Review – A shiver of Snow and Sky

From Goodreads:

Red, red, the lights glow red Beware the danger up ahead…

On the frozen island of Skane, the sky speaks. Beautiful lights appear on clear nights, and their colours have meaning: Green means all is well, and the Goddess is happy. Blue means a snow storm is on the way.

And then there’s red. Red is rare. A warning.

Seventeen years ago, the sky turned red just as Ósa was born, unleashing a plague that claimed the lives of hundreds of villagers, including her own mother. This time, when the night sky once again bleeds crimson, she must discover how to stop the onslaught before so many lives are lost again.

I really enjoyed this. I read it as part of Polarthon back in February and it was a really great snowy/wintery read. The world building was fantastic is was such a fantastic Nordic/celtic feeling world with such an interesting mythology. The Nordic influences were very apparent but it also gave me a bit of an Irish feel when speaking about the islands topography. You really got a sense of the island, its history and its people. The writing was beautiful and lyrical but I would say this is more of a younger YA/tween in tone.

I did enjoy the plot but it did read a little simple at times suggesting it should be aimed at the younger YA audience. Other times there were shock turns that I would gasp at. The ending was good but I do wish we had a bit more at this point as like many books it has a lot of lead up but speeds up through the pay off. And that is my only real fault with this delightful read.

Overall this was an exciting and fun read, whimsical but with danger. One of those books that just draws you in.