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Temple of Ice #1
Temple of Ice
Three winter mages on the cusp of completing their training . . .One last quest that stands between them and their dream . . .A threat none of them saw coming . . .
- GenresFantasyYoung AdultLGBT
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2021
About the author
Christian Cura
5 books38 followersChristian Cura is a new author who just recently published his debut novel Dreams of Fire. Ever since he read Lord of the Rings as a teenager, it has been his dream to write and publish a novel of his own. His favorite authors include J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and Robert Jordan.
Christian lives in Northern Virginia where he lifts weights and creates artwork. He is a Gryffindor, an Earth-bender, and a loyal follower of Optimus Prime. When he is not writing, he can be found drawing or getting beaten up at his MMA gym.
Christian lives in Northern Virginia where he lifts weights and creates artwork. He is a Gryffindor, an Earth-bender, and a loyal follower of Optimus Prime. When he is not writing, he can be found drawing or getting beaten up at his MMA gym.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 19, 2022
So I liked this… I just didn’t love it. I’m always scared that shorter stories won’t seem as filled out as something longer and this time, that was the case. There was enough story here to be a three hundred page book, but it was kind of crammed into the hundred and twenty pages. I liked Tama enough to have followed her through a full journey.
I felt like the romance was short lived too. I wanted there to be much more of that fun-ness. Although that could be said of lots of stories, but I really liked her with her significant other and there just wasn’t quite enough for me.
I also loved the fact that the main “bad guy” was… well I won’t spoil it, but I liked that dynamic and would have liked to have seen a little more backstory regarding that and their relationship. Also the relationship between the bad guy and other individuals. There just could have been more.
So while this was well written and interesting, I didn’t love it. I’d be eager to see this fleshed out into a full book because it was good enough to be one.
Thanks so much to the author, Christian Cura for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion!!
I felt like the romance was short lived too. I wanted there to be much more of that fun-ness. Although that could be said of lots of stories, but I really liked her with her significant other and there just wasn’t quite enough for me.
I also loved the fact that the main “bad guy” was… well I won’t spoil it, but I liked that dynamic and would have liked to have seen a little more backstory regarding that and their relationship. Also the relationship between the bad guy and other individuals. There just could have been more.
So while this was well written and interesting, I didn’t love it. I’d be eager to see this fleshed out into a full book because it was good enough to be one.
Thanks so much to the author, Christian Cura for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion!!
April 14, 2021
(3.5 stars, rounded up to 4)
Temple of Ice is an epic polar fantasy adventure, following Tama, an almost-qualified winter mage, as she realises her destiny and saves her realm from the corrupting power of Malsumi, a vindictive goddess. Not everything is as it seems, however, and along the way Tama is confronted with scheming and betrayal from those she trusted.
Find this and other reviews on my blog!
The two stand-out things in this novel for me are the character of Tama and the world Christian Cura has created. Tama is a great protagonist. She’s brave, strong-willed, and mischievous, but also vulnerable at times. I love having queer characters in fantasy where their sexuality is not an issue in their world and Tama was a perfect example of that. She is bisexual, and has two love interests in this book, both women. The way she handled and dealt with her romantic feelings towards other characters was painfully relatable! We’ve all been there, Tama…
The blossoming of a romance in the second half of the book gave the story some extra drive, and although the relationship developed quite quickly it was very believable as we watched the two characters from when they first meet to when they become companions. You couldn’t help but root for them! I did find myself cringing slightly at the writing of some of the more (ahem) intimate scenes though.
It was really clear that Christian Cura has a very clear, detailed vision of Khione, the world Tama lives in, and when that came across it added so much depth to the story. That being said, the first few chapters felt quite rushed, as if he couldn’t wait to get to the meat of the story, and I would have loved to explore the world and the set-up a bit longer before we got to the main event. It’s a shame when there’s clearly so much there that it felt like we were only getting the tip of the iceberg sometimes. Once the story got underway, though, the pacing was much better and I could easily lose myself in the story. It’s almost a shame it’s a stand-alone (as far as I’m aware) because it feels like there’s so much more of the world to explore!
Temple of Ice is quite a short book, coming in at just over 200 pages, and it’s perfect for when you need a little bit of adventure to lose yourself in for a couple of hours. If you’re looking for polar fantasy, queer characters, or diverse casts, you can’t go far wrong with this one!
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Temple of Ice is an epic polar fantasy adventure, following Tama, an almost-qualified winter mage, as she realises her destiny and saves her realm from the corrupting power of Malsumi, a vindictive goddess. Not everything is as it seems, however, and along the way Tama is confronted with scheming and betrayal from those she trusted.
Find this and other reviews on my blog!
The two stand-out things in this novel for me are the character of Tama and the world Christian Cura has created. Tama is a great protagonist. She’s brave, strong-willed, and mischievous, but also vulnerable at times. I love having queer characters in fantasy where their sexuality is not an issue in their world and Tama was a perfect example of that. She is bisexual, and has two love interests in this book, both women. The way she handled and dealt with her romantic feelings towards other characters was painfully relatable! We’ve all been there, Tama…
The blossoming of a romance in the second half of the book gave the story some extra drive, and although the relationship developed quite quickly it was very believable as we watched the two characters from when they first meet to when they become companions. You couldn’t help but root for them! I did find myself cringing slightly at the writing of some of the more (ahem) intimate scenes though.
It was really clear that Christian Cura has a very clear, detailed vision of Khione, the world Tama lives in, and when that came across it added so much depth to the story. That being said, the first few chapters felt quite rushed, as if he couldn’t wait to get to the meat of the story, and I would have loved to explore the world and the set-up a bit longer before we got to the main event. It’s a shame when there’s clearly so much there that it felt like we were only getting the tip of the iceberg sometimes. Once the story got underway, though, the pacing was much better and I could easily lose myself in the story. It’s almost a shame it’s a stand-alone (as far as I’m aware) because it feels like there’s so much more of the world to explore!
Temple of Ice is quite a short book, coming in at just over 200 pages, and it’s perfect for when you need a little bit of adventure to lose yourself in for a couple of hours. If you’re looking for polar fantasy, queer characters, or diverse casts, you can’t go far wrong with this one!
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 17, 2022
A copy of the book was provided to Sapphic Book Club for free in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 2.5/5
Temple of Ice takes place in a particularly compelling world, but fell a little short in execution for me. I had a hard time getting through it because I had a hard time connecting with the characters on an emotional level, but I tried to stick it out because the world and the plot are intriguing.
Tama, the protagonist, is a winter mage who learns to appreciate her friends' differing strengths and develops her own fighting skills. I wish I could have connected with her more, because as it is the writing told more than it showed and revelations about her character didn't quite hit the way I wanted them to. Because of that, I think, some of her actions towards another character really bothered me.
The start of a new romance later in the book was one of my favorite parts. I think that worldbuilding is a particular strength of Cura, and this new character allowed for a lot more of that. The world of Khione is quite intricate and I'd love to get more into it.
Overall, this book had a great concept, but the execution was flawed enough to limit my ability to engage with the characters and the plot in a more emotionally resonant way.
Rating: 2.5/5
Temple of Ice takes place in a particularly compelling world, but fell a little short in execution for me. I had a hard time getting through it because I had a hard time connecting with the characters on an emotional level, but I tried to stick it out because the world and the plot are intriguing.
Tama, the protagonist, is a winter mage who learns to appreciate her friends' differing strengths and develops her own fighting skills. I wish I could have connected with her more, because as it is the writing told more than it showed and revelations about her character didn't quite hit the way I wanted them to. Because of that, I think, some of her actions towards another character really bothered me.
The start of a new romance later in the book was one of my favorite parts. I think that worldbuilding is a particular strength of Cura, and this new character allowed for a lot more of that. The world of Khione is quite intricate and I'd love to get more into it.
Overall, this book had a great concept, but the execution was flawed enough to limit my ability to engage with the characters and the plot in a more emotionally resonant way.
May 12, 2021
This book was provided to the Sapphic Book Club for an honest review.
This book follows Tama, a winter mage in Khione, who is about to graduate from the winter mage academy. The book address the ongoing battle between Tama's goddess, Tira and Tira's evil sister Malsumi.
This book was a bit of a struggle for me. I had to stop part way thru and read something else, before coming back to it. The concept of the story is interesting and a good premise. The world as a whole is fascinating and one of the things I really liked about the book. However, the story was almost all told and not shown, and I didn't connect with the characters. Fantasy books are generally story driven instead of character driven, which means that the character moments that are present, need to be used to the greatest potential. I did not feel that that happened in this book. None of the character moments landed for me and so I didn't connect with the characters, so I wasn't engaged in the story.
If you can feel a connection with the characters, the story will be more entertaining and worthwhile. Because the world building was my favorite part, I am curious to see if any more books will be released focusing on that aspect. This could easily be the first of a series or a standalone, either way, Cura had a really good concept and I am curious to see what else they make.
This book follows Tama, a winter mage in Khione, who is about to graduate from the winter mage academy. The book address the ongoing battle between Tama's goddess, Tira and Tira's evil sister Malsumi.
This book was a bit of a struggle for me. I had to stop part way thru and read something else, before coming back to it. The concept of the story is interesting and a good premise. The world as a whole is fascinating and one of the things I really liked about the book. However, the story was almost all told and not shown, and I didn't connect with the characters. Fantasy books are generally story driven instead of character driven, which means that the character moments that are present, need to be used to the greatest potential. I did not feel that that happened in this book. None of the character moments landed for me and so I didn't connect with the characters, so I wasn't engaged in the story.
If you can feel a connection with the characters, the story will be more entertaining and worthwhile. Because the world building was my favorite part, I am curious to see if any more books will be released focusing on that aspect. This could easily be the first of a series or a standalone, either way, Cura had a really good concept and I am curious to see what else they make.
May 8, 2021
Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com
Thank you so much to the author, Christian Cura, for supplying me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
tw: blood, death, death of a parent, child death, violence, gore, toxic relationships
Fantasy books can be hit or miss for me. Oftentimes, I struggle with worldbuilding, characters or both. Fortunately with this book, I didn’t have issues with the worldbuilding or the characters. I truly enjoyed this book and everything about it. I loved the characters, the found family trope, the magic system. That’s why I love reading from indie authors. You find some excellent hidden gems.
Tama, one of the main characters, was fantastic. I loved her loyalty to her friends. She was strong but I think the best part about her was that she knew when being weak was okay. There were a couple parts when she snapped at one of her friends. She quickly apologized and all was well. Plus, I loved that she was queer. Having a queer, strong main characters makes my heart so happy.
I have one teeny tiny complaint and it’s not even a complaint really. The pace of the book was pretty quick. It was a little too fast for me, honestly. But I am one of those people that enjoys the slow burn especially with fantasy. I like learning about the world and how everything came to be. But that is just my personal opinion. I’m sure there are others that would enjoy the fast pace.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The cover was gorgeous. The main character is wonderful. There is a lovely found family trope. The magic system and the world building is well done, even if a little fast paced. I hope there is another book because the ending seemed very open ended. And if there is, I’m going to be first in line for it. You truly can’t go wrong with this book.
Thank you so much to the author, Christian Cura, for supplying me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
tw: blood, death, death of a parent, child death, violence, gore, toxic relationships
Fantasy books can be hit or miss for me. Oftentimes, I struggle with worldbuilding, characters or both. Fortunately with this book, I didn’t have issues with the worldbuilding or the characters. I truly enjoyed this book and everything about it. I loved the characters, the found family trope, the magic system. That’s why I love reading from indie authors. You find some excellent hidden gems.
Tama, one of the main characters, was fantastic. I loved her loyalty to her friends. She was strong but I think the best part about her was that she knew when being weak was okay. There were a couple parts when she snapped at one of her friends. She quickly apologized and all was well. Plus, I loved that she was queer. Having a queer, strong main characters makes my heart so happy.
I have one teeny tiny complaint and it’s not even a complaint really. The pace of the book was pretty quick. It was a little too fast for me, honestly. But I am one of those people that enjoys the slow burn especially with fantasy. I like learning about the world and how everything came to be. But that is just my personal opinion. I’m sure there are others that would enjoy the fast pace.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The cover was gorgeous. The main character is wonderful. There is a lovely found family trope. The magic system and the world building is well done, even if a little fast paced. I hope there is another book because the ending seemed very open ended. And if there is, I’m going to be first in line for it. You truly can’t go wrong with this book.
April 7, 2021
My Thoughts:
Honestly, my thoughts for this feel all over the place. First, I think this book (novella?) has so much potential. At just 212 pages it flies by faster than I expected. If it were longer it could easily be a favorite book of mine. But I think it would need another 200 pages for that to happen. It had great action, interesting creatures, and even cool lore. I was turning page after page devouring what was written until I abruptly hit the end. I wanted, no needed more to feel like I read a full story arc and not the outline for one. 200 extra pages would give more opportunity to develop the characters more, and the relationships, even some of what I think were supposed to be major plot points.
One of my biggest qualms with this story was how fast it moved. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE a fast paced story, but this one felt like I was getting whiplash in the second half. Sub plots and motivations are brought up and solved instantaneously, or within a page, extreme insta-love happens, and a steamy scene happens that took place in half a page that I believe could use some serious reworking. The first half of this story was great, it introduced the characters and the world, while leaving some information out that I assumed would be introduced later. We got to see them fight, it was great. Then the later half came and we were flying down a hill with no brakes. It felt too rushed and unfinished compared to the first half. Even the ending felt confused, too quick, and completely off character from the Tama we had met in the beginning, and made me question why her parents were even part of it since they did nothing for the development of the current plot.
Other than wishing for a more thought-out plot, I also found myself not enjoying the dialogue. It felt very stiff and formal between all characters, even those that are supposed to bel long time friends. I know dialogue is hard, so I don't count that at fault too hard, but it had me questioning if the people Tama was friends with were actually friends. My last big issue was the romance, which I quickly mentioned above. It happened to fast I thought I had whiplash. Tama was absolutely IN LOVE with one character, and 5 later she's cuddling up to a woman she met a page ago. Every aspect of it was too fast too soon for it to be believable and supported.
Would I Recommend?
This is hard for me. I so desperately want to say yes, but I do fear some people would have more issues with the pacing than I do. So, I'm going to say yes if you love short fast-paced stories that don't always have the resolution other stories do. I would also recommend this to anyone who prefers plot-driven stories to character-driven ones, the strengths of this story lie within the plot.
Honestly, my thoughts for this feel all over the place. First, I think this book (novella?) has so much potential. At just 212 pages it flies by faster than I expected. If it were longer it could easily be a favorite book of mine. But I think it would need another 200 pages for that to happen. It had great action, interesting creatures, and even cool lore. I was turning page after page devouring what was written until I abruptly hit the end. I wanted, no needed more to feel like I read a full story arc and not the outline for one. 200 extra pages would give more opportunity to develop the characters more, and the relationships, even some of what I think were supposed to be major plot points.
One of my biggest qualms with this story was how fast it moved. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE a fast paced story, but this one felt like I was getting whiplash in the second half. Sub plots and motivations are brought up and solved instantaneously, or within a page, extreme insta-love happens, and a steamy scene happens that took place in half a page that I believe could use some serious reworking. The first half of this story was great, it introduced the characters and the world, while leaving some information out that I assumed would be introduced later. We got to see them fight, it was great. Then the later half came and we were flying down a hill with no brakes. It felt too rushed and unfinished compared to the first half. Even the ending felt confused, too quick, and completely off character from the Tama we had met in the beginning, and made me question why her parents were even part of it since they did nothing for the development of the current plot.
Other than wishing for a more thought-out plot, I also found myself not enjoying the dialogue. It felt very stiff and formal between all characters, even those that are supposed to bel long time friends. I know dialogue is hard, so I don't count that at fault too hard, but it had me questioning if the people Tama was friends with were actually friends. My last big issue was the romance, which I quickly mentioned above. It happened to fast I thought I had whiplash. Tama was absolutely IN LOVE with one character, and 5 later she's cuddling up to a woman she met a page ago. Every aspect of it was too fast too soon for it to be believable and supported.
Would I Recommend?
This is hard for me. I so desperately want to say yes, but I do fear some people would have more issues with the pacing than I do. So, I'm going to say yes if you love short fast-paced stories that don't always have the resolution other stories do. I would also recommend this to anyone who prefers plot-driven stories to character-driven ones, the strengths of this story lie within the plot.
May 9, 2021
Temple of Ice
has all the right parts that make it a story that flows seamlessly and immerses the reader. The reader is immediately introduced to the main protagonist and her closest friends, Tama, Masou, and Kachina. While Tama is courageous, stubborn, yet dutiful. Masou is peaceful and rather shy, almost seeming nervous. And then, Kachina is serene, calm, and thoughtful. Their group dynamic and four year-long friendship are relatable, which help the reader become attached to the characters and delve into the world of Khione. The lore of Tira and Malsumi are introduced in a way that makes the winter mages’ power over water, air, and ice sound natural. Within a short hour, I was already entranced and ten chapters in. It was earnestly difficult to put the story down while reading in the middle of the night.
Temple of Ice has a good balance of action, strife, love, and character growth. There is some tension between Tama and Kachina when Tama confesses her love for the other woman, but they remain close friends. Even though Tama berates Masou for being a coward in combat, he eventually shows courage and fights on the front lines in the final chapters. The relationship with Liseli and Tama is a good addition to Tama’s relationships that sets her up for possible tragedy and romance. Tama’s mother, Shima, is overbearing and distant. Although she seemed harmless at first, when it is revealed that Shima is a follower of Malsumi, the threat of Malsumi breaking free of her prison to spread her darkness feel more imminent. I enjoyed that each character mentioned played an important role to help progress the story and aren’t simply tossed to the side or forgotten. Each chapter and conflict that Tama comes face-to-face with help her mature from a fun-loving young woman into an honorable warrior.
I think I only have two criticisms. The first would be the lack of diverse metaphors. In the last sixteen chapters, while Tama is investigating the murders of citizens of Nevesska, “A cold weight dropped in her stomach” appeared frequently to convey Tama’s dread. Although telling the reader how she is feeling, it becomes a bit tedious. The second is Tama’s inner conflict that would help her develop as a character. She does change due to her relationships with Kachina and Liseli, where Tama finds heartbreak but remains friends with one while becoming partners with the other. While her relationships with either help her grow more confident in love, it doesn’t drastically change Tama’s already headstrong or even short-tempered personality. On the other hand, Tama’s relationship with Shima is shown to be antagonistic from the first time the mother is mentioned. Their conflict in the end therefore doesn’t seem to challenge any of Tama’s preconceived beliefs, such as her mother being controlling or selfish. In fighting the final antagonist, Tama’s love of her parent is already so strained that it leaves little conflict in Tama’s mind to arrest Shima. Overall, the world of Temple of Ice has amazing potential to grow not only by expanding the world of Perimar but having Tama mature even more as a person.
Reviewer: Mariah
Disclaimer: We received a free copy for an honest review. All is my own opinion
Temple of Ice has a good balance of action, strife, love, and character growth. There is some tension between Tama and Kachina when Tama confesses her love for the other woman, but they remain close friends. Even though Tama berates Masou for being a coward in combat, he eventually shows courage and fights on the front lines in the final chapters. The relationship with Liseli and Tama is a good addition to Tama’s relationships that sets her up for possible tragedy and romance. Tama’s mother, Shima, is overbearing and distant. Although she seemed harmless at first, when it is revealed that Shima is a follower of Malsumi, the threat of Malsumi breaking free of her prison to spread her darkness feel more imminent. I enjoyed that each character mentioned played an important role to help progress the story and aren’t simply tossed to the side or forgotten. Each chapter and conflict that Tama comes face-to-face with help her mature from a fun-loving young woman into an honorable warrior.
I think I only have two criticisms. The first would be the lack of diverse metaphors. In the last sixteen chapters, while Tama is investigating the murders of citizens of Nevesska, “A cold weight dropped in her stomach” appeared frequently to convey Tama’s dread. Although telling the reader how she is feeling, it becomes a bit tedious. The second is Tama’s inner conflict that would help her develop as a character. She does change due to her relationships with Kachina and Liseli, where Tama finds heartbreak but remains friends with one while becoming partners with the other. While her relationships with either help her grow more confident in love, it doesn’t drastically change Tama’s already headstrong or even short-tempered personality. On the other hand, Tama’s relationship with Shima is shown to be antagonistic from the first time the mother is mentioned. Their conflict in the end therefore doesn’t seem to challenge any of Tama’s preconceived beliefs, such as her mother being controlling or selfish. In fighting the final antagonist, Tama’s love of her parent is already so strained that it leaves little conflict in Tama’s mind to arrest Shima. Overall, the world of Temple of Ice has amazing potential to grow not only by expanding the world of Perimar but having Tama mature even more as a person.
Reviewer: Mariah
Disclaimer: We received a free copy for an honest review. All is my own opinion
July 21, 2023
“Temple of Ice” follows Tama, a winter mage on the cusp of becoming an elite warrior alongside her two best friends. In Cura’s world, the land has been punished by their goddess to be forever encased in ice, with an evil goddess threatening to emerge and plunge their world into darkness; and no, the bad goddess is not the same as the one who put this land in a deep freeze. Tama learns to appreciate her friends’ differing talents with ice magic, and also finds love in the arms of a beautiful woman who loves Tama’s wild spirit. But Tama, her friends, and her land are suddenly thrust into violence when a betrayal from within threatens to unleash the dark goddess once and for all. The world concept is very cool (heh) and while I liked the sapphic representation in this book, the story as a whole felt like I was reading a companion novella to an already established world/story.
The good thing about “Temple of Ice” is that the book is a standalone and the story moves very quickly. Maybe too quickly, however. Things progress so fast that it was hard for me to ever feel emotionally invested in any of the characters, and that included the romance. That’s why I say this read like a companion book to an already established world, I felt like I was plunked into something that I would have enjoyed more having read something that already established the world and conflict when, in fact, the reader is just beginning to be introduced to everything and everyone. So certain character motivations came across as vague and flimsy, especially around the bad guys and their reasons for betraying everyone. That being said, I enjoyed Tama’s spunk, but with the speed at which the story progresses, we didn’t really get much of it before she “moved on”, so to speak, as a character. I also liked the romance itself, but the intimate scenes read a bit clunky to me.
I truly wished I enjoyed this story more as I think it all has fantastic potential. The world and lore are all there, but the story just moves too fast—discoveries and then resolutions all coming within a few pages’ kind of fast. Had the story taken its time, I think I would have felt more engaged but, like I said, it’s also a quick and easy read so I didn’t hate it by any means. Hopefully more comes in this world so readers can feel like they are getting a better look at Tama and her icy land, even if it is from another character’s POV as Tama’s story is pretty well wrapped up by the end of the book. But because of the speed, lack of true character development, and a serious case of insta-love, this book is a 2 star read for me. And thank you to the author for providing me with an ecopy of the book!
The good thing about “Temple of Ice” is that the book is a standalone and the story moves very quickly. Maybe too quickly, however. Things progress so fast that it was hard for me to ever feel emotionally invested in any of the characters, and that included the romance. That’s why I say this read like a companion book to an already established world, I felt like I was plunked into something that I would have enjoyed more having read something that already established the world and conflict when, in fact, the reader is just beginning to be introduced to everything and everyone. So certain character motivations came across as vague and flimsy, especially around the bad guys and their reasons for betraying everyone. That being said, I enjoyed Tama’s spunk, but with the speed at which the story progresses, we didn’t really get much of it before she “moved on”, so to speak, as a character. I also liked the romance itself, but the intimate scenes read a bit clunky to me.
I truly wished I enjoyed this story more as I think it all has fantastic potential. The world and lore are all there, but the story just moves too fast—discoveries and then resolutions all coming within a few pages’ kind of fast. Had the story taken its time, I think I would have felt more engaged but, like I said, it’s also a quick and easy read so I didn’t hate it by any means. Hopefully more comes in this world so readers can feel like they are getting a better look at Tama and her icy land, even if it is from another character’s POV as Tama’s story is pretty well wrapped up by the end of the book. But because of the speed, lack of true character development, and a serious case of insta-love, this book is a 2 star read for me. And thank you to the author for providing me with an ecopy of the book!
May 12, 2021
Frozen landscapes may appear beautiful but they could mask lurking dangers that need to be fought off as demonstrated in Temple of Ice by Christian Cura.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
An adept winter mage able to manipulate water, air, and ice, Tama, along with her two friends Kachina and Masou, are nearly done with their training and education at the temple to become fully-fledged mages contributing to the protection and betterment of Khione. To complete their formal four year education they must embark on a journey through planned obstacles within Mount Orodani while fighting hordes of corrupted creatures to earn the anointing of Goddess Tira; but these fights are fraught with greater difficulty and danger than anticipated as Tira’s evil sister Malsumi continues to send her corrupted creatures as she schemes to break free from her prison. Fighting to defend both herself and her people from the creatures’ attacks, Tama soon learns that the reason for this deadly threat is much closer than she could have ever imagined.
This fantasy story progresses the narrative quickly through plenty of action, keeping the pace moving swiftly as the plot moves forward. Typically fantasy worlds take many pages to develop greater complexity and build the world the characters reside in, the rules that they abide by and exhibiting character development and growth, but with this story’s shorter page length, there’s not as much traditionally seen development given to the characters and Tama’s world despite a clear vision of it offered to readers, which is filled with a number of fascinating creatures, abilities, and places that provide great potential to expand the world. Tama is a strong main character and shown with strengths and weaknesses in her interactions with others that make her seem real instead of a more idealized version of a person, especially around her feelings for particular women in her life; though there were some rapid reactions and portions of dialogue that felt a touch unrealistic in their formality, they worked decently within the confines of progressing the narrative to the next action point. The dynamic between Tama and her mother Shima was antagonistic from the start and there was an explanation provided but if given more time to develop and explore their relationship and how it got to its current state it could have been more powerful in relation to the events that took place between them toward the conclusion. Though described as a standalone story, the ending has an openness to it that invites further exploration of Tama and her adventures in the world.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
An adept winter mage able to manipulate water, air, and ice, Tama, along with her two friends Kachina and Masou, are nearly done with their training and education at the temple to become fully-fledged mages contributing to the protection and betterment of Khione. To complete their formal four year education they must embark on a journey through planned obstacles within Mount Orodani while fighting hordes of corrupted creatures to earn the anointing of Goddess Tira; but these fights are fraught with greater difficulty and danger than anticipated as Tira’s evil sister Malsumi continues to send her corrupted creatures as she schemes to break free from her prison. Fighting to defend both herself and her people from the creatures’ attacks, Tama soon learns that the reason for this deadly threat is much closer than she could have ever imagined.
This fantasy story progresses the narrative quickly through plenty of action, keeping the pace moving swiftly as the plot moves forward. Typically fantasy worlds take many pages to develop greater complexity and build the world the characters reside in, the rules that they abide by and exhibiting character development and growth, but with this story’s shorter page length, there’s not as much traditionally seen development given to the characters and Tama’s world despite a clear vision of it offered to readers, which is filled with a number of fascinating creatures, abilities, and places that provide great potential to expand the world. Tama is a strong main character and shown with strengths and weaknesses in her interactions with others that make her seem real instead of a more idealized version of a person, especially around her feelings for particular women in her life; though there were some rapid reactions and portions of dialogue that felt a touch unrealistic in their formality, they worked decently within the confines of progressing the narrative to the next action point. The dynamic between Tama and her mother Shima was antagonistic from the start and there was an explanation provided but if given more time to develop and explore their relationship and how it got to its current state it could have been more powerful in relation to the events that took place between them toward the conclusion. Though described as a standalone story, the ending has an openness to it that invites further exploration of Tama and her adventures in the world.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
May 20, 2021
Temple of Ice is a fantasy novel that follows Tama, our main protagonist and POV, through her fate to complete her training as a winter mage and the events that surround the visions that her spirit guide gave her before her final trial. The Khioni are located in the frozen land of Khione (think arctic or antarctic tundra in winter). Some of their people can use magic to command ice, water and air and the Khioni pray to the goddess Tira. There are also creatures who have been corrupted by the goddess, Malsumi. Tama and the other citizens of Nevesska must face on a regular basis throughout the story, as they come of age and try to find both themselves and their place in society.
As I mentioned, the story is told mostly from Tama’s POV. She is grappling with a lot of uncertainties within herself, but also she is courageous, and most definitely stubborn. Her mother, Shima, has always been hard on her; pushing her to be the best and most adept. Tama also in love with her calm and thoughtful best friend of four years Kachina. Kachina, Tama and the artist Masou spend 4 years training in the temple together and the friendship described by Cura is so believable. I certainly love this found family, and despite the things they have been through together, they will always be there for each other.
While this is a fast paced book, it flowed nicely together. The book takes place over a longer period of time. I would have liked a little more description about the “unwritten” time between the time jumps, however the way it is written does flow and conveys the plot without missing anything. I loved the descriptions of the landscapes. I live in Canada and felt like Christian Cura was accurately descripting what mid-winter looks like here. The world building was great. The world of Khione and its surroundings were masterfully brought together without feeling like an info dump. The magic system and the religion (Tira and Malsumi) were integrated into the plot so well; you really could pretend you were a part of this world. I really appreciated the glossary provided in the back of the book. It allows the desrciptions of things without bogging down the sotry with paragraphs of descriptive language. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy or magic, and that wants a quick thrilling read that has a few unexpected turns…
ARC provided by Christian Cura
As I mentioned, the story is told mostly from Tama’s POV. She is grappling with a lot of uncertainties within herself, but also she is courageous, and most definitely stubborn. Her mother, Shima, has always been hard on her; pushing her to be the best and most adept. Tama also in love with her calm and thoughtful best friend of four years Kachina. Kachina, Tama and the artist Masou spend 4 years training in the temple together and the friendship described by Cura is so believable. I certainly love this found family, and despite the things they have been through together, they will always be there for each other.
While this is a fast paced book, it flowed nicely together. The book takes place over a longer period of time. I would have liked a little more description about the “unwritten” time between the time jumps, however the way it is written does flow and conveys the plot without missing anything. I loved the descriptions of the landscapes. I live in Canada and felt like Christian Cura was accurately descripting what mid-winter looks like here. The world building was great. The world of Khione and its surroundings were masterfully brought together without feeling like an info dump. The magic system and the religion (Tira and Malsumi) were integrated into the plot so well; you really could pretend you were a part of this world. I really appreciated the glossary provided in the back of the book. It allows the desrciptions of things without bogging down the sotry with paragraphs of descriptive language. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy or magic, and that wants a quick thrilling read that has a few unexpected turns…
ARC provided by Christian Cura
May 2, 2021
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Temple of Ice
Author: Christian Cura
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Recommended For...: fantasy lovers
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed
Publisher: Indie Published
Pages: 263
Synopsis: Meet Tama, an adept winter mage of Khione, a beautiful, dangerous land. Bloodthirsty monsters roam the frozen wilderness, and the unforgiving elements are a constant. Tama and her friends—Kachina and Masou—are on the cusp of completing their education at the temple where they have trained for the past four years. They need only to do one more thing: earn the Goddess Tira’s final anointing. But to do that, they must fight through hordes of corrupted creatures and endure the perplexing obstacles within Mount Orodani.
The road before them is long and bloody, and Tira’s evil sister, Malsumi, won’t stop sending her minions until she is strong enough to break free of her prison. Tama fights valiantly to defend herself and her people from these twisted monsters. But she will soon discover the real threat is much closer than she initially thought…
Review: I had to DNF this read at 32%. The book is just everywhere and I couldn’t concentrate on it enough to make heads or tails of it.
Verdict: It’s good, just not for me.
Book: Temple of Ice
Author: Christian Cura
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Recommended For...: fantasy lovers
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed
Publisher: Indie Published
Pages: 263
Synopsis: Meet Tama, an adept winter mage of Khione, a beautiful, dangerous land. Bloodthirsty monsters roam the frozen wilderness, and the unforgiving elements are a constant. Tama and her friends—Kachina and Masou—are on the cusp of completing their education at the temple where they have trained for the past four years. They need only to do one more thing: earn the Goddess Tira’s final anointing. But to do that, they must fight through hordes of corrupted creatures and endure the perplexing obstacles within Mount Orodani.
The road before them is long and bloody, and Tira’s evil sister, Malsumi, won’t stop sending her minions until she is strong enough to break free of her prison. Tama fights valiantly to defend herself and her people from these twisted monsters. But she will soon discover the real threat is much closer than she initially thought…
Review: I had to DNF this read at 32%. The book is just everywhere and I couldn’t concentrate on it enough to make heads or tails of it.
Verdict: It’s good, just not for me.
April 18, 2021
(Note: I received an advanced review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.)
TEMPLE OF ICE follows three skilled “adept” students, Tama, Kachina, and Masou, who at the beginning of the tale are on their journey to become winter mages. Author Christian Cura has written his tale with fine skill and a clear love of the fantasy genre. He takes the reader into fully crafted fantastical lands where we find intriguing lore, exciting magic, and fascinating creatures. With a full cast of characters, the story takes some dark twists and turns and is action-packed. Above all, Cura really knows how to write detailed heart-pounding fantasy action well! And personally, I appreciated the inclusion of a Sapphic main character. I recommend this novel to fans of epic adventures like the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, as well as the books of R.A. Salvatore. Fantasy lovers will really enjoy this journey!
TEMPLE OF ICE follows three skilled “adept” students, Tama, Kachina, and Masou, who at the beginning of the tale are on their journey to become winter mages. Author Christian Cura has written his tale with fine skill and a clear love of the fantasy genre. He takes the reader into fully crafted fantastical lands where we find intriguing lore, exciting magic, and fascinating creatures. With a full cast of characters, the story takes some dark twists and turns and is action-packed. Above all, Cura really knows how to write detailed heart-pounding fantasy action well! And personally, I appreciated the inclusion of a Sapphic main character. I recommend this novel to fans of epic adventures like the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, as well as the books of R.A. Salvatore. Fantasy lovers will really enjoy this journey!
August 2, 2021
Temple of Ice was a fun fantasy read with amazing fight scenes and great wintery settings. As fast paced as Fast and the Furious and with action similar to Avatar the Last Airbender, this book had nonstop adventure from beginning to end.
The main character had a bit of plot armor, as nothing aside from minor injury happened to her. The side characters, including their deaths, did not elicit much of a response from me, and the ending wrapped up too nicely and was a bit rushed.
Highly recommended if you are interested in fantasy settings with back to back action sequences! I received this book for free, and I am voluntarily writing this review.
The main character had a bit of plot armor, as nothing aside from minor injury happened to her. The side characters, including their deaths, did not elicit much of a response from me, and the ending wrapped up too nicely and was a bit rushed.
Highly recommended if you are interested in fantasy settings with back to back action sequences! I received this book for free, and I am voluntarily writing this review.
April 2, 2021
Action packed at every corner! This book was incredibly fast-paced. I don’t think there were any chapters I felt a lull in. That being said, I wish there was more time spent fulling rounding out the characters.
Tama is a fierce warrior who you’re rooting for from the start. The journey starts with her two friends Masou and Kachina who I grew to adore! There are some heartbreaking moments I didn’t see coming that I thought added a nice layer of emotional depth to the story.
My biggest thing was the romance in this and the smutty scenes could use some work. There were moments that felt uncomfortable with the wording used. I think as the author has more experience writing this aspect will improve.
Tama is a fierce warrior who you’re rooting for from the start. The journey starts with her two friends Masou and Kachina who I grew to adore! There are some heartbreaking moments I didn’t see coming that I thought added a nice layer of emotional depth to the story.
My biggest thing was the romance in this and the smutty scenes could use some work. There were moments that felt uncomfortable with the wording used. I think as the author has more experience writing this aspect will improve.
April 20, 2021
What a fantastic first book for this new author! I devoured the book in 2 days! I could not put it down. The storyline was intriguing enough to keep me turning pages. The characters lived in your head. You want them to succeed in their quest. I am hoping there will be a 2nd book in this series that follows Tama on her quest to see the world!!
April 16, 2021
I started this book thinking I'd really be into it. Definitely one of the stronger openings I've read. The action was great, the world was interesting. The characters were okay. It was looking like an easy 4.5 stars. Unfortunately, the deeper I got into it, the more sighs and headshakes occurred. For a book with decent flow and even a decent plot, the characters didn't match up and kinda left an underdeveloped feeling. That and technically some choices just didn't make sense.
Tama seems okay, but her character ultimately just begun to bug me as things went on. Like she has a crush, crush doesn't want her. Life happens. But she spends an annoying amount of time lamenting this and I gave up on her love life the moment she decided to interfere with her crushes love life. Like she honestly did not deserve to get that friendship back without a fight, but you know she's the heroine so that's exactly how it went down. She routinely gets mad at her friend, Masou for being a coward during battle, rightly so, to the point of almost losing that friendship. However, when both of her friends tell her not to rush into something, she of course does without regarding their feelings and almost gets all three of them killed, and not a single fight about her actions was had. Neither of her friends say anything to her. Lesson learned it's okay for heroes to point out other's flaws but when they mess up it's a nonissue because they are the hero so learning to not be an a#$ is only part of other character's character arcs.
Masou. I genuinely was team Tama. He did on multiple times, almost get them all killed. Basically useless. However, he has a reason. Instead of this reason making me sympathise with him I was just annoyed. They are going into battle, he has a very/extremely valid reason for his aversion to crazed animals, why would he not tell them this before getting them all almost killed? Both his friends would've probably helped him overcome this or at the very least fought in such a way that made him comfortable to fight with the abilities he had. And his arc, after all he went through to come into his own... well he deserved better.
Kachina, quite literally the same character from the first page to the last. Probably the least fleshed out of all of them so couldn't quite get into her.
The problem with the above stuff is this story is definitely written like I am supposed to be invested in the characters but they aren't really fleshed out that well. The only characters I could sink my teeth into were Tama's parents. They rocked. I could definitely dig into the villain plotline. Nothing bad to say there.
Sometimes the wording was off. Almost like every few pages, the author would drop a word out of the synonym menu to make the story sound more literary when a simpler word could've been used.
I'm a fan of the fast pace in the end, but not the actual end. Like it resolved why too quickly. In just a few sentences the cast knew who the villain was. No thinking about it. No putting the pieces together. It could've been okay except for the fact that the entire end was full of no one knowing anything about anything. Not a shred of evidence. That and the one glaring flaw involving a certain cleaner. Suffice it to say if they weren't coerced into doing what they did there is no way the villain could have known beyond a doubt their target would be where they needed them to be. So that kinda killed a bit of the believability because the whole end of the book hung on this and as it's written it doesn't hold.
I'm here for corrupted beasts, my problem was it gave the impression that there were no wild beast before the evil goddess made them. Like are there zero naturally dangerous predators in this world. Is that even possible in any world? Also, the insta love was awkwardly placed. Like the relationship was going so well it actually felt better as it was and instead of it working, because insta love can work, it felt forced like the story needed a relationship. If anything Masou needed a love interest. Like a warrior or something. On that note, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like Liseli but she's only a second act player, unfortunately.
Also, every world has maps. The headmaster's daughter is quite literally from another country across the ocean. How did her father meet their mother? Is the headmaster even fully native to the land? If no why didn't he and his wife move back to the land of ice together? It's just hard to believe that there isn't enough documented history of the other lands for locals to know about them, especially considering some of the ancestors have been to them including the headmaster. If his own daughter has documented so much during her travels and brought it back with her, did no one else do this the many centuries past before her time? It's hard to believe this when it's clear people do frequently travel by boat. They just apparently have never once, during their visits, brought books or artefacts or any history from where they visited. This explains Tama's shock at there being other seasonal mages, and how can there be a word for winter mage and not its corespondents and if so how did Tama know what a spring mage was without an in-depth explanation the first time seeing as apparently there's no word for it.
This story definitely started off with me all in it. I mean I was ready to love it. The pacing was good. The underlined plot was good. The world was entertaining, even with whatever flaws I found with it. There was so much good going on here, bucket loads of potential. Unfortunately, it read like a character-driven book and the characters weren't developed enough to hold that. At 200 plus pages, there was enough time to sort out a lot of things that weren't really dealt with.
Recommending this book... I'd say it's a hard yes. The action was good, the overall story arc and how it progresses is good. The beginning half of the story is enough to enthral any reader. And if you're into story's where the plot is fairly solid, then this is definitely your kind of story. But if you're looking for the characters to match that awesomeness, or a secret plot that actually has clues versus a one conversation that reveals all in the final act, than this one may not be for you.
Tama seems okay, but her character ultimately just begun to bug me as things went on. Like she has a crush, crush doesn't want her. Life happens. But she spends an annoying amount of time lamenting this and I gave up on her love life the moment she decided to interfere with her crushes love life. Like she honestly did not deserve to get that friendship back without a fight, but you know she's the heroine so that's exactly how it went down. She routinely gets mad at her friend, Masou for being a coward during battle, rightly so, to the point of almost losing that friendship. However, when both of her friends tell her not to rush into something, she of course does without regarding their feelings and almost gets all three of them killed, and not a single fight about her actions was had. Neither of her friends say anything to her. Lesson learned it's okay for heroes to point out other's flaws but when they mess up it's a nonissue because they are the hero so learning to not be an a#$ is only part of other character's character arcs.
Masou. I genuinely was team Tama. He did on multiple times, almost get them all killed. Basically useless. However, he has a reason. Instead of this reason making me sympathise with him I was just annoyed. They are going into battle, he has a very/extremely valid reason for his aversion to crazed animals, why would he not tell them this before getting them all almost killed? Both his friends would've probably helped him overcome this or at the very least fought in such a way that made him comfortable to fight with the abilities he had. And his arc, after all he went through to come into his own... well he deserved better.
Kachina, quite literally the same character from the first page to the last. Probably the least fleshed out of all of them so couldn't quite get into her.
The problem with the above stuff is this story is definitely written like I am supposed to be invested in the characters but they aren't really fleshed out that well. The only characters I could sink my teeth into were Tama's parents. They rocked. I could definitely dig into the villain plotline. Nothing bad to say there.
Sometimes the wording was off. Almost like every few pages, the author would drop a word out of the synonym menu to make the story sound more literary when a simpler word could've been used.
I'm a fan of the fast pace in the end, but not the actual end. Like it resolved why too quickly. In just a few sentences the cast knew who the villain was. No thinking about it. No putting the pieces together. It could've been okay except for the fact that the entire end was full of no one knowing anything about anything. Not a shred of evidence. That and the one glaring flaw involving a certain cleaner. Suffice it to say if they weren't coerced into doing what they did there is no way the villain could have known beyond a doubt their target would be where they needed them to be. So that kinda killed a bit of the believability because the whole end of the book hung on this and as it's written it doesn't hold.
I'm here for corrupted beasts, my problem was it gave the impression that there were no wild beast before the evil goddess made them. Like are there zero naturally dangerous predators in this world. Is that even possible in any world? Also, the insta love was awkwardly placed. Like the relationship was going so well it actually felt better as it was and instead of it working, because insta love can work, it felt forced like the story needed a relationship. If anything Masou needed a love interest. Like a warrior or something. On that note, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like Liseli but she's only a second act player, unfortunately.
Also, every world has maps. The headmaster's daughter is quite literally from another country across the ocean. How did her father meet their mother? Is the headmaster even fully native to the land? If no why didn't he and his wife move back to the land of ice together? It's just hard to believe that there isn't enough documented history of the other lands for locals to know about them, especially considering some of the ancestors have been to them including the headmaster. If his own daughter has documented so much during her travels and brought it back with her, did no one else do this the many centuries past before her time? It's hard to believe this when it's clear people do frequently travel by boat. They just apparently have never once, during their visits, brought books or artefacts or any history from where they visited. This explains Tama's shock at there being other seasonal mages, and how can there be a word for winter mage and not its corespondents and if so how did Tama know what a spring mage was without an in-depth explanation the first time seeing as apparently there's no word for it.
This story definitely started off with me all in it. I mean I was ready to love it. The pacing was good. The underlined plot was good. The world was entertaining, even with whatever flaws I found with it. There was so much good going on here, bucket loads of potential. Unfortunately, it read like a character-driven book and the characters weren't developed enough to hold that. At 200 plus pages, there was enough time to sort out a lot of things that weren't really dealt with.
Recommending this book... I'd say it's a hard yes. The action was good, the overall story arc and how it progresses is good. The beginning half of the story is enough to enthral any reader. And if you're into story's where the plot is fairly solid, then this is definitely your kind of story. But if you're looking for the characters to match that awesomeness, or a secret plot that actually has clues versus a one conversation that reveals all in the final act, than this one may not be for you.
May 14, 2021
Read the full review here: https://onreviewbysara.com/2021/05/14...
I was lucky enough to read this book after the author reached out to me. I hope the prospective reader will read this review fully before making any prejudgments on the book. I will give the book my thoughts. These thoughts are completely my own and not swayed in any way by anyone else’s reviews or opinions.
Check out my blog for more reviews: www.onreviewbysara.com
My Rating: If you wanted to lose yourself in a short adventure, this is the book for you to go to. It is short and it does get right to the point. I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I feel as if I needed another 200-300 pages and I would enjoy it more. I noticed that even though I overall enjoy short, fast-paced books, this one was hard for me to get through. I did finish the book completely; I just could not get into it. I saw some wonderful reviews and I wish I caught onto it like others, but this book was just not for me.
I was lucky enough to read this book after the author reached out to me. I hope the prospective reader will read this review fully before making any prejudgments on the book. I will give the book my thoughts. These thoughts are completely my own and not swayed in any way by anyone else’s reviews or opinions.
Check out my blog for more reviews: www.onreviewbysara.com
My Rating: If you wanted to lose yourself in a short adventure, this is the book for you to go to. It is short and it does get right to the point. I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I feel as if I needed another 200-300 pages and I would enjoy it more. I noticed that even though I overall enjoy short, fast-paced books, this one was hard for me to get through. I did finish the book completely; I just could not get into it. I saw some wonderful reviews and I wish I caught onto it like others, but this book was just not for me.
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 11, 2024DNF - wasn't for me.
May 19, 2021
Temple of Ice is a young adult fantasy adventure set in an icy world full of magic, evil, friends and trials. The strong heroine, Tama, begins as an ornery school girl, getting into trouble. About to finish her mage education, her final exam is a vision quest. The vision quest will send Tama and her two friends, Kachina and Masou, into the dangerous frozen world outside of the city.
The danger comes in the form of corrupted creatures, sent by the evil goddess Malsumi in the war against her sister goddess Tira. The three young mages command of the winter elements, wind, ice and water, enables them to defeat the creatures and complete their vision quests. But the battles with the creatures were only the beginning.
What follows is an epic war between good and evil with Tama at the front of the battlelines for the most part. The story is filled with scenes depicting the war against the corrupted creatures. Interspersed with the battles the reader gets to know the characters. Other characters include Tama’s parents, the headmaster of the mage school and the headmaster’s daughter, Liseli.
Temple of Ice is not a long book. The shorter length (200-ish pages?) means that I missed a few things in this tale. The detail regarding religion, the worshipping of Tira, Mother Goddess, seemed perfunctory. This led to superficial motives for both good and evil characters. I also felt the romance between Tama and Liseli lacked depth, although that can also be attributed to youthful characters. Liseli herself, did not add that much to the story. Tama’s heroism would have been the same with or without Liseli.
What I really appreciated was the cold icy world that Tama and her people lived in. Wind, snow and ice had me feeling the chill. Luckily the action scenes warmed me up. I also enjoyed Tama’s growth from a frivolous young student to a strong heroic mage.
A strong heroine, magic, good friends, betrayal, war, and hope are the choice ingredients in Temple of Ice. This book will appeal to readers of young adult fantasy.
Thanks to the author who provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The danger comes in the form of corrupted creatures, sent by the evil goddess Malsumi in the war against her sister goddess Tira. The three young mages command of the winter elements, wind, ice and water, enables them to defeat the creatures and complete their vision quests. But the battles with the creatures were only the beginning.
What follows is an epic war between good and evil with Tama at the front of the battlelines for the most part. The story is filled with scenes depicting the war against the corrupted creatures. Interspersed with the battles the reader gets to know the characters. Other characters include Tama’s parents, the headmaster of the mage school and the headmaster’s daughter, Liseli.
Temple of Ice is not a long book. The shorter length (200-ish pages?) means that I missed a few things in this tale. The detail regarding religion, the worshipping of Tira, Mother Goddess, seemed perfunctory. This led to superficial motives for both good and evil characters. I also felt the romance between Tama and Liseli lacked depth, although that can also be attributed to youthful characters. Liseli herself, did not add that much to the story. Tama’s heroism would have been the same with or without Liseli.
What I really appreciated was the cold icy world that Tama and her people lived in. Wind, snow and ice had me feeling the chill. Luckily the action scenes warmed me up. I also enjoyed Tama’s growth from a frivolous young student to a strong heroic mage.
A strong heroine, magic, good friends, betrayal, war, and hope are the choice ingredients in Temple of Ice. This book will appeal to readers of young adult fantasy.
Thanks to the author who provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 14, 2021
Thank you to Christian Cura for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book has a wonderful world and magic system that is enchanting and interesting. This was a cool trip to the Arctic with powerful Winter Mages.
Tama and her friends are about to graduate and join the community as official Winter Mages. One is a healer, one is an artist, and Tama is a warrior. After they complete their pre-graduation tasks, the trio graduates and goes home to serve. But in the village, there is trouble brewing, as someone is attempting to awaken the evil goddess and destroy the village. It is up to Tama, her friends, and her new girlfriend to save the village and stop the goddess from awakening.
I really enjoyed learning about the magic system and the world that Tama lives in. The Arctic setting is unique and interesting. I also really enjoyed that there were uses for the Winter Mages beside being warriors. Tama’s friend uses his magic to create art and bring joy to the community. He is not pressured by anyone to use his control over the wind, snow, and ice for battle. The community in this world is very accepting. They allow the Winter Mages to use their powers as they wish. Also, there is not one character that questions Tama’s sexuality or judges her for having a relationship with a woman. Everyone simply accepts her decisions and her choice.
While the characters in this book were great, I felt like I was waiting for things to happen. Once Tama and her friends got to the village, the story accelerated for me. I just wish that we had gotten there sooner. The scenes showing their graduation rituals were good to tell me more about the unique culture of the world. However, they were not very exciting, as everything seemed to go very smoothly for the characters. I would have liked some more conflict earlier in the story.
Overall, I like the world in this book, I just wish that the pacing was faster. But if you want to immerse yourself in a winter world, I recommend spending some time with Tama and her friends.
This book has a wonderful world and magic system that is enchanting and interesting. This was a cool trip to the Arctic with powerful Winter Mages.
Tama and her friends are about to graduate and join the community as official Winter Mages. One is a healer, one is an artist, and Tama is a warrior. After they complete their pre-graduation tasks, the trio graduates and goes home to serve. But in the village, there is trouble brewing, as someone is attempting to awaken the evil goddess and destroy the village. It is up to Tama, her friends, and her new girlfriend to save the village and stop the goddess from awakening.
I really enjoyed learning about the magic system and the world that Tama lives in. The Arctic setting is unique and interesting. I also really enjoyed that there were uses for the Winter Mages beside being warriors. Tama’s friend uses his magic to create art and bring joy to the community. He is not pressured by anyone to use his control over the wind, snow, and ice for battle. The community in this world is very accepting. They allow the Winter Mages to use their powers as they wish. Also, there is not one character that questions Tama’s sexuality or judges her for having a relationship with a woman. Everyone simply accepts her decisions and her choice.
While the characters in this book were great, I felt like I was waiting for things to happen. Once Tama and her friends got to the village, the story accelerated for me. I just wish that we had gotten there sooner. The scenes showing their graduation rituals were good to tell me more about the unique culture of the world. However, they were not very exciting, as everything seemed to go very smoothly for the characters. I would have liked some more conflict earlier in the story.
Overall, I like the world in this book, I just wish that the pacing was faster. But if you want to immerse yourself in a winter world, I recommend spending some time with Tama and her friends.
May 20, 2021
3.5 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.
What drew me to this book was that there is element bending in Khione. The people of Khione are able to manipulate water and air, and utilize their abilities to protect/fight, heal, and create art. It’s very clear from the beginning that this story is inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. The style of bending in this book seems very reminiscent of the bendings in that show.
While this book is categorized as young adult, I would push it towards the new adult genre because of the explicit romantic scene and violent themes.
One thing that isn’t mentioned in the blurb is that there are LGBTQ+ characters within this story. I liked how the author created a world where being queer was seen as normal as being heterosexual.
Also, this book is a short read, so the story was very fast paced. There was never too much time between action scenes, and there was constant commotion.
All that being said, I found the characters to be a bit one dimensional. There wasn’t a lot of substance to them, in my opinion. I also wished that the the trio’s spirit animals had more of a role in the story. I felt like after the first encounter they didn’t have a lot of significance until the end.
One thing I really appreciated was the glossary at the end of the book. There were words from a fictional language, so it was nice to refer back to it every once in a while when I forgot what I word meant.
If you like A:TLA, this book might hit you in the nostalgia feels. If you’re looking for a short read with an interesting world and a lot of action, this story might be for you!
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TL;DR
✅ short, fast paced
✅ LGBTQ+ representation
➖ inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender
❌ characters felt one note
Disclaimer: I was given a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.
What drew me to this book was that there is element bending in Khione. The people of Khione are able to manipulate water and air, and utilize their abilities to protect/fight, heal, and create art. It’s very clear from the beginning that this story is inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. The style of bending in this book seems very reminiscent of the bendings in that show.
While this book is categorized as young adult, I would push it towards the new adult genre because of the explicit romantic scene and violent themes.
One thing that isn’t mentioned in the blurb is that there are LGBTQ+ characters within this story. I liked how the author created a world where being queer was seen as normal as being heterosexual.
Also, this book is a short read, so the story was very fast paced. There was never too much time between action scenes, and there was constant commotion.
All that being said, I found the characters to be a bit one dimensional. There wasn’t a lot of substance to them, in my opinion. I also wished that the the trio’s spirit animals had more of a role in the story. I felt like after the first encounter they didn’t have a lot of significance until the end.
One thing I really appreciated was the glossary at the end of the book. There were words from a fictional language, so it was nice to refer back to it every once in a while when I forgot what I word meant.
If you like A:TLA, this book might hit you in the nostalgia feels. If you’re looking for a short read with an interesting world and a lot of action, this story might be for you!
--------------
TL;DR
✅ short, fast paced
✅ LGBTQ+ representation
➖ inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender
❌ characters felt one note
June 14, 2021
I received a copy of Temple of Ice by Christian Cura in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
When I first read the synopsis of Temple of Ice, I was really intrigued. It sounded exactly like the kind of book I’m usually into containing both fantasy, a strong female character and action. Unfortunately, the story didn’t quite meet up to my expectations.
It took me awhile to get an understanding of the world building, but once I did, I really liked the world itself and how it’s written. The story is placed in a great world, which is also why I thought the book had so much potential. What brought it down for me was the character building and how some of the things in the story unfolded.
Tama, the main character, had great potential to be a strong female character, with an interesting personality. I really liked her in the beginning of the story, but when she gets her heart broken and almost immediately after finds her soulmate, she started annoying me. The way the relationship is built just doesn’t seem realistic to me. I also think there was a lack of character development in general, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters on a deeper level.
I like how the author describes the different battles in the book, and I appreciate that the story contains a lot of action, which also makes the story rather fast paced. I do however feel like some parts of the story are a bit rushed, and could have been developed further.
Overall, I think the main idea of the book was great. The story did however have more potential, and I don’t quite think that the book lived up to what it could have been. That’s why I’m giving Temple of Ice 3 out of 5 stars.
When I first read the synopsis of Temple of Ice, I was really intrigued. It sounded exactly like the kind of book I’m usually into containing both fantasy, a strong female character and action. Unfortunately, the story didn’t quite meet up to my expectations.
It took me awhile to get an understanding of the world building, but once I did, I really liked the world itself and how it’s written. The story is placed in a great world, which is also why I thought the book had so much potential. What brought it down for me was the character building and how some of the things in the story unfolded.
Tama, the main character, had great potential to be a strong female character, with an interesting personality. I really liked her in the beginning of the story, but when she gets her heart broken and almost immediately after finds her soulmate, she started annoying me. The way the relationship is built just doesn’t seem realistic to me. I also think there was a lack of character development in general, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters on a deeper level.
I like how the author describes the different battles in the book, and I appreciate that the story contains a lot of action, which also makes the story rather fast paced. I do however feel like some parts of the story are a bit rushed, and could have been developed further.
Overall, I think the main idea of the book was great. The story did however have more potential, and I don’t quite think that the book lived up to what it could have been. That’s why I’m giving Temple of Ice 3 out of 5 stars.
April 16, 2023
I LOVED this book. The relationship between Tama and her friends Kachina and Masou is so fitting. They each have different talents, Tama is the warrior, Kachina is the healer, and Masou is the artist. We first meet Tama as she and Masou are taking time off from their training as winter mages. Tama is in love with Kachina, but Kachina is not interested in girls. They still remain friends though throughout the book. She eventually after they all pass the winter mages, meets and falls for a woman perfect for her named Liseli. They have a very sweet relationship together through the book. I really liked the ending it was fitting for Tama and Liseli and we also find out that Tama was involved in the return of the goddess Malsumi somehow, and that was a great twist! I think this was a very well written book with lbgtq represented but also not thrown in your face like in some books. I am a heterosexual woman but I truly enjoyed reading this book and also the steam with Tama and Liseli was about a 1.5 out of 5, it was in the book but the book was so much more than a romance, it was a journey of the MC Tama, and it was an amazing book!
May 15, 2021
I read this book on a request and I have to say that I am so happy that I did. As a lover of winter (best time for a book dragon to read) this book gave me another reason to love winter. The story is well paced and full of action and character growth. The ideas in the book are simple, yes but they are also very well executed. The best part, Cura had created a whole world of his own. It takes inspiration for other sources but those are only small details in the grand scheme of things. It's been a while since I've read a book that built a world like this. It also left me with a lesson I never thought I'd see in a book like this one. But I won't spoil that for you here. I did a whole blog post about the book. Check it out if you want to read my full thoughts on the book.
I received a free copy of this book via Christian Cura and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Christian Cura and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 31, 2021
I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This book was a little all over the place for me. The opening of the book was amazing, but I did not find myself getting attached to the characters like I thought I would. They seemed that they needed to be polished up a little more. I loved the storyline and the adventure they were going on. Tama would hurt or destory friendships and she did not have to fight to get that back. She did things without thinking how it could hurt those around her. That kind of made me dislike her. That is not something the heroine should be doing to those closest to her.
April 14, 2023
Cura does an amazing job of world building and hitting us up with plenty of action. While the characters were easy to relate to, I have to admit I wasn't a fan of Tama, the main character. She is a cross between selfish and a bully, which made it hard to root for her. I do wish there were more mystery vibes (and hints) before the finale. Overall, the action and world made this a hard-to-put-down book.
August 11, 2021
Temple of Ice by Christian Cura is a wonderful story to read. I have loved reading this story very much I was hooked from the beginning to the very end. I highly recommend this story to everyone.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 30, 2023
I've posted my review of Temple of Ice on my blog (link here)
I will be really glad if you check it out
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I will be really glad if you check it out
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 6, 2021
I loved reading the interesting world building crafted in this book that Tama and her friends, Kachina and Masou find themselves in. Training, and then becoming Winter Mages in order to fight corrupted beast that threatens the village and it's people seems like a worthy goal to commit to. It's good to see that Tama is up to the task.
Too bad that it's harder to do when you're in love with your friend and your parents are not who you thought they were.
I look forward to reading more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Too bad that it's harder to do when you're in love with your friend and your parents are not who you thought they were.
I look forward to reading more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews