“I wanted to push against the world and feel it push back.”

Read for Polarthon, Jadeyraereads' Polar Fantasy Readathon.

Y'all, I am absolutely gobsmacked.

I did the Polarthon last year, and only one of the books I managed could technically be called a Polar Fantasy, and I ended up DNF'ing it. So, even though it's my friend's favorite genre, I was concerned it just wasn't for me.

I have been proven wrong. In a big way.

Kamzin wants to be an explorer, like her mother before her. She wants to climb mountains and map unchartered territory and LIVE. She's trained herself her entire life, even though her older sister, by right, will get the glory of going on an expedition with a world famous explorer to a place known only by her and Kamzin.

Except things don't go quite as planned. Lusha ends up going, but not with the explorer. Kamzin gets that honor.

And so begins a mountain trek, and a book that defines the term atmosphere.

I was not bored for even a moment during this book. I was so heavily invested in the success of Kamzin and this team, down to the furry little familiar, Ragtooth the fox. There's plenty of plot-based twists, but the descriptions of the trip are where it's at with this. The ice and the mountains, the very real danger and the magic required to make it to the top of Raksha, the most dangerous mountain known to them.

I cannot wait to read the second book. I can't even begin to see where this story is going to end.