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The Ice Queen  By  cover art

The Ice Queen

By: Alice Hoffman
Narrated by: Nancy Travis
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Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of Practical Magic, a miraculous, enthralling tale of a woman who is struck by lightning, and finds her frozen heart is suddenly burning.

Be careful what you wish for. A small town librarian lives a quiet life without much excitement. One day, she mutters an idle wish and, while standing in her house, is struck by lightning. But instead of ending her life, this cataclysmic event sparks it into a new beginning. She goes in search of Lazarus Jones, a fellow survivor who was struck dead, then simply got up and walked away. Perhaps this stranger who has seen death face to face can teach her to live without fear.

When she finds him, he is her opposite, a burning man whose breath can boil water and whose touch scorches. As an obsessive love affair begins between them, both are forced to hide their most dangerous secrets: what turned one to ice and the other to fire. A magical story of passion, loss, and renewal, The Ice Queen is Alice Hoffman at her electrifying best.

©2005 Alice Hoffman (P)2005 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

  • 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration (Female)

"Stellar....Blanketed in prose that has never been dreamier and gloriously vivid imagery, this life-affirming fable is ripe with Hoffman's trademark symbolism and magic, but with a steelier edge....Both longtime fans and newcomers will relish it." (Publishers Weekly)
"As Hoffman's spellbinding and wonderfully insightful tale unfurls, she pays charming tribute to librarians, revels in metaphors of hot and cold, and poetically explores the meaning of trust, the chemistry of healing, and the reach of love." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Ice Queen

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Ice Queen (Unabridged)

This is a great book that really held my interest. I have an hour commute to work and I was wishing that it didn't have to end just so I could listen a little more. I caught myself talking to the narrator at times. "Don't make a wish!" This book is well written. It has many small details that are intertwined in the overall story. I wanted to absorb it all so I would know what was coming next. The author kept me on my toes and I never really figured out what was going to happen before it really did. This is a great title to buy to let your mind wander and enter the fantasy world for a while.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • W
  • 07-04-05

Okay, a little depressing.

I listened to this audiobook and found it somewhat difficult to digest. The heroine is unlikeable, and the constant discussion of death, suicde, killing and other subjects was far from uplifting.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Brother, Sister, and Mother - a Grim Fairy Tale

This novel has the deliberate feel of a Grimms' Fairy Tale, including a young woman who believes that her wish brought about her own mother's death, several characters who have survived lightning strikes, and a brother with a dark secret that is not revealed until the very end of the story. Alice Hoffman's books hold my attention and are not afraid to explore the dark and painful events of life.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not impressed

My professor is crazy about Alice Hoffman, so I bought this book based on her recommendation. Maybe I just bought the wrong book, maybe I am not getting something but the story and the style feels flat to me.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Didn’t like the narrator.

I LOVE Alice Hoffman, but the narrator made the protagonist so completely unlikeable for most of the book. I can’t help but feel I would have enjoyed the main character so much more if the narrator didn’t sound so sour and bitter the entire book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite of Hoffman's

The story overall was interesting, with an unexpected characters. I found the piano interludes completely unnecessary.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

This is one of my favorite stories from one of my favorite writers. It never ceases to make me feel.

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  • Overall
    out of 5 stars

Ice Queen

Interesting story, but not a gripper

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