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Keepers of the Stones #1
Curse of the Ice Dragon
From the bestselling paranormal author of The Whispers Series comes a new fantasy saga.
Born with mark of the Mighty Hunter, Markus saves his village from the brink of starvation-for whenever he releases an arrow, his aim is true. But despite his skill and strength, Markus is unable to confront his tyrannical father. Shamed by his cowardice, he distracts himself by needlessly shooting the forest creatures.
When Markus takes no heed of the village prophet's warning that his actions will attract The Hunter's Curse-for every animal Markus kills, his loved ones will suffer the same fate-the Sky Goddess unleashes her ice dragon. Now, Markus must flee the dragon without killing it ... or his beloved brother will be the next to die.
Born with mark of the Mighty Hunter, Markus saves his village from the brink of starvation-for whenever he releases an arrow, his aim is true. But despite his skill and strength, Markus is unable to confront his tyrannical father. Shamed by his cowardice, he distracts himself by needlessly shooting the forest creatures.
When Markus takes no heed of the village prophet's warning that his actions will attract The Hunter's Curse-for every animal Markus kills, his loved ones will suffer the same fate-the Sky Goddess unleashes her ice dragon. Now, Markus must flee the dragon without killing it ... or his beloved brother will be the next to die.
268 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2012
300 people are currently reading
1103 people want to read
About the author
Tara West
84 books1,158 followersTara West writes books about dragons, witches, and handsome heroes while eating chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. She's willing to share her dragons, witches and heroes. Keep your hands off her chocolate.
Tara West's young adult and new adult romances have been Kindle bestsellers. A former high school English teacher, Tara is now a full-time writer and graphic artist. She enjoys spending time with her family, interacting with her fans, and fishing the Texas coast.
Hang out with her on her Facebook fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/tarawestauthor
Keep up with her latest news at: www.tarawest.com
She loves to hear from her readers at: tara@tarawest.com
Tara West's young adult and new adult romances have been Kindle bestsellers. A former high school English teacher, Tara is now a full-time writer and graphic artist. She enjoys spending time with her family, interacting with her fans, and fishing the Texas coast.
Hang out with her on her Facebook fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/tarawestauthor
Keep up with her latest news at: www.tarawest.com
She loves to hear from her readers at: tara@tarawest.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 27, 2022
This is part of the Wrath and Ruin Box set. From the first, the writing style was engaging. I’ve never read this writer and my concern was immediately extinguished. I love when a writer takes one of the typical genre tropes like “the Hero’s Journey” and turns it on its ear. Instead of the protagonist being the chosen one, where everything s/he does is good and always works out, we read that the protagonist is cursed and whatever s/he does is destined to turn into a big, heaping pile of cow dung, ala Peter Parker. In Curse of the Ice Dragon by Tara West, we have the latter, which is OK, but that’s the beginning. As the story unfolds a special kind of alchemy occurs that systematically changes expectations and page by page creates something unique. Markus may be a Mighty Hunter with tremendous skill, but he is also cursed by the Ice Goddess. Markus may have tremendous strength, but he is afraid to confront his father for beating on his brother. There is action galore here, moral crisis, and a plot that begins as straightforward narrative, but as the characters’ story arcs evolve, so do their goals and aspirations. You know, the way life happens. As the narrative deepens, the characters disperse to fulfill their individual quests, fulfill their responsibilities, then return to do more together. I really enjoyed the first part of this epic and look forward to subsequent chapters.
March 21, 2019
This book is a new level of bad. It's got ideas, but the way they're executed is so insanely cartoonish and simple it's insulting. So is this a children's book? I hope not! There's violence and blood everywhere, and teenagers in love, nothing a child can relate or enjoy.
Also insert joke about the author writing the same story twice- the blurb is like 50% of the book in 3 paragraphs.
The messages are bashed over your head so often they're characters at this point. Markus's father abused his brother, and Markus needs to watch his anger before he becomes just like him. That's a good character arc, I like it, but it's stated every. Goddamned. Time. He's angered. Like, how can I get immersed in these characters when the author is so insecure of her arcs that she feels the need to remind me of them every time it's relevant?
Then the story and world, oh boi. That's a ride. Ok so Markus lives in this... country, I think, where they have an ice goddess called Madhea. This goddess sends her dragon onto Markus for his reckless hunting with the curse that if he kills anything, it'll also kill the person he loves most. So he flees and decides to go meet the goddess on her mountain.
While climbing he falls through the ice and gets rescued by a girl living in a town under the ice. They've been living there for 300 years because way back when they still were on the surface and worshiping Madhea, they got hit by a plague and forgot to celebrate her or something. So Madhea sent her dragon on them, and only a few families managed to hide under the glacier.
Yeah, you can see that she's not the greatest. It doesn't help that they think that the ice is protecting them and the glacier is melting for some reason or other (well they think it's the ice but it's actually something even more stupid) and the last time a bunch of people went to the surface, they never came back, leading them to believe that the witch got them.
Back to Markus. The girl, Ura, immediately asks him if he saw her brother with tears in her eyes- I mean, "pale orbs". I'm getting The Eye of Argon flashbacks over here. Apparently, her brother went to the surface a year ago, alone, and she's very worried. She then asks what's up to Markus, who explains his situation of being cursed by Madhea's ice dragon. Instead of, I don't know, losing their shit and throwing him out to avoid being detected as the dragon searches for Markus, Ura is just 'eh'. Later, even if the village despise Markus for being an animal abuser- which doesn't make any sense as these guys live under the ice with like, 5 known animal species, 2 who want to kill them, 1 they need to heat their houses and create light and 2 they hunt for food/keep them from eating all the burning bugs. Later there's a dog and they're all in shock and want to kill it. How does it make any sense for these guys to be horrified at animal abuse?
ANYWAY, even if they hate Markus, they never tell him to leave. Which is nice of them I guess, as he's got a broken arm and needs to heal, but it doesn't make any sense that they'd be so easy going with a kid cursed by the witch they're all hiding from. Like, at least have people scared to interact with him, but no, everyone goes out of their way to bully and mock him. It's retarded- and not over.
So big surprise, 2 days after Markus gets to the ice village Ura's brother returns! Really makes the story feel real guys when stuff conveniently happens when nothing's happening. And this dude, by the gods- he's such an unlikeable dick. For one, he's got the dog I talked to you about, and BY GOD did I want to murder this thing.
Overall, dogs aren't a good idea in books. They're adorable in real life for sure, but when you're trying to tell a serious scene with the characters talking about their ugly past and there's a dog sitting there wagging its tail, the atmosphere is easily broken. Even that though, is better than what this author did.
What a lovely image. It totally didn't make me want to retch or anything. Anyway, after that is the most tumblry council meeting I've ever been unfortunate enough to see. EVERYONE IS LAUGHING. It's the most retarted bullshit I've ever seen.
Alright, let me tell you why this is so retarded. These guys' history I filled with this witch trying to murder them, and Markus is saying he wants to go meet her. Them laughing at this makes no sense. They should be terrified! They should send him out!
This is the equivalent of the hobbits in LotR bursting into laughter when Gandalf tells them they need to destroy the one ring.
IT'S RETARDED
Then there's the overall writing. It's incredibly unfitting of the story, which is about hunter-gatherers living in small villages or under ice talking like goddamned Shakespeare and looking at everything with their "orbs".
And there's the typos. Like, really?
And the ice thing... it was actually magic rocks shielding these assholes from the witch, but these rocks were created by her. Why would she ever give them those properties?? Also, these rocks can freeze or heat stuff at will, you just need to will it to. Keep that in mind.
Then Markus, who's dark-haired with dark eyes and tanned from the sun, what seems like 2 days after he meets with the council, who say something like "he's so dark and big!"- not racist, btw. These assholes all have blue/actual white coloring and Markus is most probably the only land dweller they've seen in 300 years; it's the equivalent of us seeing someone with green hair and purple skin.
But then he gets his hands on a mirror and he's suddenly just as pale as them?? Like, it came out of NOWHERE. What the author was trying to do is have the whole "he couldn't recognize himself", which... ok, sure, but these moments aren't... this is retarded, again, and here's why:
YOU CAN SEE YOUR HAIR
YOU CAN SEE YOUR SKIN
YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR FACE AND EYES, WHICH IS WHAT THESE SCENES ARE ABOUT. The character seeing themselves in the mirror for the first time since their family got killed and they had to leave their best friend behind, the haunted look, the aged face. NOT "Omg my entire body's changed color!"
And ok, it's revealed that Rowlen, Markus' father, was once loving and kind. He went to Madhea for her to heal his son, Alec. She said ok, as long as he stayed with her for one night. He accepted and they did it. But Madhea wanted him to stay, and Rowlen didn't. So she cursed him to hate his son and left Alec to be sick his whole life without death.
Like... this is horrible. Markus' just realized that the man who raised him, the one who beat his brother and whom he hated, wasn't real. He was just as much of a victim as Alec, even more so you could say, as he was pretty much blackmailed into sex and then his entire life, his personality, was stolen from him. Because of that curse, he began beating his wife and son, and raised the other one into abusing animals. Worse than that, there's no way to save him as Alec fucking murdered him when he was trying to kill Markus.
And this is never mentioned. Markus never comes to the realization of this. He doesn't tell Alec, he doesn't react. It's frankly disgusting. The author wrote this, but does she actually realize what it is that she wrote? I don't think so, no, because only one ounce of thought would be able to fix pretty much everything that I've talked about.
Then! it's revealed that Madhea and Rowlen had a kid! It's her servant girl! Wait, no, it's actually... ok before I tell you, I need to mention something I haven't before.
Back when he was in the village, Markus had a crush on this hunter girl who hates him, despite every other girl fawning over him. Yeah, that's... not creepy at all, especially when she's disliked in the village for hunting when she's a girl. Markus is very old school with that, like the woman must stay inside and such, but what's strange is that other people don't seem to care. Sure, the village gets mad at her for denying Markus, but Alec doesn't care, and the village was mostly riled up by Rowlen. So... wouldn't it make more sense for Markus to be for Dianna hunting, as it's what his father doesn't believe? Anyway, she exists.
Fast forward to right before Markus falls in Ice Kingdom; the dragon is right behind him and he has to wound her to give himself a lead. The dragon is super weak by the way, only one arrow in her wing and she forgets how to walk. I think she might have four legs and two wings too? Anyway, now he's like "I must've broken Alec's arm! I hope he can survive until I get this dragon off of me!" And this is neat, you know. He's had to hurt his bro to keep himself from dying, which would also kill his bro because he can't hunt. It's a good motivation to return, the readers can theorize with what's happening, did Alec's arm break or no-
Next chapter is Dianna and her brother walking into Alec's house and saving him, also Dianna is a witch.
...ok. Later in Ice Kingdom, Markus sees a vision of his brother living with Dianna and her brother. He's told she's a powerful witch who healed his sickness.
Alright! Back to where we were. The servant girl isn't actually Markus' sister, and the Elementals, whatever those are, tell Markus he's not the one destined to kill Madhea, his actual sister is, whom is a powerful witch. He still doesn't get it.
So with the witch like, passed out on the floor, he just leaves and returns to his village to fight the dragon because he's got the magic rock I talked about earlier, and that means Madhea's magic can't touch him or something. Everyone is shook to see him all blue and shit, and they go fight the dragon. Alec gets frozen because he's an idiot who ran after the dragon without any weapons. Then Dianna just... shows up and the dragon is nice now. THEN
THEN
Let's talk about the rocks for a bit. Markus and me have been bashed over the head with these rocks; how they work, what they do, how many there are and who has them. They say it like 3 times that you just need to will them and they'll heat up anything. YET
HE NEEDS FUCKING DIANNA, who can hear the rocks for some reason, TO TELL HIM "Hey gimme that rock you know can heat stuff and put it on your brother." AND MARKUS IS LIKE ??? THE FUCK YOU WANT MY ROCK FOR??
*internal screaming*
Anyway all is well that ends well, the dragon is nice and... wait, what? They think this story is solid enough to need a second book before Dianna goes kill the witch- yeah, of course she was their sister, and of course all feelings Markus had for her are gone now ahaha and let's make jokes that he could've boned his sister had she been willing.
So yeah the end is like??? Why the fuck are you doing this?? Markus is going to go see Ura while Dianna goes with Ryne (Ura's brother) to get the dragon to somewhere and Alec is doing whatever. Meanwhile, ya know, there's an angry ice witch but we won't do anything about that yet aha.
Also it's said that Madhea doesn't give a shit about animals and she gave Markus the hunter's blessing because she knew he would start killing everything and earns her hunter's curse... when she doesn't give a shit about animals.
DID ANYONE READ THIS??
Also insert joke about the author writing the same story twice- the blurb is like 50% of the book in 3 paragraphs.
The messages are bashed over your head so often they're characters at this point. Markus's father abused his brother, and Markus needs to watch his anger before he becomes just like him. That's a good character arc, I like it, but it's stated every. Goddamned. Time. He's angered. Like, how can I get immersed in these characters when the author is so insecure of her arcs that she feels the need to remind me of them every time it's relevant?
Then the story and world, oh boi. That's a ride. Ok so Markus lives in this... country, I think, where they have an ice goddess called Madhea. This goddess sends her dragon onto Markus for his reckless hunting with the curse that if he kills anything, it'll also kill the person he loves most. So he flees and decides to go meet the goddess on her mountain.
While climbing he falls through the ice and gets rescued by a girl living in a town under the ice. They've been living there for 300 years because way back when they still were on the surface and worshiping Madhea, they got hit by a plague and forgot to celebrate her or something. So Madhea sent her dragon on them, and only a few families managed to hide under the glacier.
Yeah, you can see that she's not the greatest. It doesn't help that they think that the ice is protecting them and the glacier is melting for some reason or other (well they think it's the ice but it's actually something even more stupid) and the last time a bunch of people went to the surface, they never came back, leading them to believe that the witch got them.
Back to Markus. The girl, Ura, immediately asks him if he saw her brother with tears in her eyes- I mean, "pale orbs". I'm getting The Eye of Argon flashbacks over here. Apparently, her brother went to the surface a year ago, alone, and she's very worried. She then asks what's up to Markus, who explains his situation of being cursed by Madhea's ice dragon. Instead of, I don't know, losing their shit and throwing him out to avoid being detected as the dragon searches for Markus, Ura is just 'eh'. Later, even if the village despise Markus for being an animal abuser- which doesn't make any sense as these guys live under the ice with like, 5 known animal species, 2 who want to kill them, 1 they need to heat their houses and create light and 2 they hunt for food/keep them from eating all the burning bugs. Later there's a dog and they're all in shock and want to kill it. How does it make any sense for these guys to be horrified at animal abuse?
ANYWAY, even if they hate Markus, they never tell him to leave. Which is nice of them I guess, as he's got a broken arm and needs to heal, but it doesn't make any sense that they'd be so easy going with a kid cursed by the witch they're all hiding from. Like, at least have people scared to interact with him, but no, everyone goes out of their way to bully and mock him. It's retarded- and not over.
So big surprise, 2 days after Markus gets to the ice village Ura's brother returns! Really makes the story feel real guys when stuff conveniently happens when nothing's happening. And this dude, by the gods- he's such an unlikeable dick. For one, he's got the dog I talked to you about, and BY GOD did I want to murder this thing.
Overall, dogs aren't a good idea in books. They're adorable in real life for sure, but when you're trying to tell a serious scene with the characters talking about their ugly past and there's a dog sitting there wagging its tail, the atmosphere is easily broken. Even that though, is better than what this author did.
Ryne dropped his gaze to his dog, who was too busy licking at the fur around his anus to pay anyone much notice.
"I've never heard a beast lick himself so often."
"[...] when [the mutt] would lick his nutsack or pass gas."
What a lovely image. It totally didn't make me want to retch or anything. Anyway, after that is the most tumblry council meeting I've ever been unfortunate enough to see. EVERYONE IS LAUGHING. It's the most retarted bullshit I've ever seen.
The land dweller’s face flushed as he dropped his gaze to the floor. The Council members broke into laughter. The Chieftain’s cousin, Ingred Johan, who had an angular face and a sharp nose resembling a bird’s beak, squealed so shrilly that Ryne fought to shield his ears from the grating noise. Hearing Tar whimper behind him, he felt sorry for his dog, whose keen sense of hearing was so much better than his own.
The Chieftain broke into a wide grin. “Sounds like a lovely trip. Be sure to send her our greetings when you get there.” The piercing laughter from the members was almost unbearable.
“You don’t want to keep your beautiful witch waiting.” Much to Ryne’s dismay, the squeals of laughter resumed. One member reached over and patted the Chieftain on his back as the arrogant slog puffed out his meaty chest with a triumphant, smug smile on his face.
“Esteemed families?” Ryne growled. “What good will esteem do you when you are dead?” The Chieftain broke into a fit of laughter, and the other members chuckled alongside him.
“My son speaks the truth.” The Chieftain laughed. “Then you are as big a fool as he is.”
Alright, let me tell you why this is so retarded. These guys' history I filled with this witch trying to murder them, and Markus is saying he wants to go meet her. Them laughing at this makes no sense. They should be terrified! They should send him out!
This is the equivalent of the hobbits in LotR bursting into laughter when Gandalf tells them they need to destroy the one ring.
IT'S RETARDED
Then there's the overall writing. It's incredibly unfitting of the story, which is about hunter-gatherers living in small villages or under ice talking like goddamned Shakespeare and looking at everything with their "orbs".
Pale orbs beneath Alec’s sunken sockets darkened as he sneered.
He stood upright, glaring at her with malice reflected in the stony depths of his tiny orbs.
Odu’s pale orbs narrowed
Ura held him in her wide, yet soft, silver depths.
And there's the typos. Like, really?
Markus’ss
Though her eyes were the shade of a clouded sky, a soft smile belied her kindness.
[belie: (of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict. So her smile is failing to give a notion of her kindess?]
“you have fallen into Ice Kingdom.”
“You brother is not dead.
And the ice thing... it was actually magic rocks shielding these assholes from the witch, but these rocks were created by her. Why would she ever give them those properties?? Also, these rocks can freeze or heat stuff at will, you just need to will it to. Keep that in mind.
Then Markus, who's dark-haired with dark eyes and tanned from the sun, what seems like 2 days after he meets with the council, who say something like "he's so dark and big!"- not racist, btw. These assholes all have blue/actual white coloring and Markus is most probably the only land dweller they've seen in 300 years; it's the equivalent of us seeing someone with green hair and purple skin.
But then he gets his hands on a mirror and he's suddenly just as pale as them?? Like, it came out of NOWHERE. What the author was trying to do is have the whole "he couldn't recognize himself", which... ok, sure, but these moments aren't... this is retarded, again, and here's why:
YOU CAN SEE YOUR HAIR
YOU CAN SEE YOUR SKIN
YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR FACE AND EYES, WHICH IS WHAT THESE SCENES ARE ABOUT. The character seeing themselves in the mirror for the first time since their family got killed and they had to leave their best friend behind, the haunted look, the aged face. NOT "Omg my entire body's changed color!"
And ok, it's revealed that Rowlen, Markus' father, was once loving and kind. He went to Madhea for her to heal his son, Alec. She said ok, as long as he stayed with her for one night. He accepted and they did it. But Madhea wanted him to stay, and Rowlen didn't. So she cursed him to hate his son and left Alec to be sick his whole life without death.
Like... this is horrible. Markus' just realized that the man who raised him, the one who beat his brother and whom he hated, wasn't real. He was just as much of a victim as Alec, even more so you could say, as he was pretty much blackmailed into sex and then his entire life, his personality, was stolen from him. Because of that curse, he began beating his wife and son, and raised the other one into abusing animals. Worse than that, there's no way to save him as Alec fucking murdered him when he was trying to kill Markus.
And this is never mentioned. Markus never comes to the realization of this. He doesn't tell Alec, he doesn't react. It's frankly disgusting. The author wrote this, but does she actually realize what it is that she wrote? I don't think so, no, because only one ounce of thought would be able to fix pretty much everything that I've talked about.
Then! it's revealed that Madhea and Rowlen had a kid! It's her servant girl! Wait, no, it's actually... ok before I tell you, I need to mention something I haven't before.
Back when he was in the village, Markus had a crush on this hunter girl who hates him, despite every other girl fawning over him. Yeah, that's... not creepy at all, especially when she's disliked in the village for hunting when she's a girl. Markus is very old school with that, like the woman must stay inside and such, but what's strange is that other people don't seem to care. Sure, the village gets mad at her for denying Markus, but Alec doesn't care, and the village was mostly riled up by Rowlen. So... wouldn't it make more sense for Markus to be for Dianna hunting, as it's what his father doesn't believe? Anyway, she exists.
Fast forward to right before Markus falls in Ice Kingdom; the dragon is right behind him and he has to wound her to give himself a lead. The dragon is super weak by the way, only one arrow in her wing and she forgets how to walk. I think she might have four legs and two wings too? Anyway, now he's like "I must've broken Alec's arm! I hope he can survive until I get this dragon off of me!" And this is neat, you know. He's had to hurt his bro to keep himself from dying, which would also kill his bro because he can't hunt. It's a good motivation to return, the readers can theorize with what's happening, did Alec's arm break or no-
Next chapter is Dianna and her brother walking into Alec's house and saving him, also Dianna is a witch.
...ok. Later in Ice Kingdom, Markus sees a vision of his brother living with Dianna and her brother. He's told she's a powerful witch who healed his sickness.
Alright! Back to where we were. The servant girl isn't actually Markus' sister, and the Elementals, whatever those are, tell Markus he's not the one destined to kill Madhea, his actual sister is, whom is a powerful witch. He still doesn't get it.
So with the witch like, passed out on the floor, he just leaves and returns to his village to fight the dragon because he's got the magic rock I talked about earlier, and that means Madhea's magic can't touch him or something. Everyone is shook to see him all blue and shit, and they go fight the dragon. Alec gets frozen because he's an idiot who ran after the dragon without any weapons. Then Dianna just... shows up and the dragon is nice now. THEN
THEN
Let's talk about the rocks for a bit. Markus and me have been bashed over the head with these rocks; how they work, what they do, how many there are and who has them. They say it like 3 times that you just need to will them and they'll heat up anything. YET
HE NEEDS FUCKING DIANNA, who can hear the rocks for some reason, TO TELL HIM "Hey gimme that rock you know can heat stuff and put it on your brother." AND MARKUS IS LIKE ??? THE FUCK YOU WANT MY ROCK FOR??
*internal screaming*
Anyway all is well that ends well, the dragon is nice and... wait, what? They think this story is solid enough to need a second book before Dianna goes kill the witch- yeah, of course she was their sister, and of course all feelings Markus had for her are gone now ahaha and let's make jokes that he could've boned his sister had she been willing.
So yeah the end is like??? Why the fuck are you doing this?? Markus is going to go see Ura while Dianna goes with Ryne (Ura's brother) to get the dragon to somewhere and Alec is doing whatever. Meanwhile, ya know, there's an angry ice witch but we won't do anything about that yet aha.
Also it's said that Madhea doesn't give a shit about animals and she gave Markus the hunter's blessing because she knew he would start killing everything and earns her hunter's curse... when she doesn't give a shit about animals.
DID ANYONE READ THIS??
June 17, 2013
I allowed my daughter to read this first and when she told me it was so good she couldn't put it down, I had to read it though YA isn't my usual fare. All I can say is Ms. West does an excellent job of weaving fantasy and magic like few can accomplish and I am always humbled my her writing style. It is intelligent and although this book could easily be for the average teenage boy with all the action and the main character, Markus, I feel like both boys and girls, men and women can relate to the cautionary tale in this novel.
If I may not jump the gun, I felt this novel is the equivalent of Harry Potter for those who love fantasy with a mix of Tolkien magic. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked or loved Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) and The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings. You will not be disappointed.
If I may not jump the gun, I felt this novel is the equivalent of Harry Potter for those who love fantasy with a mix of Tolkien magic. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked or loved Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) and The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings. You will not be disappointed.
November 26, 2018
This is a stunner of an opening series that I read in 2 sittings.
Without going into too much detail, the main character - Markus - has a journey to make and not just a physical one. He has to deal with things from his past from other people that have affected him as well as living by the choices and decisions that he has made. This book takes you on that journey with him.
The characters and places named in this book are all very believable. There has obviously been a lot of work in the preparation of them all and how they link together. Loved it.
If I had one complaint to make, it's that the next book isn't available until 2013.
Without going into too much detail, the main character - Markus - has a journey to make and not just a physical one. He has to deal with things from his past from other people that have affected him as well as living by the choices and decisions that he has made. This book takes you on that journey with him.
The characters and places named in this book are all very believable. There has obviously been a lot of work in the preparation of them all and how they link together. Loved it.
If I had one complaint to make, it's that the next book isn't available until 2013.
May 2, 2013
Story Overview:
Marcus is a born into a family that each one of the male members seems to be cursed. His father has a curse upon his normally kind heart, his brother is cursed with a constant ailment and he is cursed with the hunter’s curse. Should he kill an animal for fun or cruelly, the Ice Goddess will send her dragon to kill him and for every creature he kills a member close to him will die. The only way to stop the curse is to travel up the Ice Mountain and plead with the Goddess herself.
Cover Page: 18/20
The book seems aimed at the YA market and the cover certainly portrays that. Personally I couldn’t judge whether or not the cover would appeal to a younger market. So I turned to my son, asked him what he thought of the front cover and I have never seen his eyes light up so much for a book. So why has it lost two marks? Because I think it undersells the value of the book and some of the characters.
Characters (and their development): 19/20
The characters are completely fresh. Marcus is an excellent character who you can both sympathize with and also hate at times. He is a deeply flawed character who comes through his adventure a better person, but it certainly is not an easy ride. I think at the beginning of the book as a reader I did want to hate the character, yet there was something endearing about him. As the story moves on he just warms more and more into your heart. Other characters are brilliant portrayed, including those of the brother Alec and Dianna.
Even the father is so brilliantly portrayed. At the start of the novel you can’t but hate him. But as I read the story I actually felt sorry for him and wanting to direct my feelings towards those that caused his anger.
The one person I think that could have had a little more development was the mother of the boys. I was sad to see that her emotion and character is overshadowed by so many other characters. It would have been interesting to see more from her considering the rather sensitive nature of her position.
Storyline: 19/20
The storyline is fresh and unique. At the beginning of the book you have a rich background with an established story which to be honest would be well than enough to pass as an okay novel. Then the writer twists the strings in the story and what comes out of it is something that has suspense, adventure and more twists and turns than a roller-coaster. I have to admit there were a lot of shocking twists which I did not expect and when I thought I had everything sorted out there was another twist. The novel has turned into something that is superb.
When reading this to my son, he found that the story was very engaging. He loved some of the action sequences so much that he attempted to recreate them. And I think if you can get a child to remember and then re-enact scenes you certainly have a good story.
Style: 17/20
The style is something that does well, but is not particularly special in any way that distances it from other novels. Although there are plenty of surprising twists and turns I would say that the rest the book’s style is the same as other novels in the genre.
Spelling and Grammar: 20/20
The writer has done really well to produce a flaw free book. One thing I will warn that sometimes you might think she has made a mistake, but in fact they are intentional words. The one that I would say stands out is the use of babe instead of baby or babies. It is not a mistake, but to a casual reader it may seem odd.
Conclusion: 93/100
This is a great book. There is nothing else to say about it. The story flows perfectly well and not only did I enjoy it, but so did my son. The twist and turns are brilliantly played out that it will keep you guessing whether or not the final picture has been revealed right up to the point that the last words have been written. And the characters are a joy to read about and watch develop.
Marcus is a born into a family that each one of the male members seems to be cursed. His father has a curse upon his normally kind heart, his brother is cursed with a constant ailment and he is cursed with the hunter’s curse. Should he kill an animal for fun or cruelly, the Ice Goddess will send her dragon to kill him and for every creature he kills a member close to him will die. The only way to stop the curse is to travel up the Ice Mountain and plead with the Goddess herself.
Cover Page: 18/20
The book seems aimed at the YA market and the cover certainly portrays that. Personally I couldn’t judge whether or not the cover would appeal to a younger market. So I turned to my son, asked him what he thought of the front cover and I have never seen his eyes light up so much for a book. So why has it lost two marks? Because I think it undersells the value of the book and some of the characters.
Characters (and their development): 19/20
The characters are completely fresh. Marcus is an excellent character who you can both sympathize with and also hate at times. He is a deeply flawed character who comes through his adventure a better person, but it certainly is not an easy ride. I think at the beginning of the book as a reader I did want to hate the character, yet there was something endearing about him. As the story moves on he just warms more and more into your heart. Other characters are brilliant portrayed, including those of the brother Alec and Dianna.
Even the father is so brilliantly portrayed. At the start of the novel you can’t but hate him. But as I read the story I actually felt sorry for him and wanting to direct my feelings towards those that caused his anger.
The one person I think that could have had a little more development was the mother of the boys. I was sad to see that her emotion and character is overshadowed by so many other characters. It would have been interesting to see more from her considering the rather sensitive nature of her position.
Storyline: 19/20
The storyline is fresh and unique. At the beginning of the book you have a rich background with an established story which to be honest would be well than enough to pass as an okay novel. Then the writer twists the strings in the story and what comes out of it is something that has suspense, adventure and more twists and turns than a roller-coaster. I have to admit there were a lot of shocking twists which I did not expect and when I thought I had everything sorted out there was another twist. The novel has turned into something that is superb.
When reading this to my son, he found that the story was very engaging. He loved some of the action sequences so much that he attempted to recreate them. And I think if you can get a child to remember and then re-enact scenes you certainly have a good story.
Style: 17/20
The style is something that does well, but is not particularly special in any way that distances it from other novels. Although there are plenty of surprising twists and turns I would say that the rest the book’s style is the same as other novels in the genre.
Spelling and Grammar: 20/20
The writer has done really well to produce a flaw free book. One thing I will warn that sometimes you might think she has made a mistake, but in fact they are intentional words. The one that I would say stands out is the use of babe instead of baby or babies. It is not a mistake, but to a casual reader it may seem odd.
Conclusion: 93/100
This is a great book. There is nothing else to say about it. The story flows perfectly well and not only did I enjoy it, but so did my son. The twist and turns are brilliantly played out that it will keep you guessing whether or not the final picture has been revealed right up to the point that the last words have been written. And the characters are a joy to read about and watch develop.
May 12, 2013
The story was good. There was some degree of originality to it, or at least it had a storyline that is less commonly used in fantasy stories. A large portion of the story is Markus’s visit to a different realm; the story focuses on his fairly peaceful time there instead of a traditional hack-and-slash or swords-and-sorcery adventure.
As well as an adventure story there is also an emotional journey, where the main character Markus, tries to overcome the darker side of his personality as well as trying to avoid falling into the violence that his father had done.
The world itself is excellent and I really enjoyed how the characters discovered it and the stories that others told detailing the history. It is one of those books that you feel the author has spent a lot of time “researching” about the world they wrote about, so they know all about it, even though much of it doesn’t make it into the final book. These worlds are always so much richer and deeper when the author does that.
The characters were well written; they have interesting personalities and are exciting to read about. The emotions of each character is particularly well written, you can really understand what they are feeling. Although I did feel that there was a little bit too much time spent on telling us about emotions, at times it slowed the story down and at others it was written at the expense of exiting action.
Speaking of action, this book was a little light of it. The action sequences were few and far between, and when they did occur they tended to be short. Personally I prefer more action in fantasy books.
I also had a bit of a problem with the male characters, for the most part the emotions were well written, but there were a lot of times when they wanted to “pummel someone’s face.” While it did make sense to Markus’s story and his fear of repeating the violence of his father, I felt he got these violent urges too often, especially considering there were a couple of the male characters feeling in the same way.
There was also a little bit too much of emotional swings, characters are often almost crying one minute and then very angry the next, it didn’t happen so often as to spoil the story but it happened a little more often then I would like.
I was a little disappointed with the end of the story. This made it feel a little like the heroes didn’t really accomplish their quest, but it is set up nicely for the next book in the series.
Overall I like this book a lot, the emotions and characters are really well developed, although at times I felt there was too much time spent on emotions, as well as overly violence feelings from some of the characters.. The story was strong and had an emotional journey as well as an adventure making the story more interesting, although the action was a little light in my opinion. The world itself is really well developed and is very deep. I am defiantly looking forward to the next book in the series.
As well as an adventure story there is also an emotional journey, where the main character Markus, tries to overcome the darker side of his personality as well as trying to avoid falling into the violence that his father had done.
The world itself is excellent and I really enjoyed how the characters discovered it and the stories that others told detailing the history. It is one of those books that you feel the author has spent a lot of time “researching” about the world they wrote about, so they know all about it, even though much of it doesn’t make it into the final book. These worlds are always so much richer and deeper when the author does that.
The characters were well written; they have interesting personalities and are exciting to read about. The emotions of each character is particularly well written, you can really understand what they are feeling. Although I did feel that there was a little bit too much time spent on telling us about emotions, at times it slowed the story down and at others it was written at the expense of exiting action.
Speaking of action, this book was a little light of it. The action sequences were few and far between, and when they did occur they tended to be short. Personally I prefer more action in fantasy books.
I also had a bit of a problem with the male characters, for the most part the emotions were well written, but there were a lot of times when they wanted to “pummel someone’s face.” While it did make sense to Markus’s story and his fear of repeating the violence of his father, I felt he got these violent urges too often, especially considering there were a couple of the male characters feeling in the same way.
There was also a little bit too much of emotional swings, characters are often almost crying one minute and then very angry the next, it didn’t happen so often as to spoil the story but it happened a little more often then I would like.
I was a little disappointed with the end of the story. This made it feel a little like the heroes didn’t really accomplish their quest, but it is set up nicely for the next book in the series.
Overall I like this book a lot, the emotions and characters are really well developed, although at times I felt there was too much time spent on emotions, as well as overly violence feelings from some of the characters.. The story was strong and had an emotional journey as well as an adventure making the story more interesting, although the action was a little light in my opinion. The world itself is really well developed and is very deep. I am defiantly looking forward to the next book in the series.
November 13, 2015
Curse of the Ice Dragon is a wonderful fantasy tale that sets itself apart from other fantasy stories. The Ice People were something new in the world of fantasy, while the idea that a witch disguised herself as a goddess is an interesting idea. Living inside a glacier is also something I have never read, and I found the idea to be pretty cool . . . literally.
The author has created a wonderful world that is filled with magic and strange creatures. There is, of course, and ice dragon, with is something that has been in some fantasy stories and is usually referred to as a white dragon. The dog is a nice touch, but I really didn't care to hear about his licking his privates or chewing on his bung hole. We all know dogs do this, and we are usually quite disgusted by it. I didn't like this in the story and didn't really feel that it was needed. Thank goodness it was only in there a few times. Yuck!
The characters in this story are quite interesting. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on because I didn't like Markus at all. He was a pompous narcissist that really didn't care about anything else but his pleasure and his importance. I thought to myself, "Oh, no. Not another Thomas Covenant." I didn't like Thomas at all throughout the original trilogy and I feared that the same was going to happen to Markus. Luckily, this wasn't the case. Markus changed when he stumbled upon the Ice Kingdom. He eventually found shame in what he had done to that rabbit and how he had treated other animals, as if they didn't have any feelings. He also fell in love with Ura and found a people he could really believe in.
I don't know if was because I downloaded this book from NetGalley, but there were four instanced in the story where a paragraph was either unedited or just got all messed up in the download. All four of them made absolutely no sense with half finished sentences that just started in the middle. After puzzling over each one, I eventually ignored them and moved on.
Young Readers, and older readers, should quite enjoy this highly interesting fantasy tale. The author has created a different type of fantasy tale that is sure to please. With five more book in the series forthcoming, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a lot more adventure to be found in the Keeper of the Stones series.
Overall, Curse of the Ice Dragon is a great beginning to a series that has a lot of promise. I was very pleased with this story and look forward to seeing what happens next in Spirit of the Sea Witch. It sure sounds like we are going to meet Madhea's sisters. Hmmm, that should be fascinating. I look forward to getting my hands on that one.
I rated this book an 8 out of 10.
The author has created a wonderful world that is filled with magic and strange creatures. There is, of course, and ice dragon, with is something that has been in some fantasy stories and is usually referred to as a white dragon. The dog is a nice touch, but I really didn't care to hear about his licking his privates or chewing on his bung hole. We all know dogs do this, and we are usually quite disgusted by it. I didn't like this in the story and didn't really feel that it was needed. Thank goodness it was only in there a few times. Yuck!
The characters in this story are quite interesting. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on because I didn't like Markus at all. He was a pompous narcissist that really didn't care about anything else but his pleasure and his importance. I thought to myself, "Oh, no. Not another Thomas Covenant." I didn't like Thomas at all throughout the original trilogy and I feared that the same was going to happen to Markus. Luckily, this wasn't the case. Markus changed when he stumbled upon the Ice Kingdom. He eventually found shame in what he had done to that rabbit and how he had treated other animals, as if they didn't have any feelings. He also fell in love with Ura and found a people he could really believe in.
I don't know if was because I downloaded this book from NetGalley, but there were four instanced in the story where a paragraph was either unedited or just got all messed up in the download. All four of them made absolutely no sense with half finished sentences that just started in the middle. After puzzling over each one, I eventually ignored them and moved on.
Young Readers, and older readers, should quite enjoy this highly interesting fantasy tale. The author has created a different type of fantasy tale that is sure to please. With five more book in the series forthcoming, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a lot more adventure to be found in the Keeper of the Stones series.
Overall, Curse of the Ice Dragon is a great beginning to a series that has a lot of promise. I was very pleased with this story and look forward to seeing what happens next in Spirit of the Sea Witch. It sure sounds like we are going to meet Madhea's sisters. Hmmm, that should be fascinating. I look forward to getting my hands on that one.
I rated this book an 8 out of 10.
July 25, 2013
I absolutely love all of the authors that I follow on Facebook and Twitter.
Recently, I was lucky enough to log on just as one of them posted a giveaway for a copy of Tara West’s Curse of the Ice Dragon (which I was subsequently a recipient of – yay :-) ). I was drawn to Curse of the Ice Dragon immediately because it’s still within the realm of fantasy (which I love) but is geared more toward younger readers though it still very much appeals to any age.
The first in the Keepers of the Stones series, Curse of the Ice Dragon follows Markus – a young man born with the mark of the Mighty Hunter. After years of keeping his village from starving – he never misses what he aims at — he incurs the wrath of the Ice Goddess by triggering the Hunter’s Curse.
Markus must leave home when the Ice Goddess releases the Ice Dragon to hunt him down so he can keep his village safe. Unable to kill the dragon or risk killing his brother as well, Markus heads to the mountain to try to appeal to the goddess to lift the curse. Along the way, he encounters people who teach and show him how to be a better person.
Within this incredibly world created by West, Curse of the Ice Dragon highlights traits that are valued in society – from being an honorable person to resourcefulness, creativity and love. Intricately interwoven into Markus’ world, West is able to create and showcase an amazing mythology and faith for the world’s dwellers. I felt as if this truly could have a world I could step into (should I be willing to give up my technology). I could see the creatures described and wanted to join Markus in his adventures in the world.
I look forward to reading the continuing stories in this series because I can see it becoming something akin to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series or Pittacus Lore’s Lorien Legacies series.
Happy Reading :-)
Recently, I was lucky enough to log on just as one of them posted a giveaway for a copy of Tara West’s Curse of the Ice Dragon (which I was subsequently a recipient of – yay :-) ). I was drawn to Curse of the Ice Dragon immediately because it’s still within the realm of fantasy (which I love) but is geared more toward younger readers though it still very much appeals to any age.
The first in the Keepers of the Stones series, Curse of the Ice Dragon follows Markus – a young man born with the mark of the Mighty Hunter. After years of keeping his village from starving – he never misses what he aims at — he incurs the wrath of the Ice Goddess by triggering the Hunter’s Curse.
Markus must leave home when the Ice Goddess releases the Ice Dragon to hunt him down so he can keep his village safe. Unable to kill the dragon or risk killing his brother as well, Markus heads to the mountain to try to appeal to the goddess to lift the curse. Along the way, he encounters people who teach and show him how to be a better person.
Within this incredibly world created by West, Curse of the Ice Dragon highlights traits that are valued in society – from being an honorable person to resourcefulness, creativity and love. Intricately interwoven into Markus’ world, West is able to create and showcase an amazing mythology and faith for the world’s dwellers. I felt as if this truly could have a world I could step into (should I be willing to give up my technology). I could see the creatures described and wanted to join Markus in his adventures in the world.
I look forward to reading the continuing stories in this series because I can see it becoming something akin to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series or Pittacus Lore’s Lorien Legacies series.
Happy Reading :-)
February 10, 2014
[Full disclosure: Tara West sent me a free print copy of her novel in return for an honest review.]
When I started Curse of the Ice Dragon, I was expecting the plot to follow the traditional Hero’s Quest format. That’s not an altogether unreasonable assumption in most of the high fantasy I read. Yet my assumption was proved wrong! In some ways it did follow the Hero’s Quest format, but I absolutely love the unique spins Tara West put on old clichés to make the plot exciting and at times unpredictable.
To be perfectly honest, I hated Markus at first. He was cruel, selfish and completely unsympathetic, but that didn’t last for long. Markus goes on quite the character arc and by the end of the novel, he’s a completely new person and I’m looking forward to seeing how he changes throughout the rest of the series. He’s not the only character that stood out, though. All of the characters were three dimensional and had realistic motivations, but Ura particularly stood out for me. She’s concerned about her brother who left to go topside while at the same time must ward off Bane’s advances and keep her father company. Ura is definitely not your typical fantasy heroine and her character arc is just as interesting as Markus’, if not more.
I was rather skeptical about the world-building because it seemed like a typical fantasy world based on Norse mythology. Things couldn’t have been more far from the truth, which was yet another pleasant surprise. Readers will recognize a few typical fantasy elements, but Tara West never strays into the realm of hopelessly cliché. There are so many new things and such an exciting plot that you won’t be able to put Curse of the Ice Dragon down. Personally, I can’t wait for the next book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
When I started Curse of the Ice Dragon, I was expecting the plot to follow the traditional Hero’s Quest format. That’s not an altogether unreasonable assumption in most of the high fantasy I read. Yet my assumption was proved wrong! In some ways it did follow the Hero’s Quest format, but I absolutely love the unique spins Tara West put on old clichés to make the plot exciting and at times unpredictable.
To be perfectly honest, I hated Markus at first. He was cruel, selfish and completely unsympathetic, but that didn’t last for long. Markus goes on quite the character arc and by the end of the novel, he’s a completely new person and I’m looking forward to seeing how he changes throughout the rest of the series. He’s not the only character that stood out, though. All of the characters were three dimensional and had realistic motivations, but Ura particularly stood out for me. She’s concerned about her brother who left to go topside while at the same time must ward off Bane’s advances and keep her father company. Ura is definitely not your typical fantasy heroine and her character arc is just as interesting as Markus’, if not more.
I was rather skeptical about the world-building because it seemed like a typical fantasy world based on Norse mythology. Things couldn’t have been more far from the truth, which was yet another pleasant surprise. Readers will recognize a few typical fantasy elements, but Tara West never strays into the realm of hopelessly cliché. There are so many new things and such an exciting plot that you won’t be able to put Curse of the Ice Dragon down. Personally, I can’t wait for the next book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
October 7, 2012
I've never read anything by Tara West before but I was intrigued by the premise and cover of CURSE OF THE ICE DRAGON so I picked it up. I must admit I love the north where it's cold and snowy in the winter so that was another draw. Plus I enjoy the outdoors and caves have always intrigued me. Well, CURSE had it all--cold, snow, mountain climbing, ice caves with strange creatures, and a race of people you quickly develop empathy for. Markus is the young expert hunter who runs into trouble when he angers the Sky Goddess. The curse is placed. The story moves fast, and very quickly Markus is on the run from the Goddess's huge dragon which is unleashed to destroy him. As Markus flees, he discovers this strange underground ice world where he meets some interesting characters--and here the YA romance blooms between Markus and the beautiful ice girl, Ura. This story is rife with thrills, adventure, YA romance, and some nefarious characters you will despise. For any readers who enjoy a good fantasy, adventure, and magic, CURSE OF THE ICE DRAGON is a must read. Markus is a well developed character you root for, as are all the good chararcters, especially Rynn and Ura. Loved the prose, descriptions, and dialogue. Be prepared though. This is the first book in a series so the ending, though very satisfying, will leave you craving for more. As a side comment, the story does touch on some environmental issues--the Ice People's world is melting. Sound familiar? Highly recommended.
May 5, 2013
Originally posted at: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/bo...
What a journey! From the birth of Markus — already marked with special powers– there is tension present in this book. Although his older brother tries to counteract the influence of their father, more and more Markus turns hard–killing for the pleasure of killing and no longer merely to provide food.
Eventually, his behavior leads to the fruition of a curse promised at his birth–and the death of his family. Now, he has to find a way to reverse it before his brother dies.
The author has done a great job creating this world where the families of the village depend on hunters for their survival–and shows the fine line that exists between the necessary killing for survival and killing for the sport of killing. Other issues she touches on are child abuse and the need to take care of the environment.
Her primary accomplishment, though, is the creating of characters that leap of the page and come to life. All of them, even the secondary characters, are fully drawn and three dimensional. The reader cares about the characters and what happens to them. And, since this is just the first book of the series, leaves the reader anxious to find out what will happen next.
Thanks, Ms. West, for a fun read!
What a journey! From the birth of Markus — already marked with special powers– there is tension present in this book. Although his older brother tries to counteract the influence of their father, more and more Markus turns hard–killing for the pleasure of killing and no longer merely to provide food.
Eventually, his behavior leads to the fruition of a curse promised at his birth–and the death of his family. Now, he has to find a way to reverse it before his brother dies.
The author has done a great job creating this world where the families of the village depend on hunters for their survival–and shows the fine line that exists between the necessary killing for survival and killing for the sport of killing. Other issues she touches on are child abuse and the need to take care of the environment.
Her primary accomplishment, though, is the creating of characters that leap of the page and come to life. All of them, even the secondary characters, are fully drawn and three dimensional. The reader cares about the characters and what happens to them. And, since this is just the first book of the series, leaves the reader anxious to find out what will happen next.
Thanks, Ms. West, for a fun read!
December 18, 2018
To start, its finals week. Then, I got my list of books to review from LitRing and this was one of them. I got soooooooooo excited. A lot of my recent books have been kinda girly for my taste, not a problem but I saw this cover and synopsis and was hooked! (Also, I do believe I have read some of Tara's other books, is it okay if I say Tara? I don't want to use Mrs or Ms because I'm unsure if shes married.)
This book I do believe is a MUST READ for Young Adults. This book is about the main Character (Markus) learning to be his own person while struggling with a lot of family issues. I mean honestly, how hard is it when you're faced with a crap father and sickly brother. Being the hero, the one that keeps people together is hard when you don't even know yourself.
That is the reason I think Young Adults could use this book as a bit of a companion to make them feel not so alone. Life is hard, but when you can find a book you can relate to and also sort of escape with its the best.
The world building is great and I think the characters were pretty vivid. The story is a good one and keeps you hooked until the end. I think once you read the first book, you will want to search out the second.
This book I do believe is a MUST READ for Young Adults. This book is about the main Character (Markus) learning to be his own person while struggling with a lot of family issues. I mean honestly, how hard is it when you're faced with a crap father and sickly brother. Being the hero, the one that keeps people together is hard when you don't even know yourself.
That is the reason I think Young Adults could use this book as a bit of a companion to make them feel not so alone. Life is hard, but when you can find a book you can relate to and also sort of escape with its the best.
The world building is great and I think the characters were pretty vivid. The story is a good one and keeps you hooked until the end. I think once you read the first book, you will want to search out the second.
August 17, 2013
This is the first book in the Keepers of the Stones series by Tara West. We are introduced to new characters not known of in the novella Witch Flame. Markus was born with the mark of the hunter. He is known as the Great Hunter while his older brother, Alec, who was born sickly is scorned and abused by their father. Things come to a head and Markus brings down a curse upon himself and his family. He soon leaves his village and seeks to break said curse.
Tara brings these characters to life. The plot is well thought out and moves along nicely. You find yourself developing strong feelings for the characters and, at time, even in tears over what is occurring. I loved how the story evolved and look forward to where the story is going in subsequent books. Reading Curse of the Ice Dragon was a wonderful afternoon interlude.
Tara brings these characters to life. The plot is well thought out and moves along nicely. You find yourself developing strong feelings for the characters and, at time, even in tears over what is occurring. I loved how the story evolved and look forward to where the story is going in subsequent books. Reading Curse of the Ice Dragon was a wonderful afternoon interlude.
September 18, 2014
This was an interesting story and the first novel I've read by Tara West. I received a copy of this via Net Galley and the formatting was less than ideal especially when there were sentences missing or interposed in the wrong place. However, I enjoyed the author's imagination as she built the world around Markus and his brother Alec. The Kingdom of the Ice People was inventive. The author wove a typical story of a cruel boy who ultimately learned the consequences of his cruelty. While the book kept my interest, most of the story lines were left unresolved and the book ended on a major cliff hanger. Not sure I care enough to seek out the sequel.
January 20, 2018
I was SO taken with this story. I read it from wrath and ruin boxed set and it was the best fantasy I've read in a long time. I can't begin to tell you what's in the story with out worrying about spoilers but what I will say is everyone's connected. character progression is huge and the journey following Markus involves a world that you could only dream of (and I have!). I had dreams about the characters for days afterwards. they were motivational to me. this story is dear to my heart and book 2 was just amazing. give this series a chance and you will have no regrets.
September 2, 2019
I've loved this book. It was a lot of fun. It's a bit more of a Fantasy Romance, though not over the top. It's got an awesome ice dragon and two cursed children. One is cursed to be a hunter--the other is cursed to be an injured weakling his whole life. And then there is the ice people. The plot is fun, and the characters are interesting. And the big reveals at the end of the book have been great. It has complex races and ecosystems, and some pretty fantastic world building. The narrator does a fantastic job with the audio book. I'll definitely be checking out the rest of this series.
November 1, 2012
I think perhaps I am not the ideal reader for this book. It isn't that it has stuff wrong with it (other than the incorrectly formed possessive of a name that recurs throughout the book and annoyed me), but it just didn't fill me with excitement. I really think it is a simple issue of it just not meshing with me, which doesn't mean it won't be 5 star read for someone else. I would be interested in more from this author and even this series.
January 20, 2018
A fantastic adventure full of mystery, danger, romance and magic. I fell in love with the story from page one. I couldn’t put the book down being instantly swept up in the main character’s journey.
I loved the different twists in the story and the characters as well. I enjoyed reading about them and journeying with them as they grew.
I also enjoyed the life lesson that was taught through the characters.
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I voluntarily reviewed a copy from the author.
I loved the different twists in the story and the characters as well. I enjoyed reading about them and journeying with them as they grew.
I also enjoyed the life lesson that was taught through the characters.
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I voluntarily reviewed a copy from the author.
December 22, 2012
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would!! I am a big sucker for covers and this cover didn't excite me too much. The description was interesting, but it didn't grab me like some others. However, I began reading and I couldn't put it down!! I was not expecting the twists that came! I thought it was an original and very interesting story!! I can't wait to read the next one :)
December 5, 2017
Heartbreaking and full of adventure and danger. I enjoyed getting to know these characters.
The story is long and a bit slow but, there is a lot of information that needs to be conveyed. It's about learning to be what you can be, not what people think you are. Seeing the need for change and going for it with determination.
Looking forward to the next book.
The story is long and a bit slow but, there is a lot of information that needs to be conveyed. It's about learning to be what you can be, not what people think you are. Seeing the need for change and going for it with determination.
Looking forward to the next book.
February 18, 2019
Fantastic Story!
Imagination, world building and fantastic characters dominate this story. The hard work that went into this story is evident from the enjoyment I had from it. Markus grew and showed much bravery throughout this book. I loved it & am sure anyone that lives fantasy, adventure plus twist and turns will love it also.
Imagination, world building and fantastic characters dominate this story. The hard work that went into this story is evident from the enjoyment I had from it. Markus grew and showed much bravery throughout this book. I loved it & am sure anyone that lives fantasy, adventure plus twist and turns will love it also.
April 12, 2013
This story is one of my favs. With each page turned new excitement is found. Following a teen through his quest to end a curse put on him through his own actions leads to an unexpeted ending of the book. I can't wait for the next book.
October 13, 2016
This is an awesome read!!! I just love Markus. His aim is always true but the one day he doesn't want shot want he told to could be the end of his village. And bring on a prophet that cause his brother death. To know more grab you copy today a so so so must read!!!!
August 21, 2019
Looked like a great read started off well got very bored with the romance in the middle ( nearly stopped reading it) but carried on and was left with a cliffhanger at the end ,that’s why it only gets three stars .
June 8, 2018
Don't know what I 'm doing
Engaging story, you can care about the protagonist, the story one of fine fantasy for any fan of the genre
Engaging story, you can care about the protagonist, the story one of fine fantasy for any fan of the genre
October 16, 2023
2.5 Stars (Goodreads, update your rating system)
I got this book as a Kindle freebie... and generally I keep my expectations fairly low when it comes to Kindle freebies. Most of them are self-published or printed by small publishers, and the quality generally varies between mediocre and just plain bad. So I went into Curse of the Ice Dragon with fairly low expectations... and was pleasantly surprised to find an engaging story that kept me reading to the very end, though it's not without its problems.
Markus bears the Goddess' mark of the hunter, gifting him with impeccable aim with a bow and enabling him to feed his family and the village almost effortlessly. But his gift has made him proud... and his inability to stand up to his abusive father makes him take out his anger on the animals he hunts. His pride and cruelty lead to him being cursed, with a fearsome ice dragon stalking him and every death at his hands resulting in the death of someone he loves. And as he sets off on a journey to break the curse, pursued by the dragon and knowing that killing said dragon will kill his beloved brother, he discovers a hidden civilization... and the awful truth about the Goddess who cursed him...
The best thing about this book is the plot -- it kept me engaged throughout. It was oddly satisfying seeing Markus develop as a character, and shed some of his negative personality traits as the story went on. And though the story took some unexpected turns, it still managed to hold my attention.
The writing is what really kills the book. The worldbuilding is very shallow, and we get little sense of the land where this book takes place. The story is quite repetitive, repeating Marcus' plight at every opportunity, and has a habit of not introducing characters or concepts until they're convenient to further the plot. Also, someone should tell the author that "jowls" is not the same as "jaws," and educate her on how rivers work -- last time I checked, creeks fed into rivers, not the other way around.
Curse of the Ice Dragon isn't terrible -- with some work and cleanup, it could actually be a fairly decent fantasy read. As it stands, though, it's readable but mostly forgettable.
I got this book as a Kindle freebie... and generally I keep my expectations fairly low when it comes to Kindle freebies. Most of them are self-published or printed by small publishers, and the quality generally varies between mediocre and just plain bad. So I went into Curse of the Ice Dragon with fairly low expectations... and was pleasantly surprised to find an engaging story that kept me reading to the very end, though it's not without its problems.
Markus bears the Goddess' mark of the hunter, gifting him with impeccable aim with a bow and enabling him to feed his family and the village almost effortlessly. But his gift has made him proud... and his inability to stand up to his abusive father makes him take out his anger on the animals he hunts. His pride and cruelty lead to him being cursed, with a fearsome ice dragon stalking him and every death at his hands resulting in the death of someone he loves. And as he sets off on a journey to break the curse, pursued by the dragon and knowing that killing said dragon will kill his beloved brother, he discovers a hidden civilization... and the awful truth about the Goddess who cursed him...
The best thing about this book is the plot -- it kept me engaged throughout. It was oddly satisfying seeing Markus develop as a character, and shed some of his negative personality traits as the story went on. And though the story took some unexpected turns, it still managed to hold my attention.
The writing is what really kills the book. The worldbuilding is very shallow, and we get little sense of the land where this book takes place. The story is quite repetitive, repeating Marcus' plight at every opportunity, and has a habit of not introducing characters or concepts until they're convenient to further the plot. Also, someone should tell the author that "jowls" is not the same as "jaws," and educate her on how rivers work -- last time I checked, creeks fed into rivers, not the other way around.
Curse of the Ice Dragon isn't terrible -- with some work and cleanup, it could actually be a fairly decent fantasy read. As it stands, though, it's readable but mostly forgettable.
December 29, 2019
A good read for younger people..
I found the story compelling, but the prose a little sophomoric. This would be a great read for younger teens. I'm sure the series will engage their young imaginations.
I found the story compelling, but the prose a little sophomoric. This would be a great read for younger teens. I'm sure the series will engage their young imaginations.
September 11, 2020
Good story line
I have it 5 stars due to the excellent form.
She has a real talent for writing flowing stories that can stand alone or in tandem with the series.
I can recommend this book to be read by a teenager to an adult!
Kudos to Tara!
I have it 5 stars due to the excellent form.
She has a real talent for writing flowing stories that can stand alone or in tandem with the series.
I can recommend this book to be read by a teenager to an adult!
Kudos to Tara!
July 23, 2022
Intriguing title, but I wasn't impressed. The action, such as it was, moved at a glacial pace (no pun intended), and the only character I'll remember next week is the dog, Tar.
I won't be continuing this series.
I won't be continuing this series.
December 12, 2019
Loved the start of this series. It's an interesting storyline and takes the reader through a new world. Meant more more teenage readers than adult readers.
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