Frozen Fire

I started out loving this book. Then I got bored. By time it ended, I kind of hated it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It starts with a phone call. "I'm dying," a voice tells Dusty. Who is he and how has he gotten her cell number? Dusty wants no part of this strange boy . . . until he begins saying things that only someone who knows her intimately could say things that lead her to think he knows the whereabouts of her brother, who disappeared over a year ago. Suddenly drawn in, Dusty very much wants to save this boy. Trouble is, she cannot find him. Part human, part spirit, he won't let himself be found. He is too dangerous, he says. There are mobs of people who agree and who want to see this boy dead . . . and who will hurt anyone who stands in their way.

Frozen Fire by Tim Bowler was added to my TBR pile from my Penguin Putnam Warehouse Sale shopping spree. I scanned the back and snagged it based on the intriguing synopsis, the SPEAK imprint, and the fact that it was a brand new book for $1. It stayed on my bookshelf and collected dust until I had to hunt for a January Keyword challenge book. It crossed with my Mount TBR challenge nicely too.

When I first picked it up, I was super excited. The characters were mysterious and the plot was engaging. I thought that this was going to be a great novel. Quickly I noticed there are some different slang words and just some very "English" moments, but I was able to handle that without issue- matter of fact, I do tend to like a little "English" in my reading. The plot was confusing pretty much from the get-go, but I figured that would unfold as I continued to read. Unfortunately, it didn't. I was confused and feeling all muddled in my mind while reading this book. The characters never seemed to develop more, and though this mysterious boy was interesting, it wasn't enough to hold my attention. I found that I got bored and was annoyed with the changes in plot and the seemingly random introductions of minor (but apparently key) characters. There were also a bunch of artifacts (for lack of a better word) that I just had a hard time placing and tying in to the story. I can say that the visuals were great- Bowler did a wonderful job with some of his descriptions in this novel. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful snow scenes he described. However, the positives just didn't outweigh the negatives for me. 

Frozen Fire was a difficult read after the first 1/3 of the book and by the end it just lost me. I even struggled with writing this review because I was ultimately disappointed in this one. Overall, I am happy to say I only paid $1 for this one. Don't rush out to grab this one, folks.

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow