Born of Ice

This is an entertaining story; however, it lacks the dramatic flair of the previous two books of the series. Specifically . . .

The chemistry between Devyn and Alix fell flat. I get the instant attraction -- by all accounts Devyn is a nummy treat and who wouldn't want him. But the transition from lust to love is largely absent from the story. In fact, the whole romance element seems to take a backseat to the good vs. bad guys conflict. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless you picked this book up hoping to read a love story. If you did, you didn't get it.

Another reason why this book doesn't work so well: Kenyon just doesn't seem as interested in her female protagonists as her male ones. Alix's tortured past lacks the obsessive and show more excessive angst found in Syn and Nykyrian's stories. If you reflect on Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series a moment, you'll likely find the same is true there, as well. Where Syn and Nykyrian are intense and larger than life, Alix is mechanical and contrived. So . . . if the author has relatively little interest in her characters, why should I pay any more attention?

I suppose what I'm really saying is this -- "Born of Ice" reads as a League-Lite book, like a tacked-on conclusion to a trilogy added for contractual purposes rather than a burning need to tell a story. Which is a shame, because any story focused on Devyn -- the product of Syn's parentage and Nykyrian's tutelage -- should have been epic. Instead, we must settle for "entertaining". show less

The ending was a bit over the top, making me chuckle a couple times at the cheesiness (as has happened a few times with this series), but I am a sucker for a traumatized, insecure heroine.

The first 1/2 felt like deja vu after reading Born of Fire.- Man wanted by evil Dark Lord to avenge the wrongs done to him and his family in the past uses women to find said man only to have them going at it like bunnies.-Didn't we just do that one generation up the family tree ? Bah, waste of time. I was about to throw it aside and move on to the third book when the story twisted a bit and gained my interest. The last 1/4 was filled with intense action, revelations and new direction for the next book. ( Which is really good, I've read it before) I still did not like this story. I did not connect to the main characters as much as in her other books. Now I remember why I skipped this book in my first reading of this series. I was warned show more it was a reclyced story. show less

Sherrilyn Kenyon continues her tale in the Ichidian Universe in Born of Ice. Here we get to follow the story of Devyn Wade Kell, the son of CI Syn and Shahara Dagan. I really enjoyed this novel. Devyn was a great character to adventure with, and you got to see how Nykyrian (now the emperor) and Syn were doing. Kenyon wrote a great story that had its own twists and turns and was very satisfying to read.

Not as good as the first two books of the series, mostly because by this point, the plotline is getting old. The instant love/lust-at-first-sight, the absolutely awful pasts (which I love, but it's getting predictable), the one character who thinks of him or herself as lower than dirt, and the other character who is, luckily, filthy rich.There's also so many characters with complex back stories mentioned in the book, and it's hard to keep track of unless you've memorized all the family trees of all the characters way back from Born Of Night.All this said, I still love it. Nearly impossible to put down.

Third time reading:
"In that instant, she knew insert-obvious-fact-here." That's Kenyon's favorite line in the world. She used it a lot in show more "Night" and "Fire", but she really gets carried away in "Ice." Maybe the characters are just stupider or something.

Born of Ice really isn't a very impressive book, but what makes me like it so much is Vik and Omari. I love them both so much, that I'm willing to give this book four stars even though it probably deserves about three.

I get the feeling this was written in a rush, because the plots just aren't very well thought out. Characters just blurt things out, then recant them later with a vague explanation for their lies. The writing in general is very repetitive (in that instant...), and quite frankly, Devyn and Alix both are just a little silly. Sorry guys, but it's true.

I think this book would be really hard to follow without having read "Ice" and "Fire", and maybe even "Shadows", which was written -after- "Ice" but takes place -before- "Ice". It seems like every single named character in the first two books had about ten children and they're -all- in "Ice", which makes life very confusing even for those of us who have read all the books at least twice.

The science is also...weird. Kenyon got away with not having a ton of scientific explanations in the first two books, but I think she tried to get more technical in this one and it just becomes obvious that she's not an astrophysicist. Which is fine and all, but don't try to describe in detail space travel if you can't make it sound like you actually know what you're talking about.

But like I said, I adore Vik. And Omari. show less

I really have to say that the other books in this series were pretty darn good, but this one is my favorite! Really it had to do with two characters that were born from the other characters in the previous 2 books. So it took place a long time after Born of Fire. So those other couples grew and loved and had their own children, who in this book are adults themselves. But of course, the other characters, such as Nykirian, Syn, and all the other friends of theirs make their appearances in this book!

First of all, we meet Alix, who is beautiful but has been a slave for so long, now she has to catch Devyn doing something against the law, or at least frame him so that she can free her mother and sister. But what she isn't prepared for is for show more who Devyn really is. He's not a bad guy, just another guy doing what he has to do to survive. But since this Merjack guy has a boner of Devyn, he'll stop at nothing to destroy this family. Devyn, who is much like both his father and mother, finds himself wholly attracted to Alix, even more so after he hires her as his new engineer. Of course, with Alix having to lie to him and him getting more and more involved with her. Neither of them are prepared for what Syn finds out about Alix and her past. But that doesn't seem to stop Devyn's feelings for her.

So things really start to go in the same direction that other stories have gone in. If you don't know what direction that is, then I highly suggest that you read the other books. But as I stated when I first started this review - this book in The League series, is by far my favorite. It included and of my fave characters including some new and interesting ones! show less

Book three of the League series skips a generation, following the oldest son of C.I. Syn and the tracer Sahara Dagan. For Devyn Kell, a life of privilege didn't translate to spoiled rotten. He and his crew run desperately needed supplies through League-barricades to war-torn planets. When he has an engineer, that is.

Alix Garran is desperate - if she doesn't get off-planet on Devyn's ship her mother and sister will be sold. Her families only chance is hiring on, and betraying Devyn Kell - the only problem? He's a man worth trusting... even loving.

Trust, love, friendship... not exactly the most original plot, but the characters are likable and the crew members exchanges are a riot.