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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVED this
I love how Elma is so strong, yet we get to see her doubts, her fears. She doesn't shy away from not knowing, from being afraid, from losing. Refreshing to see a FMC with strength, but be totally human and not perfectly amazing all the time. Rune was an absolute delight. His humor was perfect and I would never stop laughing. His devotion was beautiful. He laid himself out on a frozen platter for Elma, metaphorically stuffing his own mouth with her heart like an apple. Always something special about a man that'll cut himself because the woman he loves wants to see if red looks good on his skin tone đ¤
I love how Elma is so strong, yet we get to see her doubts, her fears. She doesn't shy away from not knowing, from being afraid, from losing. Refreshing to see a FMC with strength, but be totally human and not perfectly amazing all the time. Rune was an absolute delight. His humor was perfect and I would never stop laughing. His devotion was beautiful. He laid himself out on a frozen platter for Elma, metaphorically stuffing his own mouth with her heart like an apple. Always something special about a man that'll cut himself because the woman he loves wants to see if red looks good on his skin tone đ¤
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Frost Queenâs Blade by Meg Smitherman is a magical fantasy romance novel. There are so many amazing elements in this book; an assassin, a princess on the cusp of queendom, two icy kingdoms, magic, betrayal, twists, and unexpected lessons. One of my absolute favorite things Meg Smitherman does in any of her books is world build. While this is a stand alone book it exists within a world that includes other books. The elements that exist within each book are their own but make sense at the same time. From the very beginning details start being revealed without having any major info dump at any point during the storyline. The FMC and MMC are to die for. Their character development was almost symbiotic with a ton of snark and banter. Throughout the storyline I really enjoyed how more and more details were revealed in a discovery like fashion. It left room for the author to take the story in any direction she saw fit and her creativity knows no bounds. After reading all the books in this standalone series, I highly recommend reading The Frost Queenâs Blade along with Rowan Redfieldâs contributions.
Title: The Frost Queenâs Blade
Author: Meg Smitherman
Synopsis: A reluctant queen. A deadly assassin. A deal bound in blood.Conspiracy lurks in the realm of Rothen. No one knows this better than Elma Volta, soon to be queen of the frozen kingdom. But as she awaits her coronation, Elma narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enemy assassin. Realizing she has few choices and even fewer allies, Elma offers the assassin a if he can keep her alive until she takes her rightful place on the throne, she will bring peace to their warring lands.An uneasy alliance forms between Elma and the sharp-tongued assassin. But what started as mutual hatred and resentment, soon begins to evolve into something else entirely. Something aching, desperate, and blazing hot.
Review: I feel so lucky that I was able to read this book in advance! This is the perfect winter Romantasy book! It has everything I love in a romance! Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, sarcastic male love interest! Meg Smithermanâs writing was so fitting for this book! I loved her descriptions of the snow! It felt very atmospheric! It has snowed in my area and it was very fitting for the book I was reading! The spice was perfect! I am so happy this was the first book I read for 2024! If this book sounds good to you! Pick it up it comes out February 6th 2024!
Author: Meg Smitherman
Synopsis: A reluctant queen. A deadly assassin. A deal bound in blood.Conspiracy lurks in the realm of Rothen. No one knows this better than Elma Volta, soon to be queen of the frozen kingdom. But as she awaits her coronation, Elma narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enemy assassin. Realizing she has few choices and even fewer allies, Elma offers the assassin a if he can keep her alive until she takes her rightful place on the throne, she will bring peace to their warring lands.An uneasy alliance forms between Elma and the sharp-tongued assassin. But what started as mutual hatred and resentment, soon begins to evolve into something else entirely. Something aching, desperate, and blazing hot.
Review: I feel so lucky that I was able to read this book in advance! This is the perfect winter Romantasy book! It has everything I love in a romance! Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, sarcastic male love interest! Meg Smithermanâs writing was so fitting for this book! I loved her descriptions of the snow! It felt very atmospheric! It has snowed in my area and it was very fitting for the book I was reading! The spice was perfect! I am so happy this was the first book I read for 2024! If this book sounds good to you! Pick it up it comes out February 6th 2024!
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely solid book. This is exactly how to do a standalone romantasy: two opposing kingdoms, unknown magic, attempted assassinations, mysterious but HOT male main character, bad ass female main character with a heart of gold. It delivered everything it said it would but what made it for me was the writing style and the chemistry between the leads.
This was feisty enemies to lovers. Because Elma feels so unseen and invisible, Runes abrasive but direct personality chafes but then disarms her. It was really fun getting to see the push and pull vibe of their interactions and how that contributed to the tension and spice. I loved Runes one liners and how he was unashamedly down bad for Elma from the jump.
My only complaint was that I wish we had gotten to read the letters that are mentioned in the beginning. I was hoping they would be incorporated alongside some of the differing accounts of Elmas reign. I would totally read a spin off/continuation of how Rune and Elma ruled given that he mentions his line potentially dying out with his kingdom being a matriarchy.
Again - totally solid book but if it was expanded on I would absolutely read it if only to have more of Rune/Elmas relationship.
This was feisty enemies to lovers. Because Elma feels so unseen and invisible, Runes abrasive but direct personality chafes but then disarms her. It was really fun getting to see the push and pull vibe of their interactions and how that contributed to the tension and spice. I loved Runes one liners and how he was unashamedly down bad for Elma from the jump.
My only complaint was that I wish we had gotten to read the letters that are mentioned in the beginning. I was hoping they would be incorporated alongside some of the differing accounts of Elmas reign. I would totally read a spin off/continuation of how Rune and Elma ruled given that he mentions his line potentially dying out with his kingdom being a matriarchy.
Again - totally solid book but if it was expanded on I would absolutely read it if only to have more of Rune/Elmas relationship.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i want to start off by saying that i was in the correct headspace for this book, which is that i wanted something:
âď¸ entertaining
âď¸ somewhat light
âď¸ great tension
and this book delivered on all counts and then some. â
â
â
Smitherman is an excellent writer - that much stands out to me.
i wasnât expecting subtle but insightful commentary throughout about the patriarchy, but i got it from this which i will never not love.
Elma, our female main character, is quite imperfect. sheâs like early season Dany Targaryen in Game of Thrones. she harbors a lot of doubts. she makes mistakes that sometimes make me want to shake her and be like, âHOMEGIRL WHAT R U DOING?!â but they all make sense for her and the context. i loved it, but i can see how can she can come off as exasperating to other folks.
there are some areas that made me squint, donât get me wrong. Elma, our female main character, feels a little underdeveloped. her relationship with Rune feels like it required a slight leap of faith to believe (though the progression was evident and it was a true enemies to lovers). but i honestly didnât mind because the plot was interesting and well-paced, the writing so well-done, and my completely biased loved for Rune really helped to glaze over all those holes lol.
if youâre looking for a well-paced, enemies-to-lovers without too much world-building, that has you guessing at the reveal, iâd definitely recommend this one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
I was so excited to read this book and so grateful that I was given an ARC! I love Destroyer and was looking forward to reading more by Meg.
Immediately, it was refreshing to have a female main character who came off as cold and distant and not particularly interested in being liked. Witnessing Elma's growth through the novel is an excellent study in character development and by the end of the book, I was unable to put the dook down, so eager to see where she ended up. Rune, on the other hand, I loved immediately. And the relationship between them? Perfection. I could have read at least two hundred more pages about these two.
The plot was fairly predictable but in a comforting way that left room for the characters to really shine, and the vibrant world served as a great backdrop for the drama between these two. This is an excellent character-driven fantasy novel, seductive and engrossing and heart-wrenching, and I very much look forward to everything else Meg writes.
Immediately, it was refreshing to have a female main character who came off as cold and distant and not particularly interested in being liked. Witnessing Elma's growth through the novel is an excellent study in character development and by the end of the book, I was unable to put the dook down, so eager to see where she ended up. Rune, on the other hand, I loved immediately. And the relationship between them? Perfection. I could have read at least two hundred more pages about these two.
The plot was fairly predictable but in a comforting way that left room for the characters to really shine, and the vibrant world served as a great backdrop for the drama between these two. This is an excellent character-driven fantasy novel, seductive and engrossing and heart-wrenching, and I very much look forward to everything else Meg writes.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This claims to be a duology but worked very smoothly as a stand alone. Very standard romantasy plot reasonably well executed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War
Loveable characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this book so much!!! It wasn't perfect, but it was so so good. I wasn't sure in the first few chapters how it was gonna become both enemies to lovers and a bodyguard romance, but it happened and it was amazing. It didn't feel rushed even though i thought it might with this being a standalone and not even 400 pages. The romance actually really reminded me of Spike and Buffy, specifically in season 6. This might be simply because I've seen it a million times, but i loved that. I wish there had been just a couple more chapters at the end, i wanted a little more detail and i wanted a little more time with them actually together and happy, but ultimately it ended just how i hoped it would so i won't complain. Absolutely love Rune & Elma đ
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes