Review – Chains of Ice by Christina Dodd

Chains of Ice is the newest installment to her Chosen Ones series. The first two books; Storm of Visions and Storm of Shadows brought us into the world of the Chosen Onesandthe Others. By the time we reach book three there are only a few Chosen left due to a bombing at headquarters. Their mission is to collect as many “abandoned ones” and Chosen as possible to fight the war against the Others. This story follows John Powell, a Chosen One who due to a tragedy with his team has left the fold to live in the secluded mountain ranges of Russia. Along his endeavor, he meets and falls in love with, Genesis Valente, also known as Genny. The chemistry between John and Genny is believable and incredibly sexy. Their relationship is full of tension and lack of trust in the beginning, but the underlying passion is obvious. The two are a great complement to each other.

This book is a not as fast paced as the first two in the series, but there are still plenty of action sequences. John Powell is an intricate personality that is portrayed well by Ms. Dodd. He is a brooding recluse at the start, but eventually develops into a man I feel will become a beloved hero to readers of the series. Genny, although naïve in the first part of the story, quickly becomes a smart, strong heroine who stands up to those who have betrayed her. With the exception of Gary, we do not get to see the original characters as much as I would have liked. Getting to know them better was a big part of why I was looking forward to this installment. Aleksander, for instance, is left at the end of Storm of Shadows as having found his true love, but she is never even mentioned in this novel. She is not the only main character from book two that is left unmentioned. We are given much insight to Gary, though, which was not approached in the earlier books. He is true villain in every sense. Full of intense hate fueled by plans of revenge. He brings an inordinate amount of turmoil to the story. All in all, it was fraught with the violence associated with any war.

Christina is an accomplished author whose writing overflows with passion and anticipation of what’s to come. She has a way of keeping a reader on the edge of their seat one moment and dripping with sensuality the next. In addition to the paranormal, she writes both contemporary and historical romance novels. Ms. Dodd is one of my favorite storytellers and has well earned her place among the list of New York Times best selling authors. I am eagerly anticipating the release of the fourth and final chapter of this series, Chains of Fire, which is due out in September. Well done, Christina.