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scaralphred 's review for:
Firefrost
by Camille Longley
Sol is a Huntress. A part of the beautiful and unforgiving mountains where she was born. Kelan is a Flameskin. Hunted since childhood by those who believe Flameskins are demons and left orphaned by those who who burned his mother on a pyre long ago. Survival pushes Sol and Kelan, enemies on each side of the Burning War, together as they’re forced to trek across the brutal mountains in the winter. As they come to depend on one another more and more for survival they begin to see each other as more than enemies.
“Was this what it was like to have a home, where laughter and smiles and love were served in buckets instead of teaspoons?”
The strength of this book lies in its characters. Though the pacing felt a little uneven, I ended up loving both characters for different reasons. Sol is strong, independent, and capable. A strong female protagonist who develops beyond the prejudices she has grown up with. Kelan is complex and emotional. I particularly liked seeing a male protagonist that emotes so well, I feel as though that is not common place enough. That being said, I feel more writing space could have been given to develop the relationship between both of the characters a little more. The shift from enemies to lovers is very subtle and a little abrupt as it happens quite quickly. The ending is sweet and hopeful, though it could have been drawn out more. Although that might just be my unwillingness to leave these characters.
The weakness is in the world building. While the reader gleans the hardships and the brutality of the mountains where most of the book takes place, there is very little else. The setting moves from the mountains to small towns to villages which all seem more or less alike, as little detail is given to differentiate between them. Furthermore, the revelation that comes during their trek out of the Ulves is not explored further and I wish it had been.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m excited to read more from Longley. Though it looks like the following books focus on different characters, I hope to see Sol, Kelan, Azalea, and the others in the rest of this series.
Note: I was granted an eARC for an honest review of this book.
“Was this what it was like to have a home, where laughter and smiles and love were served in buckets instead of teaspoons?”
The strength of this book lies in its characters. Though the pacing felt a little uneven, I ended up loving both characters for different reasons. Sol is strong, independent, and capable. A strong female protagonist who develops beyond the prejudices she has grown up with. Kelan is complex and emotional. I particularly liked seeing a male protagonist that emotes so well, I feel as though that is not common place enough. That being said, I feel more writing space could have been given to develop the relationship between both of the characters a little more. The shift from enemies to lovers is very subtle and a little abrupt as it happens quite quickly. The ending is sweet and hopeful, though it could have been drawn out more. Although that might just be my unwillingness to leave these characters.
The weakness is in the world building. While the reader gleans the hardships and the brutality of the mountains where most of the book takes place, there is very little else. The setting moves from the mountains to small towns to villages which all seem more or less alike, as little detail is given to differentiate between them. Furthermore, the revelation that comes during their trek out of the Ulves is not explored further and I wish it had been.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m excited to read more from Longley. Though it looks like the following books focus on different characters, I hope to see Sol, Kelan, Azalea, and the others in the rest of this series.
Note: I was granted an eARC for an honest review of this book.