Veena’s review of Cursed by Ice (Immortal Brothers, Book 2) by Jacquelyn Frank
Fantasy Romance published by Ballantine Books 31 Mar 15

I definitely enjoyed this book a lot more than the first in the series. The story takes off right where the last one ends, with the two brothers in campaign to conquer new territory in the name of their Goddess. Right off the bat they are battling for a walled kingdom, which is defended by a young maiden and her dragon companion.  As the story evolves, I feel like I’m in an episode from the Game of Thrones.  This story has all the fantasy elements such as mages, wizards, fae, dragons, and meddling gods, in addition to the romance, which all add up to a very interesting story.

Sarielle has been a slave all her life. Her few comforts come from her ability to call the dragon to whom she is bonded such that they share all pain and injuries. Her owner has kept her in line by keeping her chained in her room and by the love she bears her two young siblings. Garreth is immediately attracted to her and determined to free her and abolish slavery in the new kingdom that he has annexed. However, she is grievously wounded when he uses an immortal weapon on her dragon, thanks to her soul bond with the beast.

Now Garreth has to embark on a quest to save her life by finding and healing her dragon. The fantasy elements of the journey and her story of finding her dragon’s egg and bonding with the hatchling just sucked me and kept me engaged throughout, especially as other fantasy elements continued to make an appearance at appropriate times.  Of course, no story is complete without the love and jealousy element, which this one has in spades. The mistress of the old ruler of the keep is determined to continue to live a luxurious life and does all she can to poison the growing the attraction between Sarielle and Garreth.

Will this second brother succumb to love like the first and have to pass on the baton to yet another brother? Why not, since what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander too. I definitely enjoyed this story and hope to continue to read and enjoy the stories for each of the brothers as they pay their penance and appease the gods once again.

Grade: B

Summary:

From New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Frank comes the smoothly sensual second book in an exciting new series featuring four immortal warrior brothers who must stake their hearts against their fate.

As punishment for plotting with his brothers to steal immortality, Garreth is suffering a freezing torment until the end of time. Again and again, his fierce fighter’s physique is frozen into a chiseled ice sculpture, his heart hardening like a diamond in his chest—only to thaw and resume the chilling torture. Until, like his older brother Dethan, he is offered a reprieve from a goddess—in exchange for his allegiance in a celestial civil war.

Garreth lives to fight and fights to live. But while laying siege to an embattled city, he finds another reason to go on—a beautiful warrior woman named Sarielle, who commands a mythic beast through a mysterious and powerful bond. Terrified of her strength, the city rulers have kept her captive, and now she refuses to submit to a new master. As Garreth seeks to unleash her passion and melt the icy resistance of her heart, will he become her ultimate salvation—or lead them both to greater destruction?

No excerpt available

Other books in this series: