Omen of Ice (Omen of Ice, #1)

OMEN OF ICE is an enthralling YA fantasy. Keltania has spent her whole life training to be an Aphelian, one of the few druids left descended from the nearly mythical Aphelian who helped to save everyone by giving up most of her magic to a fae whom she loved and starting the Great Drain, the disappearance of magic from the fae. Now, Aphelians train from childhood to serve as guards for the fae.

Keltania has been given her first job, to guard Valen, nephew to the king of the Winter Court, who is potentially the heir to the throne and hiding a big secret. Though Valen does not want a guard, as the attempts on his life seem to keep escalating, he sees the value in keeping Keltania around. However, when a sigil seems to go awry, things will become even more dangerous for both of them if they are unable to fix it.

What I loved: This was such an entertaining and fast-paced read. The story is told from both Keltania and Valen's points-of-view, and they each have the knowledge and folklore of their people to draw from. The druid and fae histories are linked but with disparate histories passed down, particularly since the fae are basically immortal and some witnessed the Great Drain and the war or are only a couple generations removed from it, while the druids are many, many generations removed. The mythology in the story was unique and really fascinating.

The story begins with Keltania adjusting to life at court and her work as a guard, which is not to simple but when it seems that Valen has a large target on his back. However, it soon turns into an adventure story with a perilous journey, unexpected dangers, and surprises along the way. I really enjoyed this part of the story as it deepens the world-building and keeps the book moving quickly.

There are definitely quite a few unexpected twists in the story. While some elements seemed easy to guess, there were many that left me completely shocked - and I loved the surprises. This ended up being quite the unexpected read with both Valen and Keltania learning that the things they knew to be true were much more complex and sometimes completely formed by the lies of the past. The romance between them was slow-building but potent, and it was easy to cheer for them together, even as they resist the pull between them. There is an element that grows during the story that made this even more intriguing, but I won't give details to leave out spoilers.

There is a lead in to the next book at the end along with some big twists that mean the next book will likely be filled with some additional character development as they react to it. Both Keltania and Valen have been formed by the people who raised them with high expectations for what they would become. In the course of the story, they each begin to question these and form their own plans, gaining independence with some small coming-of-age type elements.

Themes around sacrifice, abuse, mental illness, mythology/history, politics, power and corruption of power, and trust and lies were really thought-provoking. This is a series that I am definitely interested to continue and cannot wait for the next installment!

Final verdict: OMEN OF ICE is an engaging YA fantasy with plenty of adventure, romance, and twists to keep readers on their toes. Highly recommend picking this up! I think this would work well for fans of THE WINTER DUKE, THESE FEATHERED FLAMES, and THE LIAR'S CROWN.