Cold Spell

by Jackson Pearce

Series: Book #4 Fairytale Retellings
ISBN: 9780316243599              
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: November 5th 2013
Number of Pages: 323
Source: Local Library

Goodreads Summary: Kai and Ginny grew up together–best friends since they could toddle around their building’s rooftop rose garden. Now they’re seventeen, and their relationship has developed into something sweeter, complete with stolen kisses and plans to someday run away together.

But one night, Kai disappears with a mysterious stranger named Mora–a beautiful girl with a dark past and a heart of ice. Refusing to be cast aside, Ginny goes after them and is thrust into a world she never imagined, one filled with monsters and thieves and the idea that love is not enough.

If Ginny and Kai survive the journey, will she still be the girl he loved–and moreover, will she still be the girl who loved him?

My Rating:  

This book has got a lot in it! It is based on the story of the Snow Queen, a fairy whose heart was made of ice - making her unable to love. She goes around stealing men and kissing them numb. They forget their families and lives.

"A woman all in white with hair so blond it almost matched the snow...the girl, as she wasn't much older than Dalia - glanced back toward the door, her eyes the same blue-gray as the snow-filled sky. Her lips curved ever so slightly into a gentle, elegant smile." - Cold Spell, 7

Pearce's story gives us Kai (the guy to run away with the Snow Queen) and his love, Ginny. Kai lives with his grandmother, Dalia, who had a run-in with the Snow Queen as a girl when her friend Michael disappeared. She warns Kai about mythical creatures and doesn't trust even Ginny. When she dies, a mysterious girl named Mora (aka the SNOW QUEEN) shows up and convinces Kai to leave with her. Before this though, Kai is changed into a heartless guy who says hateful things to Ginny.

Of course Ginny doesn't believe him and decides to take off after him (stealing dead Grandma Dalia's car) armed with Grandma's "recipe" book which includes spells and descriptions of the gruesome creatures she warned them about.

She runs into the Fenris (aka wolves) and is saved by Lucas, who can track and find anyone. He brings Ginny home to his wife, Ella, who was Miss Tennessee and is very rich. She cracked me up! Loved her character.

Her adventures also lead her to a bad of Travellers (think gypsies) where we meet their Queen, Brigit and her daughter, the Princess of Kentucky, Flannery. Flannery is awesome and fierce.

"Don't worry, I won't let them kill you...If you need to be killed, I promise I'll off you myself." - Cold Spell, 175

She is so blunt and I love it! And insightful too:

"What kind of leader would I be, though, if I got married just to hold on to the crown tighter? Nah. If I'm not queen enough on my own, then...maybe I'm just not queen enough." - Cold Spell, 193

We have the tie-ins to the previous books:

We still have the Fenris that are in all three previous books - Sisters Red, Sweetly, and Fathomless.

"I get it. The Fenris stole you; they stole your life. But that doesn't mean you can do the same thing to others." - Cold Spell, 294

And we also have some aspect of the mermaids we learned about in Fathomless.

"Madeline. Her old name, her human name. In the ocean, she'd been Ry; as a human, she'd been Madeline, and now she was ..." - Cold Spell, 143

I enjoyed the story very much and I loved the adventure. There is a bit of a lull in the middle, but it is setting the scene for the friendship that blossoms between Ginny and Flannery.

Recommend for all lovers of fairy-tale retellings and those that have read the previous books in this series.

Got to include my favorite quote, spoken by the lovely Ella:

"People who don't do anything annoy me. People who don't do anything yet excite me, because they can potentially do everything." - Cold Spell, 108

It really describes the real reason for Ginny's quest and shows how she begins to realize who she is.