I believe that I might not be the correct reviewer for this book as this is not one that I will typically pick up, no matter how favourable the reviews may be. Without having any prior experience to serve as a benchmark, I hoped that I am able to review this title as objectively as possible.
Firstly, the writing was the most simple and direct that I’ve ever come across for a full length fantasy book. The good thing about this was that it was so uncomplicated to read that it can be finished in well under 3 hours.
The storytelling was decent and flowed well but it never really reached the kind of immersion that seasoned fantasy readers tend to crave for. Scenes cut from one to the other abruptly, the dialogue straightforward and descriptions were kept really brief, all which were probably fine for what the book was supposed to be. Character development followed the same motif of simplicity. While you do get some insights into the perspective of the characters, it was never deeply explored. Having said that, it was oddly effective and adequate enough as far as storytelling was concerned. As such, one can say that the writing and narrative style are consistent.
With all due respect though, I can’t exactly call this book boring. It just wasn’t as engaging as the usual fare that I partake in. Truth be told, I did feel a bit invested in a budding romance which surfaced in the story which can only be considered as a good sign. Yes, it was clichéd and even cheesy sometimes but this is a fairy-tale after all.
Was Throne of Ice original as far as such retellings are concerned? I cannot rightfully provide any opinion here given that as I’ve never been exposed to this sub-genre. It is, nonetheless, just enjoyable enough in a truly guileless manner that I can call it a good story for the right audience. Probably the best praise I can give is that should I get a copy of the subsequent books in the trilogy, I might just read them just to know how the story ends as it really doesn’t take much time nor commitment to do so.
