The Ice Queen is another Alice Hoffman, which in her use of language and oddball situations, lives up to her previous work.
But perhaps she had made her characters too odd and unappealing for my taste. Only occasionally did I connect with heroine. I connected more with her love interest, the man of fire. The ending of the book was much easier to reach into and share space with.
There is a way in which her books are fantasy, but all are well grounded in the everyday of roads, houses, kitchens, none of it fantasy. It is the characters who, particularly in this book, make choices that leave them ever more isolated even as they’re reaching out. She is exploring a different universe in this book, though the trappings are familiar.
If you haven’t tried Alice Hoffman yet, I’d suggest starting with another one.