Heart of Ice by K.M. Shea

Rakel, a princess by birth, has spent most of her life exiled on a barren mountain, despised because of her powerful snow magic. Though she longs to be accepted, she hides in her ice-castle and lives with the fear that her brother—the King—will one day order her execution.

Her empty life changes forever when an army of magic users—led by the enigmatic Colonel Farrin Graydim—invade her home country and plan to enslave its citizens. Swallowing her fear, Rakel joins forces with her jailers and uses her magic to save the people who scorned her.

If Rakel cannot defend her homeland, the country will be lost.@goodreads

 MY REVIEW:

5 STARS 

MY SECOND FAVORITE BOOK OF 2016! YES!!!!

Rakel has been exiled most of her life for having magic. Her parents sent her away and her brother who became King kept her away as well, but they will need her help to fight to keep them all alive. Ironic....



Princess Rakel made an ice castle for herself to live in, she has a loyal man that has been with her the whole time named Oskar and he is awesome, he is more than just a mere servant. She has a few guards that are afraid of her except for Captain Halvor, he's cool as hell too.



Rakel can weave and make snow and ice. I think that is awesome and I want to do it! She is a kind woman even though people are cruel to her and think she is a monster. Please, they are the monsters. Even when she helps them, the treat her like a monster. But, she is still kind and doesn't want to hurt anyone that she doesn't have to hurt. Make no mistake, she is still a woman to be reckoned with and will do what it takes to protect innocent people and children.

--->EXCERPT<---

With a roar, Rakel's magic flared to life. She extended her hand, and spears of ice thrust up from the ground, almost impaling the invader.
He dropped the villager and scrambled backwards. "To arms!" he shouted.
"Too late," Rakel said as she approached Vefsna, the wind flapping her cape and wildly flinging her hair.
When the invaders ran at her, their weapons raised, Rakel attacked them with pin-point precision, covering their arms and torsos with armor-like ice at least a finger-length thick. Unable to move their arms, wrists, or weapons, they toddled, knocked off balance.
She raised a wall of ice behind them, formed thick blocks of ice and slid them across the iced ground, knocking the men into the wall. She didn't release her magic but instead kept pushing. When they groaned and yelped, Rakel weakened the ice they were pinned against, so they smashed straight through it.

She befriends, or rather, two little children befriended Rakel, Gerta and Kai. They thought she was wonderful and she didn't know what to make of them as most people feared her and she never had any human contact.

--->EXCERPT<---

Rakel couldn't think, but her hand hovered for a moment over Gerta's head until she dared to smooth her hair. Gerta didn't flinch, and instead gave Rakel a smile that used her entire body. "You came," she said.
"Yes."
"Thank you."
Rakel opened her mouth to say more, but she jumped when Captain Halvor appeared in front of her, plucking the dagger from the villager's fingers.
"Idiot." He head-butted him, and the man went down, held up only by his arm.
When Rakel released the wall, he hit the ground with a splat and was out cold.

See, even though she helps, some of the villagers want to kill her because she is a monster that uses magic. What idiots!!!!!!

After talking over things with Captain Halvor and Oskar, she decides she wants to go to war. These evil peeps are wanting to take over her land. The main dude following orders is named Farrin and he uses magic too and is very dangerous, but he never tries to actually kill Rakel, he wants her to join them and even when she doesn't, he tries to keep her safe. But she keeps fighting him with all she has...


Then we meet a wonderful girl named Phile Silver-Step--The Robber Maiden. She is funny (actually there are a lot of funny stuff in the book) and she joins Rakel's army. She is a great fighter and is as loyal to the princess as Oskar and Halvor.
--->EXCERPT<---

"I, Your Highness, am Phile Silver-Step--the Robber Maiden. I am here to offer you my services."
Noticing some of the soldiers had recovered and was nocking an arrow in his bow, Rakel threw a boulder-sized snowball at him, flattening him. "If you mean to rescue me, allow me to assure you it is not necessary."
"Of course not," Phile said, sounding scandalized. "You are a strong, independent woman-or I wouldn't offer you my services. I choose not to reward sniveling girls who make no attempt to rescue themselves--you don't want to reinforce such behavior, you know." She made big gestures and held an oddly shaped dagger in her right hand, which she stabbed when she wanted to make a point.

Another keen point from the mouth of Phile.

I'll give it to you, Your Highness, you have excellent taste. Did you surround yourself with a multitude of handsome men on purpose, or was it merely good fortune?" she asked. Her close scrutiny made the already ruddy-faced Aleifr turn crimson.



"It is," Phile insisted. "It's like a leaping deer--no, that doesn't properly describe your abilities. Hmm...seeing you work your magic is like, like watching a wolf sing. That's what you are, a little wolf!"



There are people in the towns that are not scared of her and are on her side. Rakel finds this stunning, as she always sees herself as a monster. Now, there are still men and women that she hears talking about her being a monster or trying to kill her and I think that is very, very sad. But one night when her and Phile are in a home and the people don't know who she is, they say something that astonishes her and made me feel happy for her.

Rakel deliberated for a moment, then drew closer to the seated companions. "Why do you call her the Snow Queen? She's a princess."
"There're different sorts of royalty--the most common being those born by blood," Yngvarr said. "But sometimes, there's a special sort of person who's so noble and honorable in spite of personal tragedy that they deserve the same reverence. That would be our Snow Queen."

*SOB*

I loved that she got to hear that.

Like I said before Rakel has some faithful followers and people in her army, but there are still a couple that try to kill her. It doesn't happen but it hurts her feelings.

So they keep fighting with these group of people called "The Chosen." They have several magic weavers in their army. Rakel starts to have trouble using so much magic herself fighting and protecting her army. Then lo and behold, some magic welders come forth and help her and it's so freaking wonderful and the looks on the evil one's faces.... CLASSIC!

I have to say this book was so magical for me. There is a lot of fighting, ice, snow, snarky remarks, people coming together for the greater good, sweet children, reindeer (yes reindeer), death, and many things I know I'm leaving out. I don't want to give everything away, and I haven't, I think I have done good at giving you an idea of things that go on in the book, but you will have to read it to see how good it truly is. I love strong woman character's and Rakel is that, she is strong and she is noble and she is kind. She finally gets to meet her brother the King, but I won't tell you how that went..





I would recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy and strong women characters and snow and ice!!!!!! I can't wait for the next book, it said in this book Feb 2016 but I couldn't find it.. I will find it when it comes out! I have to! Woot! ♥

GOODREADS REVIEW:

 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1489595547

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0191ZK60S?keywords=heart%20of%20ice&qid=1454906068&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1