REVIEW: Frozen Tides

Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms #4)

Page Count: 413 pages

Release Date: December 15, 2015

My Rating: 3.8/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

CLEO: Reeling after a bloody showdown in Limeros ending with Amara’s abduction of the water crystal, and a vacancy in the Mytican throne, Princess Cleo must cast aside her feelings and look toward her kingdom with the eyes of a Queen. MAGNUS: With the kingdom in chaos, Princess Lucia still missing and quite possibly in danger, and a shocking realization about Cleo, the steely prince is once again torn between love and duty, leaving him wondering whether he’s strong enough to rule his people. LUCIA: The young sorceress has had her vengeance after the cruel death of her first and only love. Heartbroken and unable to trust anyone, she allies with the awoken Fire god, who also seeks revenge. JONAS: After escaping death by the skin of his teeth, the defeated rebel—along with a mysterious stranger–leader reunites with Princess Cleo, only to find himself a mere pawn in a dangerous hunt for the elusive Kindred. KING GAIUS: Abandoned by Melenia and betrayed by his own children, Gaius flees Mytica and sails to Kraeshia, where he attempts to ally with the famously brutal emperor across the Silver Sea.

My Review:

This book got so close to 4 stars! It definitely had a couple 4 star moments, and I actually think it was my favorite in the series, but overall I decided to keep it in the "3 star" range.

Let's discuss all the things I liked: FIRST OF ALL, CLEO AND MAGNUS. I waited four books for them to get together and finally, FINALLY, it happened.

Their development as individuals and as a couple is, I think, what made this book my favorite out of the six Falling Kingdoms books. Cleo went from being obnoxious and whiny to being strong and bold, and Magnus went from being uniformly rude and cold (and loving his adopted sister) to having much greater complexity and warmth. It also helped that the plot was tight and fast-moving, with enough mini-cliffhangers to keep me reading. There were two main things I disliked. I bet you all can guess. LUCIA AND JONAS.

Lucia is the most obnoxious, unnecessarily violent, strange character ever. She's so completely unlikeable but she's put up on this pedestal (especially by Magnus) as a hero. And Jonas remains infuriating, going about making horrible choices, disregarding all sane choices and all attempts to stop him. Me, every time either Lucia or Jonas would start talking:

Overall, this was the most action-packed, enjoyable book of the series so far - and at least we have Cleo and Magnus!!!