so saved me from rating you with those nasty 2 stars. I'm sorry to see that you could've hit grandness, yet you settled for extremely ordinary. And I'm downright sorry that you suffered from the sequel syndrome when I wanted so much for you to succeed. But I think you should be sorry as well for ruining my overall giddiness and excitement at your potential.

Sincerely, One of your initially excited readers, now caught in a bitter state of disappointment P. Don't worry, I'll still buy you for your kickass cover once you come out in October. View all 18 comments. It's been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring's king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. Primoria's lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against 3. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm's secrets, Meira plans on using the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron.

The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Jannuari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell's growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter's security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken Kingdom and protect them from new threats? As the web of power and deception is woven tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter but for the world. It was fast paced, packed cover to cover with action, and had a lot of character development. This book was the complete opposite.

The book lagged, there were only a couple of action scenes, and the characters were really lacking. I was expecting so much, more especially since I read amazing reviews and ratings. Present in the last half of the book? The main purpose of this book was to find three keys to open the magic chasm and you know when we realized this? A third of the way through the book. Then once we were on our way the really action packed and interesting scenes were cut down to a couple of pages.

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I found myself skimming over pages at a time because all they contained were more repeated descriptions or unimportant commentary. The characters were average for most of the book. Meira was struggling between being her old soldier-like self and her new queen-like self. In Snow Like Ashes I thought Theron was the best choice for Meira but after reading pages of Theron complaining, saying stupid things, etc.

But, then again Mather is very back and forth. He loves her not. They were the hilarious and thrilling glue that held this average book together. The Children of the Thaw made me remember how it felt to really want someone to succeed. They showed how even if all the odds are against you; you can still win. Giving us some much needed tension, skepticism, laughter, and insight into the kingdoms we ventured into. Without these supporting characters and a select few main characters I probably would have dnfed this book around page The ending was really interesting.

If the book started, or the middle of this book, was this exciting I would have been extremely happy. The sad part about the ending, was that it was only 2 chapters long, that is 31 or so chapters too short. All in all I was very disappointed with how this book turned out. It had such great potential, but just fell flat. I wanted to smack so many people in this book that I lost count. This book is no where near as good as the first book, in my opinion. I think for me it was all of the politics that went on for most of the book and the going back and forth with poor Meira trying to figure out what was best for the people of Winter.

I can tell you what is best Okay, we know http: Okay, we know that doesn't happen. I didn't like Theron until the end of the book when you find out why he was making dumb arse decisions. Meira decides she needs to travel to the different places and try to get allies. I mean you have to have someone besides Noam, who is working your people to death in the mines to pay back all Winter owes to him I still love Mather and Sir and a few others, but it seems like most of the time everyone is wandering around doing stupid stuff and you want to smack them too.

I really liked Ceridwen in the book. She is from Summer and she is good but her brother is a jerk. When they find the chasm of magic, Meira decides she needs to find these keys and keep Noam from opening the thing because she knows it's going to cause all kinds of trouble and she's right. So, while she's on this diplomatic travel to the different places, she has to find the keys there as well.

It seems to not be as hard as it seems to find the keys if you have a good brain, but then someone does something stupid when they find the keys and I want to do some more smacking! If your looking for a book like the first one that's full of action.. I don't have to have a lot of action going on in a book, but I like the story to be interesting.

Parts of this one was interesting for me and other parts were not. All of that being said It's on and I can't tell you why, or who, or what. Just know that with the way it ended there is huge hopes of a battle to end all battles. I'm so glad Winter are the good guys because I love Winter in real life Let's do this! Even though I didn't like this book as much as the first, I have learned from experience that I don't always like all of the books in a trilogy or series and not to give up just because you didn't like one more than the other.

There is always more to read and they always bounce back. Plus, there are plenty that loved it and that's awesome! Mar 05, Samantha rated it really liked it. As you can see from my updates, I got sucked into this book in spite of myself. Props fo As you can see from my updates, I got sucked into this book in spite of myself.

Props for crafting an excellent plot, that's all I can think of. I loved Ceridwen from the moment she showed up; she almost reminded me of Nehemia, my favorite part of Throne of Glass, but Because that whole book was a blahfest and this one grew on me. Ceri was the standout here, for me.

I love this world and the season-kingdoms, did I mention that last time? It attracts my elemental self: And the rulers of each place they visited were different, not necessarily cookie-cutter people.

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Oh, and I suppose I could mention Mather's Thaw crew nice name choice btw , because they're cool too no pun intended. Mather spent this book being emo and angsty AF, but past that I actually think I saw character growth. That counts as growth to me. As for Meira herself, she's still a cool heroine and we see her bogged down by having to choose between doing what she wants and what she knows is best for the kingdom as a whole -- a more mature, far-reaching decision than she had to make in the first book.

And then in all the hullabaloo in Ventrali, Theron just kind of disappeared. It made for killer dramatics in the end, but that was weird because it was noticeable. I actually found myself wondering at one point " What's he doing right now? I'm positive we haven't seen the last of Theron, though, so I haven't given up all hope yet not until she has to kill him and break both our hearts but I really liked this book for the story.

Meira wasn't useless, she made new friends, and she's growing up and taking on more responsibility. Andddd I just bought Snow Like Ashes. Because I'm invested in this series. And the covers are pretty. Dec 30, Cheska rated it it was ok. This book took wayyy longer for me to read because literally nothing was happening until the last 20 pages or so, where it seemed like the author just squeezed in a befuddling, abrupt, and a super rushed battle scene just to give this book a 'big' ending that ultimately paves way for the final book. I've never felt more frustrated at how everyone in this book acted out of character, and it's as if all the character development in the first book was completely futile.

RIP toallthegreatcharacte This book took wayyy longer for me to read because literally nothing was happening until the last 20 pages or so, where it seemed like the author just squeezed in a befuddling, abrupt, and a super rushed battle scene just to give this book a 'big' ending that ultimately paves way for the final book. Masochistic as it sounds, I'm actually still going to finish this series. The third book 'apparently' gets better and out of pure curiosity, I'd still like to know how the author will conclude this story. However, this book may have also eviscerated any single shred of sympathy I have for our main character, so I'm not even afraid of what tragedy concerning the characters might occur in the next book.

View all 6 comments. Feb 21, Gabi Graceffo rated it really liked it Shelves: Magic is all about choice. Choosing to use it, choosing to surrender to it, choosing to take it from the chasm--choosing to let it break in defense of a kingdom. The most powerful magic of all is choice, and of that power, the strongest choice anyone can make is an act of sacrifice.

It seems like this is the year of the mighty greats in my ever-expanding library. Though this book may not have reached the caliber of some of the others, I still enjoyed i Magic is all about choice. Though this book may not have reached the caliber of some of the others, I still enjoyed it immensely and will anxiously await the next installment. And can we look at the cover for just a moment please, because damn that is gorgeous. Anyway, I'm sure you care more about the content than the cover, so let's get this show on the road. The magic chasm, this ancient power locked within the high mountains of Winter, is suddenly rediscovered with Cordell's endless pursuit of power.

However, the chasm is locked by, you guessed it, more magic shocker, I know. This leads Meira, Theron, and their collective guard on a quest to seek the three keys that will unlock magic for the entire population of the realm, though both characters feel very differently about their motives. The plot, though unyielding at first, caught me up in its thrill relatively easily within the first hundred pages. The traveling between the various states seemed a bit lengthy to me, however this could have been intended for the reader to empathize with Meira's emotional tension.

The quest seemed a bit stereotypical at first, but the character's emotions elevated the story above any previous connections to other novels. One thing that threw me off quite a bit and didn't seem to resolve until the last fifty pages or so was Mather's perspective. I hadn't been expecting it, and maybe that's because it's been a while since I read the first book in this series, but the narrative and tense jumps was a real struggle for me.

It helped that the pronouns remained constant, rather than the shifting first perspective found in many dual narrative books, but the switch from present to past tense threw me off pretty badly. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why Raasch did it: But it still made the novel a bit jumpy and disconnected to me. But that's only one little thing in a huge pile of a wonderful novel. The characters' emotions in this novel by far surpassed those of the previous one. The betrayals, the twists, the different emotional turmoils were all beautifully done and I couldn't be happier with them.

Meira's struggles not only to control magic, but to understand her place in the world were very enlightening to her character and extremely relatable--well, not the magic part I suppose--to the reader to gain that emotional and thoughtful empathy. One thing I did wish for was a bit more action in the novel overall. The finale was amazing and extremely well written and paced, though I was a bit confused before I connected all the dots of the mystery, but I wish that we could have had the warrior queen all along. Because let's agree that Meira is a badass, alright?

And I just kind of missed this kind of badassery that we had in the first book. But, we also got a good dose of political intrigue that lead to political badassery, so I guess I'm happy with the queen. I do wish we got to know a bit more about was the individual kingdom politics and more about how they run and how their morals and ethics were formed. We got a small snapshot, but it left me wanting a bit more simply because I love history and diplomatic interactions. And then there's the rest of the crew.

Mather did somewhat majorly annoy the shit of me, but he recovered himself. Theron did essentially the opposite, but his character line was a very interesting one to watch disintegrate. Though I still stand by hatred of love triangles, and this one focused on it a lot more than the previous book, I found that if I pushed it aside and focused on Meira's emotions and the overarching story, I could deal with it.

It was one of the most detracting things about the book, but it can be ignored in a way some of the other discrepancies can't. Was this book perfect? Was it really enjoyable and relatable? Overall I did really like it, it just had several things that were a bit difficult to take at face value, but could be moved around with a little effort. Thank you guys so much for all the kind words on my reviews, it means a lot, and thanks for sticking with me through some of the reading slumps, exams are kind of terrible that way.

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I was totally impressed at this way of worldbuilding because never once did I feel like there was any kind of info-dumping. Meira basically relied on herself, and even her new alliances were tender and uncertain.

I found that Meira was to standoffish, even with a certain character whose inevitable betrayal I saw coming but not with the right motivation , to really be shocked when everything turned to shit. I found the idea of the Decay being responsible for much of the motivation early in the books hard to accept as there was no foreshadowing or warning that this was the motivation used by certain characters. View all 7 comments. May 04, Nanna rated it liked it. I don't think this book lived up to Snow Like Ashes but it was an okay follow up.

I'm slightly disappointed but still eagerly awaiting the next one! I LOVED the first book, liked this one so I guess it's up to the third book to see if the series is overall a great one. Meira was still very strong but why did she annoy me? I was so used to Book 1 Meira, who was fierce and had no probl 3. I was so used to Book 1 Meira, who was fierce and had no problem doing what needed to be done. Theron and Mather, I'm very confused as to how I feel about them. I still like Theron but goodness, some parts made me want to slap him.

Mather, what role did he actually have? I just felt pretty pretty bad for him. I don't know, I think I'm just a big mess after this read haha Nov 08, Karima chermiti rated it it was ok Shelves: The characters were foolish, 1: The characters were foolish, whiny, annoying and stupid. She is a mediocre protagonist and I struggled being stuck in her bland mind. And would authors just stop do this thing in love triangles when they take a great male character and ruin it completely so the protagonist would pick the other love interest? I really felt like the author was spoiling her characters, making them do all things easily like she was afraid in putting them in dangerous situations.

The fast paced action packed quality of the first book was absolutely absent in this one, there is no sense of urgency, no tension, no intensity. I give up, I can't do this anymore. This book is that bad. View all 3 comments. Sigo siendo Team Mather, pero me es 4. Sigo siendo Team Mather, pero me es imposible odiara Theron. Lo intento, de verdad Jan 10, Jennifer rated it it was amazing. Meira owes a debt to Cordellan that has to be paid. Meira and Theron take off on a scavenger hunt to find a way to open it all under the disguise of visiting kingdoms creating peace and introducing Winter back to the world.

The scavenger hunt goes pretty easy for Meira. Meira and Theron clash as they have different viewpoints on their missions. I love Meira and Theron and sometimes their fights were annoying and Meira seemed to o Meira owes a debt to Cordellan that has to be paid.

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I love Meira and Theron and sometimes their fights were annoying and Meira seemed to over think things but I understood that she is always putting her people first. Mather has to stay behind but continues training a little group of rebels. Retrieved December 12, On The Way — Not a Blog". Event occurs at Archived from the original on March 29, Things are getting worse". Retrieved December 21, Archived from the original on April 4, Retrieved February 4, Archived from the original on March 27, Retrieved March 26, Archived from the original on May 11, Archived from the original on June 3, Retrieved January 8, Martin surprises Song of Ice and Fire fans with free chapter of next book".

Retrieved January 21, Archived from the original on April 19, Retrieved April 11, Read a new excerpt from George R. Martin's next Game of Thrones novel". Retrieved July 15, Archived from the original on December 27, Retrieved November 2, Retrieved November 25, Martin teases the prologue and plotlines of 'The Winds of Winter ' ". Retrieved February 2, Retrieved February 15, The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, Retrieved February 16, A Song of Ice and Fire: Retrieved February 9, R April 8, Retrieved April 12, Retrieved April 20, Retrieved January 17, Martin talks A Dance With Dragons ".

Barbarians at the gate". A fantasy author and his impatient fans". Retrieved April 23, Retrieved October 9, Retrieved August 20, Retrieved 12 December Archived from the original on March 12, Martin determined to finish book by — EW. Book to be out before Game of Thrones Season 6". Retrieved June 12, George RR Martin's next book might finally be coming". Archived from the original on September 12, Archived from the original on January 2,