Author: J. L. Scharf
Publisher: Thistledown Press
ISBN: 9781897235099
More Information: http://www.graceandtheiceprince.com
My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Ice Princess Farren did not want to be sent to finishing school. Recklessly, she formed a pact with the evil Ice Witch Mayme to help her escape. Farren escaped, but left her home destroyed, allowing no one to leave or enter. Farren had to find a way to help her people. 12-year-old Grace had been having dreams of the Ice World since she was little and one day, the Ice Prince Owyn came to her to ask for help. Grace and Farren embarked on their journeys to save the Ice World and find their true connections.
I'll be honest. I bought this book based on its title, with preconceived notions already formed in my little head. I was wrong on a couple of fronts. First, this is not a fairy tale, fantasy teen romance after all. This is a coming-of-age-adventure-fairy tale teen story. Second, the Ice Prince took a secondary role, even though he is in the title. The title would be more aptly name as 'Grace and the Ice Princess.' 50% of the book was about Grace and the other 50% was about Ice Princess Farren.
Grace may have been meant to be the main female protagonist but unfortunately, the author placed her as a supporting role. Farren became the main character, despite not being named in the title. Between the two girls and their parallel journeys through the Ice World, I found Grace much more easier to relate to and gutsy to boot. Farren tended to be a bit annoying and selfish. I don't believe she ever sat down and thought of the consequence of her actions. There were plenty of side characters, but they played very little part.
The writing was a little verbose that each chapter felt like a burden to get through. Nothing much happen at the beginning. It began to pick up around page 100. It was not until you were near the end of the book that everything that you have read has accumulated to the grand finale. But I don't think it was worth the journey to get there.
Would I recommend? Not really. Too wordy. Not enough action. No romance. Flat characters who have lackluster personalities don't really add much to it. Slow plot line. The idea was there and could've been a great new edition to the fairy tale world, but it just doesn't make it. It was a struggle to get through 250+ pages. If you are studying modern day fairy tales, please, be my guest. Like a unique adventure with 2 interesting heroines and like to wade through paragraphs of descriptions after descriptions, you might like it. Everyone else? Skip it. Not worth your time and money.
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