Take one childish, out-of-control, strong female. Mix in a male of a dubious human variety and a taste for control. Add one beautiful and alluring monster with promises of crazy sex. Sprinkle with inscrutable monsters. Shake vigorously. 
 Dani vs. Mac 
 Dani is considerably more annoying than Mac was. She has been annoying in the Fever Series, and she continues to be so in Iced. Those few moments of sombre understanding she has seem out of character rather than a part of personal growth. Ms Moning has not made the best use of the fact that the readers already had a chance to meet Dani, and I resent that, however slightly. 
 Ryodan vs. Barrons 
 Just as the whole book suffers from Danitis Irritabilis, so does Ryodan. He has more on-page appearances in Iced than Barrons has in the first three books put together. Still his presence is not as strong. I'm not saying he should be Barrons, but having "met" Ryodan before, we know he is beyond mercy, compromise and caring. Making him suffer through so much shit from Dani without actually doing anything more than glaring and being pissed (and I am not talking about Barrons-pissed), makes him seem like a phony, not to use a more descriptive p-word which can be used to refer to a small cat. 
 Chester's vs. BB&B 
 Chester's was supposed to be the BB&B of Iced, but Dani's constant fast-mo doesn't allow the reader to feel that, and it's a shame. At one point Dani refers to Chester's being like BB&B, and that it's not about the place, but about the owner. But that's the thing about performatives - in books they don't work. Just because you write something, it does not make it true, not unless you make readers feel it throughout the story. 
 The Feel 
 I did not feel the chill. Dani did not spend a single moment describing the way the artificial winter felt, how the world looked like covered in snow that threatened the flimsy fabric of the world after the Wall fell. She was too busy being the Mega to take a break and say that she was cold, that the whiteness of Dublin seemed to have brought on a new sense of death and stillness to the already frayed city. She did not stop to feel Ryodan's warmth as out of sorts in an icy world, and that Chester's is an asylum where business goes on as usual, despite the fucked up world outside. 
 Final Note 
 Three stars is a tentative grade. Having some experience with Ms Moning, I have learned to expect the unexpected and not to take her for granted. I am sure she has a few aces up her sleeve. If I have learned something from the Fever Series than it's that Ms Moning has an agenda, a strategy and it just might prove to be a literary treat. One book is a tactic. The whole series is a strategy. 
 As Sun Tzu said: Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat and I do not think Ms Moning is up for defeat.