On This Page
Description
The Wild Hunt is stirring - and the dragons are finally waking from their long Cat Barahal was the only survivor of the flood that took her parents. Raised by her extended family, she and her cousin, Bee, are unaware of the dangers that threaten them both. Though they are in beginning of the Industrial Age, magic - and the power of the Cold Mages - still hold sway. Now, betrayed by her family and forced to marry a powerful Cold Mage, Cat will be drawn into a labyrinth of politics. There she show more will learn the full ruthlessness of the rule of the Cold Mages. What do the Cold Mages want from her? And who will help Cat in her struggle against them? show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
This felt like a lot of set-up for a second and much more interesting book. I was intrigued by Cold Magic's world-building—an alternate, magic-wielding England during the Industrial Revolution, on the edge of a Europe where the Romans never defeated the Carthaginians and where Mandé peoples from West Africa have long intermarried with Celtic peoples of northern England to create a hybrid culture, one which is just recovering from the effects of its own Napoleonic Wars—just enough to want to continue on with the trilogy. There are an awful lot of possibilities opened up by the historical changes which Elliott has set up here—though I have to admit that I'm uneasy about her decision to have North America be inhabited by trolls show more rather than humans before the arrival of a Welsh explorer called ap Meuric.
However, the pacing and the characterisation don't seem to have received the same care as did the world-building, and I'm very rarely a fan of the "You've tried to kill me but gosh your jawline is pretty so I guess we must be in love" school of romance. (Yes, I love Pride and Prejudice, but much of the action of that book revolves around the interaction between Lizzy and Darcy and a mutual reassessment of their interactions with one another and of themselves—the development of Catherine and Andevai's relationship is given much shorter shrift and would have needed a lot more breathing space for me to buy it, let alone root for it.) It wasn't Jane Eyre bad, but I'm not at all invested in their relationship right now. We'll see what Volume 2 brings, I suppose. show less
However, the pacing and the characterisation don't seem to have received the same care as did the world-building, and I'm very rarely a fan of the "You've tried to kill me but gosh your jawline is pretty so I guess we must be in love" school of romance. (Yes, I love Pride and Prejudice, but much of the action of that book revolves around the interaction between Lizzy and Darcy and a mutual reassessment of their interactions with one another and of themselves—the development of Catherine and Andevai's relationship is given much shorter shrift and would have needed a lot more breathing space for me to buy it, let alone root for it.) It wasn't Jane Eyre bad, but I'm not at all invested in their relationship right now. We'll see what Volume 2 brings, I suppose. show less
Pretty close to awful. In fairness, I'll admit I'm not a fan of Victorian romances. Didn't think this was one?
Ha.
Here, let me save you some time:
Chapter 1 to 6
Cat misses her dead father, so she reads his expedition journals. Cat is cold because they can’t afford heat in the big, drafty house. She is hungry because she missed breakfast. Cat is cold when she runs to school because she forgot her coat, the one in last season’s style. See Cat’s cousin, Bee, and “best friend” pinch her during lecture. See Bee get Cat into trouble with the school proctor. See Cat risk Big Trouble to help Bee get out of a little scrape. Plus, Cat will miss lunch and she is still hungry. See Bee mock Cat for missing her dead father. See Cat and Bee show more hide in the library where Bee tells the reader Cat all about her dead parents. See Cat sacrifice herself for Bee.
Chapter 6 to 14
Cat is symbolically married off to an evil ‘cold mage’ as part of a contract. However, he is very handsome with his cute beard and besides, he’s a very spiffy dresser. Too bad he makes fun of Cat’s clothes! Cat is still hungry, and can’t believe when the mage refuses his fish soup, lamb and chicken dishes, beans, rabbit liver, sweet potato and vegetable stews. How wasteful when Cat is so hungry! Let’s talk about the food some more. Aw, the mage takes pity on Cat and lets her eat some dinner. The house is under attack! They escape out the window and through the city. Cat is still hungry but now is kind of mad. Their carriage is under attack! The coachman, a spirit in disguise, saves them. The mage makes the carriage pull over at a shrine to do something mysterious. Cat is still cold! The driver gives her his coat. The mage makes fun of her clothes again. They stop at a hotel and Cat bonds with the trolls in the front room while the mage hangs with other old dudes.
Interlude: Carol goes to bed because this awful writing is giving her a headache.
***************************************************************************
Unfortunately for Elliot, I read the 2012 5-book edition of [b:The Lyra Novels|15850888|The Lyra Novels (Lyra, #1-5)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396795494s/15850888.jpg|21597646] by Patricia Wrede shortly before starting Cold Magic. In the introduction, Wrede shares how she was afraid to workshop her first published book, Shadow Magic, with her writing workgroup after it had been accepted for publication. In this new edition, she was able to go back and re-work it. The first chapter of the original book was included, and she showed exactly what was cut, reworded and why. I wouldn’t have hated the first version by any means; it was competent and familiar. However, her edits demonstrated how slightly changing narrative and deleting extraneous details could focus the story.
All I could think when I first started reading Cold Magic is how much Elliot could have used Wrede’s writing group. The first six chapters are essentially large swaths of setting that have nothing to do with plot advancement. To add insult, many of the infodumps are structured as dialogue between Bee and Cat in astonishingly awkward conversation. Although they’ve been living together for years, in one section Bee says to Cat: “People must eat. That’s why your parents came to live with the family in Adurnam, isn’t it? What else could they do? Your father had to go to work again for the family. Yet his heart wasn’t in it. He fought with everyone. The reports he prepared were useless. He did not want to leave your mother and you alone, and your mother could not travel with him into those regions…” Even more distressingly, that particular chunk takes place on page 63. As in, not during the introduction. But don’t worry: Elliot does it in the beginning pages as well.
Characterization feels sadly unoriginal. Cat is the orphan, alienated by fickle disposition and excessive brains. Bee is the beautiful one everyone adores. Even more disappointingly, during the first half of the book Cat and Bee’s relationship is sadly dysfunctional although Cat tells us all the time how she and Bee would do ‘anything’ for each other. I don’t know yet if Elliot was doing it on purpose, but it’s pretty apparent the relationship is one way. If Bee was a man, we’d call her ‘an exploitative ass.’ Actually, I’d call her that either way. Certainly with all the pinching, mocking, entreating, condescending and lecturing, it qualifies. I’m generally against the martyr protag, and Cat’s longing to be with her best friend and compadre Bee just smacked of idiocy.
Character motivation annoys. I confess, I’m predisposed to get stabby with the “daddy’s little girl” absentee-father syndrome. Cat admires her father, misses him, risks punishment as part of getting closer to him through reading his journals, yada, yada, yada. She doesn’t sounds like a majority age protagonist. She sounds like every young book orphan ever, trying to discover her heritage. I found myself vaguely interested in the father, but it was wrapped in so much emotional angst, I wasn’t able to read in any detail before my eyes started glazing over. Cat is childish in other ways as well. It isn’t noticeable at first, because I attributed it to writer affectation, but Cat rarely refers to people by name, only by relationship to her or their position. Thus “the nanny,” “Cook,” “the governess,” “the maestra,” “the coachman,” etc. Either it’s Elliot trying to keep her writing ‘interesting’ by varying jobs with given names and titles, or Cat’s a self-centered twit. Could be either. I’m annoyed by both.
Plot-wise, there’s a whole bunch of other random bits about how Romans didn’t conquer the Iberian peninsula (I think; frankly, the historical lectures were especially tedious), some vague stuff about the working class starting to rebel against the ruling class (which seems to be cold mages and seems vaguely related to industrialization), trans-ocean dirigibles, and a trip through Fairyland, where Cat discovers she is a Speshul Snowflake. Really. (Oh, and her other special skill of expert fencer is revealed). In a Q&A on Goodreads, Elliot mentions she threw in most of the ideas she was interested in/could fit in, and it shows. Believe me, it shows. Except it turns out quite a bit like [b:The Greyfriar|8140709|The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, #1)|Clay Griffith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1281669917s/8140709.jpg|12937172], only with mages instead of vampires. Or vice versa; I can’t be bothered to check dates. They are both annoying pastiches based on the whole Victorian ladies and unsuitable relationships plotting.
Lastly, not to be a complete meanie, but the writing is clunky. My first cringe was on page 4:
“Uncle’s exasperation was as sharp as a fire being extinguished by a blast of damp wind, but my curiosity was aflame.“
I think I sprained something trying to work out that image.
On my blog, I rated it one and-a-half stars. Why not one star? I found the trip through fairyland interesting, even if it was rather traditional. I didn’t hate it enough to completely stop, or to throw it across the room. I appreciated Elliot’s attempt to be sort of multi-culti, and if she suffered from Overly Plucky Heroine, it was a vaguely interesting setting. I was puzzled by the trolls that appeared in the inn (who seemed birdlike with their feathered crests) and found myself hoping for more about the magic system. So points for inspiring reader curiosity. But overall, it felt strangely like a first novel, badly in need of a writing group. show less
Ha.
Here, let me save you some time:
Chapter 1 to 6
Cat misses her dead father, so she reads his expedition journals. Cat is cold because they can’t afford heat in the big, drafty house. She is hungry because she missed breakfast. Cat is cold when she runs to school because she forgot her coat, the one in last season’s style. See Cat’s cousin, Bee, and “best friend” pinch her during lecture. See Bee get Cat into trouble with the school proctor. See Cat risk Big Trouble to help Bee get out of a little scrape. Plus, Cat will miss lunch and she is still hungry. See Bee mock Cat for missing her dead father. See Cat and Bee show more hide in the library where Bee tells the reader Cat all about her dead parents. See Cat sacrifice herself for Bee.
Chapter 6 to 14
Cat is symbolically married off to an evil ‘cold mage’ as part of a contract. However, he is very handsome with his cute beard and besides, he’s a very spiffy dresser. Too bad he makes fun of Cat’s clothes! Cat is still hungry, and can’t believe when the mage refuses his fish soup, lamb and chicken dishes, beans, rabbit liver, sweet potato and vegetable stews. How wasteful when Cat is so hungry! Let’s talk about the food some more. Aw, the mage takes pity on Cat and lets her eat some dinner. The house is under attack! They escape out the window and through the city. Cat is still hungry but now is kind of mad. Their carriage is under attack! The coachman, a spirit in disguise, saves them. The mage makes the carriage pull over at a shrine to do something mysterious. Cat is still cold! The driver gives her his coat. The mage makes fun of her clothes again. They stop at a hotel and Cat bonds with the trolls in the front room while the mage hangs with other old dudes.
Interlude: Carol goes to bed because this awful writing is giving her a headache.
***************************************************************************
Unfortunately for Elliot, I read the 2012 5-book edition of [b:The Lyra Novels|15850888|The Lyra Novels (Lyra, #1-5)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396795494s/15850888.jpg|21597646] by Patricia Wrede shortly before starting Cold Magic. In the introduction, Wrede shares how she was afraid to workshop her first published book, Shadow Magic, with her writing workgroup after it had been accepted for publication. In this new edition, she was able to go back and re-work it. The first chapter of the original book was included, and she showed exactly what was cut, reworded and why. I wouldn’t have hated the first version by any means; it was competent and familiar. However, her edits demonstrated how slightly changing narrative and deleting extraneous details could focus the story.
All I could think when I first started reading Cold Magic is how much Elliot could have used Wrede’s writing group. The first six chapters are essentially large swaths of setting that have nothing to do with plot advancement. To add insult, many of the infodumps are structured as dialogue between Bee and Cat in astonishingly awkward conversation. Although they’ve been living together for years, in one section Bee says to Cat: “People must eat. That’s why your parents came to live with the family in Adurnam, isn’t it? What else could they do? Your father had to go to work again for the family. Yet his heart wasn’t in it. He fought with everyone. The reports he prepared were useless. He did not want to leave your mother and you alone, and your mother could not travel with him into those regions…” Even more distressingly, that particular chunk takes place on page 63. As in, not during the introduction. But don’t worry: Elliot does it in the beginning pages as well.
Characterization feels sadly unoriginal. Cat is the orphan, alienated by fickle disposition and excessive brains. Bee is the beautiful one everyone adores. Even more disappointingly, during the first half of the book Cat and Bee’s relationship is sadly dysfunctional although Cat tells us all the time how she and Bee would do ‘anything’ for each other. I don’t know yet if Elliot was doing it on purpose, but it’s pretty apparent the relationship is one way. If Bee was a man, we’d call her ‘an exploitative ass.’ Actually, I’d call her that either way. Certainly with all the pinching, mocking, entreating, condescending and lecturing, it qualifies. I’m generally against the martyr protag, and Cat’s longing to be with her best friend and compadre Bee just smacked of idiocy.
Character motivation annoys. I confess, I’m predisposed to get stabby with the “daddy’s little girl” absentee-father syndrome. Cat admires her father, misses him, risks punishment as part of getting closer to him through reading his journals, yada, yada, yada. She doesn’t sounds like a majority age protagonist. She sounds like every young book orphan ever, trying to discover her heritage. I found myself vaguely interested in the father, but it was wrapped in so much emotional angst, I wasn’t able to read in any detail before my eyes started glazing over. Cat is childish in other ways as well. It isn’t noticeable at first, because I attributed it to writer affectation, but Cat rarely refers to people by name, only by relationship to her or their position. Thus “the nanny,” “Cook,” “the governess,” “the maestra,” “the coachman,” etc. Either it’s Elliot trying to keep her writing ‘interesting’ by varying jobs with given names and titles, or Cat’s a self-centered twit. Could be either. I’m annoyed by both.
Plot-wise, there’s a whole bunch of other random bits about how Romans didn’t conquer the Iberian peninsula (I think; frankly, the historical lectures were especially tedious), some vague stuff about the working class starting to rebel against the ruling class (which seems to be cold mages and seems vaguely related to industrialization), trans-ocean dirigibles, and a trip through Fairyland, where Cat discovers she is a Speshul Snowflake. Really. (Oh, and her other special skill of expert fencer is revealed). In a Q&A on Goodreads, Elliot mentions she threw in most of the ideas she was interested in/could fit in, and it shows. Believe me, it shows. Except it turns out quite a bit like [b:The Greyfriar|8140709|The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, #1)|Clay Griffith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1281669917s/8140709.jpg|12937172], only with mages instead of vampires. Or vice versa; I can’t be bothered to check dates. They are both annoying pastiches based on the whole Victorian ladies and unsuitable relationships plotting.
Lastly, not to be a complete meanie, but the writing is clunky. My first cringe was on page 4:
“Uncle’s exasperation was as sharp as a fire being extinguished by a blast of damp wind, but my curiosity was aflame.“
I think I sprained something trying to work out that image.
On my blog, I rated it one and-a-half stars. Why not one star? I found the trip through fairyland interesting, even if it was rather traditional. I didn’t hate it enough to completely stop, or to throw it across the room. I appreciated Elliot’s attempt to be sort of multi-culti, and if she suffered from Overly Plucky Heroine, it was a vaguely interesting setting. I was puzzled by the trolls that appeared in the inn (who seemed birdlike with their feathered crests) and found myself hoping for more about the magic system. So points for inspiring reader curiosity. But overall, it felt strangely like a first novel, badly in need of a writing group. show less
So, Elliott describes this book as an "Afro-Celt post-Roman Icepunk Regency novel with airships, Phoenician spies, and the intelligent descendants of troodons" and it is. It is also a great adventure about a young woman who discovers that everything she was told about herself by her aunt and uncle mig.ht be a lie and is certainly shaded to their advantage.
Catherine Barahal is the orphaned niece of the Hassi Barahal family which has fallen on hard times. She and her cousin Bess are students at the Academy. Bess is an artist who sometimes has visions which she expresses in her drawings. Cat treasures the journals her father Daniel kept and has studied them extensively to learn more about the world and more about her father.
When she is show more forced to marry a Cold Mage named Andevai Diarisso Haranwy and go with him to his home, most of the things she thought she knew about her family are turned on end. She needs to find a way to survive in a situation that is foreign to her and without the guidance of her new husband. And, when she learns that she is not the daughter of the Hassi Barahal that Andevai was supposed to marry and he is ordered to kill her, she has to survive and find a way to rescue her cousin Bess from her fate too.
I enjoyed the interesting world building in this story which combines magic with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. It even has an analog of Napoleon who has been imprisoned but who might have escaped. With Cold Mages and princes struggling to hold their power against the rising tide of revolution, Cat discovers that she has some magical ability of her own which makes her eager to discover her own heritage.
I liked all the action and I liked the budding romance between Cat and Andevai. I really enjoyed getting to know Cat and I am curious about what she finds out in the next two books of this trilogy. show less
Catherine Barahal is the orphaned niece of the Hassi Barahal family which has fallen on hard times. She and her cousin Bess are students at the Academy. Bess is an artist who sometimes has visions which she expresses in her drawings. Cat treasures the journals her father Daniel kept and has studied them extensively to learn more about the world and more about her father.
When she is show more forced to marry a Cold Mage named Andevai Diarisso Haranwy and go with him to his home, most of the things she thought she knew about her family are turned on end. She needs to find a way to survive in a situation that is foreign to her and without the guidance of her new husband. And, when she learns that she is not the daughter of the Hassi Barahal that Andevai was supposed to marry and he is ordered to kill her, she has to survive and find a way to rescue her cousin Bess from her fate too.
I enjoyed the interesting world building in this story which combines magic with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. It even has an analog of Napoleon who has been imprisoned but who might have escaped. With Cold Mages and princes struggling to hold their power against the rising tide of revolution, Cat discovers that she has some magical ability of her own which makes her eager to discover her own heritage.
I liked all the action and I liked the budding romance between Cat and Andevai. I really enjoyed getting to know Cat and I am curious about what she finds out in the next two books of this trilogy. show less
I’m interested in this enough to try the sequel, but not pleased enough with it to give it four stars. This book was meandering and unfocused; in the acknowledgements she notes that she planned it and did the worldbuilding with her three teenaged children and two of their friends, and that explained a lot about this to me. It had that, “But we HAVE to include THAT” feeling about it, and it honestly needed a good hard trim. But, whatever, it’s the first book in a trilogy, so I’m willing to see if it gets more focused as time goes on.
The worldbuilding is honestly fascinating, even if the book is a little too invested in showing off how fascinating it is, but there’s one choice that I found revolting. People, I’m begging you: show more stop turning the indigenous peoples of North America into monsters. This is not the first book that’s done it. Or the second. Or the third. So it’s not even an original idea, just a gross one. In this case, North America didn’t have any humans in it until the colonists arrived; instead, it had trolls, who seem to be descended from dinosaurs? Which, awesome, I love the idea of intelligent dinosaur offspring, but not at the expense of just wiping from existence a whole continentful of people who have already faced attempts to do just that in reality. No. Do not do this, authors, your cool worldbuilding idea isn’t worth recapitulating genocide for fun and profit.
My other major problem with this book is the romance. I — am super not into the plot where a woman is badly treated by an asshole dude, but he’s So Hot, and also it turns out he has Secret Sorrows, and so love blossoms, and that’s pretty much what happens here. Yeah, Hot Dude with Sorrows does make some good, hard choices in the end, and I liked that, and if the main character’s interest in him had begun after he did that, I would get it. But in fact she’s thinking about the taste of his lips and the perfect beauty of his jawline even as he’s trying to kill her, even while she’s watching him do terrible things. Nope, not into it. Please find a dude who never tried to kill you, Catherine.
But. I am still interested in where this is going. I like a lot of aspects of the setting. I’m pleased that the main character is mixed race, and in fact most of the characters seem to be. (I am not pleased that this is apparently an entire world with not a single queer person in it. What, none of the SIX people involved in the worldbuilding went, oh wait, maybe we should have a token queer? Wow, people.) And the end does seem to be a springboard to more interesting things. So, basically, I do not recommend it, but I’m gonna keep reading it. show less
The worldbuilding is honestly fascinating, even if the book is a little too invested in showing off how fascinating it is, but there’s one choice that I found revolting. People, I’m begging you: show more stop turning the indigenous peoples of North America into monsters. This is not the first book that’s done it. Or the second. Or the third. So it’s not even an original idea, just a gross one. In this case, North America didn’t have any humans in it until the colonists arrived; instead, it had trolls, who seem to be descended from dinosaurs? Which, awesome, I love the idea of intelligent dinosaur offspring, but not at the expense of just wiping from existence a whole continentful of people who have already faced attempts to do just that in reality. No. Do not do this, authors, your cool worldbuilding idea isn’t worth recapitulating genocide for fun and profit.
My other major problem with this book is the romance. I — am super not into the plot where a woman is badly treated by an asshole dude, but he’s So Hot, and also it turns out he has Secret Sorrows, and so love blossoms, and that’s pretty much what happens here. Yeah, Hot Dude with Sorrows does make some good, hard choices in the end, and I liked that, and if the main character’s interest in him had begun after he did that, I would get it. But in fact she’s thinking about the taste of his lips and the perfect beauty of his jawline even as he’s trying to kill her, even while she’s watching him do terrible things. Nope, not into it. Please find a dude who never tried to kill you, Catherine.
But. I am still interested in where this is going. I like a lot of aspects of the setting. I’m pleased that the main character is mixed race, and in fact most of the characters seem to be. (I am not pleased that this is apparently an entire world with not a single queer person in it. What, none of the SIX people involved in the worldbuilding went, oh wait, maybe we should have a token queer? Wow, people.) And the end does seem to be a springboard to more interesting things. So, basically, I do not recommend it, but I’m gonna keep reading it. show less
This is a story centered around the friendship between two women.
That statement shouldn't feel like such a revelation, but it does. How many books with female protagonists ultimately focus on the heroine's relationships with men? How many of these heroines just don't have a female friend who means more to her than anyone in the world? It's staggering to me now, when I realize how few heroines are like that. It's a poor reflection of reality, where female friendships not only define many women's lives, but can change the world. Kate Elliott understands that a friendship between women is a bond of power and respect, worthy to have epic stories told of them. Add that both of these women are women of color, and it becomes even more show more revolutionary.
That's one reason I love this book with all my heart. The friendship between Bee and Cat is beautiful and real. I also love it for worldbuilding you can positively drown in.
It takes a master of worldbuilding to join as many disparate elements as Elliott does. An Ice Age that never ends, three kinds of magic, alternate history, and giant sentient velociraptors (!!!) shouldn't mesh together, but they do. They mesh in a way that makes me thirst to learn more about this world. In fact, I could probably read an entire encyclopedia of this fictional world and be content. That, my friends, is the mark of good worldbuilding.
This book was an inspiration to me, both as a reader and a writer. show less
That statement shouldn't feel like such a revelation, but it does. How many books with female protagonists ultimately focus on the heroine's relationships with men? How many of these heroines just don't have a female friend who means more to her than anyone in the world? It's staggering to me now, when I realize how few heroines are like that. It's a poor reflection of reality, where female friendships not only define many women's lives, but can change the world. Kate Elliott understands that a friendship between women is a bond of power and respect, worthy to have epic stories told of them. Add that both of these women are women of color, and it becomes even more show more revolutionary.
That's one reason I love this book with all my heart. The friendship between Bee and Cat is beautiful and real. I also love it for worldbuilding you can positively drown in.
It takes a master of worldbuilding to join as many disparate elements as Elliott does. An Ice Age that never ends, three kinds of magic, alternate history, and giant sentient velociraptors (!!!) shouldn't mesh together, but they do. They mesh in a way that makes me thirst to learn more about this world. In fact, I could probably read an entire encyclopedia of this fictional world and be content. That, my friends, is the mark of good worldbuilding.
This book was an inspiration to me, both as a reader and a writer. show less
I do not think that [b:Cold Magic|7114825|Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, #1)|Kate Elliott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1323994929l/7114825._SY75_.jpg|7374960] is a YA novel, as the protagonist Cat is twenty years old. However, the choice to give Cat sole first person narration duties definitely reminded me of YA in a slightly frustrating way. The novel is set in a fascinating alternate world with ice mages, trolls and goblins, industrial revolution, a Napoleon analogue, social upheaval, a parallel spirit world, shapeshifters, counter-colonialism, no channel between England and France, dragons, and Scotland completely shrouded in ice. There is so much going on within the world-building that I really show more enjoyed. Particularly pleasing details included a substantial West African diaspora in Europe after many fled Mali due to a plague, the fraught legacy of the Roman Empire, and a legal code that integrates magical contracts. The drawback of the first person narration is that the reader only gets Cat's angle on all this and she has pressing survival concerns throughout. Her dramatic escapes and efforts to flee are compelling and exciting, but I would have preferred multiple perspectives on events. There is a great deal of social unrest going on that Cat freely admits to knowing nothing about. Although it impinges upon her life, I would have liked this to be more central. Nonetheless, Cat is an appealing protagonist and I really liked her dynamic with her cousin and best friend Bee.
What took the book down from four to three stars for me was the romance subplot.At the start of the book, Cat is uprooted from her comfortable life and forced to marry a cold mage, Andevai. He kidnaps her while acting in a needlessly harsh manner. Most crucially, he doesn't explain why the sudden forced-marriage and Cat doesn't ask. It subsequently becomes clear that this lack of questioning is for plot twist reasons: Andevai has accidentally kidnapped and married the wrong person. He should have gone for Cat's cousin Bee, so is instructed to kill Cat and marry Bee instead. Much of the book is taken up with Cat trying not to get killed. After making a concerted effort at murdering his new wife, which would have succeeded were she not magic, Andevai is shamed into a change of heart by his family. At the end he instead helps Cat and Bee, as well he should to make some amends for ruining both their lives.
To my annoyance, the narrative makes this forced marriage and deadly conflict into fodder for romance. Cat frequently reflects on how handsome and well-dressed Andevai is; I do not see how this could possibly compensate for his shitty behaviour. I assumed that this romance would be drawn out in subsequent books in the series to give him time to build some trust, but was wrong. At the end Cat thinks they may never meet again (which seems far-fetched given they are still married) so kisses him. Then he makes the astonishing admission that he fell in love with her at first sight, 'as if I were seeing the other half of my soul'. Why act like a complete arsehole and try to kill her then, my guy? Even if you have to kidnap and force-marry a woman, you could at least tell her what's happening then avoid murdering her! I am not morally opposed to enemies-to-lovers or forced-marriage-to-lovers plots, but did not find this one at all convincing. Andevai just isn't likeable. Given my enjoyment of the world-building and dislike of the romance elements, I'm torn as to whether I'll read the next book in the series. show less
What took the book down from four to three stars for me was the romance subplot.
To my annoyance, the narrative makes this forced marriage and deadly conflict into fodder for romance. Cat frequently reflects on how handsome and well-dressed Andevai is; I do not see how this could possibly compensate for his shitty behaviour. I assumed that this romance would be drawn out in subsequent books in the series to give him time to build some trust, but was wrong. At the end Cat thinks they may never meet again (which seems far-fetched given they are still married) so kisses him. Then he makes the astonishing admission that he fell in love with her at first sight, 'as if I were seeing the other half of my soul'. Why act like a complete arsehole and try to kill her then, my guy? Even if you have to kidnap and force-marry a woman, you could at least tell her what's happening then avoid murdering her! I am not morally opposed to enemies-to-lovers or forced-marriage-to-lovers plots, but did not find this one at all convincing. Andevai just isn't likeable.
Haven't ever read any other series by Kate Elliott, I am happy that I picked this up. This story had elements of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and the Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy, which are some of my favorite books of all time. Elliott was able to bring her interesting and unique world to life through descriptive scenes and well-written dialogue. I especially liked the romantic interest for Cat, our heroine, which Elliott slowly develops throughout the book. The author use of only a first person narrative led to a more engaging and realistic feel to the relationship as we see Andevai through Cat's eyes, leaving the reader experiencing the same questioning of his motives and true feelings. I found myself finishing show more this book in two sittings and immediately ordering the second book, Cold Fire. Definitely recommended for fans of steampunk, alternate historical and paranormal romance. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Published Reviews
ThingScore 75
Cold Magic is, best of all to this reader, a fantastic exploration of an alternate world, complete with a spirit world, Mages, an alternate geography, an alternate history, and lots and lots of cool ideas.
added by PhoenixFalls
Lists
Best Alternate History
111 works; 60 members
Jean's Sci Fi/Fantasy Reading list
189 works; 12 members
Gaslamp Fantasy
87 works; 15 members
Fantasy by Women Who Broke Away from Europe
144 works; 12 members
Books read in 2015
213 works; 5 members
Author Information
80+ Works 19,194 Members
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Cold Magic
- Original title
- Cold Magic
- Original publication date
- 2010-09-09
- People/Characters
- Catherine "Cat" Hassi Barahal; Beatrice "Bee" Hassi Barahal; Amadou Barry; Andevai Diarisso Haranwy; Godwik; Chartji (show all 18); Kehinde Nayo Kuti; Brennan Touré Du; Duvai; Kayleigh; Roderic "Rory"; Tara Bell; Daniel Hassi Barahal; Leonnorios Aemilius Keita (Camjiata); Lord Marius; Tilly Hassi Barahal; Jonatan Hassi Barahal; Caith
- Dedication
- With love, I dedicate this mash-up to my fabulous nieces and nephews, to my children, and to their friends and age cohort: the rising generation.
- First words
- The history of the world begins in ice, and it will end in ice.
- Quotations
- The history of the world begins in ice, and it will end in ice. Here in the north, we live under the shadow of the ice, its ice sheets and massive glaciers, and no human can walk there without being killed or driven out.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"She said, 'It is the path chosen by Tara Bell's child that will determine the outcome of the war.'"
- Publisher's editor
- Pillai, Devi
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 1,251
- Popularity
- 19,630
- Reviews
- 80
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- Dutch, English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 6