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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
pretty standard romantasy with subtle mythological undertones. misunderstood immortal villain kidnaps angry mortal girl from her home, enemies to lovers relationship develops. it’s well-written but some plot points never fully get explained or resolved. slow burn with a couple intense spicy scenes. excellent for vibes and a low-stakes read, just not quite for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Standard Romantasy. I was immediately intrigued by this book’s promise of a fairytale retelling, and it delivered shades of Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone, and (unsurprisingly) ACOTAR. That said, I never fully connected with the characters; something about them felt off, which left me mostly uninvested. Refreshingly, the romance was well developed. Instead of relying on the overused "fated mates" trope, it actually showed the relationship growing organically. The writing itself was beautiful - probably the main reason I kept reading - though I did find the occasional modern phrasing jarring in a fantasy setting (though that’s more of a personal preference). Where the book really fell short for me was in its plotting. Several intriguing threads were introduced, but many were left unexplored or unresolved. The logic behind certain events felt shaky, and the glaring plot holes made it hard to stay fully immersed. I needed more answers and tighter storytelling to truly enjoy it, but unfortunately, didn’t get that here. It wasn’t for me, but could be for you if you’re just a vibes girlie. I’ll probably read the next book eventually to see if I can get more answers, but I won’t be prioritising this.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked the premise; love fairytale retellings, so when I saw this was a mix of Beauty and the Beast + Hades and Persephone, I got super excited. This quickly tempered my expectations. I didn’t vibe with the FMC; found her to be insufferable. The character’s motivations and actions were confusing to follow. I didn’t understand who the Darkwalkers were, why the Shade needed mortal blood to strengthen, and the process of Bóreas giving up his power so easily .
508 pages
508 pages
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Spoilers ahead - and I feel like this needs to be at the top cause I HATE this trope, but this ends in a pregnancy trope.
I don't know what is up with books starting off great and then the ending falls flat. Since this is a standalone book, the ending was obviously rushed through with loose ends and plot holes.
I LOVED the FMC, she was funny, annoying, and petty, BUT she knew and was purposefully acting this way to get under the Frost King's skin. The annoyance and distrust between Wren and the Frost King was genuine and over time they managed to "tolerate" each other.
I loved the world and the whole concept of it, but we had too many questions (and had a lot of time to discuss on the road trip).
1. Did the Frost King have to do "Judgement Day" on his ex wife and kids? Did he decide where they go? Did their souls permanently die? Because if they died, they technically should be in his realm, the Deadlands.
2. How was The West Wind able to "control" and give intelligence to that Darkwalkers? I thought only the Frost King could somewhat control them?
3. Why was The Shade weakening? - At the end all of a sudden it didn't need human blood and was restored.....???
The author tried to tie everything in a "neat" bow by having the Frost King give up his powers, but it left me with more questions. Who takes over as head of the Deadlands? How is Wren and Boreas able to live in the Deadlands without his power?
Winter returned back to normal after he gave up his powers, my assumption was that the death of his ex wife and kid corrupted his soul and slowly was changing him into a Darkwalker, but was he really making everything cold to make everyone miserable? Wren said the world around them was thawing as they started to fall in love. But it still doesn't acknowledge why he was losing control over his domain.
I thoroughly enjoyed this up until the party Wren started planning....it made NO SENSE. The Frost King and his men were just in battle and they lost a bunch of men to the Darkwalkers and she's all like lets plan a party for a morale boost. Like why were we not focusing on getting her to fix the Shade to help the army? Her actions didn't make sense after this part.
Also NOT everything is ACOTAR, jfc. I don't know how many reviews I read that compare every romantasy to ACOTAR. There are always going to be some details, tropes, and personalities that are similar, but I am sure SJM books have similarities to other older fantasy books as well.
I don't know what is up with books starting off great and then the ending falls flat. Since this is a standalone book, the ending was obviously rushed through with loose ends and plot holes.
I LOVED the FMC, she was funny, annoying, and petty, BUT she knew and was purposefully acting this way to get under the Frost King's skin. The annoyance and distrust between Wren and the Frost King was genuine and over time they managed to "tolerate" each other.
I loved the world and the whole concept of it, but we had too many questions (and had a lot of time to discuss on the road trip).
1. Did the Frost King have to do "Judgement Day" on his ex wife and kids? Did he decide where they go? Did their souls permanently die? Because if they died, they technically should be in his realm, the Deadlands.
2. How was The West Wind able to "control" and give intelligence to that Darkwalkers? I thought only the Frost King could somewhat control them?
3. Why was The Shade weakening? - At the end all of a sudden it didn't need human blood and was restored.....???
The author tried to tie everything in a "neat" bow by having the Frost King give up his powers, but it left me with more questions. Who takes over as head of the Deadlands? How is Wren and Boreas able to live in the Deadlands without his power?
Winter returned back to normal after he gave up his powers, my assumption was that the death of his ex wife and kid corrupted his soul and slowly was changing him into a Darkwalker, but was he really making everything cold to make everyone miserable? Wren said the world around them was thawing as they started to fall in love. But it still doesn't acknowledge why he was losing control over his domain.
I thoroughly enjoyed this up until the party Wren started planning....it made NO SENSE. The Frost King and his men were just in battle and they lost a bunch of men to the Darkwalkers and she's all like lets plan a party for a morale boost. Like why were we not focusing on getting her to fix the Shade to help the army? Her actions didn't make sense after this part.
Also NOT everything is ACOTAR, jfc. I don't know how many reviews I read that compare every romantasy to ACOTAR. There are always going to be some details, tropes, and personalities that are similar, but I am sure SJM books have similarities to other older fantasy books as well.