"Fire and Ice" (Warriors #2) by Erin Hunter

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Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
'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.

My Review
Continuing along my journey to reread this series, I picked up the next book immediately after finishing the last. This was a thrilling sequel and I finished it within a day.

This book picked up directly where the last one left off. The newly-made warriors Fireheart and Graystripe are sent off on their very first mission to retrieve the missing WindClan and bring them back home to the forest. However, things get tricky for the two friends when they start questioning where their own loyalties lie. Erin Hunter told a truly gripping narrative with fast-paced action and unexpected plot twists. I enjoyed every struggle the characters had to go through and contrary to my opinion on the first novel, I felt that the events fit together very nicely and had good pacing. The plot didn't feel forced, which made it very easy to be drawn into this amazingly detailed world of the Warrior Cats. 

I would even go as far as to say, that this book was even better than the first. Despite being primarily aimed at children, the author handles complex and deep themes within the book that adults can also fully enjoy. The core themes of friendship, trust and loyalty are excellently portrayed through the emotional turmoil the characters endured, which were as fundamental to the book as the battles that took place. Speaking of which, this might be a children's book, but wow the author really doesn't hold back from giving the characters a hard time!

Fireheart is such a likeable protagonist, that the reader can't help but sympathize with him and his struggles. His torn feelings of loyalty to his Clan, friends and kin are explored so deeply and thoroughly, that I could really envision the pain and loneliness he went through. Despite knowing how the plot gets resolved, I was still figuratively at the edge of my seat to find out what happens next.

I was also glad to see that the second book didn't suffer from the complicated worldbuilding the first book had. Instead, the author only had to build upon the existing world and gradually introduced new characters, rather than have another information-dumping session. I definitely didn't feel lost or confused like I did at the beginning of the first novel and that made this reading experience much smoother and more enjoyable for sure.

Final Thoughts: a thrilling sequel with gripping emotional suspense. This book did not let me down and is even better than the first novel because of how everything flowed better without being confusing for the reader. I am so glad I decided to reread this series again.
On to the next book!