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Monday, March 12, 2012

"Cold Fire" by Kate Elliot~YA/Adult CrossOver Fantasy Reads Cinematic!

Magical and fantastic, this 2nd book in the Spiritwalker Trilogy is
gorgeous reading!
Published by:  Little, Brown & Co.
Pages: 544
Author website:  http://www.kateelliot.com/


Cover Rating :
What's not to love about this cover image?  The girl, her hair-style and surrounding pics tell a story: fantasy and futuristic. The clay-like mountain range gives us an idea this will involve a primitive worldscape.  I love the large title lettering, play upon fire w/ side turned squares and bold color used.  However, the author's name could have used  more fiery color to draw together the whole from the top image. Might have been more effective to add that it was 2nd in the Trilogy instead of the blurb below the title.  Rated:  B

Summary :
Cat Barahal and her beloved cousin Bee think they have reached a safe place to shelter. But the Cold Mages who are conspiring to take them prisoner are closing in. The warlord who hopes to conquer all Europa is convinced their destiny is to aid him, whether they want to or not. And the man Cat was forced to marry is back, as vainly arrogant and annoyingly handsome as ever.
Worst of all, as Hallows' Night approaches, powers hidden deep within the spirit world are rising. Cat must seek allies against these threats and figure out who to trust, for if she makes the wrong choices, she'll lose everything.
Only one thing is certain. When Hallows' Night comes the Wild Hunt will ride - and it feeds on mortal blood.

The Dame's Review :
"Cold Fire" is first of all a cinematic read. I was delighted by the visual imagery Kate Elliot was able to invoke.  What a unique author I found her to be in this particular area.  It was if I could see her characters in clothing with their weaponry in their settings, vividly.  It's a rare thing to experience such a talent.  This is not only a good book, it's really fun to read.  Kate Elliot is a stand out writer in this genre, in my opinion!

World-building and the time symbols here were so interesting. I often get lost in such genre when they aren't well configured, and it's easy for me to get bored when that happens.  This book easily held my avid attention.  Not only that, but I was smiling all the way with the way things were interwoven...worlds and human access to magical forces, Romanic calendar, Creole~Caribbean flavor, a post tramatic induced Iceage, steampunkish influence, and more.  I just loved it!  I didn't want to stop reading it. 

Ms Elliot's characters are believable and beautiful "visually," which I can't emphasize enough. It was easy to fall in love with Cat's dark and dangerous ex-husband, too.  He's just irresistible!  And, Cat is the consummate strong heroine.  She's a force to be reckoned with, but she's also womanly and caring on other counts.  It's hard not to make her a favorite.

My readers often ask if a 2nd book in a trilogy can be read alone, or if one needs to read the original book first.  I didn't read the first book.  I found this one to be easily self contained with good references to the 1st book.  That didn't stop me from wanting to read the other one, however.  I will absolutely want to buy the 3rd book, too!

This is an author all ages over 12 would thoroughly enjoy reading.  A book most satisfying in the genre.  I can only highly recommend it.  It's not hardcore fantasy/syfy.  Another really great YA to Adult Crossover Fiction.

4 stars


About Ms Elliot :
KATE ELLIOTT is the bestselling author of more than a dozen epic novels. Her novel King’s Dragon was a finalist for the Nebula Award; The Golden Key (co-written with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson


 She has written another series of books which you can read about on her website:
 http://www.kateelliot.com/    If you have difficulty with this link, please do a Google search.








Thank you so much for visiting me!  Deborah/TheBookishDame

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