Missing from library? Or uncatalogued?

The back of the book is a little misleading. There's not a lot of capturing going on here. I liked the story. It moved pretty fast and kept my interest. I do think that I should have read the other books in this series first. About 2/3rds of the way through the book all of the sudden we were reading about characters who I had no idea who were. If I had read the others in order, this might not have seemed so out of left field. Also if some scenes with them had been included earlier in the book sprinkled in then it might not have been so hard to accustom myself to. I liked the hero, pretty tortured guy and a bit different from your average alpha hero. The heroine was a bit wimpy at first but she grew on me and she grew up a bit. I will probably go back and read the first two books since I am fond of this author even though at the time the blurbs on those two didn't pull me in.

The world building seems pretty solid. I found the hero's name to be odd in that he had a totalling English speaking world based name and was from Russia. Can't be many John Powells in Russia. Some of the magical elements were very intriguing. I really liked the Rasputye that was a magical land out of time. Like a holding area, you never knew where or when you would be when you came out of it. Nifty idea.

This book wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed reading it. ( )

Missing from library? Or uncatalogued?

Chains of Ice
4 Stars

Better than the first book but not as good as the second. The characters are engaging and the plot interesting with some exciting action scenes and a development or two in the overall story arc. Nonetheless, there is something missing.

It may be the fact that John and Genny are new characters and the familiar group of Chosen Ones only make an appearance about 70% in. However, this ultimately serves to strengthen the romance as it allows the reader the opportunity of getting to know John and Genny as individuals and as a couple before returning to the conflict between the Chosen and the Others.

John is a great hero, stong and silent. He is very mysterious and powerful, compelling and noble but suffers from some serious trust issues. Genny starts out a naive and trusting innocent who must come to terms with the realities of life in general and her family history in particular. Although they are both likeable and bring out the best in each other (as well as the worst), their chemistry is not at tangible as it could have been, which makes it difficult to completely accept their romance. Moreover, the "all is forgiven and forgotten" ending it too sudden and the love and trust materializes out of nowhere, which is problematic given everything that leads up to it.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this series (and the earlier Darkness Chosen books) is the symbolism. While the overall story arc is furthered, it takes a back seat to John and Genny's story, which is disappointing.

All in all, not a bad addition to the series and I look forward to Samuel and Isabelle's story next. ( )

The conflict and sexual tension are so bizaar between the hero and heroine that at first I wasn't sure if I should root for them or wait for a dramatic falling out, but Christina Dodd definitely delivered with this book. I wasn't always sure what was happening between the two on a personal level, but the way they stood united was very entertaining to read. ( )