I've really liked how The Bound and the Broken series has alternated between massive main-plot novels and these shorter novellas that fill in the gaps and provide backstory and fill in some of the gaps. The novellas aren't necessary reading, but they're strongly encouraged.Unfortunately, while Cahill continues to improve as a writer, I feel that The Ice wasn't really necessary and doesn't add much to the main story like the other novellas.

This one focuses on Aeson as he and his crew sail to the ice continent to secure a dragon egg, the one that eventually hatches in the main novels. All of the other novellas provide important context on characters and their motivations. This one, I felt, really doesn't. We already know Aeson lives for his sons and the rebellion - yet that point is driven home time and time again ad nauseum. Aeson as a character doesn't have a ton of room to grow, and every time the story focuses on him it retreads the same ground.

Valencia as a continent also isn't very interesting. The world of The Bound and Broken is pretty bog-standard to begin with, and Valencia is the archetypal ice continent. The only really interesting bits come in the last few chapters.

This novella isn't bad. It's probably the best written work in the series so far, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. It just feels wholly unnecessary and like a filler entry between main plot books, where the other novellas (especially The Exile) didn't give that feeling.