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harleyrae's review
3.0
This wasn’t a bad book, I could just never seem to get in the mood to read this.
wasauthor's review
3.0
I received an advance reader copy of A Soul as Cold as Frost for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Every book owes a debt to what came before. Art influences art, and the cycle continues. A Soul as Cold as Frost owes such a debt to Lewis Carrol’s Alice books, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and particularly, between the world, threat, and the novel’s use of fantasy as an allegory to Christianity, C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The book’s marketing also pays tribute to Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (not E.T.A. Hoffman's original).
A Soul as Cold as Frost is a Christmas-themed portal fantasy set against a backdrop of the holiday season, where the protagonist, Helen, travels to a winter wonderland named Winter, where she is hunted by the Winter Queen; a story aimed at middle grade and young adult readers. Within Winter, aside from the threat, Helen—and the reader—is treated to Christian allegories, and the book also includes sections outside of the core narrative modelled around Christian psalms. Christian readers will enjoy the allegorical nature of the story, though, for readers who don’t follow the Christian faith, these aren’t overpowering.
Written in the first person, A Soul as Cold as Frost follows sixteen-year-old Helen Bell (whose name reminds me of “Hell’s bells,” though I’m not certain this is deliberate. The prose is beautiful, full of vibrant descriptions about the world and characters, as well as Helen’s perspective of everything that is happening through the story. But as much as I appreciate beautiful prose, it serves as a disservice. Helen doesn't sound like a sixteen-year-old; she sounds like a poet who reached adulthood long ago. This took me out of the book, and feel it will impact the target audience’s ability to relate to her.
This is not a short book; its pacing is slow, with much of the space being taken up by the author’s prose. While the prose is a thing of beauty, and full of colour, it will make it difficult for younger readers to digest, especially at its length. Given the pace, it takes a long time for events to happen, and these are drawn out slowly.
It works more successfully as an innocent fantasy story read by adults, particularly those nostalgic for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its ilk. The author uses literary devices to tell the story, complicating it further for younger readers. As an adult, I appreciated how the book dipped into literary fiction, and there are a couple of parts where this will add a sense of fun for them, generally, it will draw them away when they’re simply looking for a fun story.
As the sole POV character, the most fleshed out character is Helen. Engaging and entertaining, she comes without many friends and with a family of very little wealth, and calls things as she sees it. Despite a good portion of the story dedicated to her backstory, she lacks much depth. While the novel features many coming of age tropes, Helen doesn’t show much growth through the story. The other characters are entertaining, and Helen’s interactions with the book’s major supporting character, Zane, are fun, with the two sharing an enjoyable chemistry.
The dialogue works well, with the characters sounding natural. Helen’s dialogue doesn’t match the prose, and while that makes it difficult to suspend disbelief, it means her conversations flow more naturally. The author has also done a great job of making the “Rime” people of Winter sound different to the “Trite” people of our world.
As the first book in the author’s The Winter Souls series, it feels complete, but ends on a cliffhanger. If you’re looking for a self-contained story, you won’t find it here, but it doesn’t simply feel like the beginning of a story, either.
A Soul as Cold as Frost is a middle grade/YA book that offers more to adults than its intended audience. If you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis, you’ll find a lot to enjoy, particularly if you’re a Christian. This will do more to capture the imagination of adult fans of these works, than of kids finding their feet in fantasy.
My full review will be available on my website from 21 December 2022. To read it, and a host of other reviews, click here.
Every book owes a debt to what came before. Art influences art, and the cycle continues. A Soul as Cold as Frost owes such a debt to Lewis Carrol’s Alice books, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and particularly, between the world, threat, and the novel’s use of fantasy as an allegory to Christianity, C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The book’s marketing also pays tribute to Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (not E.T.A. Hoffman's original).
A Soul as Cold as Frost is a Christmas-themed portal fantasy set against a backdrop of the holiday season, where the protagonist, Helen, travels to a winter wonderland named Winter, where she is hunted by the Winter Queen; a story aimed at middle grade and young adult readers. Within Winter, aside from the threat, Helen—and the reader—is treated to Christian allegories, and the book also includes sections outside of the core narrative modelled around Christian psalms. Christian readers will enjoy the allegorical nature of the story, though, for readers who don’t follow the Christian faith, these aren’t overpowering.
Written in the first person, A Soul as Cold as Frost follows sixteen-year-old Helen Bell (whose name reminds me of “Hell’s bells,” though I’m not certain this is deliberate. The prose is beautiful, full of vibrant descriptions about the world and characters, as well as Helen’s perspective of everything that is happening through the story. But as much as I appreciate beautiful prose, it serves as a disservice. Helen doesn't sound like a sixteen-year-old; she sounds like a poet who reached adulthood long ago. This took me out of the book, and feel it will impact the target audience’s ability to relate to her.
This is not a short book; its pacing is slow, with much of the space being taken up by the author’s prose. While the prose is a thing of beauty, and full of colour, it will make it difficult for younger readers to digest, especially at its length. Given the pace, it takes a long time for events to happen, and these are drawn out slowly.
It works more successfully as an innocent fantasy story read by adults, particularly those nostalgic for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its ilk. The author uses literary devices to tell the story, complicating it further for younger readers. As an adult, I appreciated how the book dipped into literary fiction, and there are a couple of parts where this will add a sense of fun for them, generally, it will draw them away when they’re simply looking for a fun story.
As the sole POV character, the most fleshed out character is Helen. Engaging and entertaining, she comes without many friends and with a family of very little wealth, and calls things as she sees it. Despite a good portion of the story dedicated to her backstory, she lacks much depth. While the novel features many coming of age tropes, Helen doesn’t show much growth through the story. The other characters are entertaining, and Helen’s interactions with the book’s major supporting character, Zane, are fun, with the two sharing an enjoyable chemistry.
The dialogue works well, with the characters sounding natural. Helen’s dialogue doesn’t match the prose, and while that makes it difficult to suspend disbelief, it means her conversations flow more naturally. The author has also done a great job of making the “Rime” people of Winter sound different to the “Trite” people of our world.
As the first book in the author’s The Winter Souls series, it feels complete, but ends on a cliffhanger. If you’re looking for a self-contained story, you won’t find it here, but it doesn’t simply feel like the beginning of a story, either.
A Soul as Cold as Frost is a middle grade/YA book that offers more to adults than its intended audience. If you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis, you’ll find a lot to enjoy, particularly if you’re a Christian. This will do more to capture the imagination of adult fans of these works, than of kids finding their feet in fantasy.
My full review will be available on my website from 21 December 2022. To read it, and a host of other reviews, click here.
thepagelady's review
5.0
Book Review for A Soul as Cold as Frost byJennifer Kropf
This was an extraordinary novel! The author does an amazing job merging the fantasy world and the present together! I really enjoyed how this book is written. There isn't a long drawn out part in the beginning for the world building and the character development it's sprinkled out throughout the whole book! The relationship between the main characters is also very interesting! I liked that the author made it easy for us to relate to Helen! Oh and the storyteller cut ins are great you get to see a situation from a different point of view! Beautifully written and definitely a book to get lost in!
This was an extraordinary novel! The author does an amazing job merging the fantasy world and the present together! I really enjoyed how this book is written. There isn't a long drawn out part in the beginning for the world building and the character development it's sprinkled out throughout the whole book! The relationship between the main characters is also very interesting! I liked that the author made it easy for us to relate to Helen! Oh and the storyteller cut ins are great you get to see a situation from a different point of view! Beautifully written and definitely a book to get lost in!
marosberg's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
3.0
kariniwonderland's review
3.0
A lovely introduction to a magical word. The MC Helen is akward en flawed, but you really root for her. I must admit it took me a while to get into the story and i kept skimming chapters till the end. Mainy because a lot happens and at the same time not much happens. That being said it was interesting enough to keep reading and after that cliffhanger i really look forward to reading the second book.
dawnatropa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
lillypad827's review against another edition
I just couldn’t get connected to the characters and found myself not really caring what happens. I have another borrowed book I need to read so I’m switching to that one.