Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Synopsis (from Amazon product description):

Blessed—or cursed—with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she’s known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn’t hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who’s been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he’s forced to marry a troll princess.

Jillian's review:

I’ve really enjoyed all the novels I’ve read so far by George. She has a gift for bringing cherished fairytales to life. It helps that not only is the story great, but so is her writing which is sadly hard to come by in YA Fantasy.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow was the first of hers I read and I loved it—from page one to the end and that doesn’t happen often enough for me. Lass was easy to love and to wish the best for. I hated her mother and loved her oldest brother, just as I was supposed to. I didn’t really feel like I got to know the prince well though, which was pretty sad since Lass faces serious dangers just for him. But I still wanted Lass to go after him and I was glad she was so faithful to him. The adventure towards the end where she faces the trolls seemed almost out of place and rushed, but it thankfully didn’t detract from the story as a whole.

I was a bit leery to suggest this one to my 13 year old niece only because some strange guy crawls into Lass’s bed each night when she’s in the ice palace, but it’s part of the curse and NOTHING happens. That said niece love this story, too.

An enchanting read.