Rating: 
Summary: I wasn't disappointed
Review: . Tamora Pierce was the first author I really fell in love with. I remember picking up Alanna: The First Adventure at my third grade book fair after wandering into the fifth grade section by accident. Well, I'm going into high school next year and nothing's changed.
. So for me, a diehard Tamora Pierce fan, it was a given that this book was going to be in my hands less than a day after it came out. It was finished less than a day after that.
. It was great. The her writing of Daja's turmoil and frustration with making the choice between her friend and the law makes you ache right along with her, and all through the book you grow to sympathize with Ben's problems. However, as the story was drawing to a close, I was worried how Pierce would end it. The ending the events were leading me towards made me fear that I might be disappointed with some of the characters that I had fallen in love with through the book.
. I shouldn't have worried. Daja's courage and that of her friends and companions won over in the end, and I was once more reminded of why Tamora Pierce is my favorite author. In fact, when I finished I went right ahead and re-read the Circle of Magic books again.
. All in all, The Circle Opens: Cold Fire was great. Character development was good, though I was suprised at the fact that Daja's students, Nia and Jory, were almost secondary characters, which wasn't the case in Magic Steps or Street Magic. The main focus of the story is between Daja and Ben.
. The book is reccommended to everyone, young and old. And even though reading the Circle of Magic books as well as the first two Circle Opens books isn't essential, I would suggest it anyway. I look forward to the next book in the series, and no doubt reading about how Tris handles teaching will be both humorous and gripping.
...
Rating: 
Summary: Exquisite
Review: Although Tamora Pierce is an excellent writer, the most of the books in her Circle of Magic and Circle Opens series (save for Briar's Book and perhaps Daja's Book or Street Mages) have been far from her usual quality, often with potentially interesting characters struggling against stiff storylines. Cold Fire, however, totally changes this. Apart from continuing the development of the characters of Daja and her companions, it is a superb book in its own right.
Unlike the other books in the two series, there is no evil villian or dark force to combat; it is the story of a man's battle with himself and a city's struggle to protect itself. Daja and her mentor Frostpine are staying in a city to the North made predominantly of wood; a city that Daja sees as a fire trap. And there are fires. Lots of them. At first it seems like the fires are just accidents and tragedies, but a pattern begins to reveal itself and Daja is soon stalking an arsonist who seems to delight in destruction. The instruction of the new student also takes backseat in this book; Daja's struggles with her new students are interludes between the devastating fires and the search for the arsonist.
The writing is flawless and the characters and setting rich and real. Daja has always been an interesting character, but it was wonderful to see her fully fleshed out with all her eccentricities revealed. I did predict who the arsonist was - but in the maddening psychological web of the book, wished it wasn't that character. I totally recommend this book! It is one of the best Tamora Pierce has ever written - and kept me in my chair reading, despite the fact that it was Spring Break and people were pulling me out to the pool.
Rating:
Summary: Tamora Pierce has not left us in the Cold
Review: As usual, I was quickly engrossed in Tamora's Pierce's latest book in the Circle Opens series. Daja is believable and watching her as she joins a new culture and community is exciting. I find the desciption of people quite real and find it difficult to put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Daja faces an unstoppable Force
Review: Being a smith mage, Daja is experienced in working with fire. And as we saw in Daja's book she also knows how to work against it. But in this book Daja has a bigger problem than ever before, and this time she doesn't have her Sandry, Briar or Tris to help her. In the beginning of the book Daja and Frostpine are living with Frostpine's old friend who has twin daughters, Nia and Jory. Daja discovers that the twins are ambient mages, with powers in carpentry and cooking. Soon Daja is teaching them meditation tactics, which turns out to be much harder than she thought and has started looking for teachers around the city. Unlike Briar and Sandry Daja has no trouble finding them teachers but she finds trouble elsewhere. Fires are occurring like crazy all over the city, fires that Daja and Frostpine get dangerously involved with. Daja befriends a local fire fighter, Ben, and even works to help make him special gloves that will repel fire. But as she becomes more involved with the fire she discovers that they seem too perfect, maybe even set. Soon she is after a deadly arsonist. Can she stop him before it's too late? Just like the rest of the book in the series, Cold Fire has proved to be suspenseful and filled with fun and interesting characters. Daja and Frostpine make wonderful returns and we also get introduced to new great characters like the two very different twins, Jory and Nia. If you're a fan of any of the two Circle quartets read this book. Though it's not as good as Street Magic, in my opinion the best in the series so far, it's still a great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not best
Review: Cold Fire is another book in the Circle Opens Quartet. In this book, Daja and Frostpine travel for a quiet winter trip with Frostpine's old friends in Kugisko, a famous city in Narmon. Daja soon has her hands full teaching difficult twin mages meditation. Soon fires mysteriously begin to blaze in the city, which is made mostly of wood. She helps Bennat Ladradun, a heroic firefighter with a sorrowful past, rescue people from the fire's tragedy. They quickly become good friends and Daja even creates for Ben fireproof gloves made of living metal. Daja's trust in Ben is tested when she discovers that the fires have been purposely set. Not only that, but she also finds that Ben is the key suspect for setting them. In the end, Daja must save the city from a terrible arsonist and find courage in the face of fire--which comes in the form of madness and betrayal.
Rating:
Summary: Cold Fire
Review: Cold Fire is another book in the Circle Opens Quartet. In this book, Daja and Frostpine travel for a quiet winter trip with Frostpine's old friends in Kugisko, a famous city in Narmon. Daja soon has her hands full teaching difficult twin mages meditation. Soon fires mysteriously begin to blaze in the city, which is made mostly of wood. She helps Bennat Ladradun, a heroic firefighter with a sorrowful past, rescue people from the fire's tragedy. They quickly become good friends and Daja even creates for Ben fireproof gloves made of living metal. Daja's trust in Ben is tested when she discovers that the fires have been purposely set. Not only that, but she also finds that Ben is the key suspect for setting them. In the end, Daja must save the city from a terrible arsonist and find courage in the face of fire--which comes in the form of madness and betrayal.
Rating:
Summary: Cold Fire: The best book in The Circle Opens series!
Review: Cold Fire, the third book in The Circle Opens quartet, is written by Tamora Pierce. In this book, Daja Kisubo and her teacher, Frostpine, are staying in a northern city of Namorn, Kugisko, to learn more about metal work. They are staying at the Bancanors, who have two twin daughters. During her stay, Daja discovers that Nia and Jory, the twins, are ambient mages and must consequently teach them the art of meditation and find teachers for them. While visting the city, Daja meets many people, some which are nicer than others. She encounters a sympathetic firefighter named Ben Ladradun. Ben is determined to teach civilians how to stop fires, especially since Kugisko's houses are made of wood. However, Daja soon realizes that someone is deliberately setting fires. Who is to blame?
This is the longest book in the series, and I think it will be the best (I am in the process of reading Shatterglass). Pierce describes the wintery atmosphere of Kugisko magnificently, leaving me anticipating the holiday season. Tamora's writing style has definitely matured. We discover Frostpine and Daja's personality in depth, and the new characters are described in such a way that I feel as if I know them. Mrs. Pierce's description about the arsonist left me intrigued and excited, especially since I am interested in forensic science. Even the most unpleasant character, Morrachane, is an excellent example of characterization. I hated her with such passion that I often felt like screaming at her.
There is nothing in this book that I can criticize. Everything was perfect. This is an essential addition that every Tamora Pierce fan must have! Two thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not best
Review: Cold Fire, third in Tamora Pierce's quartet, The Circle Opens. It was a rather disapointing read for me, but, then again, Daja was never one of my favourite characters. In this book, Daja and Frostpine travel to the frosty country of Namorn to stay with Frostpine's friends.
The main plot of the story was interesting, but some of the ideas, once introduced, were not supported.
I didn't think that the characters were so well- developed in this book as they were in Magic Steps and Street Magic (which I thought were much better). Since there were two students for Daja, Nia and Jory, we didn't get to know them very well, unlike Evvy and Pasco.
Daja's relationship with Ben was very confusing, and not very well thought out (not to mention kind of scary). A little romance would have been nice, but Daja seemed rather unfeeling throughout much of the book.
Aside from all of that, Tamora Pierce has done a good job in keeping with the idea of the Circle Opens Quartet, and Daja is more mature and still as calm as in the The Circle of Magic series.
Rating:
Summary: The usual brilliance from Tamora Pierce
Review: Daja and Frostpine have come to stay with an old friend in the city of Kugisko in Namorn. Here Daja is learning the art of fine metal work and spends her time making fine jewellery for her hosts. Then she discovers that the twin daughters of her hosts are mages - and she has to teach them or find them teachers. In the background of all this is Daja's growing friendship with a man who fights the increasingly dangerous fires that threaten the city. Daja's living metal can help him fight the fires - but there is something sinister about the fires themselves. I loved this book. I think that so far this is the best book in the Circle Opens quartet because it shows one of the original four students (Daja) facing one of the biggest emotions (betrayal). Without ruining the story Daja forms a friendship with a man who has taken on the task of teaching the people of Kugisko how to fight the fires that are so dangerous to their wooden city. To help him Daja creates a pair of fire proof gloves from the living metal that comes from her skin. Woven into the story is the second strong storyline of Daja discovering that the twin daughters of her hosts have ambient magic - and it is Daja's responsibility to either teach them how to control their magic - or find teachers for them who can teach them. Daja is also a student as they try to teach her how to skate on the frozen canals of their city. I highly recommend this book and can't wait for the fourth book to come out.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read for Older Pierce Fans.
Review: I don't know why this book does't have awesome reviews, because I loved it! Out of all the Circle Opens books written so far, Cold Fire is without a doubt my favorite. Like the other adventures of our infamous mages, this book follows the story of just one mage, Daja. While not my favorite character, I do like Daja's sensible outlook on life. She has a tendency to calm even Tris' rages with her adult, rational perspective and sure-fire appoach to problems. However, Daja's serenity is tested when an arsonist beginst to attack the town where Daja and Frostpine are wintering. With two young (twin) mages to find teachers for and teach meditation to, even Daja's patience is wearing thin. But when she begins to investigate the source of the fires with her fire-fighting friend Ben, she learns that not even she is immune to the lies and trickery of an arsonist. The reason I like this book so much is because it doesn't gloss over important topics that yes, might be inappropriate for younger readers. But since most of Tamora Pierce's fans are young adults or older, I personally thought it was interesting - in a macabre sort of way - to read the reasons that the arsonist used to rationalize his/her actions. Without the point of view of the arsonist, this amazing book would have lost much of its appeal. The only complaint I would lodge with the author is the absolute lack of romance, but because of the lack thereof in the earlier quartet Circle of Magic, I have grown to expect this non-romantic vein of Pierce's writing.
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