The Ice Queen is a novel by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1996 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name...

, published by Vintage Books

Vintage Books

Vintage Books is a publishing imprint founded in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Its publishing list includes world literature, fiction, and non-fiction...

 in 2006.

"Wishes... burn your tongue the moment they're spoken and you can never take them back."-The Ice Queen

Plot summary

The Ice Queen is a nameless woman who makes a wish as an eight-year old child that ruins her life. She grows up cold and unfriendly until, as she stands by her kitchen window, she is struck by a bolt of lightning.

She survives but is changed, as if she is made of ice

Ice

Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...

. She can also no longer see the color red. She hears of a man called Lazarus Jones, who also survived being struck by lightning

Lightning

Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

, and is reputed to have a heart and soul made of fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

. He came back to life being dead for forty minutes. They embark of a turbulent love affair whilst trying to hide their secrets - how one became full of fire and the other became made of ice.