The competition could save her life…But only if she wins. Talise can manipulate the elements with ease. Water, air, earth, and fire all bend to her will. As a citizen of the Storm—a crime-laden land where death is the only constant—her only chance for a better life is to become Master Shaper. A competition for the position takes place at the end of her training years. If she wins, she would … end of her training years. If she wins, she would live in the palace, work for the emperor, and escape her inevitable death in the Storm. But she’s not the only one with a chance to win.
Aaden is another talented student. As a citizen of the Crown, he was born with unlimited privilege and resources. When someone from the Crown wants to win, they do. End of story. And his shaping is unlike anything Talise has ever seen.
Complicating matters, Talise’s loved one in the Storm gives her reason to abandon the competition altogether, forcing her to make an impossible choice.
Torn between duty and freedom, she must learn that clinging to the past, might destroy her future.
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Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria Book 1) by Kay L. Moody
4 Stars
Ms. Moody has woven a fascinating tale about a world of shapers. People who can shape the elements; earth, water, fire and air. Most shapers can manipulate one, maybe two elements. Talise, from a very young age, can manipulate all four. Being from the Storm, it’s unheard of. There are three distinct societies, the Crown ( which includes the Emperor and the very rich), the Gate ( which includes mainstream society), and the Storm ( which includes lawbreakers and miscreants).
When you break the law, it is your children that are sent to the Storm so technically they are not lawbreakers. The Storm is a harsh wasteland where you barely survive thus resulting in you becoming a thief or murderer. It’s a catch 22. The only way out of the Storm is to become a Master Shaper and that’s what Talise plans on doing. After ten long years of training, Talise is sure she will win the competition until Aiden comes along. He is just as good as she is. A life saving position that was within her grasp may now be out of reach.
I enjoyed the story and I liked the characters. I’m eager to learn more about Aiden. Will he become her biggest ally or worst enemy? There is much more to this character. I would have liked a little more interaction between the characters. All in all, it was interesting and I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria Book 1) is written by Kay L Moody. This is a series to get your YA fantasy going. It is a novella which means to me that there is a bit of the story that is still out there but Ms. Moody let my imagination run with the story. The story has a feel like the Avatar, The Last Air Bender like feel to it. It has magic, action, adventure, and mystery all in the story line. This book kept my interest and at the edge of my seat. This story is about Talise. She is a shapeshifter who is about to enter in a competition to show off her talent. The main problem is if you do not win you will die. The other problem for Talise is that her loved one lives in the Crown. So now she is torn. Does she compete or does she stay in Storm for her loved one? I cannot wait to see what book 2 has in store.
4 Stars
Ice Crown is the first book in The Elements of Kamdaria Series by Kay L Moody. It is a YA Fantasy- with magic, mystery, action, and adventure. It has a bit of an Avatar The Last Airbender feel to the story- but definitely has its own unique identity.
I found the story to be well written and thought Ms. Moody got this new series off to a great start! I Loved her Truth Seer Trilogy, so I was intrigued by what I would find inside the cover of this book. I think this series holds great promise, and if this book is anything to go by the rest of the series looks set to be fantastic.
My only issue is with the novella length to the book- as I felt that it suffered a little from a lack of more ‘meat’ to the story. Trying to keep within certain page ‘constraints’ seemed to me to result in skipping over a lot of ‘time’ and other details- which if they’d been included would have beefed-up the story and made it something I could have really sunk my teeth into. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I just thought it would have been a more ‘epic’ adventure- if it had been fleshed out more. I am hoping that the rest of the books are a little longer and more ‘meaty’.
Talise is a wonderful MC- she’s strong, talented, clever, and interesting. She’s one determined young lady. It was easy to like her and invest in her and the outcome of her story.
I am intrigued to see where the series goes- and can’t wait for book #2.
Thank You, Kay L. Moody!
Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria Book 1) by Kay L Moody. This is the first book in this series and I loved it. Its the story of Talise who can manipulate the elements with ease; water, air, earth & fire. She and her family are sent to live in the Storm which is a place of exile. If you do anything wrong you and your whole family are sent there. Its a barren wasteland. Not much food and lots of people die due to lack of nourishment. There is no way out. The only way to get out is to be a Master Shaper. Talise is determined to win the Position. Her only problem is there is another very talented Shaper named Aaden and he is a Citizen of the Crown so he has unlimited resources. So will Aaden win the Master Shaper as everyone expects him to or will Talise win against all odds? Read this amazing novella to find out
Ice Crown, the first book the Elements of Kamdaria, by Kay L Moody is a wonderfully written fantasy and book one of four. While I wish it was longer, it always makes me want to read 2 even more as I want to see how this continues. I found that this book was a creative mix of love, family, magic and friendships.
As a citizen of Storm, Talise has power of all the elements and she wants to become a Master Shaper so she can improve her life. If she wins the competition she can live in the palace and work with emperor. Aaden also wants what Talise wants, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
I think the author did great creating a strong story line and characters that will stay with you and make you want to read the rest in this series. I give this book four stars and highly recommend!
This book isn’t super long but the world we are introduced to is absolutely fascinating so I’m hoping for a long series. There wasn’t as much detail as I would have liked in the first book of a fantasy scifi world but you get enough to keep you thinking. Talise is a one in a million child from the Storm who can shape the elements. No one else from her poverty stricken home can say the same. Kay Moody straight up tells her readers that since Talise has lost her abilities from malnutrition before and the fact that starvation is the most common cause of death in the Storm, there may be others who COULD shape. Talise is admitted to the most prestigious academy to control her abilities and at the end of her literal decade of schooling, she will be in a contest to become Master Shaper. It’s literally the only way to keep from going back to the Storm. Or at least that’s what the powers that be want you to think. There HAS to be more than that, right?
It all felt very much like the well to do were using the lack of food (in the storm but no where else) to keep what could become an uprising or at least resistance in check. I am very excited to see where this series goes
Ice Crown by Kay L. Moody is the first book in the Elements of Kamdaria series. This book is a unique story that is interesting right from the word go.
As a Novella I knew this book was going to be short. However I didn’t expect the author to pack so much into it. You are taken on a whirlwind of a journey that has you following the life of Talise. Who, it has to be said, is an awesome character!
The competition was fun and intriguing to read about, I couldn’t wait to find out how the story was going to go. This short story has definitely whet my appetite and I cannot wait to read the next one.
Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria #1) by Kay L Moody is a YA fantasy story and is a good start to the series. My only problem was that it was very short, I felt there could have been so much more fleshing out the ten years the story jumped and perhaps more background on a seven year old Talise and the world in which they live. Having said that though Kay has given us an exciting new world to enjoy and takes us on the journey of ups and downs with our main character. It is a little emotional and caused a bit of heartache but I loved Talises strength.
Talise is only seven years old when she is to perform before strangers. Her mother wants her to have a good life and the only way to do that is to prove her worth at the Academy. Coming from the Storm, a place where no one wants to live, a place where you waste away and die in the wasteland where nothing grows.
My favourite line in the book is – Nobody liked people from the Storm. Even people in the Storm didn’t like people from the Storm.
I did enjoy the story and am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
“ICE THROUGH THE FINGERS, FIRE IN THE VEINS”
This series of novellas is set up like YA Chapter Books. I am hopeful that the series will roll out quickly because I am anxious to figure out what is going on.
Told in single POV, the first chapter of ICE CROWN is set 10 years prior to the rest of the story. It gives a little bit of background and perspective of things to come. In this series
The story is a quick and easy read; The writing is appropriately detailed, the story well plotted and the world building is on point. There are political undertones to the story and it is almost like the writer is looking at the future if we continue putting so much distance between the classes.
I absolutely recommend this story. .
The story has so much potential and such great ideas that I can’t wait to see where everything goes.
Talise is fun to follow and get to know.
The world was quite enchanting.
I loved the feel of everything developing in the story…
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wow! What an adventure this tale turned out to be! Well written I was hooked the very first page with its awesome storyline and great characters. I love Talisa our female mc who is strong and determined yet fair and I loved the world that this author has built! Well paced there is magic and family and love which makes this is a great ya read and I cannot wait to read more!
Another wonderful book by author Kay L Moody.
I love reading her books. They seem to come alive as you read them.
Loved the characters and plot of this one. A wonderful book.
If you read YA dystopians/urban fantasy, you will recognize many of the elements in this book: the stratified society, the outsider with one chance to make it out and the potential to pull it off, the vicious twist threatening to ruin it all. However, a story is much more than a sum of its parts and this one has real heart. The characters are real and flawed, the settings are vivid and the action is compelling. My biggest complaint is it felt like this book ended in the middle of the story and now I am anxiously awaiting the net installment.
Wow… I was hooked from page one and before I noticed it was over. It had the perfect pace, the details! and the characters! ugh! it was just so amazing. There’s so much to this book and I cannot wait to be able to dive head first into this new world. Kay brought something unique and different to the table. I highly recommend this book!!
Kay L. Moody masters ICE CROWN (The Elements of Kamdaria #1). In this story, Talise can control the elements and is sent to train at the academy in order to compete to become a Master Shaper. She needs to win the competition to obtain a job with the emperor and a better life. If she loses, she is destined to live in the Storm where survival is difficult and full of death. This fantasy is suitable for young adults.
Kay L. Moody created an original world full of magic and intrigue. ICE CROWN is a thrilling story that feed my imagination. ICE CROWN is skillfully written and thought-provoking. Talise is an honorable heroine. She is gifted and hard working. Because of her background, she has a lot to lose if she does not become a Master Shaper. The story has a gripping ending that left me anxious to read book two, WIND CROWN. I recommend this story to people who enjoy fantasies. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
I love elemental magic, so I thought I would give this new series a try.
The verdict? I’m ready for the next book right now. I can’t wait for more.
I. Loved. This. Book!!!
I found this book to be just what I needed. It was action packed and just the right combination of fantasy and fairy tale and strong heroine and dystopian-esque flavor… I simply found the page count not to be reflective of how much content I found. I was glued to my seat from beginning to end. Cannot wait to continue reading this series!
Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria 1) by Kay L. Moody was a unique read that hooked me from start to finish.
Oh wow, this book was something else I tell you. It was pulling, detailed and gripping. I got sucked in right away and before I knew it, this little wonder was over. I like it when these short reads capture you like that. No detail was spared, the pacing was great, and the characters were both well developed and compelling. This book packs a wallop, and I can’t wait to dive further into this new world. As this wasn’t my first read by this author, I knew that it was going to be something, not only different, but specially unique. The author has taken a matter I very much like, and has created something fresh, heart pounding and just worth your while to read.
This book has so much, it’s perfect for almost anyone, and I’m giving this book my super high recommendation and my golden stamp of approval. Take a chance on this book, you will no regret it.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
I loved this story! It had me riveted from the beginning! I didn’t even realize that I was at the end of the book until…it happened! This is a short story but man it packs a punch! I loved the idea of shaping the elements. Very cool!
This is told from Talise’s POV. So we get to see her thoughts and designs when she enters this new city. She is from the lowest of the low cities and if she can become a Master Shaper she can finally leave her poverty ridden home.
This is not my first book by this author. Although I like this one the best so far! This story drew me and and before i knew it I couldn’t believe I was at the end of the book. I want more!
My only sadness is that it didn’t end with the competition. That would be a good break then the next story could have moved on from there. I feel kind of incomplete with the ending. Wind Crown….hurry up and get here.
P.S. Beautiful Cover!
This is a short story that I enjoyed from the beginning and kept me engaged to the end. It is a creative, fast paced story about Talise. She wants a better life, in order to do that she needs to win a competition first. Problem is she is not the only one out to win plus she may have a reason to leave the competition. What will she do? She is a strong character, I enjoyed watching her grow throughout. A well written story with a great world building plot, I highly recommend this book.