The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

'I love the way glass is alive...And like everything that's alive, it's full of contradictions.  Fragile and strong.  Liquid and solid. When it's hot you can pull it, twist it, cut it.  When it's cold, it's immovable.  Glass is present and not present.  We can look through it and at it.' (loc 468).

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

October 2022; She Writes Press; 978-1647422592
ebook, print (320 pages); women's fiction

The Color of Ice is Barbara Linn Probst's third award-winning novel.  It hasn't won any awards yet but I am positive that there will be awards for this book in the future.  From a personal view, her first two books were in my top 10 during the years they were published and this one will definitely be in my top 10 for 2022. All three of her novels are centered around the arts -- The Sound Between the Notes (see my review) was about music,  Queen of the Owls (see my review) was about painting, and The Color of Ice is about glassblowing and photography.  All of her books are beautifully written with sentences and phrases that are beautiful.  

Cathryn is a freelance photographer who has accepted a job to take pictures of an artist who is trying to capture the blue icebergs of Iceland in glass.  Her children are finally grown and she's decided to take a vacation and tour Iceland after the photo shoot is over.  She is so intrigued with Mack and the freedom that she sees him working in, that she decides to cancel her tour of the country and stay with him as he creates his art.  His freedom and enthusiasm awaken the artistic feelings that she's buried since the death of her husband.  Her years have been spent making her career a financial success as she raised her two children.  Even though her life is waiting for her in America, she realizes that she wants to become an artist again instead of just a photographer and it was Mack who awakened this need.  Finally, she has to make decisions that will be difficult no matter what she decides until a startling discovery forces her to decide what direction she needs to follow in her life to find happiness and fulfillment. 

This book was emotional and beautiful and thought-provoking. As someone who has always enjoyed the arts but has no artistic talent at all, I was intrigued by the journey that Cathryn had taken over the years and her total happiness when she enthusiastically decided to return to her art.  Plus, I've always been interested in the art of glass blowing and this book shared many of the secrets of the craft.  As always, the author has done extensive research and it is apparent throughout the story.  Once again, the author brings her readers a book about a woman searching for happiness and fulfillment who is able to achieve her dreams through her art.

Buy The Color of Ice at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.  You can connect with her on Facebook.

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