Review | Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren
Title: Prisoner of Ice and Snow
Author: Ruth Lauren
Genre/s: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Expected Publication: September 7th 2017 by Bloomsbury Children's Books (Published by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books on April 4th 2017)
This book is like a mash up of Six of Crows and Prison Break! Such a strange mix of things that I would never of thought I would use to describe the same book. I feel like the atmosphere and way of writing was more intense than I first expected with this being advertised as a middle grade story and that was really great. I've seen a few others compare it to Disney's Frozen which I was a little put off by, but I went into it anyway to see for myself as I like to gather my own opinions. I am glad I didn't let it persuade me not to read this as I didn't get the link or feel like it was like frozen at all. It seemed much darker in tone and the only aspects that resembled Frozen in my eyes were the setting and the fact that the main character is trying to help her sister. So don't the fact that this book has been compared to frozen let it put you off. The book follows Valor and her attempt at the impossible quest of breaking her sister out of prison by getting arrested herself.
The humour and the main group of characters in particular really reminded me of Six of Crows. It's amazing that the author was able to bring all these things together to create a brilliant concept that is a perfect fantasy. The sister relationship we see was brilliant as well and I adored that it was sort of the focus of this book in a way.
Often things are wrapped in cotton wool when it comes to middle grade so the fact that some of the plot twists were so dark and twisty, really made this book stand apart from others I have read. I was a little apprehensive first going into this because I tend to stick to the YA, NA and Adult genres but the concept of this really intrigued me so I had to dive into it and give it a go. I am very glad that I did because it was very enjoyable and a very quick read for anyone looking for a fantasy/adventure story that is easy to get into and that has characters you will no doubt fall in love with. Other than the Six of Crows and Prison Break vibe I think that the plot was quite original and not very predictable which was very nice.
I feel like the ending and a few of the aspects introduced later in the book are definitely hinting at a sequel, which I do hope is the case as I would pick it up because I would love to see more from these characters and this world. The main problem I had was with the last few chapters of the book and the way some things were just thrown in at the end. It really seemed rushed compared to the progression and development we see throughout the beginning and middle sections. Overall I have decided to give this book 4/5 stars as I very much enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Thank you to Ruth Lauren, Bloomsbury Children's Books and Net Galley for sending me a digital copy in exchange of an honest review.
4/5 Stars
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