Rating: 4 stars
“Fireheart could hear a roaring around him, like wind in tall trees. The acrid stench of the Thunderpath stung his nostrils, together with a new smell, sharper and more terrifying. Fire!”
Book two of Warriors continues Fireheart’s quest to be a true warrior, when he finds new danger lurking in the woods as the chill of winter sets in.
WindClan is missing, and hostilities between the remaining three clans place all the cats in peril. Illness and tragic accidents weaken the camp, and ThunderClan needs all its warriors to defend itself – but Fireheart suspects that certain cats may not be as loyal as they appear.
I feel like this was an enjoyable sequel to where Into the Wild left off. We continue with Firepaw going by Fireheart due to becoming a warrior of ThunderClan. We also have him along with his friend helping another clan getting back into their territory despite the other clans not wanting them to return. I feel like there was a lot that happened in such a small period of time between the two books, making it enjoyable to find out what was going to happen next.
What I also enjoyed when reading Fire and Ice was seeing Fireheart return to his roots. You see him throughout the story struggling with belonging in the clan because of seeing his sister Princess and thinking about what his home used to be. You see him visit her quite frequently despite the risk and danger of doing so, which I thought was interesting because it made the theme of family a prominent part of this book. I know at times I wondered if Fireheart would end up going back to where he used to be before ThunderClan became such a big part of his life. But then you also see the choice Princess ends up making so that more of their family joins the clan, which I thought was sweet considering the risk involved.
What I also enjoyed with this sequel was being introduced to some of the cats of WindClan as well as meeting more of the cats of RiverClan. Its interesting to see when reading this series the dynamic between all the clans and how they interact with each other throughout the story. I also loved the slowly building romance that started to occur through the story despite the obstacles it presents.
I also love that Fireheart is continuing to investigate the truth of Oakheart and Redtail’s deaths. I know there are going to be a lot of obstacles in his way as the truth of what really happened during that time will cause a divide in the clan when its finally brought to light. But I think it’s great he’s investigating because Tigerclaw is one of my least favorite characters in ThunderClan. The reason being that so many cats in the clan seem to look up to him but he’s hiding things from Bluestar and the rest of the clan. I feel like even though Bluestar doesn’t want to face that truth, I find it telling that she’s told Fireheart how many lives as their leader she has left while Tigerclaw who is her deputy, has no idea.
I also disliked in Fire and Ice how Fireheart’s nephew Cloudkit was treated by their clan when Fireheart brought him in. While I understand the danger of having outsiders joining the clan that aren’t blood, I feel like it reminds me too much of how Fireheart was treated when he first joined ThunderClan. And it bothered me because most of the cats in this series seem to have the mindset that cats born in a clan are superior to cats who aren’t full-blooded warriors. I know it bothered me in Into the Wild with how clan members were with Fireheart, and it bothered me just as much with Cloudkit, maybe even more so because of being a baby kitten and not knowing any better.
But overall, I enjoyed this sequel and can’t wait to continue into the next book in the series Forest of Secrets to find out what happens with ThunderClan and the rest of the clans. This series continues to captivate me so I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment.
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