Thrones and Bones #1: Frostborn by Lou Anders

My name is Thianna, and my father says I'm all frost giant. However, I wish I could expel the half-human within me. He gave me a horn that once belonged to my mother, and I had no idea it was so important. I got my first clue when three warriors riding wyverns tried to kill me. It seems strange to say, but I'm thankful the little human Karn was with me. He loves his board game, and I'm starting to see it's made him a strong thinker. I'm not sure how that's going to stop undead warriors from chasing him, but at least we can work together. I never really knew my human mother, but she risked her life to hide the horn. I'm still not sure what it does, since I can't even get it to make any noises. However, I won't give it up to the evil warriors as long as I'm still breathing.

The title referred to a board game (seemed like chess) played by Karn, and he learned to apply its strategies to life-threatening situations. His problems began as a result of some annoyingly gullible decisions, but I'll forgive the author since the rest of the book was pretty good. Karn used his smarts to transform from a reluctant heir to his father's farm into a formidable ally. Thianna was a dynamic character with a huge chip on her soldier because of her human mother. At one point, Karn got annoyed and told her to stop trying to prove she was a giant. She was small for a giant, but she was a powerful fighter against her human-size foes. Karn and Thianna maintained a friendly banter that added humor to the story. The plot was a mixture of adventure and action, although the battles were solved more by intelligence than muscle. A family member was traitorous, but it wasn't hard to figure out the bad intentions. It was nice to see justice served against the antagonists, as their actions led to their own demises. I plan to read the sequel called Nightborn, although I have no idea where it will lead.