Frost Fire by Olivia Rivers Series: Tortured Elements #1
Published by Red Sparrow Press on November 12th, 2012
Genres: Paranormal Romance, YA
Goodreads
"Magic is just like love, Allai. It won’t wait for permission before it destroys you.”
Like sand in an hourglass, Allai’s future is dwindling away. She’s spent her entire life fighting the Mages who threaten humanity, and dreams of someday eradicating magic. But
all it takes is an anonymous phone call for the truth to spill out: Allai is the one thing she despises most.
She’s a Mage.
Though ancient law mandates Allai’s death, she still has one last chance of survival. His name is Drake Rhaize, and he swears he can lead Allai to a sanctuary for Mages. Allai hasn’t seen Drake in years, but she remembers him as the Demon boy who used to hold her close and softly whisper that he’d keep her safe. But Drake has changed since then: He’s now suspected of murder, and has been out-casted for betraying his own kind.
While Allai doesn’t trust Drake, she has no choice but to put her life in his hands and hope he can get her to safety. Because Allai’s father has hired a pack of Demons to bring her back to him, dead or alive–and Demons never stop the hunt.
Before I get into the good, bad , and ugly of Frost Fire I just want to point out how jealous I feel of Miss. Olivia Rivers. Not only did she pen a book but she is still in high school, and a portion of every book goes to a good cause. Bravo to you Miss. Rivers! Now that I am done gushing (embarrassing much?) on to the review!
To be perfectly honest Frost Fire took a little time to grab me. Even when the action started happening (about 10 pages in) I wasn’t completely sold, but I was interested enough to keep going. It wasn’t until Allai and Drake were in the dungeon (sooo not a spoiler) that my attention peaked and I became completely wrapped in the story. Of course there were still things that bugged me, like any book, but I can honestly say that this book not only held my attention but it made me yearn for what was going to happen next.
Every fight scene, or dramatic speech made me want more. More questions, more fighting, more secrets! But, maybe my request for more made me greedy? I wanted Allai to use her years of training to be strong, I wanted Drake to see some good in the world, I wanted Luke to prove that blind guys can seriously kick ass, but most importantly I just wanted more. Yes the plot as a whole was ok, but there was no shock factor. Not once did I read something and say:
“gasp! I would have never guessed!”
In fact every time some earth shattering news popped up or a kink was thrown in the plan I kind of just went:
Ok….so I guess this is happening
And to be honest this is probably my only legitimate complaint with Frost Fire. I know it’s a series so I expect Allai to get stronger and to become the amazing heroine I want her to be, so I won’t even bother fussing over that. But personally I felt the pace was great; giving me just enough action and conflict to make me excited but not so much that I felt it was forced and unnecessary. And the same can be said for the love story. Even though a lot happened and changed between Allai and Drake I still felt that their relationship developed and moved at a paced that wasn’t forced or rushed, or one that overshadowed the urgency of the story unfolding around them.
And by the way that aggravates me to no end! I don’t mean to get off topic but I hate when a love story pops up out of nowhere and then completely takes over the original story! I would be lying if I said I didn’t expect this from Frost Fire, and I would also be lying if I didn’t let out a sigh of relief when that didn’t happen. But to me that is the number one way to make me loose all interest in the book. Romance should be built slowly, with trust and getting to know you better scenarios. Insta-love works in some places but, nothing beats a story were the love interests not only have history with each other but they are also trying to get to know one another better before they drop that “L” bomb.
Sorry but I had to get that off my chest. I was so happy and surprised by how well the romance existed within the story, and you all must know how I feel! Mwahahaha.<—evil laugh
Anyway, at the end of the day it was a good read, with a good plot line, and good characters. It didn’t blow me away, I didn’t crawl into the fetal position afterward and I’m not pissed about the cliffhanger, but it was a good read. Will I pick up the next book? Why yes I will, thank you for asking! Will I mark my calendar and count down the days? Err, no.
