I have a LibraryThing rule that I don't rate or review anything unless I've read it entirely. I have not finished Cry of the Icemark yet but I will - I'm over halfway through it now. It checks off a lot of boxes on my list for novels that are sure to be loved by me. I started it in HS, but sadly never finished it. I have acquired my own copy now. I'll edit this review once I'm done- but I do remember from what I read in HS it was very promising. My librarian at the time recommended it to me because it had vampires in it and was claimed to be a well-written fantasy that was sure to impress me.

(TO BE UPDATED LATER. CHECK BACK AGAIN AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY LIBRARY IN THE MEANTIME!) ( )

This was one of my favorite books as a child, though this is the first time I've read it since I think I was sixteen (when I tried and failed to finish the trilogy).

Still, there's nothing like talking giant snow leopards to bring you back to childhood.

Rereading this book makes me realize there are things I used to appreciate in literature which I don't necessarily anymore, and things that I didn't used to appreciate that I do now. For instance, when I was younger, I glossed over the battle scenes in this book because they weren't what I was here for. This time, I read them closely, wanting to know how these battles were won. That was the story, how this country won this impossible war.

But, something I'm sure I enjoyed when I was younger, was the scene where Oskan must "choose" whether to be good or evil, and respect that choice forevermore. It was extraneous and tonally out-of-place, and the scene came from nowhere and contributed to nothing (as far as this book goes. I think the scene was supposed to foreshadow things in book 3, but again, I never finished book 3 so idk). It made me think of how children and adults view the world differently--for a child, a scene wherein a child must make a choice about his character that will then inform his character forevermore seems completely legitimate. As an adult, I viewed this scene with extreme skepticism. Oftentimes, the material that makes up out characters is a series of choices that we make continually, and very few choices can have lasting affects on our characters.

Most YA fictions tend to focus solely on the romance and supernatural. Not Stuart Hill's 'Icemark'. In fact almost everything about this richly penned and plotted novel is unconventional, from talking snow lepeords to friendly werewolves. And to my joy, vampires are actually evil creatures for a change.
The dialogue was hilarious at times and the themes entertaining as well as moving. ( )

It's very exciting, that's for sure. The story of a young warrior-queen who has to grow up very quickly and defend her kingdom from the biggest threat in the known world is incredibly exciting and kept me fascinated the entire time. Also, I'm learning a lot about battle tactics and diplomacy that I'd never find out from a history book. It's not the best written book in the world, but it is poigantly moving and uses the sometimes clumsy phrasings to good effect. ( )

"How do we know we can trust you?"
"You don't know that you know you can trust me. You'll just have to trust me."
Paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it. I quite like the premise but this book was written with children in mind, or so it seemed. The King's behaviour made me want to throw up all over my kindle (he had yellow fluffy slippers on the banquet table) and the way the Princess acts is nowhere near what I'd imagine her to be like. It was just all so twee. ( )