Review: Fire and Ice by Carrie Olguin

Title: Fire and Ice (The Five Worlds, #1)
Author: Carrie Olguin
Pages: 310
Publisher: Moongypsy Press
Release Date: July 30, 2011

On planet Majien of the Five Worlds, Sarica inherited the debts of her father, which she can’t repay. The law demands her indentured servitude.

Fate taunts her to find the lost City of Almona, the adventure that claimed her father's life. She becomes the property of a judge, a man she fears. And desires. How can she attain freedom to answer Fate’s call?

Rosche burns for Sarica. The extreme cold she generates through her skin can soothe the curse he bears of creating heat through his. Emotions incite the beastly fever to flare. Because he is callous, she had rejected him as a suitor. So he buys her servitude.

As his most precious possession, he will keep her. Forever. Will he risk their lives on an expedition to find Almona City to finally win her heart?

My Thoughts: I have only read a couple of books from a handful of adult series, so I'm not sure how the world, the story, and the characters in Fire and Ice would compare to the many books out there. But comparing it to the ones I've already read, Fire and Ice is definitely up there! It was an enjoyable read for me, and I think readers who like fantasy with plenty of steamy romance should give it a shot.

Before I started reading Fire and Ice, I was unsure how I would feel about it because there was hardly any ratings and reviews. However, now that I've read it, I'm surprised it doesn't have more readers, considering how popular indie books and books from small publishers are now nowadays. I know that finding editing mistakes here and there will turnoff some readers, but I thought the writing and story were good enough to make up for any minor mistakes in the book. The characters were likeable and funny, and the world was exciting and easy to visualize.

The focus of the story was the relationship between the main characters Sarica and Rosche. Rosche is a judge who bought all of Sarcia's father's debt, which means Rosche now owns all of his property including Sarica. Rosche has come across Sarica before and has wanted her ever since he first laid eyes on her, but Sarica doesn't realize Rosche's true intentions. She's under the impression that he only wants her for sex, especially since that's what her father's lenders planned to use her for before Rosche bought her, and to use her special gifts. It doesn't help that rumors have given Rosche a reputation as a cold and brutal person.

Because of all this, Sarica ends up making unfair assumptions about Rosche for most of the book. While it was frustrating at times, I can't entirely blame Sarica. Rosche doesn't really bother explaining the reasons behind his actions to her, and he's not great at communicating his feelings. Even when he thinks he's doing something nice for her, he doesn't consider how she would feel about it nor does he consider what she truly wants. Frustrating moments aside, I really liked Sarica (glad that she stood up for herself!) and Rosche (he was my favorite; love how caring he is). They were great characters, and their moments together were extremely sizzling.

The unique setting the author created was another aspect I enjoyed. The story is set on the planet Majien, one of five planets orbiting together. The planets are inhabited by different species, such as Humans, Drakond, Risha, and a few others. (Sarica is actually half human, while Rosche is a Drakond.) There was enough history given about the people and technology so that readers would have a better understanding of the world, and it wasn't overwhelming. Not hard to follow at all. I thought the sci-fi elements were well done.

Fire and Ice was just very easy for me to get hooked into. It had plenty of tension and surprises and should satisfy those interested in a smoking, adventurous read. I can't help but to recommend it! It has even made me really curious about the rest of the books in this series and other books by Carrie Olguin. Hopefully they're as good as Fire and Ice!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars