Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce

When I picked up Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce, I originally thought it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but as I read more of the story it is a retelling of the Snow Queen's fairy tale.

Ginny has been friends with Kai since childhood; they even had plans to live in New York for a little while together.  Kai was a genius on the violin and Ginny was still learning her way in life.  When Kai's grandmother died suddenly, their plans and lives changed.  A mysterious girl shows us and puts Kai under and spell.  He leaves town with Mora and Ginny begins her journey find and win him back.  Along the way she learned the things that Kai's grandmother spoke about were real, even comes in contact with a few werewolves.  She does everything in her power to overcome her odds and rescue the man she loves.  Will she be able to defeat Mora and win Kai back?

This story was a little different from the other books in that it wasn't about what the wolves did with the women, but what happened when one of the women escapes the clutches of the wolves.  It really played on the Snow's Queen's themes of acceptance and belonging, not just with Mora, but also Ginny and Flannery.  It ties in with Fathomless in that Mora's ocean girl name was Ry, someone we briefly met in the previous novel.  The story was a little slow going at points, and I don't think this was one of Pearce's better novels, but it also isn't the worst.  It is still an thoroughly entertaining book.

The characters are interestingly strong.  Ginny is a woman who will not allow anyone to come in her way of accomplishing her goal, nor will she allow the man she loves to disappear without sound reason.  There were times when she came off as borderline obsessive, but if an evil woman steals your boyfriend what would you do?    Flannery is a character that I wanted more from, she seemed like she could have been a strong, powerful character as well.  Mora is the villain readers feel compelled to sympathize with.  She was conscious about what happened and wondered why she never felt as if she belonged or why she struggled to hold onto a love she lost. 

I am beginning to be able to see this series turned into a movie series as epic as Twilight or Harry Potter.  Pearce has an ongoing story that entralls readers and draws them in and causes them to crave more.  I personally cannot wait to pick up the next book in the series and see where Pearce takes this amazing story.  I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars for a rating.  I am excited to see what Pearce will come up with next and which fairy tale will be next in this roller coaster ride.