Review: ICED by Karen Marie Moning
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ICED by Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
Delacorte Press (October 30, 2012)
Rating: A
Heat: N/A (for Dani)
Heroine: Dani O’Malley – Fourteen, Sidhe-seer
Hero: Ryodan – Old, A Mystery
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Review:
+ May contain minor spoilers. It's not my intent to spoil.
Before I read the Fever series, I was warned on multiple occasions that KMM's books are like crack. You will get addicted, it's not a matter of 'if'. You will go through a variety of emotions, high and low. Happy and sad. Laughing and crying. And then, when it ends, you will be left wanting more. And jonesing for it.
Which proved 100% true for me. The time between Faefever and Dreamfever and Shadowfever, it was a literary torture I've never experienced before. Or, really, since. Until now.
ICED is more of the same world we got to know in the Fever series, so it's familiar and easy to understand. But things are changing. The Fever series was Before the wall came down and this is After. Times are tougher, leaner. Harder to survive. And in the middle of it all, going balls to the wall, is Dani.
Is Dani just like Mac? No. Do I relate to her how I related to Mac? No. But I do like her--a lot, actually. She's funny and snarky. Childish and hormonal. Old for her age and yet still naive. Smart as a whip. Hip to life's unfair ways and yet an eternal optimist. And, well, she's a fecking bad ass.
Then there are the men. Let me start by pointing out: there is only ONE Jericho Barrons. There can never be another. If you're hoping for Barrons 2.0, you won't find it.
What you will find is the inscrutable, unreadable Ryodan. When I try to think of a way to describe him, all I come up with is blank. He is a blank. He's cold, tough, uncompromising, unbendable, unsympathetic. He's 'un' a lot of things. And yet, he brought out the green eyed monster in me repeatedly. I wanted to hiss and claw and stamp 'mine' on his ass. He made me literally heart sick at times because I couldn't read him or figure out the motivations behind some of his actions.
But he's not the only man in Dani's life. There is also Christian, who - for the sake of no spoilers - I can't say much about. But seeing his continued transformation (which began in Shadowfever)... he breaks my heart. And creeps me the heck out. Humans were definitely not meant to be transformed into UnSeelie Princes.
Last, but not least, there is Dancer. Closest to Dani's age, he is a genius and cute--in a tall and lean and bespectacled way. Obviously the underdog of the three men. But I know there is more to him than meets the eye. Can't wait to see what else there is to him.
I thought I'd be able to tell who Dani's 'Barron's' is by the end of the book, but nope. Not at all. I thought it was Ryodan, then not, then maybe, and now not so much. I thought it couldn't be Christian, then maybe, then HELL no, and I'm now kinda leaning toward him. Dancer is the wild card though. He is a possible contender. But I really have no fecking idea.
It definitely gets thrown into the mystery column. With the millions of other things already there.
My only, ONLY real issue with ICED is Dani's age. It was honestly so hard for me to deal with her as a 14yo. I constantly flip flopped on how things made me feel because of her age. It made me want to pull my hair out. KMM is either an evil genius or a sadist. I really hope in all the books Dani isn't underage. Please, please no. I don't think I could take it. I want to see the woman she'll become, not the child she is.
And, of course, I want the steamy-hot-mind-blowing sexy times and the out of this world sexual tension that KMM does so, so well. Not happening if she's 14.
All that said, I loved ICED. My mind is spinning with questions and theories. KMM kills me with her cliffhangers! I want the next book as soon as possible. I don't want to rush genius, but man oh man I don't want to wait a year for Burned.
Favorite Quote:
“You’ll never be just anything. A tsunami can never be ‘just’ a wave.”
“Get off my chin.”
“I like that about you. Waves are banal. Tsunamis reshape the Earth. Under the right circumstances, even entire civilizations.”
I blink.
“You’re going to be one hell of a woman one day, Dani.”
Thoughts While Reading:
0.0% - "Bring on Ryodan!"
28.0% - "I wouldn't mind watching Ryodan 'eat breakfast'... or eat it with him."
36.0% - "THAT got my claws out and my hackles up! Grrr!"
61.0% - "KMM has quite the imagination. Crimson Hag = Uber gross."
77.0% - "What is going on?!? I have no idea who the hero in this series is supposed to be! Ryodan? Christian? Dancer?"
Love love love this review - and "Iced"! Just finished it today and can't stop thinking about it. I've been a KMM addict since I stumbled on the Highlander books ages ago but with the Fever series I swear I'm going to start mainlining it!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about Dani's age - confusing because I kept wanting her to jump on someone then remembered she was 14. Yikes! Not sure how KMM is going to handle it but can't wait to find out.