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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley and Kaitlyn Davis, the author, for providing me with early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
This book was self-published by Kaitlyn Davis in 2015, so it's been around for a while, and it has a whole series that stems from Gathering Frost as the first book. I'm grateful to receive the audiobook version, but I fear there was something vaguely off about the reading of the audiobook. I'm not picky with narrators, but something about the narrator for this book was quite jarring in itself.
Gathering Frost starts out with an interesting premise - the main character, along with the entire city of New York, has been put under an evil queen's spell when her kingdom takes over one day in an earthquake. There's a lot to explain, but unfortunately most of the worldbuilding is neglected in favour of the romance plotline.
That being said, the main character is given a reasonable character arc, learning about her emotions when her icy heart starts to thaw, and having to make difficult choices about her freedom versus her increasing pull to do what is right. But the timing of her emotions and her iciness is all too convenient, and I think it could have been investigated a lot more. There was so much more potential, but instead it became a cutesy romance book in which the main character unsurprisngly falls in love with the prince and breaks a curse.
It was done differently to Sleeping Beauty, and inverts a lot of the age-old tropes, for which it gets some credit. But on the other hand, it falls into the traps of a lot of tropes of its own.
I didn't love reading this, and it wasn't just because it was YA and it wasn't just because it was romance. It had room to improve, and I hope one day I read something that builds on the great idea that this book had. However, given the way the next book was introduced, I'm not sure that I can make myself read the sequels.
This book was self-published by Kaitlyn Davis in 2015, so it's been around for a while, and it has a whole series that stems from Gathering Frost as the first book. I'm grateful to receive the audiobook version, but I fear there was something vaguely off about the reading of the audiobook. I'm not picky with narrators, but something about the narrator for this book was quite jarring in itself.
Gathering Frost starts out with an interesting premise - the main character, along with the entire city of New York, has been put under an evil queen's spell when her kingdom takes over one day in an earthquake. There's a lot to explain, but unfortunately most of the worldbuilding is neglected in favour of the romance plotline.
That being said, the main character is given a reasonable character arc, learning about her emotions when her icy heart starts to thaw, and having to make difficult choices about her freedom versus her increasing pull to do what is right. But the timing of her emotions and her iciness is all too convenient, and I think it could have been investigated a lot more. There was so much more potential, but instead it became a cutesy romance book in which the main character unsurprisngly falls in love with the prince and breaks a curse.
It was done differently to Sleeping Beauty, and inverts a lot of the age-old tropes, for which it gets some credit. But on the other hand, it falls into the traps of a lot of tropes of its own.
I didn't love reading this, and it wasn't just because it was YA and it wasn't just because it was romance. It had room to improve, and I hope one day I read something that builds on the great idea that this book had. However, given the way the next book was introduced, I'm not sure that I can make myself read the sequels.
Gathering Frost was epic! I LOVED this book! I throughly enjoyed the fairytale retelling! I loved this take on the Snow Queen, it was fresh and interesting! I also really enjoyed that it was set in a sort of post apocalyptic type world. I cannot wait for the rest of the series!!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review*
Gathering Frost is set in a world that was once New York. Until it was captured by magic, an evil queen and a fairytale.
When I first read the description of this book, I thought it would be somewhat similar to Once Upon a Time, but was happily surprised to find it was very different and unlike any other book I've read.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, learning about the world and meeting the characters. The middle of the book picked up and was intense, but unfortunately I did not love the ending. I found myself skipping parts of action because it didn't feel very interesting to me, but I don't usually enjoy action so that may just be because of my personal tastes. I also found the romance a little bit too cheesy for me and a bit too fast-moving, but again that is just personal preference.
Overall, it was an interesting story!
Gathering Frost is set in a world that was once New York. Until it was captured by magic, an evil queen and a fairytale.
When I first read the description of this book, I thought it would be somewhat similar to Once Upon a Time, but was happily surprised to find it was very different and unlike any other book I've read.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, learning about the world and meeting the characters. The middle of the book picked up and was intense, but unfortunately I did not love the ending. I found myself skipping parts of action because it didn't feel very interesting to me, but I don't usually enjoy action so that may just be because of my personal tastes. I also found the romance a little bit too cheesy for me and a bit too fast-moving, but again that is just personal preference.
Overall, it was an interesting story!
GATHERING FROST was an interesting spin on Sleeping Beauty. I really liked the uniqueness of the story, I enjoyed Jade's character and I thought that the struggles she faced were well described and executed. I wasn't sold on the romance between Jade and Asher and since that was such a big part of the book it kinda threw me off. I don't know if I just felt that the timing was off or that I just didn't totally feel their connection, it's probably a bit of both.
Beauty and the Beast is up next so I'm thinking I will give it a shot and see if the author can pull it off. Here's hoping!
* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Beauty and the Beast is up next so I'm thinking I will give it a shot and see if the author can pull it off. Here's hoping!
* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting combination of dystopian and fantasy. A quick fun YA book that you can just chill out with. An ice queen takes over the world and it's up to Jade to defeat her, will she succeed in her task?
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ehh, this was fine but nothing great. It was short and I read it very quickly (less than a day on audio). The premise was interesting: a world where NYC had an earthquake that caused a magical world to collide with ours and the Queen’s magical power was to make people emotionless. It had dystopian feels, with rebel fighters, but also fantasy elements with magic and curses and such. It just wasn’t executed well. The writing felt very basic and young. The story was boring and predictable. The ending was wrapped up way too neatly and quickly. This is a series but I have very little desire to keep reading and likely won’t.
fast-paced
Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis is a fun twisted retelling of sleeping beauty that also has strong Romeo and Juliet vibes. Jade is an intriguing main character but I really love Prince Asher. He's so kind and patient with Jade and the rebels. You really get to see his heart throughout the story and I was totally invested the minute I met him! The Frost Queen is the perfect antagonist with her cool demeanor and threatening aura. This was a fun, quick read and you're sure to like it if fairytales have always seemed a little too happily ever after.