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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
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This is the first book to give me that feeling I had when I was first reading ACOMAF. I stupidly read parts during breaks at work and then couldn’t get through the shift without dying for next part. I love that you don’t really know the truth behind these characters while getting to know them from Audra’s perspective. Starting book 2 now!
This is the first book to give me that feeling I had when I was first reading ACOMAF. I stupidly read parts during breaks at work and then couldn’t get through the shift without dying for next part. I love that you don’t really know the truth behind these characters while getting to know them from Audra’s perspective. Starting book 2 now!
This duology is one of the best I’ve read this year! Amazing details, characters, great twists and turns that keep you on your toes the whole time. Riveting story!
Woah...what did I just read!? If you have been following me for a while then you know Ella Fields is one of my all-time favorite authors. Seriously, Pretty Venom is still my favorite romance book! So when I found this queen was coming out with a fantasy book? A girl screamed!!
In a way, this book was so unlike her previous ones. You never know what turn the characters were going to make until you reach the point. The world-building? Fantastic! I was able to picture this new world and just fell in love! I'm excited there will be another book and curious how much of this world we'll see more of.
The characters take you on a roller coaster of emotions. One page, you're shipping these two characters, another page you're shipping these two characters rather than the other ones. It was a whole mess of emotions that I need to close my eyes just to take a breath!
Overall, you won't regret this book. Ella does what Ella does, she delivers in such a beautiful way that she keeps on proving her talent as a storyteller. I am excited about the next book, knowing she will blow our minds away...again.
In a way, this book was so unlike her previous ones. You never know what turn the characters were going to make until you reach the point. The world-building? Fantastic! I was able to picture this new world and just fell in love! I'm excited there will be another book and curious how much of this world we'll see more of.
The characters take you on a roller coaster of emotions. One page, you're shipping these two characters, another page you're shipping these two characters rather than the other ones. It was a whole mess of emotions that I need to close my eyes just to take a breath!
Overall, you won't regret this book. Ella does what Ella does, she delivers in such a beautiful way that she keeps on proving her talent as a storyteller. I am excited about the next book, knowing she will blow our minds away...again.
This fantasy book is absolutely brilliant, Ella Fields surprised me in the best way, I bow to her writing and the world she built here, the characters from Audra, Lord Zadicus and Raiden to the rest are amazing and just every page dragged me and never let me go I had to drink lots of coffee the next day but it was totally worth it. I now need an audiobook to experience it all over again, I need more! Standing ovation a more than 5 star read, on top must read and definitely on the list of top must-reads this year! Bravo!
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: This is my first time reading an Ella Fields novel, so any opinion formed here is based on my experience with the Fantasy genre and the writing style that is needed and meshing of Fantasy and Romance and what is usually required from both the genres.
Please keep in mind that this is my own opinion. It is quite a long review as I've tried to highlight my main issues and then break them down as to why they didn't work.
With a cover and a blurb that drew me in from the get-go, A King So Cold had everything to be my next favourite Adult Fantasy Romance but even with all the elements that I love in this genre, it failed to not only impress but also not hold my interest for a longer period. It was bland, confusing and underdeveloped.
The one thing I've noted in my experience is that every time I pick a Fantasy is that it takes me at least up to 3 chapters to be fully pulled into the story. With this book, even after Chapter 4, I was still having a hard time getting into the story. (No pressure. It happens sometimes. It's Fantasy and some of them do take a while to settle and find that rhythm.)
It was around the 35% mark that I finally got interested and let me tell you it was good. But as I already mentioned, even though it did have parts that were good and worked well, there were just a few of them when comparing them to what didn't work.
Let me explain it this way — Think of fantasies as a tangled yarn that untangle slowly as you progress. You'll encounter knots, some easily solved and some requiring more patience and time, but in the end, they will untangle and the result will be one perfect ball of yarn.
Sometimes, to untangle a knot, you will have to cut that part and leave it aside because it no longer fits and now you have two balls of yarn, different sizes but they are the same colour and fabric but if used together they make perfect sense. (Is it making sense?)
I have broken my issues down to six main points for better understanding:-
▶Problem No. 1 — The Narrative
▶Problem No. 2 — The Background/Development
▶Problem No. 3 — The Visualization
▶Problem No. 4 — The Dialogue
▶Problem No. 5 — The Romance
▶Problem No. 6 — The Characterization
▶Problem No. 7 — The Title
There have been just so much confusion and inconsistencies for me in this book. I've had to re-read paragraphs to connect the dots and paint a picture which was not easy. And since you can't picture anything, it leads to confusion.
The story would pick up, then it would slow down once again and go off somewhere else to come back and I was sitting and trying to piece this puzzle and make some sense.
A King So Cold had so much potential to not only become a great story but give the readers a vivid visual image of what was playing out on the paper and a great set of characters.
There might be a second book, or that is what Ms Fields hinted at the last page of the book, and if that is the case then I hope she tries to bring in more depth to her plotline and give us well-rounded characters with proper arcs.
2 Stars!
↠ Buy A King So Cold (Kindle)
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Please keep in mind that this is my own opinion. It is quite a long review as I've tried to highlight my main issues and then break them down as to why they didn't work.
With a cover and a blurb that drew me in from the get-go, A King So Cold had everything to be my next favourite Adult Fantasy Romance but even with all the elements that I love in this genre, it failed to not only impress but also not hold my interest for a longer period. It was bland, confusing and underdeveloped.
The one thing I've noted in my experience is that every time I pick a Fantasy is that it takes me at least up to 3 chapters to be fully pulled into the story. With this book, even after Chapter 4, I was still having a hard time getting into the story. (No pressure. It happens sometimes. It's Fantasy and some of them do take a while to settle and find that rhythm.)
It was around the 35% mark that I finally got interested and let me tell you it was good. But as I already mentioned, even though it did have parts that were good and worked well, there were just a few of them when comparing them to what didn't work.
Let me explain it this way — Think of fantasies as a tangled yarn that untangle slowly as you progress. You'll encounter knots, some easily solved and some requiring more patience and time, but in the end, they will untangle and the result will be one perfect ball of yarn.
Sometimes, to untangle a knot, you will have to cut that part and leave it aside because it no longer fits and now you have two balls of yarn, different sizes but they are the same colour and fabric but if used together they make perfect sense. (Is it making sense?)
I have broken my issues down to six main points for better understanding:-
▶Problem No. 1 — The Narrative
When I started the reading my first thought was "Did I miss something?"
From the beginning, it had seemed like I had started reading the story from the middle. It was like I was thrust into the world without a proper introduction to the story, setting, characters or what had been going on in the opening.
There was a mention of a fable about two Goddesses across the story and how the two Kingdoms came to be, but it was never explained properly for me to grasp the concept. I would have preferred to have a Prologue that started with this fable. It could have been properly fleshed out so that we could get the first level of the foundation for the story to build on and maybe I wouldn't have been so confused during the majority of the book.
▶Problem No. 2 — The Background/Development
There was a severely lacking in the development aspect. There was no proper background or context given about anything.
One of the most important aspects of a Fantasy is to have a solid foundation and if you have failed in laying a proper base then I'm sorry but the story is always going to fall short.
As I mentioned in the first point, there are two Kingdoms — The Sun Kingdom which is in a desert and it is hot all around the year and The Moon Kingdom which all cobblestones and it is cold all year round. Both the Kingdoms come with their specific setting, colour scheme and powers.
The problem with this? There was no adequate description of any of the places and what we did get was not enough.
The castles and the powers introduced were grandeur and it could whisk the reader away but the lack of specification of situations, setting and the powers that were manifested by the three main characters just didn't create that awe-worthy atmosphere.
▶Problem No. 3 — The Visualization
Of course, if there is no evocation then the reader is bound to have a problem in visualizing anything that is happening in the story.
The castles, the powers, the rich clothes, the contrast in the Kingdoms, the huge-ass bird that Queen Audra would fly upon to travel swiftly — these are some of the multiple instances where I would have loved in-depth descriptions.
I couldn't picture the bird, I had a next to impossible time trying to visualize the clothes or the castles.
How can I enjoy and tell about something when I am not even able to paint half a picture of what the author is describing?
▶Problem No. 4 — The Dialogue
The story was long, wordy and distracting.
Did I get what the author was trying to convey or tell us? I did, but it took me a while to catch on and even then it felt like what I knew was incomplete, and this is just the thing. I shouldn't have to catch up or feel like I'm feeling left out.
The words used in the dialogues were a mix of your everyday language (minus the slang) and the rich language you would expect the royals to use and it just didn't seem in sync. The switching from one speaking style to the next and the mixing of both the styles deviated me from concentrating on what was happening.
▶Problem No. 5 — The Romance
This was one of the major issues for me because it just wasn't convincing enough. Who did the author want me to root for? Am I rooting for the right couple? Is there anything solid? I am confused by the relationships.
A quick background — Raiden, the Prince of the Sun Kingdom and Audra, the Princess of the Moon Kingdom had to be married out of convenience but it quickly turned into love before they were married to unite both the Kingdoms.
It was on the day of their wedding, after all the celebrations, Audra's father was accompanying the newlyweds to a cottage when Raiden's betrayal was brought to light. Raiden's guards along with his parents not only killed the King but also tried to kill Audra. In revenge, Audra exiled Raiden to The Edges with no memory of who he was and what they once meant to each other.
Zaddicus is introduced as Audra's bed mate. Her consort, if you will. He tries to guide her when it comes to handling the Kingdom and her powers since she is much younger than him and doesn't possess the patience or the experience. (He fails in both. Oh, also, they are immortals.)
Part 1 of the story initially focused on Zad and Audra and their very physical relationship and I had faith that I would come to love their relationship.
Enter Raiden. Audra brings him out of The Edges, wanting to know what happened before she killed him. It was when Raiden was brought to the castle and kept in the dungeons that we got the flashbacks and finally, little by little, we read about what went that night.
And now started my issue — Raiden and Audra or Zaddicus and Audra?
In the beginning, I was rooting for Zad and Audra's relationship to take shape and bloom because they had that chemistry that could have grown and had that spark as well as have that deep-rooted respect, power and oodles of fire.
When Raiden was introduced and I got to read their past, I found that these two had more chemistry, spark and a dash of recklessness that just made them more appealing.
I know this might be a highly unpopular opinion, (since I'm already on this train why not go all out?) but I found Raiden and Audra to have had a far better relationship build-up, progression and pull towards each other that was far more convincing and believable.
Zaddicus was a great character, and if the end game was for Audra to have him, I'm sorry to say but it failed and tragically, might I add. Honestly, Zad deserved so much better than what he ended up with.
Hell, all the three characters deserved better than what they ended up with.
▶Problem No. 6 — The Characterization
Be it Audra, Raiden or Zaddicus, neither of the characters had depth. They were too one-track and single-minded for them to have room to grow and become well-rounded characters that one usually expects from characters set in the Fantasy domain.
▶Problem No. 7 — The Title
I've learned that the original title was 'A Queen So Cruel' and I honestly have no idea why the decision to change was made. This is a far more fitting title than what we have now because this is Audra's story.
We do have Raiden and Zaddicus' point of views and not for a second did either of the Kings come off as cold. For all their faults both of them weren't cruel.
This story was all Audra. The cruel, cold and bitter Queen of the Moon Kingdom.
There have been just so much confusion and inconsistencies for me in this book. I've had to re-read paragraphs to connect the dots and paint a picture which was not easy. And since you can't picture anything, it leads to confusion.
The story would pick up, then it would slow down once again and go off somewhere else to come back and I was sitting and trying to piece this puzzle and make some sense.
A King So Cold had so much potential to not only become a great story but give the readers a vivid visual image of what was playing out on the paper and a great set of characters.
There might be a second book, or that is what Ms Fields hinted at the last page of the book, and if that is the case then I hope she tries to bring in more depth to her plotline and give us well-rounded characters with proper arcs.
2 Stars!
↠ Buy A King So Cold (Kindle)
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“We are born alone, and we die alone,” I whispered, sweet and matter-of-factly. “We need no one but ourselves.”
Don’t get me wrong this was one hell of a smutty book, BUT it wasn’t just a smutty book which made it good it also had SUBSTANCE which is the main take away for the 5 star rating. :))) I love how the author really kept us guessing about the love interest till virtually the end I literally had no idea what was happening, plus any book with fae is already 5 stars for me
Don’t get me wrong this was one hell of a smutty book, BUT it wasn’t just a smutty book which made it good it also had SUBSTANCE which is the main take away for the 5 star rating. :))) I love how the author really kept us guessing about the love interest till virtually the end I literally had no idea what was happening, plus any book with fae is already 5 stars for me
I came close to DNFing the book several times, especially during the first 25 percent. To be honest, it’s a bit of a hot mess and hard to follow. It reminded me at time of ACOTAR with its love triangle, fated mates, etc. That all being said, I was intrigued to see how it would play out (there are a lot of twists and turns) and I liked the type of romance this was…. I am leaning against continuing the series.
I haven’t read anything else by Ella, so I don’t know if this is a continuous theme, but the amount of SEX in this novel is inhuman. I’m not necessarily saying it’s bad, it was just unexpected. I mean, the FIRST SCENE. Like …..
Anyway, when the book started I was thoroughly judging Zadicus, but as the story progressed, I kind of began to ADORE him as a character.
The character development that Ella put into him specifically was really nice .
My next thing: THE ENDING
I mean like WHHHHAAAATTTT
The ending doesn’t fit the story at all.
“Forever my Queen”
Like really???
Audra has been so consistently cruel and everyone in the kingdom just immediately forgives her for hundreds of deaths because she fixes a few laws????
That just seems too perfect…
Also, I think we should’ve gotten to the linking thing faster.
It was kind of expected, and it took too many pages to get there.
Overall, the book was pretty decent, but I think the ending is what put me at 2 stars
Anyway, when the book started I was thoroughly judging Zadicus, but as the story progressed, I kind of began to ADORE him as a character.
The character development that Ella put into him specifically was really nice .
My next thing: THE ENDING
I mean like WHHHHAAAATTTT
The ending doesn’t fit the story at all.
“Forever my Queen”
Like really???
Audra has been so consistently cruel and everyone in the kingdom just immediately forgives her for hundreds of deaths because she fixes a few laws????
That just seems too perfect…
Also, I think we should’ve gotten to the linking thing faster.
It was kind of expected, and it took too many pages to get there.
Overall, the book was pretty decent, but I think the ending is what put me at 2 stars
If you’re looking for a book that throws the reader into the middle of the story with no clue wtf is going on...this is the one for you! It’s def not for me tho.
Possible spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
My brain constantly felt like it was playing catch up. The world building was horrible, & details sparse. The love triangle ended with me hating all 3 people..a first I must confess.
I almost feel sorry for Raiden. Audra was a loud proud self titled monster bitch Queen for basically the entire story. She learned from the best after all. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree & all that jazz. My homie Raiden didn’t know she had a magical vagina that was going to trap him like every other male in the vicinity. He was trying to do the greater good and free the suffering people from her dad, the King’s, horrific reign. He expected Audra to rule the same as her father had. Once true loooove or whatever happened between them he did amend his ghastly plans. He tried to at least. He’s also a bit of a ho but no one is perfect here.
But whatever, ‘A King So Cold’ is typical, & the characters have no depth. The title doesn’t even fit because Raiden was many things but cold wasn’t one of them. He was a little too spicy actually, (I did mention his thotness earlier). Audra is a bratty immature bitch for about 82% of the story. She never actually did anything noteworthy to make Raiden change his opinion. It was seriously the hormones talking between them. Zad sucked only a smidgen less than Audra & Raiden. (A very little). Like the great Katy Perry once said:
‘You're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down‘
Honestly, it’s exhausting and boring.
How’s your wife gonna be dead for 16 years then just poof back into existence?! Whaaaat. Why did she ‘die’ to begin with? It’s called divorce you drama llama...you ain’t gotta fake your own death, babe. It was so easy to get the big D once she reappeared that it makes one question why she didn’t go that route to begin with?!!!!
This review makes about as much sense as the book. I’m just glad it was free.
Possible spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
My brain constantly felt like it was playing catch up. The world building was horrible, & details sparse. The love triangle ended with me hating all 3 people..a first I must confess.
I almost feel sorry for Raiden. Audra was a loud proud self titled monster bitch Queen for basically the entire story. She learned from the best after all. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree & all that jazz. My homie Raiden didn’t know she had a magical vagina that was going to trap him like every other male in the vicinity. He was trying to do the greater good and free the suffering people from her dad, the King’s, horrific reign. He expected Audra to rule the same as her father had. Once true loooove or whatever happened between them he did amend his ghastly plans. He tried to at least. He’s also a bit of a ho but no one is perfect here.
But whatever, ‘A King So Cold’ is typical, & the characters have no depth. The title doesn’t even fit because Raiden was many things but cold wasn’t one of them. He was a little too spicy actually, (I did mention his thotness earlier). Audra is a bratty immature bitch for about 82% of the story. She never actually did anything noteworthy to make Raiden change his opinion. It was seriously the hormones talking between them. Zad sucked only a smidgen less than Audra & Raiden. (A very little). Like the great Katy Perry once said:
‘You're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down‘
Honestly, it’s exhausting and boring.
How’s your wife gonna be dead for 16 years then just poof back into existence?! Whaaaat. Why did she ‘die’ to begin with? It’s called divorce you drama llama...you ain’t gotta fake your own death, babe. It was so easy to get the big D once she reappeared that it makes one question why she didn’t go that route to begin with?!!!!
This review makes about as much sense as the book. I’m just glad it was free.