Tag: jill criswell

Book Review: Souls of Fire and Steel (Frozen Sun Saga #3) by Jill Criswell

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 450 pages
Author: Jill Criswell
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: September 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

To save her lover’s life, Lira of Stone swore allegiance to a demigod known as the Dragon. She’s transformed into his weapon—the Dragon’s deathbringer, using her gifts to conquer nations and unleash demons. Yet there’s a part of Lira not even the Dragon can stifle, and the soul-reader must find a way to free herself before he declares war against the gods.

After the warrior Reyker Lagorsson attempted to overthrow the Dragon, Reyker’s soul was fractured. Now, he’s a shadow of his former self, and his battle-madness grows stronger by the day. Reyker will stop at nothing to kill the Dragon and his mysterious death-bringer before his curse consumes him.

In the final installment of the Frozen Sun Saga, Lira and Reyker face off as enemies, confront their worst nightmares, and make their last stand against the Dragon. But can a god be killed? And if so, at what cost?

SATISFYING CONCLUSION.

I finally took the time to finish this series and I loved it! What a great YA fantasy trilogy y’all. If you only get this far in my review, I definitely recommend for your TBR.

This is heavy in the romance (YAY) so I appreciate that my two favs don’t have to spend a lot of time separated. Even if things aren’t running smoothly while they’re together I can’t stand when a couple is separated for too long. It makes a book drag.

The plot is solid. This series has one of my favorite villains. I kind of hate that I love him? He’s completely warped and consumed, yet the small tidbits of humanity make him layered. He keeps things interesting.

I wanted a bit more from the ending. I thought things were going to be a little different, and it all worked out by the VERY end, but the waiting was a little frustrating.

All in all. READ it. Viking inspired, plenty of action, a forbidden romance and more.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, highly descriptive blood and gore, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Kingdom of Ice and Bone (Frozen Sun Saga #2) by Jill Criswell

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 300 pages
Author: Jill Criswell
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: September 22nd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lira and Reyker have lost everything. Including each other.

Lira of Stone watched her home burn and her clan fall beneath the sword of the warlord known as the Dragon. She believes the man she loves, a warrior who defected from the Dragon s army, is dead. Alongside her exiled brother and his band of refugees, she will fight the forces that conquered her island. But the greatest danger may come from Lira herself with the blood of banished gods running through her veins, she s become a weapon, and no one is safe from the power of her wrath.

Reyker Lagorsson thought he was done being a Dragonman. That was before he saw Lira leap from a cliff and vanish into the sea. Determined to honor her memory by protecting her people, Reyker must feign loyalty to the warlord, undermine him at every turn, and seek alliances with renegade soldiers without succumbing to the battle-madness that threatens to possess him once more.

When the Fallen Ones offer Lira a chance to defeat the Dragon, her quest leads her to a place she never expected Iseneld, the warlord s homeland. Her journey into the heart of the Frozen Sun will put her on a collision course with Reyker, costing both of them more than they ever imagined, and leaving her with a terrible choice: to save their countries, she must forsake everything she loves.

WHAT KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT.

Wow, that one threw me through a loop. Goodness gracious. I still can’t believe that’s what happened and now I’m very concerned as to how this will all wrap up in the last book. I need answers. I need things to go a certain way! AH.

This was a pretty good middle book. Once again, loved the audio book. There was even more action and I loved seeing more of this world and where Reyker grew up. Getting more backstory on the Dragon and seeing an oddly humane side of him really layered his character. I love a good villain that has their own history to play into the plot.

My biggest issue was unfortunately how the romance. Reyker and Lira were good and set to find each other sooner rather than later, and instead, found each other after the halfway mark and only for a few chapters?! WHY. I hate when things are dragged out like that and they can’t actually work together. That was frustrating.

I love all of the Viking aspects and the writing is great. I find myself flying through the story because I adore these characters and feel connected to what is happening and wanting to know more. I’m excited to finish the third book soon!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses/make-outs to closed door
  • Violence: physical altercations, magical attacks, murder, war themes

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Book Review: Beasts of the Frozen Sun (Frozen Sun Saga #1) by Jill Criswell

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Jill Criswell
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: August 6th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust.

Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people’s souls, to see someone’s true essence with only a touch of her hand.

When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland–one of the fearful marauders from the land of the Frozen Sun–Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith. He confides in her that he’s been cursed with what his people call battle-madness, forced to fight for the warlord known as the Dragon, a powerful tyrant determined to reignite the ancient war that Aillira started.

As Lira and Reyker form a bond forbidden by both their clans, the wrath of the Dragon falls upon them and all of Glasnith, and Lira finds herself facing the same tragic fate as her ancestor. The battle for Lira’s life, for Reyker’s soul, and for their peoples’ freedom has only just begun.

VIKING FAV.

First off, the audio book is excellent. I love the narration for the Lira. For Reyker, his was great too, but the narrator read faster and it was hard to listen to at the same speed I was listening to Lira’s narrator.

With that tidbit out of the way, I loved this book!! My friend has been pushing this on me for awhile and I finally picked it up and I thought, why did I wait so long?!

I love how fierce Lira was as a character. She had growth in her mindsets and strength to see things through. Lira constantly stood up for what was right and defended those who deserved it. Her connection with Reyker was fantastic. I loved this romance. The initial meeting gave me some Tristan & Isolde vibes. I thought it moved well and didn’t seem rushed. I think there’s so much here for a wonderful continuation throughout the series and I hope it goes that way.

While it was a solid four star throughout, I realized that I had gotten very much caught up in the characters and the story. I was enthralled by the writing and couldn’t stop listening. Those facts alone set this over to five stars for me. I just loved the setting and the Viking-esque nature of it all. There’s lots of action and emotion and I need to get my hands on book two ASAP.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses to closed door
  • Violence: intense and a bit bloody/gory, battle scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted rape, sexual assault, implied rape (off page), loss of loved ones

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