Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Star Rating: 4 stars Series: second book of companion duology
Blurb:
Blood-red lights have appeared in the sky over the frozen island of Skane, causing a cloak of fear and suspicion to fall over the village like a blanket of snow. In a desperate attempt to keep out the plague, the village elders barricade its borders – no-one, no matter how in need of help, will be permitted to enter in case they bring infection with them.
Teenager Janna refuses to turn her back on people seeking refuge and is banished to the swirling snow and lurking darkness beyond the village. Can she survive?
Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
A STORM OF ICE AND STARS is a companion novel to A SHIVER OF SNOW AND SKY. I am pretty sure this is set before the previous, during the last red lights and plague mentioned in that story. There are some characters referenced (though without names, hence my uncertainty!) who I like are Osa and her mother.
This book also takes the ideas of fear twisting people to do awful acts and makes that a much bigger part of the story, starting with a literal witch hunt, spurred on by a woman who has a grudge against Janna. The terror of anticipation thanks to the lights sparks the rest of the village to fall in line with the woman’s revenge. It helps set the much darker tone of this book up immediately.
This is a story of grief, of trying to go on when your heart is broken and each day is a fight to go on. Janna lost the love of her life the year before and is still struggling to come to terms with it. The present story is interspersed with flashbacks to the events leading up to his death, charting their friendship and its blossoming into love. This book is not as hopeful or triumphal as the previous, more a tragedy (which I really liked!)
Janna isn’t alone in her exile, she is with the sister of her lost love, both of them caught in that grief but determined to help one another get through and survive on the mission they take up. It was nice to read a book about female friendship. Yes, the loss of love is a major part of the book, but also the healing from being with friends in it.
In all, this has been an enjoyable duology that has hope among the sombreness of the setting and ideas.
Read my reviews of other books by Lisa Lueddecke:
Skane (this series):
Standalones:
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 