Valor and her mother are exceptional hunters, skilled with bow and arrow. The prison is run by a woman and there are female guards alongside the men.

The kingdom of Demidova is ruled by Queen Ana and it is her daughter, Anastasia, and not her son who is set to inherit the throne.

Women are portrayed in positions of power and strength. I was willing them to succeed.īooks with strong female characters always draw me in and Prisoner of Ice and Snow has them in spades. I think it’s really important to be able to empathise with a book’s protagonists and I cared deeply about Valor and Sasha’s plight. Ruth Lauren has also crafted a cast of well-drawn, believable characters. Many of the scenes make for uncomfortable reading. The prison and the horror of the daily life of its child inmates is shockingly harsh. The most fully realised aspect of the book is the brutal prison regime, presided over by Warden Kirov and the terrifying Peacekeepers (prison guards). Indeed, there is a strong Russian feel running throughout the book, from place names and character names to the imperial palace with its onion domes. The frozen wastelands bring to mind the Siberian plains. She has vividly created a remote and desolate icy world. I was completely drawn into Valor’s world. I love how Ruth Lauren has evoked a really strong sense of place. The Prince observes how Valor has given up her whole life to be with her sister and she replies, For me, the most beautiful and moving line in the book is one spoken by Valor.

The themes of sisterhood, family, loyalty and friendship are positive, powerful and life-affirming. What follows is a story of bravery and determination. Her plan: to break her sister out from the inside. She fakes an assassination attempt on the Crown Prince and gets herself arrested and sentenced to life at Tyur’ma. Valor is determined to rescue her sister. She is being held in Tyur’ma, the kingdom of Demidova’s notoriously bleak prison of ice and stone. She is accused of having stolen a priceless and politically symbolic music box from the royal family. At the start of the story, Sasha has been in prison for a month. Valor and Sasha are thirteen-year-old twins. The excitement and tension begin in the first chapter and don’t let up until the end. I loved Prisoner of Ice and Snow and read it in record time.

Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren